This post does not contain my thoughts. Still, these thoughts resonate very closely with what I think. They represent what exactly is wrong with our attitudes today, what we are running after and what we are missing. It revolves around the basic concepts of slowing down and being mindful of the world around you.

I don’t know who wrote it, but it is an excellent piece for self-reflection. It is something, we should turn towards everyday so we don’t repeat the same mistakes over and over.

Here it is:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings
but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We
spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger
houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have
more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more
experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too
little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too
tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk
too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years
to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and
back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We
conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things,
but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the
atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan
more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We
build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies
than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and
small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are
the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken
homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway
morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do
everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is
much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when
technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can
choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete…

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not
going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe,
because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is
the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a
cent.

Remember, to say, ‘I love you’ to your partner and your loved ones,
but most of all mean it. An embrace will mend hurt when it comes from
deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person
will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the
precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the
moments that take our breath away.

Photo Credit: Nwardez

Photo Credit: Marco Bellucci

Creativity and inspiration can come from anything. Sometimes you are trying really hard and you don’t get any ideas and other times when you are not even trying, you get tons. While we cannot completely control our creativity, we can definitely use some simple tips and tricks to enhance it:

1. Question your most fundamental assumptions and ask yourself “What if these were not true?”

2. Look at similar problems in different fields and see what elements are common. Try to apply those to your problem.

3. Don’t evaluate an idea instantly. First write all the ideas that come to your mind and then analyze them together.

4. Setup a daily or weekly time to get rid of your mental baggage like writing emails, making phone calls e.t.c. This would free up your mind and make it easy to get more ideas.

5. Look at people that inspire you, study them and see how they do things.

6. Note during what part of the day your creativity is at it’s peak. Structure your day in a way to make the most out of it.

7. Analyze and understand what triggers your creativity; a good conversation, a good meal, a walk e.t.c and try to do that whenever you get a mental block.

8. Don’t force your creativity. If you cannot think, leave it for a while and then come back to it. Spending time unfruitfuly would make you frustrated and create more hurdles.

9. Do it for yourself. Forget about the world and think that you are doing it just to make yourself happy.

10. Don’t think that you are creative! Know it. If you doubt yourself, your mind would try to restrict the flow of thoughts.

11. Redefine your problem. Change the wording of your question or your problem. This often leads our mind to think in a new direction.

12. Engage in creative activities periodically. Play/list to music, do some art or anything else that would engage your mind.

13. Take a nap. Sleeping on an idea sometimes gives you a fresher perspective.

14. Use unlined paper: This will free up your mind from the restriction of writing linear sentences and would open up your brain to different forms of expression.

15. Ask a child how he or she would solve the problem. Sometimes complicated problems require simple solutions that we overlook.

16. Watch videos of some really inspirational talks over at www.TED.com

17. Change your atmosphere! Go to a new and exciting place and interact with people you have never met before.

18. Work through the process of elimination. If you are not getting a good idea, think of all the bad ideas and set them aside. As you keep thinking your mind will try to cut out the bad parts of all these ideas to come up with a good one.

19. Take a brain dump. Take a piece of paper and write down everything that comes to your mind without caring about the order or arrangement. Then take a break and come back to it after a while. Your mind would be fresh and empty and would make more sense of your thoughts.

20. Write it down. Sometimes we get so engaged in thinking that we cannot remember all of it. Writing helps in remembering as well as streamlining your thoughts.

21. Open a random book to a random page! Try to formulate ideas around that topic. This concept works around the statement that “Freedom Inhibits Creativity”.

22. List down all the hurdles/issues you are facing on a piece of paper and try to solve them individually. This would organize your thought process.

23. If you are struggling with writing, use one of the 329 prompts at Creative Writing Prompts to force self to write.

24. Enjoy some great music to get inspired.

25. Change the setting of your office/room. A renewed working space would give you fresh perspectives.

26. Meditate, or just spend sometime alone with yourself, doing nothing. This would help you connect with your inner-self.

27. Exercise! It allows you to harness your energy and be more focused.

28. Break the routine. Take a different route to work or try a totally different kind of food. Breaking your routine allows you to challenge the traditional way of thinking and try something unique.

29. Stimulate your senses of touch, taste, hear and sight.

30. Follow Picasso when he said “If I don’t have red, I use blue.” Don’t worry about what you are lacking, just use the resources you have and challenge yourself to come up with something.

Photo Credit: Moomettesgram

Happiness, probably has as many definitions as there are people in the world. Everybody has a very well defined individual perspective on what makes them happy and what makes them sad. Hence, this post is not about how to be happy, but rather, how to increase or prolong those moments of joy when you get them in your life.

There are some very simple things that we can do to make this happen:

1. Split Your Happiness:

I know this sounds very weird so let me explain it with an example.
I love the joy and happiness my wife feels when I give her a present and seeing her happy makes me really happy too. Also, 9 out of 10 times I can tell that she is going to love the gift and we are going to have a good time. This certainty of getting some joyful moments made me think that if I give her 2 or 3 small gifts on different days, instead of giving her 1 big gift, wouldn’t that make us happy more frequently?

So, if my budget to get her a birthday present is $100, I go for 3-4 gifts of $20-$30 each instead of spending the whole amount on one single gift. I give her 1 of the gifts on the occasion and wait for a few days before surprising her with another gift. She absolutely loves it!
A lot of us are following the same principle unconsciously when we save a portion of our favorite candy bar “so we can eat it later”, or read a very good book slowly “so we can enjoy it for some more time”. We can always make a conscious effort to do this whenever possible and be happy more frequently.

2. Capture and Relive:

Capturing the moments by making a video, taking pictures or even just writing it down, allows you to relive those moments of happiness. This is precisely why everyone loves to look at old pictures and videos and remember the good times again and again. Of-course, you cannot get the same level of excitement that you had on your wedding day juts by watching your wedding video, but you can definitely recall how you felt and cherish.
Plus, a lot of good times only come once in our life; like your kid’s first words or their first birthday party. These are probably the most common examples of people capturing the joyful moments of their life so they can come back to them later. We are so fortunate that in today’s age, technology allows us to do this very easily.

Some pursue happiness, others create it.

However, sometimes we don’t even need technology to assist us in this. For example, every now and then when I talk to one of my close friends, we recall a very adventurous trip we made almost 8 years ago. We did that trip only once but we have probably enjoyed it a dozen times just by going over the fun things that happened and laughing at them. A lot of people do capture the moments, but miss out by never going back to them.

3. Share it with the world:

A very clichéd yet true saying about happiness is

Happiness multiplies and sorrow diminishes by sharing.

I am not saying we should start screaming to the world that we are happy, rather, we should show it in our attitude and conversations. If you have a good news and you share it with one of your collegues, they will be happy for you too and that will reassure you of the love people have for you, making you even more joyful. On the other hand, if you make a habit of not sharing your happiness, people would stop including you in their joyous moments as well.

4. Don’t worry about the future:

Everybody loves weekends so they can get sometime to relax and enjoy, but a lot of people spend their sundays just worrying about the upcoming week. Similarly, people spend a good chunk of their vacations worrying that they will be over soon; not realizing that they are ruining their present by worrying about the future.
We often complain about the lack of happiness in our life, but when we get it, we waste it by worrying that it will go away. The key is to live in the present and cherish each and every moment that we can get. We get enough time to worry about things and we should not waste our good times doing that.

Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.  ~William Feather

5. Do something creative:

If you are in a good mood, chances are you’ll be much more creative and productive than usual. Doing something creative would allow you to be more happy because of two reasons:

• Whatever you do, singing, painting, gaming e.t.c. will get related to happiness in your mind. Later,  when you have a down time, your mind would suggest going back to that creative activity because it will think “I was happy when I was doing that activty.”
• You have a greater chance of creating something amazing and once you are able to do that, it will make you joyous and proud even when you are having a bad day.

Photo Credit: Suviko

Keeping our mind and memory sharp are critical not only to our everyday tasks, but also to our mental health. We all know the agony and frustration we go through when we misplace our keys or fail to recall the name of a very familiar person.

It is true that some people are born with a sharper memory, however, it does not mean that others cannot improve on their ability to remember things. Sometimes very simple and basic techniques can make a real difference in the way your memory works.

Following are some of the ways that can help enhance your memory and reduce the chances of forgetting stuff:

1. Write what you read

One of the simplest yet most effective tip, is to write stuff down. When you are writing something, you are repeating it in your mind multiple times. By the time you have finished writing a sentence, you have repeated it at least 2-3 times in your mind and there is a good chance it has moved from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. This also works really well because when we are writing something, we tend to play around with the words a little bit; this requires more attention than just hearing or reading and makes us more focused.

2. Association:

Our mind tries to remember things by sub-consciously associating it with things we already know. We can enhance this process by making conscious or active associations. A very common example of this is remembering birthdays. If a new person we just met shares his/her birthday with somebody we’ve known for a long time, we would always think of both the people when we think of either one of them.

Another example is that you met a guy name ‘Fred’; you immediately realized that your cousin who lives in Florida is also ‘Fred’. Now chances are that if you ever try to remember your new friend’s name, your mind would link it to your cousin and Florida and allow you to get to ‘Fred’.

I have a close friend with the phone number (xxx) – 2164572 and even though I always remember that his phone number has a 2,1,6,7,4 and a 5, I am never able to remember the order of these digits. One day I finally figured that each set of digits in his phone number sums up to 9 and now all i have to remember is the number 9 when i think of calling him. As soon as I do that, the correct order comes to my mind.

3. MNEMONICS / Acronyms:

Suppose you are back in your high-school trig class again and you have to remember this set of formulae:

Sine = Opposite ÷ Hypotenuse

Cosine = Adjacent ÷ Hypotenuse

Tangent = Opposite ÷ Adjacent

It will take you a few minutes to memorize these. But if I tell you to just remember the sentence “Silly Old Hitler Couldn’t Advance His Troops Over Africa”, it would become much easier to remember.

These MNEMONICS are commonly used in Mathematics for memorization, however, they can be used in our daily life just as easily. Suppose you have to get 4 items from the grocery store, Milk, Apples, Rice and Soda; you can easily increase your chances of remembering these by repeating RAMS or MARS to yourself a few times. Then even if you forget the individual items, you would still remember the number of items and their starting alphabet.

4. Reverse Thinking:

Every night just before I go to sleep, I try to think about the major events of the day. But instead of starting with the morning, I start with the last thing I did and go back in time till I get to the beginning of the day. I have felt this to be a really good exercise because it is somewhat different than our regular mode of thinking and it allows us to use our mind in a slightly different and more challenging manner.

It comes in very handy if you have misplaced something few minutes ago and you are trying to think where you put it.

5. Foods that help:

There are certain foods which are known to make your brain sharper and healthier:

Blueberries: Blueberries are known to reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. The anti-oxidants in them help your brain function correctly and according to some people also increase your learning ability and motor skills.

Almonds: A handful of almonds daily have a lot of nutrients like B-Vitamin, Magnesium and certain protiens that power many brain processes. These are my personal favorite as I always used them during the exam weeks. One of the suggested methods is to put them in a bowl of water overnight, and eat them the next morning after peeling their skins off.

Green Tea: Besides reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, green tea is known to boost dopamine levels and lower the chances of cognitive impairment.

Other foods like salmon, sardines, oats and walnuts also help a lot in reducing brain inflammation and protecting it from harmful radicals. The stronger your mind would be, the easier it would be to remember things.

Conclusion:

These are just some of the things we can do to improve our memory. None of them requires a lot of time or effort to implement. If we gradually embed them in our daily routines, we will see a significant difference in our memory.

Photo Credit: MarcelGermain

In my effort to simplify my lifestyle, I needed to understand the concept of Simplicity in detail and that is how I came across these beautiful thoughts. Even though, I don’t agree with some of them, they are still a great source of inspiration and knowledge as they offer diversified and conflicting perspectives.

You will find that some of these people are actually not big fans of simplicity(#3, #28) while others have a varying opinion on what simplicity is. Still, I believe that each one of them gives us something to think about and helps us build our perspective about the concept.

1. John V. Cheney

The happiest heart that ever beat Was in some quiet breast That found the common daylight sweet, And left to Heaven the rest.

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2. John Morley

Simplicity of character is no hindrance to the subtlety of intellect.

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3. Eugene Delacroix

A taste for simplicity cannot last for long.

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4. Charles Mingus

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.

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5. Henry David Thoreau

Our life is frittered away by detail… Simplify, simplify, simplify! … Simplicity of life and elevation of purpose.

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6. Richard Halloway

Simplicity, clarity, singleness: these are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy.

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7. Anonymous

Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.

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8. Eleanor Roosevelt

A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.

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9. Hans Hofmann

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.

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10. Confucius

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

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11. Socrates

The fewer our wants, the nearer we resemble the gods.

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12. William Hazlitt

Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought.

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13. Anatole France

Simple style is like white light. It is complex, but its complexity is not obvious.

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14. Jon Franklin

Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance.

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15. Sir Joshua Reynolds

Simplicity is an exact medium between too little and too much.

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16. Jessie Sampter

Simplicity is the peak of civilization.

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17. Larry Eisenberg

For peace of mind, we need to resign as general manager of the universe.

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18. Willard Gibbs

The whole is simpler than the sum of its parts.

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19. Steven Wright

You can’t have everything; where would you put it?

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20. Leonardo da Vinci

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

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21. Wu-Men

If you mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, This is the best season of your life.

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22. Lin Yutang

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone.  The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.

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23. Albert Einstein

Things should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.

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24. Gandhi

Live simply, so others may simply live.

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25. Vernon Howard

You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.

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26. Norman Vincent Peale

We struggle with the complexities and avoid the simplicities.

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27. George Meredith

Perfect simplicity is unconsciously audacious.

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28. Norman Hartnell

I despise simplicity. It is the negation of all that is beautiful.

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29. Lao Tzu

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.

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30. Alan Perlis

Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.

My personal favorites are #24 and #29. I understand that since simplicity is a concept, it is a very subjective thing, but I do believe that no matter how you define simplicity, it only brings you more strength and greatness.

Mindfulness, the state of being present and being conscious of your inner-self, is an amazing concept. Mindfulness is practiced to meditate, to fight with pain, to be focused and to be happy and content in general.

“Kiss your life. Accept it, just as it is. Today. Now. So that those moments of happiness you’re waiting for don’t pass you by.”

Following are some tips that would help in practicing mindfulness and being aware of your consciousness. They can be practiced no matter how little time you have or wherever you are:

1. Stay in the “Observing Mind”:

Don’t let your mind be critical or emotional. In other words, try to get away from the analytical state of mind that tries to seek answers for questions. Just try to see whats happening in you and around you without trying to go into a lot of depth.

I’ll try to explain this one with a short example. Recently, my wife and I went to a Barnes and Noble book store, one that we had never been to before. As soon as we entered, she said “How come this one is so different in size?”. I had felt that too and I said “Yeah! Its kind of small”. She turned around and looked really surprised, “Small! I haven’t seen any other store with two floors!”. I looked up and there it was. A second floor that I had totally missed.

What happened was that I walked in with my usual attention to detail and started analyzing things. On the other hand, she always takes a few moments to sink things in and therefore has a far better observation than me.

2. Stay in the moment:

We have a lot of focus and concentration when we are driving on a freeway or writing an exam, but when it comes to simple tasks like walking, eating or just sitting on a bus, we let our mind wander. This is when we are trying to jump moments by going into past or the future and abandon the present.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

- Buddha

It is very important to understand that staying in the present moment and being aware of what you are doing significantly improves concentration and makes even simplest of tasks more enjoyable. For example, if you let your mind wander when you eat, you might not even notice the taste of your food, let alone enjoy it.

3. Use All 5 Senses:

Another tip that works exceptionally well for me is trying to engage all 5 of my senses. That is, try to be conscious of what you are doing with your senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and speaking. It will force you to stay in the present moment and won’t give your mind a chance to wander around.

For example, if you are going for a walk, you can make it mindful by observing the sound of the wind, the hardness of the ground under you, the color of the skies and any other thing that exists in your surroundings.

4. Everything is Interesting:

Don’t get irritated by petty interruptions, rather, think of them as interesting. Try to observe what is happening and how your mind is reacting to these interruptions. This really helps in capturing the present moment and prevents you from being frustrated and discontent.

A small trouble is like a pebble. Hold it too close to your eye and it fills the whole world and puts everything out of focus. Hold it at a proper distance and it can be examined and properly classified. Throw it at your feet and it can be seen in its true setting, just one more tiny bump on the pathway to life.

Celia Luce

I agree that sometimes its hard to remember these things, so initially we have to make a real conscious effort to practice them; but if we can turn them into a habit, the benefits are unimaginable.

Photo Credit: OsBock

An elementary school teacher gave her first graders a coloring assignment. The sheet of paper contained an outline of different objects like a house, trees, sky e.t..c and the children were asked to color each of the objects with the appropriate color. Patty worked really hard on her assignment but when she got it back, she was surprised to see a big black “X” on it. When she asked the teacher for an explanation, the teacher said “I gave you an “X” because you didn’t follow the instructions. Grass is green not grey. The sky should be blue and not yellow as you have drawn it. Why didn’t you use the normal colors Patty?”

Patty answered, “Because that’s how it looks to me when I get up early to watch the sunrise.”

Similar to what the teacher did, we all start looking for “The Right Answer” when we face a problem. Once we find an answer that we assume to be “The Right Answer” , we stop looking. This right answer myth is a big barrier when we are trying to get good ideas because as soon as we get one good idea, we consider the problem solved. A french philosopher once said:

“Nothing is more dangerous that an idea when it is the only one we have.”

For an effective thought process, we need different point of views. Picking the first answer to a problem, or the first idea that comes to mind is quite risky as it is based on a single point of view. Best practice is not to stop once you have an idea, but to continue and get a lot of ideas so you can compare them with each other and see which one is more applicable to the problem you are facing. Noble prize winner Linus Pauling said:

“The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.”

It is important that once we get an idea, we try to think of other ideas to solve the same problem. One way to do it is to look for “the second best idea” or ” the wrong idea” e.t.c. Even if you end up chosing the first idea you thought of, rest of the ideas would give you a good point of comparison and would help you improve your original idea. You might be able to pick a couple of things from the “second best idea” or eliminate some details that you now realize are “wrong”.

Photo Credit: Javi

This is slightly off-topic but its something I would really like to share. Many of you might have read this story a dozen times, but every time I read it I get a new vibe going through me that makes me realize how important it is to express.

Here’s the story:

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers. That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. “Really?” she heard whispered. “I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!” and, “I didn’t know others liked me somuch,” were most of the comments.No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn’t matter.

The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in VietNam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a service man in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pall bearer came up to her. “Were you Mark’s math teacher?” he asked. She nodded: “yes.” Then he said: “Mark talked about you a lot.”After the funeral, most of Mark’s former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark’s mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

“We want to show you something,” his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. “They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.”Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark’s classmates had said about him.”Thank you so much for doing that,” Mark’s mother said. “As you can see, Mark treasured it.”All of Mark’s former classmates started to gather around.

Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, “I still have my list. It’s in the top drawer of my desk at home.” Chuck’s wife said, “Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.”

“I have mine too,” Marilyn said. “It’s in my diary.”Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group.

“I carry this with me at all times,” Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: “I think we all saved our lists.”

That’s when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

To me, taking a few minutes and expressing my feelings for them gives me a renewed sense of self-fullfilment.

In the following video, Tim Brown, CEO of “innovation and design” firm Ideo talks about the powerful link between Creativity and play.

This also reminds me of what Howard Thurman once said:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

We all get these. We keep thinking about something and even though we realize we are not getting anywhere, we continue to stress our mind in the same direction, with no use. For times like these Doug King said

“Learn to pause…or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.”

One of the best strategies to get out of a mental block is to pause and get away from the problem for sometime. It may be a few minutes, a few hours or few days. Taking a break and getting involved in some other mentally stimulating thing actually recharges your mind and allows you to get back to the problem with a fresher perspective. The thing that works for me in most of the cases is playing small silly games available on the Internet; games that even 6 year old can play. But that’s me, for some people its taking a walk in the park, for some people its a good conversation, for some people its listening to music.

The reason why this works is because when we re-approach the problem after a break, we look at it with somewhat different set of assumptions. This allows you to back off a little bit and look at the big picture again which you might be completely missing since you were so engrossed in the details.