Change your thoughts and you change your world. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himselfOnly I can change my life. No one can do it for me.The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.You will never know yourself completely and that's fine. The wise are limitless.The most beautiful and profound way to change yourself is to accept yourself completely, as imperfect as you areThat is at bottom the only courage that is demanded of us: to have courage for the most strange, the most singular and the most inexplicable that we may encounter.The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid orderThe only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.After you've done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over.
What can we take on trust in this uncertain life? Happiness, greatness, pride — nothing is secure, nothing keeps.
To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
If you want to make enemies, try to change something. If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Things do not change; we change.
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
fanatic is one who can't change his mind ,Haters will see you walk on water, ... and say, it's because you can't swim
They will see you become successful, and say it is because you got lucky
They will see you make progress, and say it is because you had more opportunity
But then they see you fail, and they will say it is because you were never good enough
They will say you couldn't handle the pressure because you lacked character
I guess they didn't know what i knew
That i would make it.
Maybe not immediately, but absolutely and definitely.
I said, i guess they didn't know what i knew
That i would make it.
Maybe not immediately, but absolutely and definitely.
I guess the haters didn't know i was only getting started....
I guess they weren't to know that my failures were the fuel to my fire.
That my character thrived under pressure
That being like everyone else was the only way i could really fail
You see first they mock you, then they laugh at you, then they belittle you.
And then they beg for your help
If you weren't by my side during my struggle, through my valleys
Don't expect to be by there at the top of the mountain when i declare success
You had your opportunity when i was down and out
i guess they didn't know that i KNEW
that no matter how steep the mountain i would reach the peak
my vision does not see the pain at the bottom of the mountain or the struggle in the valleys,
it sees only the glory standing at the top. At the top of the mountain...
my WILL sees NOT the pain and sacrifice
it sees the pride and the character
it sees me arriving at my destination.
now haters what have you got to say.
what excuse can you come up with now?
what is the reason i made it and you didn't?
what is the reason i continue to out perform you?...
thats right
because YOU made excuses.
and I didn't allow it
While you were busy making excuses
i was busy making things happen
while you were pointing the finger
i was raising the bar. when you didn't believe in me
I BELIEVED IN ME
while you focused on tearing down my dreams
i focused on making sure they came to life.
you thought your nonsense was effecting me?
it was only pushing more fuel into my fire.
Defeat, Failure, Set Backs
Come what may.
Make no mistake,
I will find a way!
The difference between winning or losing.
The difference between those who do and those who don't make it in life... is not talent... It isn't about any type of magical formula...
The difference is character... It's human spirit...
And if you are going to make it in this world
Living out your dreams, or living out your nightmares, it is completely up to what YOU do. It all comes down to YOU.Life can be brutal Life can be unforgiving. If i had to sum up in 1 word the difference between the greats and the average. The difference between the successful and the nobodies of the world.DISCIPLINE. If you don't have the discipline You can forget about the trophy. You can forget about the success, the greatness. ALL CHAMPIONS HAVE DISCIPLINE. It's the discipline to work hard... You know – NOT when everyone is watching. But when no one is watching. When the fans aren't there. Life can be brutal
Life can be unforgiving.
If i had to sum up in 1 word the difference between the greats and the average.
The difference between the successful and the nobodies of the world.
1 word.
1 attribute to describe the difference…
DISCIPLINE.
If you don't have the discipline
You can forget about the trophy.
You can forget about the success, the greatness.
ALL CHAMPIONS HAVE DISCIPLINE.
It's the discipline to work hard…
You know – NOT when everyone is watching.
But when no one is watching.
When the fans aren't there.
When the coach isn't there.
When it's just you and your character.
The discipline to eat strong healthy foods, when you have other tempting options.
When those around you might not be so strong.
The discipline to say NO .
When those around you choose to be average.
The discipline to KEEP going WHEN IT HURTS.
Because LIFE doesn't give you what you want.
It gives you what you deserve.
And if you haven't worked for it.
If you haven't sacrificed for it.
If you haven't given your all.
Then – you don't deserve it.
AND, you WON'T GET IT
Push through the pain.
On the other side is growth
When pain comes, that means it's time to show character!
SHOW ME YOUR CHARACTER!
Remain disciplined.
STAY STRONG!
When it all seems hopeless:
Keep plugging away
Nothing can stop you if you don't stop for anything
Don't stop for anything!
Never break your discipline.
Remain faithful to yourself, and your vision.
When it get's painful. PUSH HARDER.
PUSH THROUGH THE PAIN.
You gotta have the discipline to do 11, when your opponent stops at 10.
The discipline to KEEP going WHEN IT HURTS.
Because LIFE doesn't give you what you want.
It gives you what you deserve.
And if you haven't worked for it.
If you haven't sacrificed for it.
If you haven't given your all.
Then – you don't deserve it. AND, you WON'T GET IT
SHOW YOUR CHARACTER!
Remain disciplined.
STAY STRONG!
Don't say why the pain.
Don't say WHY ME
Say TRY ME!
Say "Is that all you've got?!"
Give me more!
When the coach isn't there.
When it's just you and your character. The discipline to eat strong healthy foods, when you have other tempting options. When those around you might not be so strong. The discipline to say NO . When those around you choose to be average. The discipline to KEEP going WHEN IT HURTS. Because LIFE doesn't give you what you want. It gives you what you deserve. And if you haven't worked for it. If you haven't sacrificed for it. If you haven't given your all. Then – you don't deserve it. AND, you WON'T GET IT Push through the pain. On the other side is growth When pain comes, that means it's time to show character! SHOW ME YOUR CHARACTER! Remain disciplined. STAY STRONG! When it all seems hopeless: Keep plugging away Nothing can stop you if you don't stop for anything Don't stop for anything! Never break your discipline. Remain faithful to yourself, and your vision. When it get's painful. PUSH HARDER. PUSH THROUGH THE PAIN. You gotta have the discipline to do 11, when your opponent stops at 10. The discipline to KEEP going WHEN IT HURTS. Because LIFE doesn't give you what you want. It gives you what you deserve. And if you haven't worked for it. If you haven't sacrificed for it. If you haven't given your all. Then – you don't deserve it. AND, you WON'T GET IT Don't say why the pain. Don't say WHY ME Say TRY ME! Say "Is that all you've got?!" Give me more! Keep plugging away, when there seems no hope of victory When you don't see the results Hang in there. Be strong. Be brave. Remain DISCIPLINED And your time will come.What are the 2 most powerful words in the english language?... The 2 most powerful words in the english language are "I AM" Because what comes after I AM will shape your life. What you speak after "I AM" ... What you BELIEVE after "I AM" will control your decisions and shape your life. If you believe you are powerful... If you believe you are capable of Achieving great things – you will attempt great things. I F you speak into your life resilience,And determination to overcome anything – you
Will be ready to FACE, and overcome anything. Let the power of I AM shape your life, in the most powerful way. What you speak after "I AM" What you BELIEVE after "I AM" will Control your decisions and shape your life. If you believe you are powerful. If you believe you are capable of achieving Great things – you will attempt great things.
I AM powerful I AM strong I AM successful I AM an achiever I AM abundant I AM RICH I AM DETERMINED I AM FOCUSED I AM DISCIPLINED I AM HEALTH I AM WEALTH I AM! I AM! I AM beautiful I AM wise I AM capable of anything I AM someone who makes things happen I AM a powerful creator I AM filled with faith I AM blessed I AM grateful I AM A MIRACLE!!!! I am connected I am God I am more than my body I am a powerful spirit I AM READY I AM FOCUSED I AM EXCITED I AM A FIGHTER I AM MORE THAN ENOUGH I AM A WINNER I AM A CHAMPION!!! You can't just speak the words. You must FEEL them... and you must BELIEVE them. Repeat them every day. L Et them soak into your Subconscious. Let that POWER become one with you. Ali said: "I AM THE GREATEST" and he became THE GREATEST. Are you ready to be great? I AM! I AM! I AM! Replace "I WANT" with I AM. Instead of saying "I WANT to be RICH ", Say "I AM RICH!. " "I AM WEALTHY" Say it. Feel it. Feel it until you BELIEVE it I AM powerful I AM strong I AM successful I AM abundant I AM RICH I AM DETERMINED I AM FOCUSED I AM DISCIPLINED I AM capable of anything I AM a powerful creator I AM LIMITLESS I AM I AM Thoughts are powerful. Thoughts lead to actions. Actions over time become habits. And habits lead to long-lasting results.If you want to live a life of success, a life of complete success, happiness and fulfilment, you MUST find your PURPOSE.
You see if you don't know what your purpose is, if you don't know what DRIVES you, what INSPIRES you, then you have NO REASON to improve your life.
How can you improve your life if you have no REASON to improve it?
Why do you do what you do? WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?
What's the reason? Why do you exist?
Do you know what it takes to be great?
Are you willing to go the extra mile?
I tell you time and time again. You will get tired. But if you have a WHY – it will give you that extra STRENGTH. That extra foot you need. That extra HOUR you need. The courage.
Why are you different from everyone else that's trying to do the same thing you're doing?
What makes you stand out? Why are you so important!?
FIND YOUR WHY!
Your why will pull you up when you feel like you don't have the strength to get up anymore
Your why will keep you fighting when everyone else thinks you are out for the count
WHY. Who are you fighting for? What drives you?
IS YOUR PURPOSE YOUR FAMILY? Is it to prove the doubters wrong? Is it to prove yourself right?
What is your PURPOSE?
Write down your purpose. Carry it with you everywhere. FEEL IT DEEP and promise yourself everyday you WILL live out your purpose with ZERO EXCUSES!
Somebody's waiting for you to mess up. Somebody is waiting for you to give up. Someone is waiting for you to fall.So when you are challenged by life, what are you going to do?
When you feel like you are at your lowest point in life, will you throw in the towel? Or will you make the moves – to be successful?
Don't look back. Just remember where you came from. And let that drive push you to go forward.
It's not always going to be an easy road, and when you reach success, you won't take it for granted.
You will cherish those moments you had to go through, those moments you were without. And when you fall down – GET BACK UP. Dust yourself off.
You need to find something that drives you. Something that… NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS: This part of you does not change.
This DRIVE in you does not change. This PURPOSE never dies.
No matter how many times life knocks you down, your PURPOSE pulls you up EVERY TIME.
'This is the REASON i will FIGHT FOR MY DREAMS' 'THIS is the reason i will NOT take NO for an answer!' 'This is the reason i will do WHATEVER IT TAKES'
When it hurts – KEEP GOING. Those cloudy days, those storms – they're telling you to keep going.
Those times in your life, when you can't see how you're going to make it.
Some things you can't change, you just have to live with. But if you do have a choice MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE
Your purpose is that one thing that LIGHTS YOU UP. It's that one thing that will GET YOU UP EARLY. That one thing, when you're doing it, TIME STOPS.
Your purpose may be something you DON'T want. It may be seeing someone in your past and thinking: NO MATTER WHAT I WILL ENSURE I NEVER END UP LIKE THAT.
Your purpose is ALWAYS something that lights a fire in you.
'I WILL DO THIS. NO MATTER WHAT' My family is counting on me!! My friends are counting on me!! I AM COUNTING ON METhe greatest thing you can ever do with your life is enjoy the time you spend while you are alive! Sound too simple and positive-thinky? It is that simple, but far too many of us get caught up in the "stuff" of life, always striving for more but never really living in the moment, and never enjoying the limited time we have on this earth. None of us are guaranteed time, we may not make it through the end of this day, week, month or year, so NOW is the time to start enjoying life, not in 30 years when you plan to retire – RIGHT NOW. Decide to LIVE and breathe happiness, decide your time on earth will be spent doing the things you love with the people you love!There's only one thing in our lives we're not able to reacquire once it's gone, and i'm not talking about money, i'm not talking about material items, i'm talking about time.
And it's such a unique concept, unique idea, because when utilized correctly it contains within it the ingredients to success, to happiness, to growth and prosperity – all the things we want.
But at the very same time, if neglected, it leaves us with very little.
Because the truth is every morning when you wake up, you are living minutes you will never get back. You are breathing in air you will never take in again.
It's your one opportunity to embrace this gift – And every second sees a little of it slip away. And my point is that there is no moment more important, more perfect than right now.
Not in a week, not after your promotion, not in 30 years when you plan to retire and relax – right now.
See, we have this mentality that the future is going to somehow mean more than the present.
That, if we suffer now, or if we are unhappy now, that we will save the best in life for "some other time".
But the reality is we don't get younger. Yes we should be working hard, absolutely.
Success comes from effort, dedication, persistence. But the key is: allocate your precious time to the work, to the things that make you feel like TODAY is powerful. That RIGHT NOW is so amazing you don't want it to end.
Today is when you take the first step toward the things you want, when you become who YOU want to become.
No one is ever or will ever keep you from that, other than yourself.
There is no ceiling, there are no limitations, there is no special requirement.
There is YOU and what YOU allow yourself to accomplish. You are the gatekeeper, you have your foot on the gas pedal.
And, it's so easy to point to other right? To point to our environment, to blame things on everything, but out own decision.
Our decision to stick to the status quo. Because, believe it or not, it's that simple.
You are where you are because that's where you've decided to be, and you've accepted that as OK.
Look, if you want change, then manufacture change. Create a plan and MOVE, GO, transform. Step out of your head, and into the real world.
Think about how lucky we are. To be alive in this day in age, with access to all the information we could ever dream of. Technology that enables growth, the freedom to pursue any path that looks appealing.
Anything we could ever want is right in front of us, yet we don't embrace it, why? Why on earth would we let that be?
Nothing is more important in life than living it!
Nothing makes us feel more energized, more free, more happy, then following the path we were meant to take.
It's having the courage to step over the obstacles, to face the challenges, to be uncomfortable, and at the beginning it's tough. Right, change is tough, getting what you want is not easy.
There's a period of struggle, of growth, but once you get through it – you understand what LIVING really is.
Which brings us right back to the concept of TIME. Our small existence on this planet. The greatest gift a human being could receive. You, by default have it. Don't ever let it be in vain.
The future isn't when happiness "someday" occurs. It's a continuation of you living every moment to the fullest. From now until your last.
Make every trip around the sun better than the previous.
Never let a moment of sunshine, clouds or rain deprive you of your gift.
Be the best version of yourself you can be. Most of you are ungrateful.
It doesn't matter what happens in your life.
It doesn't matter how many things you give.
It doesn't matter because you always want MORE.
And what's worse, all you see, is what is not there.
When you get grateful, anything is possible.
Feel the power being grateful.
Sit down every morning and say to yourself: '
I am grateful.
Grateful for my health which I take for granted, grateful for my full body function, which I know others are not so lucky, grateful for my eye - sight, grateful for my health, grateful for my family's health, grateful for my strip, grateful for my drive, grateful for my determination, my ambition and dreams'.
Feel that power.
The power of gratitude.
And most of all, get grateful for the hard times, the life lessons.
Those moments when it seemed impossible to get up.
When it seemed impossible for you to get out of a situation.
And what happened?
You did get out, you did get through it.
You became stronger.
You became better.
You learned.
You grew.
Be grateful for the hard times.
Without hard times your life would be dull and boy that's mean.
The journey is what makes everything so much more valuable. '
Without the lessons and hard times, I would have never have been able to put my character what it is today.
I am so much stronger mentally because of those hard times.
I embraced the hard times, embraced the challenges.
For I know now, that I am prepared.
I am grateful for when my feet hit the floor every morning.
For I know this is going to be a great day.
The BEST day.
The BEST day ever.
I will be at my best.
I am ready.
I am grateful for my character.
I am grateful for my courage.
I am grateful for my strenght.
I am grateful for my dreams.
I am grateful for my ambition.
I see extraordinary in the ordinary.
I see the miracles and fawnies in every moment of everyday life.
I do the magic and fawning in my own life.
I am blessed and I am grateful.' Say it to yourself every day.
Soon you will have so much in your life to be grateful for, there will be enough hours in the day.
You have something to statue aside of you.
You can have and be anything you want in this world.
Just find your purpose, let nothing stand in your way.
You will achieve greatness.
Live the life you were meant to live.
All it takes is a simple decision.intriguing, lovely, fabulous, full of twists n turns, tragedies, and something to cheer for. This book will inspire you and will motivate you to work hard in your life and achieve your dreams. This book perfectly explains love and life. It will not leave your mind, at least for a few days. This book will make you feel the emotion that the author wants to convey to the readers.
The female protagonist, Samaira is at the lowest in her life and is totally clueless about what she wants from life or what life wants from her. She is in a complete mess due to her divorce and the unanticipated death of her parents and brother. All her hopes and dreams had shattered. She had lost her interest in everything and was about to give up.
Destiny played its role and Samaira crossed paths with Vivian, the male protagonist. Vivian was the Head of Creative Tanks and had a very practical approach to life. He believed that no matter how difficult situations are, suicide is never an option. He didn't like people you gave up easily.
But there was something special about Samaira.A spark that always drew him towards her. Samaira having lost her interest in love, hopes and goals kept escaping from them but Vivian had made a firm decision of making her believe in true love and her goals all over again. A must-read book if you are a romantic fiction lover! This book deserves and is worth reading.Stories are woven so tightly into the fabric of
our everyday lives that it's easy to overlook
their significance in framing how we think
about ourselves and the world. They fill every part
of our daily lives as we talk about events and peo-
ple, read books and news reports, gossip, send text
messages, listen to music, watch video clips, and
catch up on a favorite television show. We live sto-
ried lives.
Stories are thus much more than a book or nar-
rative—they are the way our minds make sense
of our lives and world. We work at understanding
events and people by constructing stories to inter-
pret what is occurring around us. In turn, these
stories create our views of the world and the lens
through which we construct meaning about our-
selves and others. We also tell stories to make con-
nections, form relationships, and create community
with others.
These stories provide a way for us to move
between local and global cultures and to explore
the ways in which people live and think in cultures
that differ from our own. Whether these stories are
directly shared with us by global members of our
immediate community or through literature from
people living in distant geographical places, they
provide access to shared and unique experiences
and beliefs. We need more than facts to understand
the storied lives of people in diverse global cultures.
Despite the significant ways in which stories
frame our world views and identities, their role in
making sense of life is often not recognized or val-
ued. In schools, students are given access to stories
primarily through literature, but the focus is not on
the value of the stories themselves. Instead, litera-
ture is used to teach something else—reading skills,
critical thinking, writing models, historical events,
mathematical concepts. Many teacher education
programs have eliminated children's literature as a
separate course, choosing to integrate literature into
a range of methods courses where the focus again
is how to use literature to teach something else.
The many different forms in which stories are com-
monly told and shared outside of schools are also
often not recognized or valued within classrooms.
If we step back from the pressure of tests and
standards and consider why story matters and the
ways in which story is thinking and world making,
we have time to reconsider and recapture the role
of story and literature in our classrooms. Focusing
on story as world making also provides insights
into how the public story about schools and teach-
ers frames policies and provides an opportunity to
consider how we can participate in telling a differ-
ent story.
But First, a Story . . .
The Story of Three Kingdoms (1995), written by
Walter Dean Myers and illustrated by Ashley Bryan,
tells of a time long ago when the world was divided
into the three kingdoms of forest, sea, and sky, each
ruled by a creature so powerful that people lived in
fear. Because the People did not have the strength
of Elephant, the ferocity of Shark, or the ability to
fly like Hawk, they were forced to do their bidding.
One day, Elephant fell into a deep pit in the
ground and could not pull himself out. That night,
as the People sat around the fire, one told a story
about moving a large stone that stood where a
group wanted to build a village. What one person
could not do alone, many people pulling together
were able to accomplish. They told the story overand over and "the idea warmed in the minds of the
People and they knew it was good." The next day,
they were able to pull Elephant out of the hole with
vines, and he promised to share the forest with them
from that time on.
Sometime later, the People were suffering
because Shark would not allow them to fish for
food. As they sat around the fire, a woman told a
story about how her grandmother accidentally
dropped a woven mat into a small stream. A lizard
swam into the weaving and was not able to escape.
Again the People "warmed the idea carefully in
their minds, and knew it was good." And so the next
day, they wove a large net and dropped it into the
water to entangle Shark. He could not free himself
and so finally promised to share the sea with them.
Hawk watched these events and taunted the
People as he flew above them, certain that his king-
dom was the greatest. And even though the People
trembled, they now knew what to do and so gath-
ered around the fire to tell stories. Finally, one
told the story of a child trying to catch a butterfly.
After many attempts, the child was able to do so by
waiting until the butterfly came to rest. This story
"warmed in the minds of the People and they knew
the idea was good." The next day, they waited until
Hawk came to rest on a branch of his favorite tree,
then they threw a loop of vines around his neck.
When he was unable to free himself, Hawk agreed
to share the air.
The People gathered to celebrate around the
fire, telling stories about the events and chanting
that they were now masters of the earth. As they
told the stories, however, they realized that they did
not need to rule the earth. Their strength came from
the wisdom gained from telling stories. Instead of
ruling the earth, they could use stories and wisdom
to share the earth.
And from that day on, the People remembered
to sit by the fire and tell stories, "never forgetting
that in the stories could be found wisdom and in
wisdom, strength."
Story as Meaning Making
Story is the way we make sense of the world. Har-
old Rosen (1986) argues that stories are a way tomove from the chaotic "stuff" of daily life into
understanding. An endless flow of experiences sur-
round us on a daily basis, and we invent beginnings
and endings to organize our experiences by creating
a meaningful sequence of facts and interpretations.
Stories impose order and coherence on that stream
of experiences and allow us to work out signifi-
cance. Stories thus provide a means of structuring
and reflecting on our experiences (Bruner, 1988).
We tell our stories to others to invite them to con-
sider our meanings and to construct their own, as
well as to better understand those experiences our-
selves. The story of the three kingdoms reminds us
that stories are what distinguish us from other liv-
ing beings—stories make us human. The nature of a
life is that it's a story.
Story is thus a mode of knowing—one of the
primary ways in which we think and construct
meaning from our experiences. Story captures the
richness and nuances of human life, accommodat-
ing the ambiguity and complexity of situations in
the multiplicity of meanings inherent to any story
(Carter, 1993). Although traditionally thought is
seen as an instrument of reason, there are forms of
thought that are narrative in nature rather than logi-
cal. Barbara Hardy (1968) believes that story is a
primary act of mind,
[f]or we dream, remember, anticipate, hope, despair,
believe, doubt, plan, revise, criticize, construct, gossip,
learn, hate, and love by narrative. In order to really live,
we make up stories about ourselves and others, about
the personal as well as the social past and future. (p. 5)
Our views of the world are a web of intercon-
nected stories, a distillation of all the stories we
have shared. We connect to these interconnected
past stories in order to understand new experiences
(Rosen, 1986). This web of stories becomes our
interpretive lens for new experiences so that story
is our means of constructing the world—of world
making.
Rosen (1986) also points out that the distinc-
tion between expository text and narrative text and
between theories and stories is an artificial one. He
argues that theories are just bigger stories. Scien-
tists, for example, create a theory by using current
information to tell a story that provides an expltion of a natural phenomenon, such as black holes.
They change their stories over time as new informa-
tion and perspectives become available. A story is
thus a theory of something, what we tell and how
we tell it reveals what we believe (Carter, 1993).
Stories of the past are particularly significant in
framing our thinking about the world. Milton Melt-
zer (1981), the author of many nonfiction history
books on social issues, argues that history is mem-
ory, consisting of stories about our past that provide
us with a sense of humanity. Without these stories of
the past, we are nothing, adrift and unable to com-
pare and contrast our current experiences with the
past in order to make sense of those experiences. We
are locked in the current moment, deprived of mem-
ory, and so blinded from understanding the pres-
ent. Meltzer argues that governments in totalitarian
countries thus outlaw the collective memory. In our
society, we neglect it, and so fail to see ourselves as
part of a larger continuum of life that stretches far
behind us and far ahead as well. We need stories of
the past to locate ourselves and to envision a rea-
son to take action for social change to create a better
world. Without the stories of the past, we are unable
to see the possibility of change.
The ways in which we create and tell stories
are culturally based. Our human need to story our
experiences may be universal, but there is no one
way to tell stories (Bruchac, 2003). Our stories are
always intertextualized and interwoven with the
stories that exist within our own cultures, both in
content and in the style and structure of the telling.
All children come to school with stories, although
the types of stories they are familiar with and the
ways in which they tell them may be quite different
from school norms. Shirley Brice Heath (1983), for
example, found that children coming from a par-
ticular African American community had learned to
tell fanciful stories in order to get adult attention
and to aggressively push their way into conversa-
tions. These children were viewed as rude and as
telling "tall tales" at school, a misunderstanding of
the cultural context of their homes and stories by
teachers. The challenge for teachers is not to judge
children by what they are lacking, but instead to
evaluate their strengths related to the stories theyare bringing to school from their families and com-
munities. If the culture of the community is to enter
the culture of the school, that community's stories
must enter as a valued form of making meaning.Story and Literature
as Life Making
This broader context for story as meaning mak-
ing provides a way to reexamine the significance
of story and literature within classrooms (Short,
2010). Descriptions of children's literature in
elementary classrooms typically focus on how to
use children's books to teach something else. Lit-
erature is viewed as a resource that is employed
to teach reading, math, science, or social studies
or as a means of teaching comprehension or writ-
ing strategies, celebrating cultural diversity, raising
issues of social justice and
equity, and creating criti-
cal consciousness. Stories
can also be a vehicle, as
in my case, for building
intercultural understand-
ings and global perspec-
tives. Even scholars who
argue for the significance
of reading aloud and pro-
viding an independent reading time for enjoyment
do so from the perspective that these engagements
will help students become more proficient readers,
rather than because reading literature adds signifi-
cance to a child's life.
What is often overlooked is that literature and
stories are a way of knowing the world. Educators
are so focused on using literature for other purposes
that they lose sight of literature as having value in
and of itself. Literature illuminates what it means
to be human and makes accessible the most fun-
damental experiences of life—love, hope, loneli-
ness, despair, fear, and belonging. Literature is
the imaginative shaping of experience and thought
into the forms and structures of language. Louise
Rosenblatt (1938) argues that children read litera-
ture to experience life; they live inside the world of
the story to engage in inquiry that transforms their
thinking about their lives and world. Stories can
take many forms, and the increasing variety of digi-
tal and interactive formats invites a greater range of
readers—surely a cause for celebration, not con-
cern, as these formats invite the active participation
of readers in the worlds of story.
The decision about whether to read literature
to support students in learning content more effec-
tively or to experience life is not an either/or oppo-
sition. Literature can encourage student interest in
certain topics and help them understand informa-
tion and issues. Literature can provide a vehicle for
learning about written language and engaging in
curricular inquiries. At the same time, these experi-
ences can occur within the context of literature as a
way of knowing and critiquing the world.
Charlotte Huck (1982) often reminded us that
literature provides experiences that go beyond
entertainment or instruc-
tion by offering the poten-
tial to transform children's
lives, connecting their
hearts and their minds to
integrate reason and emo-
tion. Children find them-
selves reflected in stories
and make connections
that transform their understandings of themselves
and the world.
Literature was this kind of tool for children
in reenvisioning their lives in Leslie Kahn's sixth-
grade classroom (Short & Harste, 1996). Gangs and
racism were such a common part of their neighbor-
hood that students accepted them without question.
Leslie decided that looking at history to take a more
distant perspective on racism might support stu-
dents in gaining new perspectives on their lives; as
a result, we developed an inquiry around the geno-
cide and racism of the Holocaust. The students'
initial questions were disquieting, focusing on
methods of death, and so we immersed them in sto-
ries. These stories included novels about Holocaust
experiences, visits of several Holocaust survivors,
and drama engagements around victims, bystand-
ers, aggressors, and rescuers.
The students' final investigations reflected the
transformation in their perspectives as they con-
nected racism to their own lives. For example, sev-
eral decided to do a survey of children in their school
to find out how they chose their friends and whether
those friendships crossed racial lines. One particu-
larly powerful inquiry involved a boy for whom
gang membership was a valued and accepted prac-
tice in his family. His previous focus had not been
on whether to join a gang, but on which gang to join,
because he had uncles in opposing gangs. The stories
of the Holocaust survivors led him to question gangs
as he investigated the similarities and differences
between gangs and the Nazis and Hitler Youth.
Literature expands children's life spaces
through inquiries that take them outside the bound-
aries of their lives to other places, times, and ways
of living, exposing them to alternative ways to live
their lives and to think about the world. Kathryn
Tompkins (2007) read aloud to her fourth-grade
students When My Name Was Keoko (Park, 2002),
a book about the Japanese occupation of Korea dur-
ing World War II and the loss of freedom for Sun-
hee and her family as they are forced to take on
Japanese names, language, culture, and history. The
students connected powerfully with issues of free-
dom and their own struggles with the limits imposed
on them by parents and teachers, and they engaged
in a range of inquiries about this time period and
Korean culture. Sun-hee's story took them outside
of their own cultural experiences and transformed
the ways in which they thought about freedom and
their responses to limitations on freedom.
Literature stretches children's imaginations and
encourages them to go beyond "what is" to "what
might be." Hope and imagination have made it pos-
sible for children to be resilient and to rise above
their circumstances, to challenge inequity and to
envision social change. Jennifer Griffith read aloud
to her first-grade students You Be Me, I'll Be You
(Mandelbaum, 1990), the story of a biracial child
who is concerned that she does not look like either
of her parents. Many of the children came from
multiracial Latino families, and their discussion
facilitated their awareness that members of their
family who had darker skin were treated differently
in the community. Because they loved these fam-
ily members, they were deeply concerned and, forthe first time, found themselves questioning, rather
than accepting, the way people are judged in our
society by the color of their skin.
These classroom stories provide examples of
story as life making. Transformation occurs as chil-
dren carry their experiences and inquiries with liter-
ature and story back into their worlds and lives. This
potential for transformation is also available in read-
ing informational books that are written from the
perspective of one enthusiast sharing with another to
"light fires" in children's minds, rather than from the
perspective of textbooks written to instruct.
Story as World Making
Louise Rosenblatt (1938) argues that "literature
makes comprehensible the myriad ways in which
human beings meet the infinite possibilities that life
offers" (p. 6). They participate in another's vision,
transforming that vision as well as their own sense
of possibility, because literature provides the oppor-
tunity to "live through," not just have "knowledge
about" life. This vision provides a way for students
to imagine and live within and across global cul-
tures and relationships.
Reading literature and listening to stories
encourage readers to put themselves in the place
of others, to use imagination to consider the con-
sequences of their decisions and actions. Imagi-
nation and the balance of reason and emotion are
further developed when readers move from per-
sonal response to dialogue with others, where
they wrestle with their interpretations of literature.
These discussions, therefore, are not just a better
way to learn, but essential to democracy. Rosen-
blatt's vision of democracy is equitable social rela-
tionships in which people choose to live together
by valuing individual voices within recognition of
responsibility to the group. She believes that peo-
ple need to have conviction and enthusiasm about
their own cultural perspectives, while remaining
open to alternative views and becoming aware of
others' needs. Dialogue about literature provides a
significant context within which students learn to
live with the tension of recognizing and respecting
the perspectives of others without betraying their
beliefs. Through dialogue, students develop faith
in their own judgments while continuing to inquire
and remaining open to questioning their beliefs.
Paulo Freire (1970) argues that dialogue thus has
the most potential to support transformation and
true revolution.
Dialogue around global literature is particularly
significant for world making. Many of our students
gain their world knowledge through television,
video games, and popular movies, many of which
focus on catastrophe, terrorism, and war. Their
understandings are superficial and grounded in fear
and stereotypes, leading to ethnocentricism, a lack
of understanding about global cultures, and a stance
of pity and superiority over the "poor and unfortu-
nate" in the world. Global literature is an important
resource for challenging
these views and exploring
interculturalism, because
it provides an opportunity
for children to go beyond
a tourist perspective in
which they gain only sur-
face information about
another country. Through
immersing themselves
in story worlds, children
can gain insights into how
people feel, live, and think in global cultures. They
come to see themselves as connected to children
around the world through common humanity and,
at the same time, they come to value the differences
that make each culture unique.
Books in and of themselves are not enough;
how children engage with these books matters.
Children can read books from cultures that dif-
fer from their own and judge those cultures as
"strange" or "exotic," feeling pity for the charac-
ters and gratitude that their society is so much more
"advanced." We can actually establish stereotypes
by reading multicultural and global literature with
children and only focusing on difference. Fifth
graders in Amy Edwards's class first responded
with pity and outrage to Iqbal (D'Adamo, 2001),
the story of the Pakistani boy who led a movement
against forced child labor in carpet mills. They felt
pity for the children being forced to work in suchdifficult situations and outrage at parents who were
"selling" their children to work in the mills. They
also developed misperceptions of Pakistan, believ-
ing that all children in that country were forced into
child labor (Edwards, 2008). We carefully provided
a broader context related to issues of human rights
and poverty in Pakistan and the broader world as
well as in their own community. Connections to
their rights as children and adult impositions and
limitations on those rights moved the children from
pity to empathy and respect for Iqbal's willingness
to take a stand for other children, not just for his
own benefit.
Focusing on connections as well as differences
across cultures challenged these students to shift
their views of themselves and of children in another
part of the world. Just as overemphasizing differ-
ence can lead to misconceptions, however, so can
overemphasizing connections. Discussions about
the values and needs that connect us as human
beings are significant, but can lead to colorblind-
ness and a focus on cultural harmony that erases the
differences that make us unique as human beings
and form our identities (Bolgatz, 2005). In discuss-
ing books with fourth and fifth graders about racial
tensions in the United States, such as Freedom
Summer (Wiles, 2001) and Sister Anne's Hands
(Lorbiecki, 2000), Lisa Thomas and I noticed that
they avoided issues of race with colorblind state-
ments, such as "It doesn't matter what you look like
on the outside; it's the inside that matters." Their
focus on common humanity was allowing them to
avoid discussions about the role of skin color in cul-
tural identity and as a source of discrimination and
racism (Thomas, 2007).
The types of stories we have available are
another influence on story as world making. Story
can constrain as well as open up our thinking. We
can become so ingrained in familiar ways of telling
stories within our own cultures that we no longer
consider any other way of thinking feasible—our
way has become the norm against which all else
is judged. Since our view of the world is a web of
interconnected stories, that worldview, along with
our biases and misconceptions, is also embedded
into our stories. Jackie Woodson (2003) reminds us
that it matters who tells our stories and who sits at
our dinner table, suggesting that intimacy of know-
ing and relationship is essential to writing authenti-
cally across cultural values and experiences.
Outsiders to a culture can tell an authentic story
through relationships and research, but a world of
stories dominated by outsider perspectives about a
particular culture is problematic and leads to mis-
conceptions and the absence of significant perspec-
tives (Fox & Short, 2003). Who defines us matters.
It matters that literature featuring African American
characters and themes is now written by a range of
authors with many different experiences and per-
spectives—both from within the African Ameri-
can community and outside of it. It also matters
that literature about American Indians continues to
be dominated by outsider views (Horning, 2012).
It matters that the stories we read and hear from
global cultures are almost all traditional folklore or
historical fiction, with only occasional images of
contemporary life, creating the misconception that
these cultures are frozen in time.
It matters that the majority of global literature
read by American children is written and published
by Americans and that only 2–3% are translated
books written by insiders from those global cul-
tures. If our worldviews are indeed a web of inter-
connected stories, we need to be concerned that the
body of stories of diverse cultures, both within the
US and around the world, can suffer from signifi-
cant omissions and continue to be difficult to access.
Stories as Professional Identity
and Possibility
In 1937, Ludwick Fleck (1981) argued that we form
thought collectives as we interact and talk with a
group of people over time to create a history and
language with each other. All of us know that when
we gather within our thought collectives, we talk
story. As educators, we make sense of our classroom
experiences by sharing stories in teacher lounges as
well as in conference presentations, workshops, and
publications. By immersing ourselves in stories of
practice, we are able to envision the possibilities ofWe need classroom stories of the ways in
which teachers are working to bring books and stu-
dents together to explore these complex issues of
intercultural understanding. One source of these
stories is WOW Stories, an online journal available
on Worlds of Words (wowlit.org), a website with a
range of resources to encourage the use of litera-
ture to build international understanding. This col-
laborative effort, based at the University of Arizona
and involving teacher educators from across the US
and the world, also includes a searchable database,
an online journal of book reviews with a focus on
cultural authenticity, and a weekly blog on current
issues. WOW Stories publishes vignettes by educa-
tors and literacy communities that tell a wide range
of stories about their experiences with building
intercultural understanding through global and mul-
ticultural literature in elementary, secondary, and
university classrooms.
USBBY, the US national section of the Inter-
national Board of Books for Young People, along
with many other national sections around the world,
is another source of stories and resources related
to the use of literature as a bridge for international
understanding. These resources can be found on
their website (www.usbby.org), including an annual
list of Outstanding International Books that rec-
ognizes excellent children's and adolescent books
originally published in another country beforeStory has also determined how we are viewed
as teachers, teacher educators, and researchers. The
public story about education in schools and univer-
sities has been unrelentingly negative. For years,
our position has been to close our classroom doors
and teach, but that allows others to tell the stories
that define our lives, and we are excluded from that
storytelling. Many of us have complained about
how public policies and mandates ignore research
and the knowledge base we have built in education,
embracing instead what politicians view as "com-
mon sense." Their programs and solutions often
make better stories because while we understand
the complexity of learning and teaching, they gener-
ate simple stories that make good sound bites. The
simple story wins out, and we fail to tell our story.
This situation is changing through initiatives such
as Save Our Schools, but the necessity of teaching
the public and ourselves to tell a different story is
only increasing.
We need to teach the public to re-author their
stories of school, and that's a huge task because
negative habits of mind are deeply embedded in our
consciousness and society. Jerome Bruner (1988)
explored life as narrative and noticed that mem-
bers of the same family would tell about the same
events but in completely different ways; some only
had memories of problem-filled experiences and
had filtered out everything else, taking away hope
and capability. He pointed out that the ways we tell
stories are so habitual that they become recipes for
structuring experience itself. Bruner argued that our
identities are a story subject to revision and that we
sometimes need to re-author our stories and lives.
We need to claim this same re-authoring for stories
of school.
We live in a world where stories are used against
us as educators while, at the same time, our own
stories are no longer valued or welcomed. Qualita-
tive research, which is based in stories constructed
around data, is not considered rigorous, replicable,
or reliable for making decisions or establishing
policies. Textbooks, basal readers, and facts are
again replacing books and taking away the time for
experiences around books from which children can
construct significant memories and stories. School
and public libraries are being closed or working
with reduced hours, fewer certified librarians, and
restricted purchases of books. Even in innovative
literacy instruction, we are so busy teaching com-
prehension strategies, units of study, and mentor-
ing with texts that we are in danger of losing sight
of the value of reading to immerse ourselves in the
world of the story simply for the sake of what that
story adds to our lives. Instead, we stand on top of
the story and send down probes to mine the richness
for other purposes.
Although there is a great deal of merit in these
approaches to literacy and the ways in which real
books are used to think about reading and writing,
an emphasis on teaching with every book that is
read aloud by the teacher or read by a child vio-
lates story as life making. Stories are supposed to
provide us with shattering, hopeful encounters that
allow us to experience deep emotions and make us
richer, more compassionate human beings. They
can't do that when they are always being used to
teach something else, no matter how important that
something else is.
Stories as emocracy
of the Intellect
Katherine Paterson (2000) argues that books
and stories provide the basis for the democracy
of the intellect, a term she borrowed from Jacob
Bronowski (1974). When people can read freely
and widely and engage in dialogue with others
about that reading, they begin to think and question,
something not necessarily valued by politicians and
those in control. Public policies and laws that close
libraries, limit the availability of books, impose nar-
row definitions of literacy and research, and dictate
what happens in classrooms are a response by those
in power to what they see as the threat posed by the
democracy of the intellect.
We don't need stories; they are a frill, unless we
believe passionately in the democracy of the intel-
lect and in providing the time that children need to
gain the experiences necessary to make wise deci-
sions and develop freedom of imagination. A true
democracy of the intellect breaks open the narrow-
ness of the spirit and challenges the selfish interestsWe need classroom stories of the ways in
which teachers are working to bring books and stu-
dents together to explore these complex issues of
intercultural understanding. One source of these
stories is WOW Stories, an online journal available
on Worlds of Words (wowlit.org), a website with a
range of resources to encourage the use of litera-
ture to build international understanding. This col-
laborative effort, based at the University of Arizona
and involving teacher educators from across the US
and the world, also includes a searchable database,
an online journal of book reviews with a focus on
cultural authenticity, and a weekly blog on current
issues. WOW Stories publishes vignettes by educa-
tors and literacy communities that tell a wide range
of stories about their experiences with building
intercultural understanding through global and mul-
ticultural literature in elementary, secondary, and
university classrooms.
USBBY, the US national section of the Inter-
national Board of Books for Young People, along
with many other national sections around the world,
is another source of stories and resources related
to the use of literature as a bridge for international
understanding. These resources can be found on
their website (www.usbby.org), including an annual
list of Outstanding International Books that rec-
ognizes excellent children's and adolescent books
originally published in another country before
Success in Life
If you want to achieve greatness, you have to stop asking for permission. This is whymotivational speech is important in life because it stops asking questions and aligns you to worktowards your goals. Goals are stepping stones to your dreams, so to achieve them, you need themotivation to keep them with you. Success in Life
Not everyone is born with inspiration. There is a serious deficiency in some people who believethat 'I am that one day' or 'the time is not right' or 'I cannot do it' is a classic case. Motivation isthe defining factor that transforms good thinking into immediate action. It turns a good idea intoa business and can positively affect the world around you, cannot achieve anything. There are no goalposts for the purpose .Motivation is an important life skill. The reason for this is important because every person onthis earth is unique and has a purpose. To fulfil your purpose well, you need to be motivated towork towards your goals which helps to make your dreams a reality. Not1 just for your sake, Steve wasn't inspired to start Apple, you wouldn't have a MacBook Air, iPhone .If you are not holding that designer handbag or not wearing those clothes, if a designer has notmoved to change their visualization to live in a world where inspiration has solved problems and produced products and servicesyou never knew you needed can also help you to be your best person. This can positively impact your confidence,relationships and the community in which you are still not confident about building your motivation, here are eight reasons whymotivation is important in life.
Motivation clarifies a goal
When you are inspired, you have a desire to change your life. Motivation pushes you towardsyour goal because of the desire to change. Motivation helps you to articulate your goal so that you know in which direction you are working.
Once you know what you aim for, motivation helps you prioritize your life. If your goal is towrite a book, then you need to set aside time each week to write it. Motivation helps you stayfocused and make a commitment to accomplishing your will be a setback on every road to success. There is no such thing as a dream path to reachyour dreams. Failures will make you doubt whether your goal is worth the effort, but step intomotivation and gives you the strength and courage to try agai. but motivation helps you to strive through failures, trials andfears. Thomas Edison is known for his invention of the light bulb and is noted for this quote, forI did not fail. I have found just 10,000 such methods that will not work. "The famous inventoralso inspired this idea, our greatest weakness is in giving up. The surest way to succeed is toalways try once more. "Motivation will teach you to be strong when reality tells you to give fearof failure is so common that it can stop you from taking action. Inspiration kills fear in the butt because it tells, no matter what I'm feeling, I'm going to do it anyway. Motivated peoplelook beyond their fear and can imagine the result. Inspiration will always help you see the big picture.. ..
When you are motivated to achieve your goal, confidence is a by-product of the small stepstaken to achieve that goal. When you are pushed through failures and fears, there is a feeling ofaccomplishment and it builds inner confidence to try something new. Motivated people will havesome projects going on as they have pushed through obstacles and seen positive results, whichgives them the motivation to start new projects and try new thingsAlmost everyone can remember a time
when they put off something they had to
do until the next day because it seemed
too boring, too difficult, or too stressful.
The next day, they succumbed again to the
temptation to push the fateful moment
back; their excuses began to pile up. Only
when the task at hand could no longer be
put off was it finally accomplished.
Disappointed with their results, they
promise themselves not to get caught in
that trap again.
One such misadventure will be enough to
convince some people of the importance of
self-motivation and organization.
Unfortunately, for others, procrastination
can become a distressing habit.
Procrastination is the habit of
systematically postponing unpleasant
tasks. Leaving an assignment unfinished
for a more important one does not
constitute procrastination. However, it is
procrastination when you know that
postponing something is unjustified
and you feel guilty about it.
Students who suffer from procrastination
know that even though their behaviour
might give them immediate relief, it will only
last for a short time. In the long term, you'll
find yourself facing feelings of anxiety and
pointless frustration that can seriously harm
your self-esteem, not to mention the
possibility of academic failure and missed
opportunities, all because you couldn't
organize yourself in time!
Procrastination falls under the rubric of
conditioned behaviours, which explains why
it often crops up unexpectedly, as an
automatic or reflexive response - even when
you want to avoid it.
What kind of procrastinator
are you?
Getting rid of procrastination habits requires
you to become aware of your favourite
excuses. People who have tried to shirk this
difficult step will tell you: Habit is second
nature. Maybe you can see yourself in one of
the following archetypes:Hesitators have such a hard time
making decisions that they often get to
work rather late in the game, whether it's
working on a paper or studying for an
exam. Hesitators tend to avoid new
situations because they're likely to cause
anxiety and feelings of incompetence.
Hesitators would gain a lot from trusting
themselves more. If they think they'll
have trouble with an assignment, they
can always ask for help from a colleague
or a teacher.
Shirkers try to avoid disagreeable or
boring situations. They prefer to keep their
minds distracted by busying themselves
with other work. They probably feel
anxious about being evaluated and prefer
to hand their work in at the last minute.
This way they can justify their poor
performance by saying they didn't have
enough time. It's important for shirkers to
increase their tolerance for activities that
they don't particularly enjoy, and to realize
that their teachers are evaluating the quality
of their work, not their value as individual
people.
Perfectionists are often chasing after such
inaccessibly high standards they end up
discouraged rather than motivated. Their
quest for excellence leaves them chronically
dissatisfied, which pushes them to
perpetually postpone handing in their work.
Luckily, by accepting their strengths and
weaknesses and following project or
homework guidelines, perfectionists can
decrease their anxiety and get the work
piling up on their desk done - on time!
Anarchists don't much like having to meet
other people's standards. They don't feel
very motivated when they see a task as
imposed on them, and they react by
postponing it so they can accomplish
something more satisfying. They're
sometimes very invested in extracurricular
activities, which excite them more and might
eat up all their time. (Opportunities arecertainly not lacking on campus!) To
improve their work habits, anarchists might
find reasons to get started by linking their
assignments with their personal interests.
Becoming aware of the excuses we use to
justify putting off our obligations enables
us to recognize those moments inWhen we feel more in control of what
we're doing, we're often less reluctant to
get started. This feeling of control
applies as much to the act of
completing your assignments as to
your marks.
Like in the game of seduction, people who
attribute their success to their own efforts
and abilities (i.e., internal causes) will have
more self-confidence, and thus will be
more willing to get started, than those who
attribute success and failure to chance.
The most successful students recognize
that they're responsible for their successes
and failures. They see that their difficulties
derive from internal causes that they can
both control and modify, e.g. effort, work
habits, time spent to studying. This
attitude puts them in a good position to
motivate themselves to do better next
time.
How can I take control of my
academic fate?
Change the way you see your
assignments. Rather than thinking of your
work as a long list of chores, why not see
them as a challenge you're setting for
yourself? Won't it be enjoyable to prove you
can do it?
Choose effective work habits. By using
note-taking strategies to minimize the
amount of time you need to complete your
readings and to enhance your study
techniques, you'll definitely feel on top of
things. Increased efficiency will also give you
time to spend on other activities you enjoy
(if needed, see our guide on effective study
habits).
Own the work you have to do. It's easy
to feel unmotivated when an assignment you
haven't started yet is looming. By taking the
time to sketch out a study or work plan, you
can take ownership of the guidelines and
steps to complete. And don't they say that
getting started is half the battle?
Talk yourself through it! If you're having
trouble sticking with your assignment, don'tbe afraid to give yourself feedback
throughout the work. Congratulate yourself
each time you complete a step. If things
aren't going exactly as you'd like, calmly
bring yourself back to work. Remember
that you're in control!
Time management: Going
step-by-step
People who procrastinate know that
justifying yourself requires a lot of effort.
Rather than constantly losing your
motivation, why not put that energy toward
work by replacing your bad habits with good
behaviour?
Organizing your time well is the best way to
avoid last-minute stress and guilt, stay
motivated and set aside quality time for
leisure and your friends and family.
Students who know how to manage their
time generally come out on top in terms of
academic performance. They've learnt how
to use their agendas as tools to help them
achieve their short- and long-term goals.
By writing up a weekly plan, you'll keep
yourself ahead of approaching deadlines and
counteract the feeling that you don't have
any pressing work to be done. To get a good
start, let's go through time-management
strategies step by step.Know your habits. It's difficult to make a
realistic plan without evaluating the
situation first. Filling out the attached
timetable as honestly as you can will help.
You'll be asked to keep track of your day,
hour by hour, for a week. As well, take the
time to note what excuses you use to put
certain assignments off.
By knowing how much time you already
dedicate to your other obligations, it will be
easier to set realistic study goals.
Know your best times. The most
appropriate time to approach intellectual
work generally varies from one person to
the next. Some students find it easier to
concentrate early in the morning, whereas
others prefer to work in the evening.
It's important to set side the time when
you feel the most alert for assignments you
find boring or complicated.
Give yourself an overview of the
semester. Using your course syllabi, take
note of important deadlines and write them
in your agenda. You should also write down
those activities that you'd like to give some
time to (work, birthdays, sports, going out,
etc.).Motivation is very important for the overall development of the personality and mind of the people. It also puts a person in action and in a competitive state. Furthermore, it improves efficiency and desire to achieve the goal. It leads to stability and improvement in work.
Above all, it satisfies a person's needs and to achieve his/her goal. It helps the person to fight his negative attitude. The person also tries to come out of his/her comfort zone so that she/ he can achieve the goal.
To conclude, motivation is one of the key elements that help a person to be successful. A motivated person tries to push his limits and always tries to improve his performance day by day. Also, the person always gives her/his best no matter what the task is. Besides, the person always tries to remain progressive and dedicated to her/his goals.
Meaning of Motivation
Motivation is something that cannot be understood with words but with practice. It means to be moved by something so strongly that it becomes an inspiration for you.
Furthermore, it is a discipline that helps you to achieve your life goals and also helps to be successful in life.
Besides, it the most common practice that everyone does whether it is your boss in office or a school teacher or a university professor everyone motivates others in a way or other.
Role of Motivation
It is a strong tool that helps to get ahead in life. For being motivated we need a driving tool or goal that keeps us motivated and moves forward. Also, it helps in being progressive both physically and mentally.
Moreover, your goal does not be to big and long term they can be small and empowering. Furthermore, you need the right mindset to be motivated.
Besides, you need to push your self towards your goal no one other than you can push your limit. Also, you should be willing to leave your comfort zone because your true potential is going to revel when you leave your comfort zone.
Types of Motivation
Although there are various types of motivation according to me there are generally two types of motivation that are self- motivation and motivation by others.
Self-motivation- It refers to the power of someone to stay motivated without the influence of other situations and people. Furthermore, self-motivated people always find a way to reason and strength to complete a task. Also, they do not need other people to encourage them to perform a challenging task.
Motivation by others- This motivation requires help from others as the person is not able to maintain a self-motivated state. In this, a person requires encouragement from others. Also, he needs to listen to motivational speeches, a strong goal and most importantly and inspiration.Meaning of Motivation
Motivation is something that cannot be understood with words but with practice. It means to be moved by something so strongly that it becomes an inspiration for you.
Furthermore, it is a discipline that helps you to achieve your life goals and also helps to be successful in life.
Besides, it the most common practice that everyone does whether it is your boss in office or a school teacher or a university professor everyone motivates others in a way or other.
Role of Motivation
It is a strong tool that helps to get ahead in life. For being motivated we need a driving tool or goal that keeps us motivated and moves forward. Also, it helps in being progressive both physically and mentally.
Moreover, your goal does not be to big and long term they can be small and empowering. Furthermore, you need the right mindset to be motivated.
Besides, you need to push your self towards your goal no one other than you can push your limit. Also, you should be willing to leave your comfort zone because your true potential is going to revel when you leave your comfort zone.
Types of Motivation
Although there are various types of motivation according to me there are generally two types of motivation that are self- motivation and motivation by others.
Self-motivation- It refers to the power of someone to stay motivated without the influence of other situations and people. Furthermore, self-motivated people always find a way to reason and strength to complete a task. Also, they do not need other people to encourage them to perform a challenging task.
Motivation by others- This motivation requires help from others as the person is not able to maintain a self-motivated state. In this, a person requires encouragement from others. Also, he needs to listen to motivational speeches, a strong goal and most importantly and inspiration.Motivation is very important for the overall development of the personality and mind of the people. It also puts a person in action and in a competitive state. Furthermore, it improves efficiency and desire to achieve the goal. It leads to stability and improvement in work.
Above all, it satisfies a person's needs and to achieve his/her goal. It helps the person to fight his negative attitude. The person also tries to come out of his/her comfort zone so that she/ he can achieve the goal.
To conclude, motivation is one of the key elements that help a person to be successful. A motivated person tries to push his limits and always tries to improve his performance day by day. Also, the person always gives her/his best no matter what the task is. Besides, the person always tries to remain progressive and dedicated to her/his goals.
tion of a natural phenomenon, such as black holes.
They change their stories over time as new informa-
tion and perspectives become available. A story is
thus a theory of something, what we tell and how
we tell it reveals what we believe (Carter, 1993).
Stories of the past are particularly significant in
framing our thinking about the world. Milton Melt-
zer (1981), the author of many nonfiction history
books on social issues, argues that history is mem-
ory, consisting of stories about our past that provide
us with a sense of humanity. Without these stories of
the past, we are nothing, adrift and unable to com-
pare and contrast our current experiences with the
past in order to make sense of those experiences. We
are locked in the current moment, deprived of mem-
ory, and so blinded from understanding the pres-
ent. Meltzer argues that governments in totalitarian
countries thus outlaw the collective memory. In our
society, we neglect it, and so fail to see ourselves as
part of a larger continuum of life that stretches far
behind us and far ahead as well. We need stories of
the past to locate ourselves and to envision a rea-
son to take action for social change to create a better
world. Without the stories of the past, we are unable
to see the possibility of change.
The ways in which we create and tell stories
are culturally based. Our human need to story our
experiences may be universal, but there is no one
way to tell stories (Bruchac, 2003). Our stories are
always intertextualized and interwoven with the
stories that exist within our own cultures, both in
content and in the style and structure of the telling.
All children come to school with stories, although
the types of stories they are familiar with and the
ways in which they tell them may be quite different
from school norms. Shirley Brice Heath (1983), for
example, found that children coming from a par-
ticular African American community had learned to
tell fanciful stories in order to get adult attention
and to aggressively push their way into conversa-
tions. These children were viewed as rude and as
telling "tall tales" at school, a misunderstanding of
the cultural context of their homes and stories by
teachers. The challenge for teachers is not to judge
children by what they are lacking, but instead to
evaluate their strengths related to the stories theyare bringing to school from their families and com-
munities. If the culture of the community is to enter
the culture of the school, that community's stories
must enter as a valued form of making meaning.take many forms, and the increasing variety of digi-
tal and interactive formats invites a greater range of
readers—surely a cause for celebration, not con-
cern, as these formats invite the active participation
of readers in the worlds of story.
The decision about whether to read literature
to support students in learning content more effec-
tively or to experience life is not an either/or oppo-
sition. Literature can encourage student interest in
certain topics and help them understand informa-
tion and issues. Literature can provide a vehicle for
learning about written language and engaging in
curricular inquiries. At the same time, these experi-
ences can occur within the context of literature as a
way of knowing and critiquing the world.
Charlotte Huck (1982) often reminded us that
literature provides experiences that go beyond
entertainment or instruc-
tion by offering the poten-
tial to transform children's
lives, connecting their
hearts and their minds to
integrate reason and emo-
tion. Children find them-
selves reflected in stories
and make connections
that transform their understandings of themselves
and the world.
Literature was this kind of tool for children
in reenvisioning their lives in Leslie Kahn's sixth-
grade classroom (Short & Harste, 1996). Gangs and
racism were such a common part of their neighbor-
hood that students accepted them without question.
Leslie decided that looking at history to take a more
distant perspective on racism might support stu-
dents in gaining new perspectives on their lives; as
a result, we developed an inquiry around the geno-
cide and racism of the Holocaust. The students'
initial questions were disquieting, focusing on
methods of death, and so we immersed them in sto-
ries. These stories included novels about Holocaust
experiences, visits of several Holocaust survivors,
and drama engagements around victims, bystand-
ers, aggressors, and rescuers.
The students' final investigations reflected the
transformation in their perspectives as they con-
nected racism to their own lives. For example, sev-
eral decided to do a survey of children in their school
to find out how they chose their friends and whether
those friendships crossed racial lines. One particu-
larly powerful inquiry involved a boy for whom
gang membership was a valued and accepted prac-
tice in his family. His previous focus had not been
on whether to join a gang, but on which gang to join,
because he had uncles in opposing gangs. The stories
of the Holocaust survivors led him to question gangs
as he investigated the similarities and differences
between gangs and the Nazis and Hitler Youth.
Literature expands children's life spaces
through inquiries that take them outside the bound-
aries of their lives to other places, times, and ways
of living, exposing them to alternative ways to live
their lives and to think about the world. Kathryn
Tompkins (2007) read aloud to her fourth-grade
students When My Name Was Keoko (Park, 2002),
a book about the Japanese occupation of Korea dur-
ing World War II and the loss of freedom for Sun-
hee and her family as they are forced to take on
Japanese names, language, culture, and history. The
students connected powerfully with issues of free-
dom and their own struggles with the limits imposed
on them by parents and teachers, and they engaged
in a range of inquiries about this time period and
Korean culture. Sun-hee's story took them outside
of their own cultural experiences and transformed
the ways in which they thought about freedom and
their responses to limitations on freedom.
Literature stretches children's imaginations and
encourages them to go beyond "what is" to "what
might be." Hope and imagination have made it pos-
sible for children to be resilient and to rise above
their circumstances, to challenge inequity and to
envision social change. Jennifer Griffith read aloud
to her first-grade students You Be Me, I'll Be You
(Mandelbaum, 1990), the story of a biracial child
who is concerned that she does not look like either
of her parents. Many of the children came from
multiracial Latino families, and their discussion
facilitated their awareness that members of their
family who had darker skin were treated differently
in the community. Because they loved these fam-
ily members, they were deeply concerned and, forthe first time, found themselves questioning, rather
than accepting, the way people are judged in our
society by the color of their skin.
These classroom stories provide examples of
story as life making. Transformation occurs as chil-
dren carry their experiences and inquiries with liter-
ature and story back into their worlds and lives. This
potential for transformation is also available in read-
ing informational books that are written from the
perspective of one enthusiast sharing with another to
"light fires" in children's minds, rather than from the
perspective of textbooks written to instruct.
Story as World Making
Louise Rosenblatt (1938) argues that "literature
makes comprehensible the myriad ways in which
human beings meet the infinite possibilities that life
offers" (p. 6). They participate in another's vision,
transforming that vision as well as their own sense
of possibility, because literature provides the oppor-
tunity to "live through," not just have "knowledge
about" life. This vision provides a way for students
to imagine and live within and across global cul-
tures and relationships.
Reading literature and listening to stories
encourage readers to put themselves in the place
of others, to use imagination to consider the con-
sequences of their decisions and actions. Imagi-
nation and the balance of reason and emotion are
further developed when readers move from per-
sonal response to dialogue with others, where
they wrestle with their interpretations of literature.
These discussions, therefore, are not just a better
way to learn, but essential to democracy. Rosen-
blatt's vision of democracy is equitable social rela-
tionships in which people choose to live together
by valuing individual voices within recognition of
responsibility to the group. She believes that peo-
ple need to have conviction and enthusiasm about
their own cultural perspectives, while remaining
open to alternative views and becoming aware of
others' needs. Dialogue about literature provides a
significant context within which students learn to
live with the tension of recognizing and respecting
the perspectives of others without betraying their
beliefs. Through dialogue, students develop faith
in their own judgments while continuing to inquire
and remaining open to questioning their beliefs.
Paulo Freire (1970) argues that dialogue thus has
the most potential to support transformation and
true revolution.
Dialogue around global literature is particularly
significant for world making. Many of our students
gain their world knowledge through television,
video games, and popular movies, many of which
focus on catastrophe, terrorism, and war. Their
understandings are superficial and grounded in fear
and stereotypes, leading to ethnocentricism, a lack
of understanding about global cultures, and a stance
of pity and superiority over the "poor and unfortu-
nate" in the world. Global literature is an important
resource for challenging
these views and exploring
interculturalism, because
it provides an opportunity
for children to go beyond
a tourist perspective in
which they gain only sur-
face information about
another country. Through
immersing themselves
in story worlds, children
can gain insights into how
people feel, live, and think in global cultures. They
come to see themselves as connected to children
around the world through common humanity and,
at the same time, they come to value the differences
that make each culture unique.
Books in and of themselves are not enough;
how children engage with these books matters.
Children can read books from cultures that dif-
fer from their own and judge those cultures as
"strange" or "exotic," feeling pity for the charac-
ters and gratitude that their society is so much