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Happiness comes from one’s attitude towards the outside world
as well as the various experiences in life. Indeed, one can be
happy in penury and unhappy even when bestowed with all the
worldly goods. Similarly, a sick person can achieve happiness by
cultivating a positive attitude while a person enjoying robust
health may be unhappy because he suffers from pessimism. Thus,
happiness is a cultivated trait.
Mand has attempted
to unfold the secret of happiness. One may find this book
interesting, especially the chapters like How is an Attitude
Made; Cultivating Happiness and How to Perpetuate
Happiness? However, proofreading leaves quite a bit to be
desired. For example, on page 100, the chapter title has the
word ‘Polititive’ instead of ‘Positive’.
MBA: The
Right Foot Forward
by DishaM. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. Rs 150.
 Professional
courses attract candidates in droves, and no wonder. We are
living in a highly competitive world where material progress has
put into shade all other forms of human accomplishments and
values. The Master of Business Administration course is one of
the most sought after as it promises a rise up the
socio-economic pecking order.
The wannabe
management high-flyers often fall victims to confusion
vis-`E0-vis the right way to prepare for the MBA entrance exams.
Some go to the mushrooming coaching institutes while others hire
private tutors. Again, identifying and acquiring the right
literature to prepare for the exam becomes a problem. But the
biggest problem of all is: What business schools are genuine
ones? How to get admission into these B-schools? And, what are
the placement prospects after graduating from a particular
B-school?
The volume under
review attempts to answer these questions succinctly and
clearly.
Impossible...Possible
by Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury. Fusion Books, New Delhi. Pages
183. Rs 150.
 Here is another
theory on attitude. Our brain categorises experiences into pain
and pleasure. This categorisation is the result of our beliefs
or attitude towards events in life. Such generalisation, says
the author, acts as a limiting factor on our growth as
individuals. Despair resulting from failure makes a person look
upon himself as an incompetent person. Often these negative
thoughts prevent him from performing to his full potential and
thus become self-fulfilling prophecies. The only way to avert
these is to turn failures into lessons for future achievements.
After Edison’s 10,000 experiments to invent the light bulb
failed he was asked how he felt. He reportedly replied that he
learnt of 10,000 ways of not inventing a light bulb!
Certain
achievements come easy to a person, while some others are
difficult and still others impossible. However, there are
persons for whom nothing is possible and then again there are
others who feel that nothing is impossible to achieve. Between
these two extremes there are varying degrees of attitude towards
attainable goals. Why does this happen? Is it because some
people are more capable than others are, or is it a matter of
luck?
Chowdhury feels
that the answer lies in the brain. Some people tap their full
potential to become successful while others may not even be
aware of the possibilities that one’s intellect promises. One
needs to break barriers in the mind and turn the impossible into
possible, thus transforming one’s life for the better. After
all, there was a time when it was considered impossible to run a
mile under four minutes. Undaunted by such a universal mindset
Roger Bannister ran the distance in 3.59 minutes! Positive
thoughts can achieve a lot indeed.
This volume is an
addition to the proliferating self-improvement literature.
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WE
all want to be happy, but do not know how to attain the state of
happiness, probably because we do not know precisely what happiness
is. The author points out that one often confuses happiness with
pleasure. Only, pleasure is derived by the gratification of carnal
desires, and therefore, is deemed a lower form of indulgence.
However, the exalted feeling of ‘bliss’ too is different from
happiness; it relates to the soul. Happiness, on the contrary, is a
feeling peculiar to human beings as it is more a quality of one’s
character. Animals derive pleasure through an indulgence of the
senses. Human beings attain happiness by adopting a certain attitude
— consciously or otherwise. Bliss is the supreme form of
satisfaction that only a rare enlightened soul experiences.
