Walter staples writes: ‘when you grow in consciousness and begin to see the exciting world around you in new and different ways, you begin to get a larger vision of yourself and what you think you can accomplish in your life’. There is what is called the quantum leap concept which says that incremental improvement can only lead to incremental change which will bring about significant change in performance and results. We must abandon traditional methodologies that we have used before, with quantum leaps, which are better and a more efficient way to do something.
Someone believed that there is a more powerful way to project an object through the air than using a bow and arrow or throwing a stone. Someone believed that there is a more powerful way to propel a vehicle than trying more horses together. Someone believed that there was a more reliable way to send messages than using smoke signals or beating on a drum.
Most people operate with the mindset that says that success can come only one step at a time. We have spent centuries in improving things one step at a time. Now it is the concept of quantum leap. For example, we can travel by the Passenger Train, Express Train, nonstop Duranto or a non-stop Jet Plane. If we move at a snail’s pace, we can’t travel or cover much of a distance. Trying harder can result in less and less which gives diminishing returns. A prime example is speed-reading. Studies have revealed that an average adult can read 300 words per minute. With speed one can speed-up to 10 times the normal speed.
None of us know our limitations in life. We can use our mind to much greater impact. Human beings have a built in biological response to preconceived danger. It is called the ‘fight or flight response’. Those who could fight the hardest or run the fastest were the ones who survived. They used fear as a power-tool to stay alive. When our body feels fear, adrenaline, glucose and other chemicals are released into the blood-stream to support the Fight-flight response. Here, we get an extra-burst of energy sharpening our minds to become more alert and we can concentrate better and better results!
The treasure is not in books but buried in our own minds. The mind alone can discover this treasure. To have self-knowledge, we must know the way our mind works. Our teachers used to say that the key to understanding our minds is to watch ourselves, play with it and the mind will unfold, release the treasure within. Then we are beyond all books. The mind that is occupied with knowledge can never discover our real self. Through education we can distinguish, compare, judge, choose which is called conditioning the mind. To be creative, we have to be free from conditioning.
We have only one life to live. We all want to make the most of it. We cannot possibly grasp the whole of life but can grasp most of it. We may let go which are not worthwhile and external. My father used to say: “Make a heroic life out of whatever is set before you. Let go self- seeking habits. In a fulfilled life, we don’t hear either mine or them. All things are meant for all!” A Russian proverb says: ‘He who digs a hole for another may fall in himself. Smart people speak from experience; smarter people from experience do not speak’.
A young man dreamed about being a farmer. He found a farm and bought it. He was not very experienced in business. He just wanted to grow crops and cereals but after completing its purchase he found insufficient water to irrigate the land. A river was flowing nearby, but a huge rock was blocking the water and diverting the flow in another direction. He resolved to break the rock and got the tools for it. He hit the rock once with all his strength. Nothing happened and he hit the rock again and again. Even then nothing happened. After hitting it 500 times, he started doubting about his capacity to crack it.
After a short break he hit it again and again. After two strokes, the rock cleaved into two pieces and water gushed through to his land. He realized that we don’t get what we want straight away. We have to go on chipping away until we wing through. Therefore, to be successful, you have to do what you must do and keep on doing it till you win!

Author: Dr. Savita Sihag