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I recently watched an interesting video about the narratives we constantly make up in our minds about individuals and occurrences. These narratives or stories are coloured by our experiences and how we perceive these experiences. Our prejudices also have a part to play.

Imagine a scenario where you have been hospitalised and missed out on school work. When your best friend does not share her notes with you, you give her a lot of leeway. You mentally excuse her: “She is acting out of character. Must be her bad day, after all.” But when another classmate refuses to share her notes, you think: “Selfish girl! What more can you expect from her type?” You have attributed two different reasons for the same behaviour.

We tend to use a single narrative thought process. We use it even for ourselves. I am absent-minded and often misplace things. My daughter, Minal, asked me to buy her a kurta and suggested I keep the bill in case she wanted to exchange it. After my purchase, I focused and kept the bill in the carry bag. Minal wanted to exchange it, and said it was not in the carry bag with the garment. Being aware of my absent-mindedness, I emptied my purse, but there was no bill. I once again looked into the carry bag and found it.

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Have you ever considered the fact that the most powerful tool you possess is your mind which determines your success or failure? Only you can access your mind, and use it whatever way you want. You are the master of your mind. It can assist you to reach incredible heights. The situation you’re facing today can be made different and better tomorrow if you but make up your mind.

The way your mind works matters more than anything else in your life. Your mind causes good or bad things in your life depending on the kind of mind you have. From a positive mind will issue good things such as good relationships, opportunities and accomplishments in your life. On the other hand, a negative mind produces negative things such as bad company, frustrations and obstacles. But if you believe and keep saying that you can’t achieve something then you’re most unlikely to achieve it.

When Arunima Sinha was on her way to Delhi from Lucknow she met with a tragedy. She was pushed out of the running train when she resisted some robbers who tried to snatch her gold chain. She lost her left leg as the train ran over it. During her hospitalization she made up her mind that, with her amputated leg, she would one day climb Mount Everest. The rest is history. On 21 May 2013, at the age of 23, Arunima became the first amputee ever to conquer the summit of Mount Everest! Before she could physically scale the Everest peak, she had already scaled the Everest of her mind while lying in her hospital bed.

Your future is replete with innumerable possibilities. First set your goal in your mind and then work towards turning it into reality. Believe in your power to sculpt your future. Take some time to think about how you can channel your mind, where you focus it. If you concentrate on your problems, those problems will grow. If you focus your mind on possibilities, if you put it on your potential, you can get your mind to work it all out in your favour. If you can visualise your dream in your mind, and if you can believe in it with your heart and have the courage to articulate it, then you can translate it into reality.

This issue of The Teenager Today features articles that will help you take charge of your mind and work towards achieving your goals in life.

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Not to sound dramatic, but when I fall sick, I become the troublesome baby that my mother dreaded putting me to sleep every night. Needy, cranky, noisy and any other word that would make you pity the poor parents.

But it was different this time. I was away from home. I did not have the mother who would cater to those tantrums and pay heed to this nineteen-year-old nuisance. All this talk about social media and mobile phones connecting us across borders, keeping us in touch… only moments like these make you realise how shallow and superficial this style of communication is. I sat there, crying to a mobile screen that showed my mother’s helpless face, complaining about my miserable state.

It was a different type of weakness, one I had never assumed to feel. Besides my body giving into the virus that had attacked it, I witnessed my mental state surrender too. For the first time in my life, I felt emotionally weak. It was not my unwell body that forced me to lay in bed, but the lack of will to get up. I witnessed a battle between my mind and body.

I felt as though I was falling into a pit of all my past problems. My mind decided to show me a slideshow of a ‘series of unfortunate events’ that I had been through in the past few weeks. Not to mention the dreams of random incidents that began to haunt me and prevented me from falling into slumber. It is indeed scary to feel your own mind attack you with your worst nightmares.

So, as I sat sniffling, sneezing and sounding like the croaky frog waiting to turn into a prince, I decided to do what I know best — display courage; not just to anyone who may need it, but also myself. I do not take complete credit for this courage. It was a friend who reminded me, “You’re stronger than this, Tvisha”. It was more than just a reminder of my strength. It was a reminder that I do not have to find it alone. My emotional independence accepted defeat and convinced me that a helping hand hurt nobody.

The mind, body and soul are the trinity of our existence. When one falls short, the other two compensate. While my mind and body deteriorated, my soul reminded me of the courage I possess. My will to keep going has got me through enough, and this shoddy flu did not stand a chance at beating me.

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Our minds are an integral part of our well-being. Often, we ignore it and focus on distractions around us instead of facing our feelings, accepting them, and working on them. The saying rightly goes — a healthy mind begets a healthy body.

The pandemic has played a part in influencing the condition of our mind, heart, and the social standing of many. Some have been impacted economically, experienced the loss of loved ones, changes in lifestyle, and disruption of the routine that was set prior to the tiny virus that is taking over our world. There has been a tremendous decrease in physical activities such as walking, meeting friends, and other sports events.

Staying indoors has not been an easy task especially for children and adolescents. We have lost almost two years, and lockdowns have resulted in this segment of society being exposed to excessive use of technology and a sea of vast knowledge at their disposal through the internet.

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A mixture of chemicals costs 4,000 per ton. It is composed of one type chemical that costs 4,800 per ton and another that costs 3,600 per ton. In what ratio were these chemicals mixed?

Anish is sitting between Amit and Rohit. Yash is sitting on Rohit’s right. Between whom is Rohit sitting?

How many cookies could you eat on an empty stomach?

Arjun, Rohit and Sumit are sports fans. Each has a different favourite sport among kabaddi, kho-kho and hockey. Arjun does not like hockey; Sumit does not like kho-kho or hockey. Name each person’s favourite sport.

At one time, a number of immigrants consisting of Armenians, Frenchmen, Russians, Spaniards and Englishmen were admitted into our country. Now, if the Armenians are less than 1/3 of the number of Spaniards and 3 less than ½ the number of Englishmen, then the Frenchmen and Spaniards would outnumber the Russians and Englishmen by 3. The Russians and Spaniards would be 1 less than ½ the total number of immigrants, while the Englishmen and Russians would consist of 7/16 of the total number of immigrants. How many of each nationality would be represented?

If Anish’s peacock jumps over the fence onto Rahul’s property and lays an egg there, whose egg is it?

Tom is 34 years younger than Joseph, who is as many years past 50 as Tom is below 40. Find their ages.

Alka is 4 times Bianca’s age, and in 30 years Bianca will only be ½ as old as Alka. How old are they now?

1. Esha is taller than Ann and shorter than Dinaz. Who is the tallest of the three?
2. If Esha speaks in a softer voice than Ann, and Dinaz in a louder voice than Ann, does Esha speak louder or softer than Dinaz?

According to Mr Shinde, his oldest son is 4 years older than the second, who is 4 years older than the third, who is 4 years older than the youngest, who is ½ the age of the oldest. How old are Mr Shinde’s sons?

Pranav is pulling socks and mittens out of his closet. There are six identical mittens (they can be worn either on the left or the right hand) and nine identical-looking socks in the closet. How many pieces of apparel had to be taken out of the closet in order to be sure Pranav would find:

1. One matching pair
2. Three identical matching pairs
3. Four pairs of socks

1 February 2012 was a Wednesday, just like the 29 February, 2012. When will the calendar show another February with a similar situation?

A man told his friend, “Four years from now I’ll be twice as old as I was fourteen years ago.” How old is the man?

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Did you know that your subconscious is most active during sleep and when you’re slightly distracted? Consider how many brilliant ideas you’ve had while taking a shower or a walk. But unfortunately very few people take advantage of this powerful resource. Imagine having such a powerful ally working for you 24/7. You’d be unstoppable!

In fact, your subconscious is active day and night. But during the day, your conscious mind is making too much noise, making it difficult for you to hear the voice of your own subconscious. But when you’re alone, relaxed and somewhat occupied, your subconscious can shine, because your conscious mind is occupied enough for your subconscious to speak to you.

Your subconscious is a bit like a savant. It’s brilliant in some ways, but not too bright in others. Think of it as a computer with a vast store of information. It wants to help you, but it needs some instructions.

You can use this simple step-by-step process to make your subconscious mind work for you and your dreams:

Step 1: Make a clear request to your subconscious mind.

While lying in bed at night, tell your subconscious what you want. Write it down. There’s something more concrete when you take pen to paper. It also engages your brain at a higher level.

For example: Let’s say you want to find three easy, creative and effective ways to get through entrance examinations and interviews of your most desired college. So this is what you will need to do:

• Write down your request five times.
• Read the written request aloud five times and then turn off the light.

Step 2: Creative visualization before you sleep.

Imagine that you have already received your desired outcome; you have got admission in your desired college and are now living a life of your dreams.

Continuing with the example above, how will you feel when you find and implement those three creative ideas? How will your life change? What would your life look like once you join the college of your choice? How will it impact the kind of job you will get? What impact will that have on your life ahead?

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