DO you hate your job and feel that you get paid much less than you
deserve? Is there a subject you totally despise and hate studying? Is
there someone who’s being rude and nasty to you all the time? And have
you been wondering why it’s all that way? Maybe you should hear the
story of the evil monster and the little boy.

The story goes that long, long ago there lived a monster in a tiny
village. The villagers were all terrified of him, and felt their village
was cursed to have such a creature living in their midst. Several men
tried to fight the monster. One man attacked the monster with a sharp
sword.

The monster grabbed the sword and almost magically pulled out another
sword, twice as large, twice as sharp and cut the man into half. Another
time, a villager set off with a large wooden club to hit the monster.
The monster responded by slamming the man with a wooden club, twice as
large as the one that the villager had. On another occasion, a villager
tried to set the monster on fire. But the monster opened his mouth and
spewed huge flames – that roasted the poor man.

Scared by these events the village folks gave up trying to fight the
monster. They felt this was their lot, and they had to learn to live
with it. And then one day a little boy said he would go and vanquish the
monster. People were surprised, and despite their disbelief, went along
to see the little boy take on the monster.

As the boy looked up at the giant, the monster just flared his nostrils
and glared back. The little boy then took out an apple and offered it to
the monster. The monster grabbed it, held it to his mouth, and then
thrust his clenched fist in front of the boy. Bang! As the fist slowly
opened, the people were astonished to see two delicious apples there.
Twice as red and twice as large as the apple that the boy had offered.

The boy then took out a little earthen pot with some water and gave it
to the monster. And the monster took that and responded by placing in
front of the boy two urns made of gold, filled with delicious juice. The
people were ecstatic. They suddenly realised that the monster was not a
curse – but a boon to the village. The little boy smiled. And the giant
just smiled back. While the story is centuries old, the monster is
still around. In colleges, in the office, and in our lives. And it’s a
good idea to remember the lessons from that story. Most of our problems
appear that way because of the way we look at them. You get back what
you give. Twice as much!

Is someone being rude to you? Maybe you need to change the way you
behave with them. And no, don’t wait for them to change; you need to
change first! At work too, if you go in to work, hating every moment,
it’s unlikely that you’ll do a great job. If you don’t contribute, don’t
expect to get paid a fat salary. You get what you give. Resolve today
then to change. Love your job and give it everything you have. Be nice
to the “Ms Nasty” in college. Look at Maths as a cool, fun subject. And
you’ll discover that the evil monster is in fact a benevolent giant.

It’s significant that it took a little child to discover the true
colours of the monster. Children don’t have preconceived notions. They
believe the world is a wonderful place. It’s only as they grow up that
the optimism vanishes, and negative conditioning sets in. Go on. Let the
child in you take over. Look at everything you dread with fresh eyes –
be it rude friends, tough subjects or lousy jobs. Maybe the monster is
really a nice guy. Change the way you look at him. And see the
difference!