Lessons in life can be of two types, one can be the outright philosophical ones, like:
‘Remember, happiness doesn’t depend on who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think.’ ~ Dale Carnegie
These quotes impart you with a lot of wisdom, but they’re at times out right boring and heavy for anyone to actually implement them in their lives.
Or… they can be way more fun!!!! Now you may ask how? The answer is quite simple. Look around you…you’ll find a box like or maybe sleek rectangular thing called the television, sitting on a table or mounted up on your wall…THAT, my dears, is the new way to gain ‘gyaan’. Characters in television shows not only entertain you, but also indirectly give you a lot of tips on how to live a happy life.
So here goes… 4 characters who I think give the best gyaan are:
1. Barney Stinson: Barney Stinson, the playboy from ‘How I Met Your Mother’ is the first on the list of cool gyaan gurus. His wit and charm not only comes handy when it comes to impressing the ladies, but also when you need to cheer up.
• “When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead.” :You don’t need to have expensive clothes, money or looks to be awesome. All you need is a snazzy attitude!!! So dump those worries behind, step out into the world, and reclaim it- because you’re AWESOME!!!
• “Challenge Accepted”: Live in the mo’ people. Life is a challenge, and you need to be ready for anything and everything. Barney’s attitude to take up everything as a challenge, no matter how bizarre it is, and complete it, just makes you want to jump up and do something cool as well. The big lesson behind it is COURAGE & FOCUS. Life isn’t always going to be easy, so you just have to get your focus right and face the problems head on.
• “Article 2: “A Bro is always entitled to do something stupid, as long as the rest of his Bros are all doing it.”: We all have our moments when we want to do something stupid-play a prank on our teachers, sing out loudly, do kiddish stuff. And what makes it better is when our friends are there to join us in it. They say ‘the more, the merrier’, and it’s extremely apt, when you have to do something stupid.
• “Suit Up!”: It’s the war cry for those of us who always want some action in life. Forget those pyjamas that are a symbol of laziness, and put on those dapper suits, get out there and do something awesome! Life is too short, to lie around wasting it!
• “It’s going to be legen…wait for it…and I hope you’re not lactose-intolerant cause the second half of that word is…dairy!”: Don’t put more days in your life, put more life in your days. Every day and every moment is to be enjoyed and made legen-wait for it-dary! Look at the bright side of life. Do something crazy that makes you happy. #YOLO
2. Sheldon Cooper: You may love him. You may hate him. But you can’t ignore him. And you can’t ignore all his witticisms. Dr. Sheldon Cooper is the one guy whom we all love seeing on TV, but are afraid to have in our lives. He doesn’t understand sarcasm, makes you go mad with his OCD, and has one-liners ready at the drop of a hat. Nonetheless, Sheldon does come up with some great words of wisdom, at times.
• “I’m not crazy. My mother had me tested”: … And that’s what I keep telling everyone! Just because someone goes against the grain doesn’t make him or her mad. We all have our different personalities and we must learn to accept it. Variety is the spice of life, so the next time, you come across somebody whose views differ from yours, just give them some space and let them pursue what they want to.
• “Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and as it always has, rock crushes scissors.”: This extended version of Rock-Paper-Scissors is one of the coolest games one can come across on TV. Rock-Paper-Scissor-Lizard-Spock (*panting*) encourages us to add our own twist to the mundane things in life and retain the childlike quality in us. Mirchi-custard, anyone? :P
• “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Wil Wheaton. The Green Goblin to my Spider-Man, the Pope Paul V to my Galileo, the Internet Explorer to my Firefox!”: When you have to express displeasure against someone, do it in style! Sheldon’s way of taking down Wil Wheaton comes across as fresh way to challenge your enemies. (the author takes no responsibility of the reaction if someone actually tries this)
• “Bazinga!”: Want to up your sarcasm quotient? Well here’s a sure shot way to take it to unparalleled heights. Just add a ‘bazinga’ to that otherwise lame quip, and see it transforming from mundane to insane.
3. Sherlcok Holmes and the gang: Whenever in doubt, you can always ‘consult’ Holmes and Moriarty to give you a completely whacko input on life. The brainiac of Baker Street, his arch-nemisis and love interest (the whole lot have something so amazing to say!!!) make an unlikely lot of advisors on matters of day to day life, but who cares, we’re ready to lap up anything they say.
• “The game, Mrs. Hudson, is on”: The game is on people (no, don’t go inside and watch the world cup), and it just keeps getting better. This quote by Sherlock Holmes serves quite the same purpose as Barney’s “Challenge Accepted” in the sense that anyone who hears it will get up, give their ‘I’m sooooo cool’ look, and get ready for some fun. The quote simply reeks with awesomeness! Also read “The game is never over, John”.
• “Brainy’s the new sexy”: Go Irene Adler! She gives every geeky person in the world the confidence to look everyone else in the eye and say “ I Rule!”. So, if you’re a part of the geek brigade, show some attitude my dear, most of the people in the college’s/school’s football team will be working for you in the next 10 years!(of course, depending on whether you’re in school or college)
• “Listen, what I said before John, I meant it. I don’t have friends; I’ve just got one.”: Want to patch up with your friend after a nasty fight? Or make him or her feel special? This quote works like magic. Just insert the name of your bestie in John’s place and add a bit of conviction to what you’re saying and voilà, you’ve got the perfect recipe for friendship brewing.
• “Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”: This quote supports logic and insanity at the same time. Sort out your life rationally, but hey, things might just turn out to be really bizarre, at times, and THAT is the true fact of life.
• “I may be on the side of the angels, but don’t think for one second that I’m one of them”: It’s the classic taunt and is ideal for situations when you’re up against a bully, and have nothing to show, but fake courage. The quote breaks the goody-goodness of the more-passive people, and displays that we all have our dark side, which can be dangerous, if provoked. Try it, and see the evil creatures flee for their life.
• “Honey, you should see me in a crown”: You’re already the king/queen of your world, all you need is that crown to add that cherry on the icing. Say this one-liner by Moriarty with complete swagger and self-conviction, and believe that nothing can ruin your perfect day.
4. Harvey Specter: The lawyer with the wicked charm may provide the perfect legal advice every single time, but also provides the coolest life tips.
• “I don’t play the odds. I play the man.”: Life isn’t always fair, and it takes a bit of guile to land the top spot. Unlike the other quotes mentioned above that are vaguely utopian, this quote highlights the harsh reality of life- You need to strategize differently to win in a competitive world. Go out of your way to work with what makes you win people over, because logical reactions might just go wrong at times.
• “That’s the difference between you and me, you wanna lose small, I wanna win big.”: Life is all about taking risks. Unless you take the plunge, you’re not going to reap the benefits. Think things through, but do not hesitate to do what your heart tells you. You might just end up winning big time. In fact, not only Harvey Specter, but many top businessmen might advocate the same- with no pain comes no gain. So think big, and win bigger.
• “Sometimes good guys gotta do bad things to make the bad guys pay.”: The quote seems more out of a modern day retelling of the Mahabharata, but it nonetheless goes on to explain that a few shades of grey might do in situations when the straightforward way doesn’t work out.
• “I don’t have dreams. I have goals.”: Now THIS is what we expect from high profile lawyers. It’s razor sharp and has a point too, which is a deadly combination for a quote. What use are dreams if one doesn’t put effort into them and turn them into reality.Don’t give up on your dreams, work hard to make them come true.
Don’t all these ideas of living life to the fullest, working hard and playing harder, cherishing your friends and what not seem a lot cooler now that our favourite characters seem to be saying the same? It’s up to us, from where we would like to learn our lessons. We can either wait for some great person to descend from the skies and make us aware of the true meaning of life, or we can just look around and find pearls of wisdom from people and things around us.
