Hard Work Pays Off: 5 Inspirational Stories for Students "Happiness

Hard Work Pays Off: 5 Inspirational Stories for Students

Every student has his own source of inspiration. Whereas some are stimulated by their deep desire to know more and discover new things, others see success in the world around them. But not all are imbued with inner light, some need that push or pull from teachers and parents to shake out their gifts inside.

Regardless of the specifics, stories have long provided an engaging means to gain understanding and wisdom or inspire action. Stories are used by teachers to motivate their students, encouraging them to work hard and achieve success. These can be read in the form of folklores, real life stories about quirky individuals or even people who have gone through something extraordinary.

We present here a set of inspirational short stories for students to provide an opportunity for students and teachers, alike the power of persistence as well as resilience along with creativity in their drive towards success.

1. Let Go of Your Stresses

A psychology professor walked into his classroom holding a glass of water. Naturally, the students expected the age-old question: "Is the glass half-empty or half-full?" But to their surprise, the professor asked instead, "How heavy is this glass of water?"

The students offered guesses ranging from 7 ounces to 25 ounces. The professor smiled and replied, "The weight doesn’t really matter. What matters is how long you hold it."

He went on to explain:

• If you hold the glass for a minute, it’s light.
• If you hold it for 10 minutes, it starts to feel heavier.
• Hold it for hours, and your arm will ache.
• Hold it all day, and your hand will go numb, paralyzed by the strain.

The same principle applies to stress. If you think about a problem briefly, it’s manageable. But if you dwell on it for hours or carry it with you all day, it becomes unbearable. Worse, if you sleep with your stress, it affects your health and productivity.

The Moral: Learn to let go of stress. If there’s something you can do about it, act on it. If not, let it go and focus on your goals. Holding onto stress only drains your energy and harms your peace of mind.

2. Shake Off Problems

One day, a man and his donkey were heading to the fields for grazing when the donkey accidentally fell into a deep pit. The man panicked and tried everything he could to pull his beloved donkey out, but despite his best efforts, he couldn’t lift the animal to safety.

Realizing he couldn’t save the donkey and unwilling to leave it to suffer a slow, painful death, the man made a difficult decision. He decided to fill the pit with soil and bury the donkey to end its suffering more quickly.

As the man began shoveling soil into the pit, the donkey felt the dirt landing on its back. Instinctively, it shook off the soil and stepped on it. With every shovelful of dirt, the donkey repeated the same process: shake it off and step up. Slowly but steadily, the donkey used the soil meant to bury it to climb higher and higher.

Finally, the donkey reached the surface, stepped out of the pit, and walked away to graze in the green pastures, unbothered.

The Moral: Don’t let your problems bury you. Instead, shake them off, step up, and use them as opportunities to grow. Every challenge brings a lesson find the positives, learn from them, and keep moving toward your goals.

3. Thinking Outside the Box

Once upon a time, a merchant named Sam owed a large sum of money to a cunning moneylender named Tom. As the deadline for repayment passed, Sam found himself in a desperate situation.

Sam’s beautiful and loving daughter caught Tom’s attention. He made a cruel proposition: if Sam couldn’t repay the debt, Tom would forgive it in exchange for marrying the daughter. The problem? Tom was not only unattractive but also ill-intentioned, leaving Sam in a moral and emotional dilemma.

Sensing Sam’s hesitation, Tom devised what he called a “fair” solution. He suggested placing a black pebble and a white pebble in each hand, letting the daughter pick one.

• If she picked the white pebble, the debt would be forgiven, and she wouldn’t have to marry Tom.
• If she picked the black pebble, the debt would still be forgiven, but she would have to marry him.

As Tom bent down to gather the pebbles, the daughter noticed something sinister—Tom secretly picked up two black pebbles. The daughter was left with three difficult choices:

1. Expose Tom’s cheating, which might make the situation worse.
2. Pick a pebble, knowing she would lose either way.
3. Refuse to choose, leaving her father in financial ruin.

What she did next stunned everyone. The daughter “accidentally” dropped the pebble she had picked before anyone could see it. She then smiled and said, “Let’s check the pebble left in your hand to see which one I picked.”

Tom had no choice but to reveal the black pebble in his hand, proving that she had chosen the white one. Trapped in his own scheme, Tom had to forgive the debt and walk away without his proposal.

The Moral: Life sometimes presents you with challenges that demand not only hard work and perseverance but also creative thinking. Thinking outside the box can help you find solutions to seemingly impossible problems.

4. Sharpen Your Axe

 Once, a king took notice of a new woodcutter who displayed remarkable dedication to his work. Encouraged by the king's praise, the woodcutter put forth his best effort and managed to cut 18 trees in his first month, much to the king's delight.

However, in the second month, despite maintaining his effort, he only managed to cut 15 trees. By the third month, his productivity further declined to just 12 trees. Concerned, the king visited him and inquired about his diminishing output. The woodcutter lamented that he might have lost his strength or become too old for the work.

The king then asked, “When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” To the woodcutter's surprise, he realized he hadn't sharpened it at all in the past three months. This neglect was the key reason for his declining performance.

 

Moral: While hard work and dedication are essential in pursuing your goals, it’s equally important to strike a balance in life. Taking time to relax and nurture relationships can significantly enhance your productivity. Inspirational stories like this one serve as reminders for students to work diligently on various aspects of life while upholding strong moral values, regardless of the challenges they face.

5. Value Yourself 

He crumpled a bill and presented it to the crowd, repeating his question. Yet, everyone raised their hands. Then, he placed the crumpled money on the ground and stepped on it before lifting it up again and offering it to the audience. Despite its dirt and damage, people still expressed interest in claiming the money.

He addressed the crowd, saying, "No matter what I did to this bill, you still wanted it. The value of the money remained unchanged, regardless of my actions."

He then drew a parallel, encouraging them to recognize their own worth: "In the same way, value yourself despite the tough times or failures you encounter."

 Moral: Believe in yourself and work diligently toward your goals. Your self-worth should remain intact, regardless of setbacks or obstacles. Do not diminish your value based on temporary challenges.

---

This should serve as a reminder that willpower, ingenuity and resilience are what it takes to succeed. Students might learn, and benefit from that learning would be improvement in correct order of things for a bright future.