"Motivational — A Blank Question Paper"
Post on: January 11, 2019
The undergrads sat down with anxiety as the lecturer walked in with an air of importance and uttered, “Get ready for a surprise test.”
The bookish ones felt short-changed as they could not prepare beforehand while the lazy ones were elated – nobody was prepared and hence all were on equal footing. This group hated it when their studious classmates work hard and aced every test.
The lecturer placed the question paper on each table with the text facing downward. Once everyone had the test paper, he asked them to turn the pages and to begin. To the surprise of everyone, a blank page stared at them. The page was empty except for a black dot in the middle of it.
The lecturer noticed the bewilderment in the faces of the students as he instructed, “Write what you see there.” The students were confused and guessed it could be a test on their creativity. They began executing the inexplicable task to the best of their ability.
When the time was up, the lecturer collected the test papers. He then began reading their answers aloud, one by one. Not surprisingly, everyone was attempting to describe what the black dot represented. Some even waxed lyrical on what it entailed.
Once the lecturer had finished reading, everyone was silent. He slowly began to explain the rationale for the peculiar test.
He began with the good news, “There is no grading for this test.” Hearing a chorus of approvals, he continued, “I just want all of you to think about it. Everyone focused on the black dot and wrote at length. Not even a single person acknowledged the white part of it.”
“This is similar to what life presents us – both white and black parts. However, we delve on the dark spots of life. Nature itself is teeming with life – nature’s beauty is breathtaking. Besides, we have a family, food on the table, a roof over our head and good health. However, we tend to gravitate towards the darkness instead of the light.”
“Not a day passes by without hearing our hackneyed rantings. We complain about the lack of opportunities, the lack of money, the high cost of living, disappointment with friendship and family etc. Even the teeny pimple that appears on the chin does not escape our histrionics – we fail to appreciate the otherwise flawless face.”
The lecturer concluded, “As depicted in the sheet of paper, the dark spot is very small comparatively, yet it takes centre stage and pollutes our minds. Take your eyes off the dark spots that sinks us. By focusing on our positives, our life would be blessed and beautiful.
Moral – We tend to focus on the dark spots of life and take it as a badge of honour as we meander through this world of ours. Some even take pride in carrying negative connotations as they rave: “It’s a misery to be born, pain to live and trouble to die.”
Break down every black spot that shackles you from attaining success and from being the person you are destined to be. Being human, one tends to descend into the black spots from time to time; that’s understandable. However, do not fall into the trap of making the occasional gripe into a standard routine.
One of the best ways to stop the habit of complaining is to count your blessings. Look at the white segment and be positive. Each day is new every morning – live a blissful life.
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