The modern day wisdom

Oh! Dear Moon

2020-08-08T08:54:00.004+05:45

Oh! Dear Moon

Oh! Dear Moon,

Is it just me that gets lost upon gazing you?

Is it just me that adores you, admires you?

As Sun is considered the king of the day sky

You my Dear Moon, are considered the queen of the night sky.

But

Oh! Dear Moon,

I can not accept you as the queen.

For to be a queen

You need a castle,

You need a throne,

And above all you need a king right by your side.

The king of the day sky, the Sun

Though being the source of your fairness,

Though being the source of your enchantment,

Is not your king.

And neither am I.

Because

Oh! Dear Moon, you are not a queen

You are actually an angel

An angel in the sky,

Surfing the clouds,

Exploring the Earth

And

Hypnotizing the silent nights.

However,

Oh! Dear Moon,

How fragile are you?

To be enslaved by the Sun

To be manipulated by the Earth

To lose your fairness

To lose your enchantment

To be forever imprisoned and lose your freedom.

But

Oh! Dear Moon,

Is it just me that loves the flawed you?

Is it just me that still adores and admires you?

For a common man,

You are the light in his travels,

You are the inspiration in his creation,

You are the companion in his struggle,

For the common man is me.

So let me answer you,

Oh! Dear Moon,

It is just you that captivates me.

It is just you that dazzles me.

It is just you that allures me.

And

It is just you that can claim me.

Sunshine

2020-08-03T18:46:00.001+05:45

Sunshine

Though beautiful you are,

Though heavenly your presence feels,

I always wonder,

Are there any dark sides to your brightness?

I always wonder,

Are there any blindspots where your rays can't reach?

I always wonder,

Are there any flaws in your flawless sphere?

Though impossible for me to reach you,

Though impossible for me to touch you,

I always wonder,

Why do I always seek you?

I always wonder,

Why do I always feel you?

Though my questions won't be answered,

Though my curiosity won't be satisfied,

I always wonder,

My sunshine! Do you have what I have always wondered.....

I Remember

2020-07-29T18:43:00.003+05:45

I Remember

I remember the shapes, structures and figures I drew on the canvas of the blue sky with clouds as my paint brush.

I remember getting gloomy for the characters that died in the movie. As an innocent child I used to wonder why did they have to die and what would have happened if they had survived.

I remember walking for an entire day to reach my village. All those Namaste plants on the way were the motivating factor to keep on moving.

I remember getting complimented for the first and the last time for my handwriting.

I remember getting a prize for the first time. It was for a drawing of a boy; a boy reassembling me.

I remember the day I got my first pair of glasses. It is so vivid because it was the same day that I broke them.

I remember screaming " Batti ayo " back in those load shedding days. I can still feel the excitement.

I remember getting caught while trying to bunk the class. We four made the same excuse of a stomache but generously the teacher excused us.

I remember all those classes we skipped and the places we wandered just in the name of science project during the parent's day season.

I remember all these things whether they are tiny pieces of happiness or giant lumps of sorrow. They always hit me with a smooth breeze of nostalgia.

Check out my latest post titled " I Won't Remember "

I Won't Remember

2020-07-25T11:16:00.003+05:45

I Won't Remember

¤ The day I saw you, the atmosphere was heavenly. The sky was so clear, all you could see was the colour blue.

All the lands were filled with fully bloomed flowers accompanied by beautiful butterflies. The sun was so bright but at the same time so gentle to the skin. The lakes were so clean you could see your perfect reflection. And all that you could hear was the lovely melody of the birds whistle. I thought all these heavenly scenery were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen until I layed my eyes on you.

All seemed as if the god was preparing a stage for you.

For you to be discovered by me.

For you to be a part of my memory

And yet,

The day I saw you, is the day I won't remember.

¤ The day I met you, we were in a bus. You were searching for a seat and I was reserving it. When your dazzling eyes caught my staring eyes, I felt sudden pump in my body. A pump by my heart, a pump which only grew larger and louder.

While you stood at a distance, we continued to stare at each other. I felt as if we were communicating with our eyes, introducing ourselves and exchanging our emotions.

As you started to move, the time went so slow, one could wait a minute for a second to pass by.

" Tik Tok " was the sound your heels produced and " dhak dhak " was the sound my heart produced.

The moment you sat beside me, everything went back to normal. Time got back its pace and my heart its missing piece.

My mind was in conflict whether to speak or not. My blood started to rush all over the body. My heart provides me all the courage but my mind was still in fear. With nothing to loose, finally I spoke to you. I don't know what I had uttered but it was worth a world for me, since you had for the first time dropped your mesmerizing smile for me.

Well it was the day you met me, the day you discovered me.

And yet

The day I met you, is the day I won't remember.

¤ The day I kissed you, was surprisingly gloomy.

The sky was grey and black covered by clouds. They were dark, full of water to be dropped. The land had no trace of flowers. The grass were wet as if they were crying. The rivers were flooded trespassing the embankments. All you could hear was silence. The same silence which later welcomes a deadly storm.

But we didn't care of the world, the same world that brought us together. Instead we were dancing in a slow song enjoying the moment. Your hands were wrapped around my neck and mine were around your waist. We danced along the rythum. Our eyes were totally locked into each other. Your eyes were beautiful as ever. I don't know what you had felt but I felt as if I was drowning in your eyes never again to reach the surface.

Ignoring all these things I was still drawn to you, I was still captivated by you.

And eventually but finally instead of our eyes, our lips were locked. It was at that moment that I realized you were the one for me and I was the one for you.

And yet,

The day I kissed you, is the day I won't remember.

Best Habits for Best Self

2020-07-14T18:35:00.001+05:45

“ We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but a Habit.”- Aristotle

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.”- Octavia Butler

Here I talk about ( actually write about;.. forgive my bad sense of humor), of the best habits that you must practice to create the best version of yourself. These habits have been practiced by the world class successful peoples like Robin Sharma, Tony Robbins, Kobe Bryant and many more.

Previously I had written a blog called “ 5 Crucial habits tobe done once a week ”. Please check that out as well.

“You want to sour to new heights and fly. But you can’t afford a jet. So you start with a paper airplane.”- Evan Carmichael

1) Sleep more:

Get an additional 30 minute of sleep at night

But, Saugat, we all have been doing this a lot even more than 30 minutes ever since lockdown, you may say. Well yes you are sleeping a lot at day. Its not about how much you sleep but when you sleep. Our body is naturally habituated to sleep at night. The whole body recovers its cells and tissues. Balance of hormone is also maintained during our sleep. Disturbing this cycle could be very fatal to your health. If you have been waking up at night and disturbing your sleep cycle, you may be feeling some effects.

Sleep duration for different age group varies. Whatever is your age add 30 minutes to your normal sleep duration. You may ask how do we add time to our sleep duration when its natural. Its not like a timer or something. For this you can practice some little changes. Tonight get ready to sleep early, may be about 10-10:30 pm. Half hr before you sleep do not use any of the electrical devices. Also turn off your alarm clocks.

Sleep by tilting your body to the left side. According to a research doing so is very healthy.

2) Meditate

Meditate at least for 5-10 minutes. Hands down, meditation is the best habit you can practice. Meditation helps to discover yourself, it lets you heat your inner voice. I do it everyday. Typically in the morning for 20- 30 minutes. Those 20-30 minutes sets me up for the rest of the day. This makes me prepared against anything that is to come that day. It makes me calm and copes very well to manage anxieties as well. It has helped me bring put ideas and has helped me solve my problems.

We are constantly giving our attention to a lot of external things. We are mostly on social medias, taking pictures and posting them. We are constantly observing everything that are around us but we rarely take time to observe what’s going inside of ourselves. This is what meditation comes in to save you.

3) Make yourself Independent of your phone.

:Don’t sleep with your phone.

Almost everyone of us, are very attached with our mobile devices. Over the course of yeas, smart phones have slowly but deeply grown on us. It has become like an organ to most of us. Some can’t resist the distance from our phone that we cling to it even when its charging. It has become a parasite that constantly feeds on our attention and disturbs our sleep cycle.

Take it as a challenge and try to spend less time with your phone. Best practice would be, when going to bed keep your phone far enough that you have to get out of your bed to reach it.

Don’t let the phone make you a tool. The phone is supposed to be your tool. Don’t make it the center of universe because there are a lot of things outside of that small box that you should prioritize on.

4) Use the 20/20/20 formula

Robin Sharma has introduced this formula in his book” The 5’am club”. He says that the luxury and tranquility of the early morning hours you can do the deep inner work that will allow you to go out to the world and play at your vest . According to this formula you wake up at 5 am. Do sweaty exercise for 20 minutes. Doing exercise in the morning releases neurotransmitters that reduces cortisol hormone, increases our metabolic rate and also increases serotonin which gives you joy.

So, now its 5:20 am, fundamentally you feel different, you have energy, your state is strong, you have a fire in your belly and you accelerate your focus. 5:20 to 5:40 is the second part. Here you reflect. This is where meditation comes in or you can write your thoughts in a journal. You can also visualize. The last part is 5:40-6’0 clock and this is the victory hour. Here you grow. What do you think the world class successful billionaires have in common. They maintain a strong mentality which is one of the keys to the epic performance. They have relentless commitment to daily growth.

5) Prime yourself

This is an alternative to meditation. For many it is difficult to meditate and maintain continuous focus. If you are one of them,then this method is for you.

Its about putting yourself in a state where your mind and body will respond accordingly.

There are three simple steps;

1) Sit comfortably. Take your hands up in the air as you breathe in and when you pull in your hands down breathe out. Do it fast for sometime.

2) Now relax yourself keeping your eyes closed. Have your palms faced up on your lap. Begin to think of a moment in your life that you feel grateful for. It can be from anytime of your history, your childhood, teenage or recent times. Remember the event and try to step into that time. Try to feel what you felt then. Maximize the enjoyment and gratitude.

3) Now focus on three things you want to accomplish. Three things you want to achieve. Live it and feel it and experience it.

6) Have a good evening routine.

What do you do before going to sleep? What do you watch or listen? Most of us are on social media watching violent Tv shows, horror movies or reading a scary book. These things can make us have very restless sleep and make us wake up very anxious and stressed. It can also affect our deep subconscious mind. So the best way to avoid anxiety and restlessness when you wake up, is to prepare yourself before going to bed. Earlier mentioned habit is one of the solution. Half an hour before going to bed, detach yourself from social media. Sit somfortably. Take slow deep breathes and slowly exale. Focus on your spine as you perform this breathing exercise. Now lay down on your bed and go to sleep.

Which of these habits do you think you need to adapt? Try to reflect on yourself and ask what are the toxic routines am I following. When you find hot routines counteract them with the aforementioned habits.

Good day or good night according to the time you are reading this.....

8 Psychological Tricks you aren't Taught at School

2020-07-06T09:55:00.015+05:45

School has taught us numerous technique that we are using on a daily basis to tackle our problems and make our lives easier, right? Well obviously not.

Our educational institutions have the traditional and orthodoxical syllabus which had been created ages ago and are irrelevant in present context. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really proud to have been informed about our great ancestors, got the skills to prove R.H.S = L.H.S, was able to define cell in completely two different terms and most importantly solved the never ending mystery of x.

On a serious note, we have been deprived of the very basic psychological tricks that would have done wonder in many senarios. But don’t you worry that’s when I come to the rescue. Below I’ve mentioned some simple and yet really working psychological tricks worth trying.

1) Make Them Agree With You

If you want someone to agree with you when asking a question, slightly nod your head while doing so. In psychology its called mirroring. It means that people will be more likely to agree with you if you are sending positive affirmative signals.

2) Engrave what you study

The best way to learn and remember something is by trying to explain it to someone else. First study the material, try to memorize it and then explain. The point where you can’t fully explain the topic is the point you need to work on again. On doing so, you train your brain to focus on the difficult parts. If nobody is available for you to explain, then explain it to yourself. It works that way as well.

We tend to simplify things when explaining to others, therefore this might help you to concentrate on the most important bits of information that you wish to remember.

I personally use this trick. It is another thing that completely unprepared questions are asked in exams ( reason for my low grade..)

3) Reveal your flaws

According to the pratfall effect, people will like you more after you make a mistake but only if they believe you are a competent person. Revealing that you aren’t perfect makes you more relatable and vulnerable toward the people around you.

4) Act like you like them

Psychologist have known for a while about a phenomenon called ‘reciprocity of liking’. When we think someone likes us, we tend to like them as well.

Most recently, it was found that when we expect people to accept us, we act warmer toward them, thereby increasing the chances that they really will like us.

So even if you’re not sure how a person you’re interacting with feels about you, act like you like them and they’ll probably like you back.

5) The Mirroring Technique

You might have heard about his technique and might also have unknowingly used it. I have seen people build compassion among each other.

What you do is when you’re having a conversation with someone you want to bond, try mirroring their body language. Subtle mirroring people’s body language subconsciously makes them think you’re in sync, which works very well for building trusrt.

6) Eliminating Haters

If you think that someone doesn’t like you, try asking them for a really small favor, like borrowing their pen. If they don’t like you, then they will be inclined to say no to your request, naturally.

However, asking to borrow a pen is such a small favor, that its incredibly hard for anyone to say no to that. After accepting your request for small favor, he/she will eventually come to the conclusion that you’re okay after all.

7) Pay attention after the joke

In group settings, when everyone laughs, people will often look first at the person they like the must. This will give you interesting insight as to who in your friend group is into who.

8) The word “ But “

We often use the word “But “, probably all day long. Everybody knows that this word is a conjunction and used to join two sentences. But what people don’t know is that all the emotional weight is pounded on the sentence which follows the word “ But “.

I’ve noticed it many times that when people have mixed messages they deliver the positive one at the beginning and the negative at the end. If your goal is to provide positivity to other, this is not the way you want to do it. Ending the sentence with negative or sad points will make the person end up with sad or negative emotions no matter how positive the first message was.

For example, if your friends invite you to a movie, most people would reply;
I’d love to but I can’t make it.

The emphasis of emotions will be on the later sentence. What you can do here is that you can switch the messages like this;

I can’t make it tonight but I would love to have gone.

Here the emphasis will be on the fact that you appreciate the invitation and would have loved to go.

PS: Keep in mind this is completely different from the scenario of giving criticism. When you have to criticize people but don’t want to hurt their feeling; first give a really good compliment and then drop your criticism. Also, criticize people only when it is positive criticism and for the improvement of the other person.

Negative criticism will not only deeply effect other people but also create a negative aura of you.

Instead of using “ but “, you can also use the word “ and “.
Here’s an example;

I’d love to go and though I can’t make it, I’m glad that you invited me.

So which of these psychological tricks are you going to use once the lockdown is over. Leave a comment below.

My Experience of a Workshop Last Year ( Part-1 )

2020-07-01T16:58:00.001+05:45

It began by a normal link that was shared to one of the messenger group I was in. The link brought me to a page. It was a form, an application form. It was issued by an NGO named YUWA. YUWA has been actively involved in social activities for more than 10 years and has provided many positive results.

(Established in 2009, YUWA is a registered not for profit, purely youth run and led organization working to promote youth participation through empowerment and advocacy. YUWA was born out of a group of committed youths, unofficially working in this sector since 2005. The initial focus was to develop leadership skills of the involved youths, to train as youth activists and to advocate for change, thus resulting into a wide and diverse array of knowledge, skills and experience in this sector. It led to the realization of the seriousness of youth issues and the need to act, which, finally took the shape of YUWA.)

The application form was for the selection of candidates who would be participating in a workshop titled " Youth Leadership and Data Collection ". Well this seemed huge and it was in fact huge. Only 20 candidates were to be selected among hundreds and thousands of applicants of Gandaki province. Not to forget that Pokhara city itself had people of high caliber and potentiality. I was familiar with some people who would definitely fill that form and get selected. I'd already attended a couple of social events and programme and got acquainted with some high contributing personalities. Compared to them, I stood no chance, But the application suggested that it would favor new faces. Well, there I saw a hope. But still I was afraid. A fear was born in lord knows which corner of my heart that made me completely ignore the form for a month.

A month went by, I was with my friends in the college field. We were making plots for tomato research. While we were resting,I informed them about the form of YUWA. Two of them got interested. They said "Let's do it". Let's fill the form, who knows we might get selected. Lets give it a try. Motivated by their response I too, finally filled the form. We helped each other while answering some of the questions.

Few days later, we had totally forgotten about the workshop. Then one morning my friend showed me an email confirming his selection through the first stage. My other friend also confirmed his selection. I then rushed over my phone and checked my email. And there it was, the email of selection. All three of us were happy. But there still remained a hurdle. The second stage of selection which was going to be an interview. We were informed it can happen in a day or two.

This created a doubt in me. I was very anxious. I was confused and wasn't sure if I wanted this. But with my new principle about facing the fear, about doing what scares you, I calmed myself and I didn't succumb to the fear.

It was at the same day at the evening, one of my friends received a call congratulating him for the selection. Just after him my other friend got the call. And you guessed it, at last, I too got the call confirming my selection. Getting all the three friends selected has a separate level of joy and content. Later we came to know that two more friends of ours were selected. We were a total of 5 among 20 participants of the same college.

आत्माहरूको जुलुस ( कविता- Guest post )

2020-06-12T18:38:00.000+05:45

कविता

******

आत्माहरूको जुलुस

***********************

-सरस्वती श्रेष्ठ सरू

मिरमिरे उज्यालो हुँदै गर्दा

हिलाम्य उखुबारीमा

अलिअलि धुक्धुकीमा ब्युँझी जूनकीरी

थाहा पाई आफ्नै सपनाको बलत्कार भएको

उठाउन खोजी सम्हालेर आफैलाई

अफसोच !

क्षत विक्षत् भैसकेका थिए सपनाहरू

अलि पर मिल्किएका थिए आफ्ना पखेटाहरू

जो उसले स्वयं समयलाई बोकेर उडेकी थिई

साथमै थिए अथाह सपनाहरूको बही खाता

जसमा भविष्यको खाका कोर्नु थियो

भिजेछन् रातभर जूनको आँसुले

एकैछिन घर पुग्न ढिलो भए

आत्तिँदै खोज्न पुग्थिन् आमा

तर आज वर्षौँ भयो आमासँग टाढा भएको

कस्तो भयो होला आमालाई ?

सुनसान उखुबारीमा

जूनकीरीको चीत्कार सुनेर

बेहोस प्राय: छन् अझै उखुका पातहरू

अझै ब्युँझन सकेको छैन धर्ती

अझै तेजोमय हुन सकेको छैन घाम

चिरबिराउन सकेका छैनन् चराहरू

जुन दिन भाँचिए जूनकीरीका पखेटाहरू

जुन दिन च्यातियो जामा

र गरियो निर्मम हत्या

त्यही दिनदेखि खुलेआम ,निर्धक्क डुलिरहेछ अपराधी

मानौँ बलत्कारीले बलात्कार गरेकै छैन

हत्याराले हत्या गरेकै हैन

अपराधी भेटिएझैँ हुन्छ

भेटिएझैँ मात्र हुन्छ भेटिएको हुँदैन

अपराधी पहिचान गरिएझैँ हुन्छ

पहिचान गरिएझैँ मात्र हुन्छ

पहिचान गरिएको हुँदैन

पटकपटक छानबिन हुन्छ

पटकपटक मुचुल्का उठाइन्छ

एकाध डि एन ए परिक्षण गरिन्छ

तर पहिचान गरिन्न

जुन दिनदेखि अपराधीको पहिचान गर्न छोडियो

त्यही दिनदेखि भट्किरहेको छ आत्मा जूनकीरीको

सरकार !

कलिलो र निर्दोष आत्माले न्याय नपाउनु ?

के भुइँ मान्छेले न्याय नपाउनु ?

सुनेका छैनौ तिमीले लाखौं पुतलीहरूका मौन आवाज ?

सुनेका छैनौ लाखौं जूनताराका मौन चीत्कार ?

सुनेका छैनौ लाखौं फूलहरूका मौन कोलाहल ?

मौनताको शक्ति त खतरनाक हुन्छ नि ख्याल गर !

एक दिन ओर्लिने छ गल्ली गल्लीबाट

चोकचोकबाट

बस्ती बस्तीबाट

पुतलीहरूको जुलुस

जूनताराहरूको जुलुस

फूलहरूको जुलुस

आत्माहरुको जुलुस

र त्यतिबेला तिमीले घुँडा टेक्नु पर्नेछ ।

About the writer

Saraswoti Shrestha 'Saru' is an inspiring poetess who has been contributing in the field of Nepali literature for about 3 decades. She is a teacher by occupation.
Following are some of her published books;
थुँगा थुँगा जिन्दगानी ( गीत सङ्ग्रह ) ,
एक झुल्को घाम ओर्लेर सडकमा ( कविता सङ्ग्रह ),
फूलहरूको आँधी ( कविता सङ्ग्रह ) ,

किट्टी (बाल कथा सङ्ग्रह )

अनुभूतिमा मृत्यु ( Poem- Guest post )

2020-06-12T11:17:00.002+05:45

अनुभूतिमा मृत्यु

**************

----सरस्वती श्रेष्ठ सरू

जिन्दगीले आज

नजिकैबाट मृत्युुले छोएर गएको देख्यो

मृत्युले कसैलाई पर्खंदैन

मृत्युले कसैलाई सुन्दैन

मृत्युले कसैलाई मान्दैन

मृत्युले आफ्नो आगमन

कसैलाई भन्दैन

जिन्दगी आफूलाई अनुभूत गर्छ

मृत्यु आफ्नो नजिकै मडारिरहेको छ

मृत्युले आफूलाई सुम्सुम्याइ रहेको छ

जिन्दगीले अझै केही गरेकै छैन

अपूरा छन् इच्छाहरू

अधुरा छन् आकांक्षाहरू

भरखरै सुरु गरिएका

जीवनयात्राका गोरेटाहरूमा

गन्तव्यमा पुग्न बाँकी छन् पाइलाहरू

अधुरै छन् जिन्दगीका हिसाबकिताबहरू

कति हिसाबहरू लिन बाँकी छन्

कति हिसाबहरू दिन बाँकी छन् ।

भरखरै सारेका आफ्ना बिम्बात्मक बिरुवाहरूमा

फूलहरू फुल्न बाँकी नै छन्

उकेरा लगाउन बाँकी नै छ जरामा

उकेराबिना कसरी हुर्केलान्,बढ्लान् र गन्तव्यमा पुग्लान् ?

जिन्दगीले आफ्नै नामको नागरिकता

धित् मर्नेगरी ओल्टाइपल्टाइ गर्छ

यो नागरिकता लिएर आफू यो देशको नागरिक हुँदाको दिन

जिन्दगी भावुकतावश धित मर्ने गरि रोएको थियो

आफ्नो माटोमा एउटा बास उभ्याउने उसको मनोकांक्षा

पूरा नहुँदै मृत्युले निमन्त्रणा दिएझैँ

अनुभुति भएको छ

सोचमग्न छ

चिन्तित छ

बेहोस प्राय: छ

अलमलमा छ

कहाँ कसलाई के भन्ने हो ?

कोसँग के भन्ने हो ?

अहँ केही सुझबुझ छैन

आफू नभएपछिको यो घर

आफू नभएपछिको यो संसार

आफू नभएपछिको यो गोरेटो

आफू नभएपछिको प्रेम

आफू नभएपछिको जीवनसाथी

आफू नभएपछिको सन्तती

सबका सब के होलान् ?

सबका सब के गर्लान् ?

भरखरैसम्म लिइरहेको निस्वास कहाँ जाला ?

भर्खरैसम्मको तातोपन,यो ढुकढुकी कहाँ जाला ?

यो जड शरीर माटोमा मिल्ने छ

आत्मा ईश्वरमा लीन हुने छ

मृत्यु शाश्वत सत्य हो

यो अस्वाभाविक पनि होइन

यो स्वभाविक पनि छैन

साँच्चै !

मृत्युु थाहा पाएपछि नजिकैबाट

शून्य महसुस हुने रहेछ

मोह भङ्ग हुने रहेछ

मृत्युको सामिप्यमा

जीवन साँच्चै डग्मगाउँदो रहेछ ।

About the writer

Saraswoti Shrestha 'Saru' is an inspiring poetess who has been contributing in the field of Nepali literature for about 3 decades. She is a teacher by occupation.

Following are some of her published books;

थुँगा थुँगा जिन्दगानी ( गीत सङ्ग्रह ) ,

एक झुल्को घाम ओर्लेर सडकमा ( कविता सङ्ग्रह ),

फूलहरूको आँधी ( कविता सङ्ग्रह ) ,

किट्टी (बाल कथा सङ्ग्रह )

Elon Musk's Secret Thinking Method: Only 1% people Do This

2020-06-08T11:24:00.000+05:45

Elon Musk is the game changer. He is one of the most audacious entrepreneurs the world has ever seen. He established two companies. One of them was Sapce X whose goal is to make reusable rockets. This task was something that even NASA and ROSCOSMOS couldn't do. But he did it and made a huge achievement for the whole humanity.

Recently Sapce X has become the first commercial company to launch astronauts to space. Another company is Tesla whose goal is to manufacture electric cars. These companies were created not just for money but to solve the greatest problems of humans.

There is a secret thinking method that Elon and few people in this world use. It is very powerful method. Do you want to know this method? Obviously you do.

Two General Methods of Thinking

The method is to think using first principle. So what is this

' First Principle '. Let me elaborate. We humans think by two ways.

1) Analogy

2) First Principle

When we think from analogy we draw conclusion from already existing idea, opinions and experiences. For example suppose you want to learn a new language say Japanese. But when you think with past experience ( analogy ), you remember reading an article which said that it is difficult to learn language when you grow up. This idea sets in your mind and you give up even without trying.

But when you think with the first principle, you will focus on the undeniable truth and facts. The truth is that you can speak and pronounce any words. You are neither mute nor you stutter. And if all these are true, whether it is Japanese/Spanish, you can learn any language. Thus we can draw better and clear conclusion.

What is First Principle thinking

First Principle thinking is one of the best ways to reverse engineer complicated problems and unleash creative possibility. Sometimes called ' reasoning from first principle' .

The idea is to break down complicated problems into basic elements and then reassemble them from ground up. It is one of the best ways to learn to think for yourself, unlock your creative potential and move from linear to non-linear results.

In first principle, we continue to ask questions to ourselves and reach the state where we can provide logical reasoning to the topic we are thinking about.

This approach was used by the philosopher Aristotle and is used now by Elon Musk and Charlie Munger. It allows them to cut through the dog of shoddy reasoning and inadequate analogies to see opportunities that other miss.

" I don't know what's the matter with people: they don't learn by understanding; they learn by some other way -by Rote or something. Their knowledge is so fragile. "

- Richard Feynman

Aristotle writing on first principle

" In every systematic inquiry (methods) where there are first principle, or causes, or elements, knowledge and science results from acquiring knowledge of these; for we think we know something just in case we aquire knowledge of the primary causes, the primary first principles, all the way to the elements. "

Benefits

Reasoning by first principles removes the impurity of assumptions and convections. What remains is the essentials. It's one of the best mental models you can use to improve your thinking because the essentials allow you to see where reasoning by analogy might lead you astray.

" To understand is to know what to do. "

-Wittgenstem

Techniques for Establishing First Principles.

There are many ways to apply first principles. Let's talk about a few of them.

Socratic Questions

This is a disciplined questioning process, used to establish truths, reveal underlying assumptions and separate knowledge from ignorance.

Socratic questioning generally follows following process:

1) Clarifying your thinking and explaining the origin of your ideas. ( Why do I think this? What exactly do I think?)

2) Challenging assumptions ( How do I know this is true? What if I thought the opposite?)

3) Looking for evidence ( How can I back this up? What are the sources? )

4) Considering alternative perspectives( What might others think? How do I know I am correct? )

5) Examining consequences and implications ( What if I am wrong? What are the consequences if I am? )

6) Questioning the original questions ( Why did I think that? Was I correct? What conclusions can I draw from the reasoning process? )

This process stops you from relying on your gut and limits strong emotional response. This process helps you build something that lasts.

Description from Elon

What's most interesting about Musk is not what he thinks but how he thinks.

I think people's thinking process is too bound by convention or analogy to prior experiences. It's rare that people try to think of something on a first principles basis. They'll say, " We'll do that because its always been done that way. " Or they'll not do it because, " Well, nobody's ever done that, so it must not be good. " But that's just a ridiculous way to think. You have to build up the reasoning from the ground up. " From the first principles " is the phrase that's used in physics. You look at the fundamentals and construct your reasoning from that, and then you see if you have a conclusion that works or doesn't work and it may or may not be different from what people have done in the past."

His approach to understanding reality is to start with what is true, not with his intuition. The problem is that we don't know as much as we think we do, so our intuition isn't very good. We trick ourselves into thinking we know what's possible and what's not.

What Holds Us Back?

Most of the people have difficulty to adopt thinking through first principle because our society has influenced us since our childhood. To kids we do not prioritize giving then actual facts and truths. We conclude their curiosity by stating the last experience of the humanity. For example when a child asks why we shouldn't cut our nails inside our home we answer simply because everybody does it since the past. There's no specific reason. But there is a reason. Our nails are very suitable residence for various bacteria and viruses. Cutting the nails inside the home will allow these bacteria and viruses to remain inside the home and could result to future diseases and health problem.

Similarly other analogical thinking are superstitious belief. When we ask why we shouldn't cross the road after a cat crosses it, the society answers because we shouldn't, everybody does that since the past. Why we shouldn't eat that... , because our religion says so. Why we should join that club, ...because everybody's joining. Why should we dress up like that, ...because it's the trend.

Why is he/she discriminated?... because our ancestors did that. There are a lot of examples and this has been going on since the millennium. In most of the cases there are no logical answers.

Summary from Elon

I think it's important to reason from first principle rather than by analogy. So the normal way we conduct our lives is, we reason by analogy. We are doing this because it's like something else that was done, or it is like what other people are doing. And it's mentally easier to reason by analogy rather than from first principles. First principle is kind of a physics way of looking at the world, and what that really means is, you boil things down to the most fundamental truths an say," okay, what are we sure is true"..and then reason up from there. That takes a lot more mental energy.

Conclusion

Many people mistakenly believe that creativity is something that only some of us are born with, and either we have it or we don't. Fortunately, there seems to be ample evidence that this isn't true. We're all born rather creative, but during our formative years, it can be beaten out of us by busy parents and teachers. As adults we rely on convention and what we're told because that's easier than breaking things down into first principles and thinking for ourselves.

Very few people make the use of first principle and can provide scientific answers. And that's why these people can challenge the conventional ways by their logical mind. So, next time when you think, before you draw conclusion or opinion, ask frequent questions until you find the logic and truth behind it.

Author's Letter:

Dear readers,

If you have reached up to this point then I express my whole hearted gratitude to all of you for your love and support. Please subscribe if you haven't and do share the post if you liked it. It will surely help me grow. Stay tuned, there are a lot of articles such as these to come in the future.

Yours,

Saugat Shrestha

This Is How You Maximize Your Productivity

2020-06-05T09:18:00.002+05:45

Our society and culture has taught us that its honourable to be working 24/7, that its honourable to rise and grind and spend all your time working. We generally devalue who does not work or does not seem to have been working. We think that the ones that are occupied or busy 24/7 are the most successful ones or the most productive ones.

Productivity Defined

Being busy and always moving through task is not the same as being productive. Productivity is getting the results you aim for with less time and effort. When you are productive, you won't be chasing declines or running behind schedule to get done. You'll probably be ahead of the schedule.

The Old Productivity Formula

The basic productivity formula ( productivity = output divided by input ) worked well in the industrial age as the output and input were clearly defined measurable.

Today's leaders need innovative solutions to measure and improve productivity in a knowledge based workplace, as the measurement of output an input is not what it was.

Robin Sharma's Tip to Maximize Your Productivity

According to a research the best performers are not working in a linear way but in a cyclical way. What it means us that continuous work on your project is not the best way to be fully productive. You need focus and enthusiasm whenever you are working. Continuous grinding in them decreases these factors. What you need is to have some sessions of break and then back to your work.

The key to getting epic things done is not getting up in the morning and working till late at night. The key is more like work in short bursts of intense productivity and then take time to recover.

So everyday, work for few hours and then take some time off. Go for a walk/run, then go back to work for few more hours and then take some time off. May be take a nap or cook what you love. You can even take some days off every month. This will help you rejuvenate.

" Recovery is not a Luxury. It's an absolute necessity. "

- Robin Sharma

This Is How You Make An Impact

2020-06-02T16:01:00.002+05:45

The Power of Consistency

In this world, you can get anything instantly. Everything can be achieved instantaneously, except for things like job satisfaction and strength of relationships. There are no shortcuts for that. They are slow, messy and uncomfortable processes. Most of the youngsters want to have an instant result, an instant achievement. They do not concern themselves with consistent effort. They are energetic and full of enthusiasm but they quit too early because they fail to make an impact. For the young generation like you and me, the impact means making a statement achieving goal/success, reaching the summit.

I imagine that summit to be a mountain. It doesn't matter if we go up that mountain quickly or slowly but there's still a mountain. It ain't going anywhere. So what our generation needs to learn is patience. That some of the things like love, joy, satisfaction take time to be achieved. Sometimes you get to have little taste of these but the overall journey is long and difficult. That is why if we don't ask for help and learn the necessary skill set, we are going to fall from that mountain.

Let's have an example. Imagine that you go to the gym, workout and look in the mirror. There's no change. The next day you do the same and still see no change. You go through these cycles for some days then declare that this process is ineffective and hence quit. But if you believe that this is the right course of action and stick to it consistently, then I'm not sure which day but eventually you will start getting into shape. I am sure of it. This goes same for all the other new things we try, new projects we join with full of enthusiasm at the first few days but latter drop them. Like when leading to draw, dance, play an instrument or even with getting started with your business. Consistensy is important.

The same goes with the relationship. It's not about the events, its not the intensity, it's about consistency. Let me ask you a question. What happens when you brush your teeth two times for 2 minutes for 1 day? Nothing, unless you do it everyday. It's all about piling up or stack up the progress you achieve with your habits and efforts. It's the consistency. Going to the gym for 9 hrs does not get you into shape. Working out everyday consistently for 20 minutes gets you into shape.

What was the last training you attended? What skills did you learn from that training? Do you still practise those skills and use them as you did during the first few days after you learnt them? Were you consistent or did you have up? Were you patient enough to keep practicing the new habits you installed in your routines with the sole objective of your personal growth and improvement. If you were, I congratulate you. But if you weren't, I encourage you to try it one more time. Restart performing these habits consistently with patience and belief. I know you will obtain what you desire and I am sure of it.

5 Crucial Habits To Be Done Once A week

Author's Letter:

Dear readers,

Yours,

Saugat Shrestha

5 Crucial Habits To Be Done Once A Week

2020-05-30T21:06:00.002+05:45

Habits are the small parts of our routines. Habits can structure our personality and productivity. We have all heard and practised daily habits, something like waking up early, daily exercise, jogging, taking shower, reading books and so on. But there are somethings that we couldn't manage the time to accomplish on a daily basis. What are those things you ask. Well let's talk about 5 of those things that you should do at least once a week.

1) Text or call someone you haven't talked to with in a while

Have you ever had someone you talk to a lot at some point but now although having good relation with them haven't heard from them since a long time? This must have happend to a lot of you. We as well as them get so busy in our daily routine that we slowly get distant form them in terms of communication. We remember them obviously but we get too lazy to text them first and assume they do not care about us anymore. But most of the time the same thought is what they have. So, just make the move and text/call them once in a while. Give them a heads up so that they can know that you remember and care about them.

2) All Out Workout

Everyday workout could be time consuming as well as bear too much roll on some people's body. But it should not stop you from exercising. It is not necessary to be carrying heavy weights or getting extremely strict in diet. Doing something that makes you tried and make you sweat is quite enough.

For people doing exercise on a regular basis, so something that is out of your routine. So something that pushes your limits. It could be performing an extra set, a couple of extra repetition or you can dance to your heart extent. ( I do that, it's really fun.)

3) Quick Financial Health Checkup

It is important that you give yourself a reality check where you are spending your money at. A lot of the times, we often get carried away and could lead up to spending too much. Along with expenses, you should keep reviewing your bank account. How much money is there? Is there the amount that it's supposed to be? Check your financial transactions. It can be a monthly habit but doing it on a weekly basis doesn't seem to do any harm, does it?

4) Do a High Density Fun Activity

We might have been doing fun activities like playing video games, talking to our loved ones, performing our hobbies, watching movies/series but they are not high density activity that can from a memory. So once in awhile plan something really fun with your friends or family that holds the capability to be embedded in our memories. It can be hiking to a small distance ( Not recommended during this lockdown ), all out dancing with friends or simply reviewing your old childhood photos with your parents.

5) Perform Productive Activity

With all of our busy daily routines,it is necessary that we do something different. Something that is not our work or obligation but purely because we are interested in those things. You can interpret it as performing your hobbies that you love. Have something up your sleeves that keeps feeding your curiosity and enables you to explore yourself. It can be drawing, writing articles, poems, signing songs, playing instruments, etc. For me it's dancing. My feets just can't resist the music.

Author's Letter:

Dear readers,

Yours,

Saugat Shrestha

This Is How You Boost Your Self-esteem

2020-05-21T16:15:00.000+05:45

Self doubt is something that can occur to anyone at any stage of life. The feeling of self doubt doesn't discriminate between rich and poor, successful and unsuccessful.

When in self doubt, the person questions himself/herself about his/her meaning of existence. The person remembers last embarrassing moments or traumas and also gets anxious about the future. He/she forgets about the present time. The feeling of sorrow and pain are inevitable in this case.

Then what could be the solution to this universal psychological problem. What could be the answer? Well, there is a catch, the answer is in the question. Yes, you heard it right the solution to self doubt is through some questions and it is not a paradox. The question are not simple questions, they are empowering questions. Here are some examples. Pick a pen and paper and try giving positive answers to them.

1) What about me is interesting?

2) What do people like about me?

3) What qualities and accomplishments am I most proud of ?

4) What should I change about myself?

5) What 5 things made me happiest in my life?

6) Who do I most admire in my life and why?

7) What three things could I do to be a more loving person?

Have you answered them honestly? If you did, you might have made a discovery about yourself that you had long forgotten. These questions drag your self esteem from your deep subconscious and make you a little bit more prouder and more confident

Every time you feel low, instead of listening to add songs that intensify your sorrow, ask yourself these questions and give yourself a bath of positivity.

If you want to know about self confidence, do check this out:

One Simple Rule To Self confidence

One Simple Rule To Self-confidence

2020-05-20T10:16:00.002+05:45

Confidence is a feeling of faith and belief in someone or something. Self confidence hence refers to having faith, trust and belief in own self. " Self confidence " the word in itself sounds so simple yet so complicated. People are aware that self confidence is the key to tackling the problems of life but are unaware of the key to access it. The modern society has made self confidence in US vulnerable that can easily be shattered.

So, what makes ourself confidence vulnerable. What is that thing that makes you question yourself about your ability an knowledge. The answer is simple, " addiction ". Not the addiction of drugs, technologies, alcohol and not even sex. It is the addiction of approval of others. In today's world I social media,we think we can't rank ourselves without comparing with others. We blindly follow the trend and don't take the courage to defend our perspective against the trend. If a huge mass is doing it, we think we should also do it and believe it because we feel that's how we get approved and have a social presence. We have become the sheep that will follow the crowd even towards the end of the world.

Self confident people whether they are athletes,lecturers,parents,leaders, etc. they keep their words. Yes, the foundation of self confidence is to keep the promises you made to yourself. Don't just plan to improve yourself. Writing down notes on your diary about eating healthy to perform those actions. You have to do what you had said to yourself you will do. Along with keeping those promise, give yourself credit for the action and say ' I did what I said I'll do'. Piling up on such actions later will make you to acknowledge yourself if the man/woman of words. This is the foundation of self confidence. It will subconsciously make you trust yourself.

If you constantly get influenced by what other people think about you, it means there is deficiency in what you think about you. So, the key is the pattern of keeping promises that you made to yourself. That's the one simple rule to self confidence.

Having problems with self esteem? read this :

This is How you boost your self esteem

The Major Secret to Success

2020-05-17T05:52:00.000+05:45

In life you see people succeed and you also see people fail. Failure and success are like two sides of the same coin. When we see successful person, most of the time we don't realize the struggle, patience, pain and failure that the person has went through. See this is the problem in today's society. We directly want to get success without expecting failure, pain and struggle. If you are not prepared for failure and struggle then you are definitely not ready to succed.

Let me tell you the secret for success. Actually it is not a secret. It is something that everybody knows since childhood. Do you know what happens when you put a rotten apple in a basket full of fresh good apples?......Yes, you are right they all get rotten. If you surround yourself with negative people, you are bound to drift away from your goals and failure is inevitable. Sometimes this type of failure is eye opener like for many drug addicts, alcoholics who latter have improved themselves and succeded but for many it's too late and even loose their previous life.

Selecting your peers is so important that it might decide for your future. If you are around creative people you are bound to get some creativity in you. If you surround yourself with body builders, you will eventually start working out. See there are a lot of examples and some of them might have already been experienced by you.

Whom do you think the millionaires and billionaires of the world prefer in their circle. Who do you think the CEOs of successful company have regular meetings with. It's obviously with people with their similar mindset and goals. People with positive attitude who always have the hunger for improvement. Such people keep challenging you to maintain pace with them in the life long journey of self improvement.

So are you with the people who have positive mindsets and have appetite for growth or are you just wasting your time with pessimistic people?? Give it a thought.

Here are some of my other articles that might interest you:

1. This Is How You Boost Your Self-esteem

2. One Simple Rule to Self confidence
3. A Little Bit Of Pep Talk

A Little Bit of Pep Talk

2020-05-10T15:31:00.002+05:45

Every once in a while, people need to get motivated. It doesn't matter how successful or confident they are, self motivation is necessary to keep fueling them up. For people with low confidence and anxiety issues this becomes even more crucial.

For fueling your self, there has been a trend since ancient times to give a little bit of "pep talk" to yourself in front of mirror. This technique has been used by may be all of us. It can be compared to affirmations. Well you can say it is another form of affirmations. The only difference is you pump yourself up or multiply your motivation to take an action in an instant. Such is the power of pep talk. Holding an eye contact to yourself in front of mirror is very effective while doing the pep talk.

Pep talk can also be used to remind yourself of your goals and improvements you need to make. Here I present you some sentences you can give a thought to.

1) I have to speak and show my presence.
2) I must get out of my comfort zone.
3) Stepping out of my comfort zone will unlock new possibilities for me. So, if I see any opportunity that is beyond my comfort zone, I shall cross my comfort zone.
4) People should have respect for me, remember me, seek for me. This is possible if I can develop and demonstrate a strong and bold personality.

Being Better Than Best

2020-05-07T22:30:00.000+05:45

Never aim for being the best or perfect. It will limit your potential and growth. Instead aim for new spaces and horizons to improve yourself. Aiming for better rather than best will always maintain the hunger in you to learn and grow.