Short Motivational Stories

1. SEEING OPPORTUNITY IN OBSTACLES

There was a king long back who was wealthy and alert towards the progress of the country. One day he decided to test the patriotism of the citizens of this country, are they able to spare a little time for the wellness of the country.

So to put his plan into action he placed a giant boulder in the middle of the road. He then hid somewhere near to keep a watch if anyone would attempt to move the boulder.

Few merchants and courtiers went by but none of them made even a single attempt to move it. Furthermore, some people instead of trying to move they started to blame the king not poorly maintained of the road.

Later that day, a peasant happens to pass by the road with a load of vegetables. He saw the boulder. He thought of moving the boulder as people might be facing problems in traveling. So he kept his load down and attempted to move the boulder. He tried really hard to move it, and after the arduous effort the boulder finally mover. On moving the boulder he found a purse lying.

The purse contained lots of gold coins and there was a note from the king which read "this is to reward the person who moves the boulder away".

Moral: People often tend to run away from problems and obstacles. The story indicates the importance of pure intentions behind hard work to solve the problem which can change the hurdle into a reward.

1. SHAKE OFF PROBLEMS

One day a man and his donkey were out for grazing. During the journey, the journey the donkey happened to fall into a huge pit. The man was in utter sadness and tried his best to pull out his beloved donkey. Inspire of all his efforts he was unable to bring the donkey out of the pit. But he was not going to let the donkey starve and die in that pit.

He hence decided to bury him alive to make his death less harsh. So he started pouring soil over the donkey. As the soil fell on the donkey's back he felt the load and shook it off and stepped on it. This happened every single time the man poured the soil. Gradually the level of ground raised and the donkey step by step came out of the pit and walked away to graze in the green pastures.

Moral: Problems should be shaken off. Do not live with it. Consider every bad experience as a new lesson and step forward.

1.  LET GO OF YOUR STRESSES

There was a psychology professor. One day he entered the classroom with a glass half-filled with water in his hand and a question in his mind. The students on seeing the glass of water expected the same old question "was the glass half empty or half full?" But not this time, the professor asked: "How heavy is this glass of water?"

The students started to assumed and answer from 7 oz. to 25 oz. But the professor explained the other aspect of this question. He said that it is not the water that always matters in weight, but for how long you hold the glass.

If you hold the glass for a minute, you will feel the weight. But then if you extend the duration to 10 minutes then you will start to feel a bit more weight and the pressure goes on till an hour, youth hand would get numb and you will feel the pain. Similarly, if you carry stress with you, you will feel the pressure. If you hold it the longer, the longer it will cause pain. This becomes worse if you go to bed with it, instead just leave it.

Moral: If you have stress, then do your best to remove it, and if that is not possible then leave it and walk towards your goal. Never let the stress control you and never sleep with it.

1.  VALUE YOURSELF

 There was a seminar and the speaker entered the stage showing a $20 to the audience. He asked the audience," Who would like to have this $20?" It was an obvious answer of everyone, all the hands were rising. He extended his hand to give it to someone but he stopped and did something else. He crumpled the money and now showed it back to the crowd and asked the same question. Still, the number of hands was the same. Further, he put the money on the ground and stepped on it. Again he showed to the people and asked the same question.

Still, the people over there showed the interest in taking that offered money though it was now dirty and shabbier.

He then told the public," No matter whatever the condition I made of this money, each one of you was ready to take it.

In spite of such a pathetic condition of the money, the value of the money is still the same. That is the reason you all want it. Alike this money, value yourself despite dejected situation or failures."

Moral: Value yourself no matter whatever the life makes out of you or whatever hardships you face.

12.  SHARPEN YOUR 'AXE'

In a kingdom long back, there was a freshly joined woodcutter. He was hard-working and the king was quite impressed by his devotion and dedication towards his work. In the first month, he cut 18 trees due to the motivation he had for the king, and the king was glad.

The next month with the same enthusiasm the cut the trees but this time the number was 15. In the third month, the number got still decreased to 12 trees. The king was a wise and humble person. He approached the woodcutter and asked the reason for the reduction of the number of trees. He said he might have grown old. The king asked him, “When did you sharpen your ax last time?" He realized that in the span of three months he had never sharpened the ax, which was the only reason for the reduction of trees.

Moral: Many of us become so much enthusiasm that we keep on working. It is also important to devote time to yourself and your family, this enhances your productivity.

There are just a handful of stories that work as a guide to students and help them to work hard on different aspects of life and grow. These kinds of stories provide inspiration to students to work for their goals and moral values no matter whatever life offers them.