The first thing one must do to succeed in any area of your life, is to accept complete responsibility for your situation. I was reading a book called "As Man Thinketh," the author wrote, "Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him." What he meant was that we are not products of our environment or our heredity (our "circumstances"), instead, we products of our own thinking and belief systems. We create our own circumstances through positive thinking and positive action and we create negative circumstances through negative thinking and lack of action or wrong actions. In other words, we are responsible for where we are and what we have in life.
Some people get very angry when you tell them this. They say, "Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me that when bad things happen to me, it’s my own fault? That I brought unemployment, financial hardships, failed relationships, weight gain or even health problems onto myself? Because if that's what you're saying, that's totally unfair!"
Well, my friend, with very few exceptions, (some things really are out of your control) that is exactly what I am saying. I know, "Bad things happen to good people as well". Gola unke bhi lag jaya kare se kade kade.
If you refuse to accept the fact that you are 100% responsible, you will never be successful. When people find themselves in undesirable situations or they aren't getting the results they want, it’s all too easy to make excuses. Making excuses is relinquishing control. It is conceding that you a victim of circumstances instead of the creator of your circumstances. Stop blaming and start taking responsibility for your life. Take action! Your path is laid out the day you are born. Either you can chose to walk it gracefully or sit down and cry.
Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you overcome hardships, that is strength.
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.
Surely there are times when other people and/or circumstances contribute to our problems, but it is we who must rise to the occasion and take responsibility for our own happiness. Circumstances don't make a person, they reveal him or her.
What measures us, what reveals us, is how we use those circumstances as an aid or spur to progress. A successful person or community, in short, is that which can process failure with the most efficiency.
As far as superstition goes, I think it's the biggest curse prevalent in our society (biggest body shop for all tantriks, pandits, gurus, swamis et al). Majority of us try "living in the future" as opposed to "living in the present". The great thing about watching young children play is that they care not at all for the past or the future. Their whole attention is just on the present time and these guys were fully “in the moment” all right. They are for the most part wild and carefree when at play, and not at all burdened by the responsibilities that adults tend to use as an excuse for their miserable demeanor.
When you really think about it, adults are generally not too good at this “living in the present moment” stuff. Even though the only time we can truly experience feelings, whether good or bad, is in the present moment, it is rare that these feelings seem to be linked to present events.
Personally, I believe that living in the present moment is the only way to go.
Are you talking about the ‘wish well’…remember you throw a coin and make a wish… 