Collection Of Random Thoughts

Moving to iPENthisBLOG. Bye CORT

2011-06-16T01:45:00.005+05:30

Collectionofrandomthoughts.com is moving to www.iPENthisBLOG.com

I had been authoring both the blogs for sometime. I think it is time to merge the blogs into one. Moreover I am unable to maintain two separate blogs.

In iPENthisBLOG, I had been posting technology posts and my design works until now.

There is gonna be a complete rejig of iPENthisBLOG, to accomodate CollectionofRandomthoughts contents.

iPENthisBLOG is gonna become more personal, which would act more as MY PERSONAL blog than be a technology oriented blog. I think this would give me more freedom and space to write articles that I like and hopefully be useful to you too.

The CORT posts would be moved in a few weeks to iPENthisBLOG and the rejig too would be rolled out by September.

CollectionOfRandomThoughts stops here and would be unavailable from September. I don't feel nostalgic at all, to be frank, as only the name is getting changed and hopefully iPtB would become as dear and personal as CORT to me and as well as to you. See you in iPtB.

UPDATE: CORT is now moved to www.ipenthisblog. see you there :)
Thanks,
Ganesh

Belief - One trait we could hold on to.

2011-01-09T22:29:00.004+05:30

One simple wonderment. Kids are often happy and seldom sad. Why? Really, what keeps them happy?

Innocence? Might be. Wait, then I can't be happy anytime. Innocence is ignorance in adult life. I can't be innocent if I need to be ready and well prepared for the surprises the world throws at me.

Innocence would be liked by many and would be exploited by even more people. So being an adult and being innocent is rather a bane than a boon.

Lack of responsibility? That too isn't easy for an adult. I would be responsible in bringing the food to the table in my home. I can't be irresponsible and affect the lives of people who depend on me. In a way, responsibility keeps me grounded and makes me more human. I like this trait. I would not like to think responsibility is what makes me unhappy.

In a way responsibility makes me even more content and focussed.

What else is there then for kids to be joyous and go about their lives like butterflies.

Can adults be as care free as the kids, unbound by any streaks of fear or sadness? Though there is the responsibility which keeps us grounded and human. Though there is this knowledge, which makes us see the beauty and the ugliness of the world alike, there is one thing which could make us feel content and soar like the kites in the sky.

That is BELIEF. Children believe in everything. They keep their possibilities open. They think everything and anything is possible. Ask a kid what he would like to become when he grows up? He would say a doctor and a commando. An actor and a policeman. An astronaut. A rock star. Endless list of funny parallel professions too :)

This can be called ignorance. But they are happy because they see the possibility. They don't see the impossibles.

When I say belief, I mean mainly the belief in oneself. They see their true selves. They keep the option open that there is something unknown to them about themselves. We think we know us better. We act as if we know who we are.

That belief in oneself. That thinking that one can do much more than what one thinks of himself. The acceptance that the best of oneself is not yet realized would make us happy.

Simple question. Do you believe in yourself? If you are able to say YES without thinking about the past successes, past failures; Then you are bound to succeed and be happy in life.

People who believe they are destined to become successful and happy, lead a fulfilling happy life.

Never estimate yourself against your abilities. Just believe that you are capable of doing better.

Believe in yourself and see the world through different eyes. See the magic unravel in front of you.

A right way to live consciously

2010-03-31T08:45:00.003+05:30

We have heard a lot about ‘Power of Now’. Everyone seems to be self-contemplative and living a conscious life. Living Consciously is more important than mere living.

If everyone of us is leading a conscious life and we know the power of now, then why do we sense despair sometimes around us. Why do we feel drained of our energies after thinking of our way of life, our living pattern.

Why do we don’t feel rejuvenated(sometimes) when we put our thoughts on how our present condition is and what are we going to do about it. We should be joyous and enjoying it when we think what we are and where are we right now and where we intend to go, right?

If you think about it, it would seem as if the answer had been lying right in front of you, all along. Before getting down to why we aren’t at our best of our potential and energy, answer this. Do you like what you are now? Do you accept the present condition without bitterness or self-doubt or self-pity.

Not accepting the present and thinking to move out of it somehow or the other is not conscious living. Conscious living is always and keep in mind is ALWAYS about decisions. You worrying about the present, looking for something better out there is not conscious living. If you want to reach destination ‘B’, you need to accept that you are at ‘A’ and then you need to map the route to B from A. Not accepting that you are at ‘A’ and planning to go to ‘B’ is absurd, right?

Feeling (sorry/ ashamed/down/ sad/ not satisfied/ not fulfilling/not enough…) about the present condition would relieve you from emotional stress but that is not conscious living asks you to do. It wants to make you the best and it asks you for more. Living consciously means you make yourself a better human being who is successful and content and that comes when you cross the emotional aspects of your present condition and make the DECISION. Only decision is conscious living, not thinking about your present and fanaticizing the future.

Making your dream into a reality lies in your hands and believe me it is hardwork. Respect yourself, by doing what you have decideded. Until you don’t decide to do something about the present and act on it (right now), you could not call yourself to be leading a conscious life. Because, many think of how to change themselves but hardly any do anything about it.

In a nutshell, 2 things makes self-improvement or conscious-living, a mere waste when,
1. When you don’t really accept the present as it is.

2. When you don’t decide and act on it.

===
This blog is a collection of self-improvement articles written keeping myself in mind. So that now and then I could drop by and make a change in myself. I am able to see the readership is increasing steadily though my articles aren’t published regularly.
TO ACT being the motive of this blog than it is for mere reading, I like to make a dedication, this article being appropriate, to all my Happy, prosperous, joyous and contented readers who are thriving to extract all that life could give. To you all. God bless. Happy living. :)

The Void-Word

2009-12-01T07:29:00.001+05:30

Of all the words there are to enchant me, there is one word that always is exotic and dearest to me. It is the loudest, clearest in meaning and the most gratifying word.

A ‘Thank You’, a ‘Sorry’, an ‘I love you’ - all are wonderful bundle of words and they have their special occasions. They are powerful, enchanting words.

My favorite word is more powerful, more enchanting, more endearing, more fulfilling with meanings aplenty. Used in the right place to the right extent, it could replace almost every word and yet convey the truth beautifully.

That golden word is ‘the word that is unsaid’. The word that you chose not to utter; the word that failed to be heard, because you were crying in joy; the word that could have made you feel small, if you had uttered; the word, if you had said, that could have gone wasted; the word that could have potentially killed your relationship.

It is the void – the empty space that fills those words that didn’t make it, that I adore the most.

Thought is a bland stone and intention – the chisel. When you want to make your words count and be appreciated and beautiful, you need to work hard on your thoughts.

More the words that are chiseled out – more beautiful and perfect your final impact is, just like a detailed sculpture has a lot of rock chiseled out.

Easy way to handle any situation is not to react too quickly. Take in the situation and take your time and make a conscious effort to present it as beautiful as the situation calls for. I even consider ‘Anger’ to be beautiful. So, even if you are angry and want to vent out your fury, choose the right words and make the right impact. You shouldn’t hurt yourself with the words you choose.

Words are a mighty tool, use them wisely.

Falling in love with this ‘Void-word’, you would become better in many facets, like…you would get better in experiencing life and its beauty by replacing a vague, superficial ‘love you too’ with a hug and a kiss.

People, who choose their words while talking become better listeners. You would tend to cut off the crap words that you often use, often keep repeating, and forgetting the people and their emotions.

When you fall in love with the void-word you would invariably learn to control your emotions.

Speak less, communicate effectively and live in peace.

Gossip

2009-11-28T07:26:00.002+05:30

The easiest way to fall from the path of growth and forget your purpose, is to gossip. Talk, talk and talk to drown yourself in the thought of others and until you forget yourself.

Why is it very easy to talk about others and not about yourself with your friends? Have you laughed out loud, enacting the silly way you walk, or have you ridiculed yourself for that protruding belly of yours or the patch of hair that is missing baring your cranium or the way you stutter when you face an audience of even ten people.

If you could not laugh at yourself for the smallest of flaws you have, you can’t expect someone to take your comments on them lightly, in the ‘right spirit’.

You gossip for 2 reasons, you are either jealous of that person or you don’t respect yourself.

If you don’t try to live a life of purpose, it is easy to whine away your time, talking about others. It is the lack of confidence in ourselves and the fear and inability to think about our own future that makes us to get diversion by looking at others.

It is the easy way out, right? Somehow, the society likes people to be mediocres and not achievers. It somehow can’t handle a lot of great achievers. Newspapers, T.V. and all media feed people what people like the most – an antidote to forget their lives and see others live life.

A cutback in T.V. watching and reading gossip columns in paper could help us save some time to spend on our own lives.

When was the last time, you thought about learning something new. When was the last time, you thought of pleasing someone you love. When was the last time, you thought you need to take care of your health and really did something about it. When was the last time, you wanted to work on your flaws.

If your answer was not somewhere in the last few weeks or months, you know – you are ignoring the most important person in this earth from your gossip talks.

What Shahrukh had for dinner or Tendulkar ate for lunch is not that important when compared to what you are eating now. Is it healthy? These are the questions that are more important.

This is not heavy duty stuff. If asking you to forget about others and look at yourself is heavy duty?… Then, you know you are living a happy, complete life, in dreams when reality beckons you to start working on it.

Stop the banter and achieve the true joy. It is hard work but worth it.

Humans=Hypocrites?

2009-11-23T11:43:00.003+05:30

Hypocrisy - heard this word?

It is defined by Princeton WordNetWeb as - "insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have ". Such a person is said to be a hypocrite.

It has become synonymous with the word "human", now a days.

What makes us (at least most of us) pretend what we are not. What is the fun in lying, acting all day, all long throughout our lives.

We are not in some damn movie, where we are supposed to be THE perfect person, never missing the script of a good person. Every one of us have flaws and when we try to cover them up and project ourselves as THE perfect person, we fail pathetically.

We could succeed in hypnotizing everyone except one and that one person losing her/his respect on you is what you could not afford. She/he is you.

In the battle to be liked, be adored by all, you start hating yourself for being a phony. No one likes to be a phony, including those who put on a face and try to charm all, yet baring their true selves without knowing it all through.

What is wrong in having a few blotches in yourself. Inability to read, inability to talk fluently, inability to carry 20kg in one go, inability to comprehend something quickly, inability to socialize... Nothing matters and nothing looks ugly until you try to patch them up and cover them up.

Accepting yourself to be what you are is not that difficult when you keep all the Joes and Joannas out of the perception of your true self. You need to appreciate your goods and accept your drawbacks.

The funny thing is - Hypocrites, in the first instance when they pretend, turn out to be believers and fall for their own pretence. Uff!! a vicious cycle, a beautiful trap with all the right ingredients needed to lose your identity for ever.

A simple question - Did you or did you not do something/didn't do something, not because you decided so, but just because it is what others would have wanted you to do. That my friend, is losing your identity.

What makes a person interesting is not his/her perfections but their imperfections. A personality is both the good and the bad of the person. Appreciate the good and accept the flaws. This simple attitude shift, could alleviate a lot of unnecessary pain you undergo while putting up that 'ultimate, perfect person' show.

A knowledge that there is a lot of space for you to grow and you have not hit the ceiling is a relieving, unwinding sensation. And this sensation comes when you remove all the clutter of false pretences and hypocrisy and start seeing yourself clearly. Then, you get an opportunity to take actions on your flaws.

It helps you keep your feet on the ground and yet keep the skies clear to soar, because you know where you really stand and what lies ahead.

See Like a Child

2009-11-20T11:42:00.001+05:30

Story time....

I would like to tell you a small incident which took place a few thousand hundred years ago in India. It was a time when disciples stay with their masters and serve them to learn from them.

A master and sage, who had his abode in an exquisite, picturesque spot along the banks of Ganges with abundance of greenery and wildlife, whose name got lost but not his deeds nor this story, was a man of great respect and wisdom.

People from all lands wanted their children to serve this sage to become a scholar.

He had his unique ways of imparting knowledge. Students are put through a lot of ordeals every day. They always, no exceptions, learn it the hard way.

Yet another intriguing thing about this sage is, he never delivers the crux of the wisdom. He asks a question and let the students mince on it to find the answer and relish the wisdom they found.

He had a student who was proficient in almost everything he lay his hands on. He was a confident, intelligent, handsome young boy. He was the ideal child any parent could have wished for.

The master had a habit of taking in one student at a time for as long as he thinks the student is fit enough to go back to the society as a righteous citizen with enough wisdom to make the society a better place.

This student, who was presently with the master, had been there with him for three years and nine months now. He had been serving his master with dedication. The master had proclaimed him to have acquired all knowledge from him an year back and yet he had not declared him good enough to leave him and join his family.

The student was not dare enough to ask his master for the reason that he was all aware of the temperament of his master.

One fine early morning, the master woke his student and said to the student,

'Son, could you tell me something?'

The student scrubbed his eyes, stood up and with all respect and sincerity, replied - 'Yes master. As you say, what do you want?'

'I have taught you all that I could and yet I feel that you are not yet ready to leave. What could be the reason son?'

Student replied, 'Master. I too know that you taught me all and that too well. I am the best of me now. I think, we are bonded by affection and that could be the reason.'.

Master, with an affectionate smile replied 'Yes, yes my son, it could be that. Yeah, you are right. You are at your best. Would you be the same good student when I come to see you some years later?'

Student with tears flowing, replied - 'Yes master, of course. I am your student.'

Master, gave a tight hug to his student and said - 'Ok... then. You are good to go, son. But son, don't you think it would make me sad, if you are the same, several years later, what you are now?

And after a pause, holding his student's shoulders he added - You are at your best now? Did my teachings make you realize your potential? well, well, I would have been happier, if it had failed. Any ways, you are good to go, son'

The student added, sobbing, said - 'Master, please for sure, visit me after some years.'

The master kissed his student in the forehead and bid him good bye and wished him good life and said – “See the world like a child. See the ‘why nots’ and not the ‘whys’. Leave room for growth always, because you are never at your best because you don’t know what you are more capable of”

TRUE BLISS

2009-11-18T10:38:00.001+05:30

If you need one answer for true bliss - I think, I have it.

My definition of bliss goes something like this:

"Happy, content, peaceful and motivating"

Sometimes...answers to BIG questions could be simple. And the simple answer to achieve bliss is LIVING IN THE PRESENT.

You could have heard this a lot many times. If yes - Don't get intimidated by this word :) and if not - good.

Just give it a thought. What could be more easier than 'living' when that is the only known purpose, we all are completely aware of. Yet, we try to look beyond living.

Living in itself is complete. It contains all the rewards you need. All the success you want. All the joy you always craved. It contains more surprises than you could imagine. Then, why to think that 'mere' living is not what you are born for. It is the sole purpose of being born - to live.

If you could not appreciate the intensity of purpose - 'living' carries, then dreams, aspirations, success, growth, recognition, achievement, are just words to you and you have no plans to experience them.

Because, right now, right here, what you have for sure is your opportunity to live and all the dreams, aspirations, growth, recognition should be the part of now and not somewhere out there.

If you keep on looking at them, destinations doesn't come closer. The road that would take you through all that you want is 'LIVING IN THE PRESENT'. Because each day you live - lays the road to where you want to go.

Let us look at the definition of bliss again - 'Happy, content, peaceful and motivating'

When one is content with what he has and what he has achieved, he is peaceful and happy. So, the main ingredient to achieve 3 parts of the 4 that make up BLISS, is to be content. Not wanting more.

If Bliss contains this three parts alone, then this is when people tend to call LIVING as 'mere being alive'

The fourth ingredient is very essential to have the true bliss - 'be motivating'.

As said, you should not just want more than what you have or what you have achieved but you should want something in particular. You should be after that one thing.

You should not be dreaming more, aspiring more, achieving more. You should be dreaming that, aspiring that and achieving that. If you could not zero in on that one thing, you could not 'LIVE IN THE MOMENT' because you could not decide as to how to steer your life.

This zeroing in on what you want to do, whatever it be, motivates everyone around you and this forms the missing ingredient of true bliss and gives a purpose.

Now, LIVING in itself has become adventurous, interesting and entertaining and blissful.

Less Clutter after your work.

2009-06-16T22:23:00.005+05:30

Generally after I do a work, say, for writing a post in my blog, I use a lot of tools and at the end, I end up making a mess of my desktop or my desk depending on the job.

I put the best in the work I do but I create a messy workspace after the work is done and I need to place the things I had used in their respective places and I need to clean up before starting the next work.

Another impact this has on my productivity is I get a feeling of completed a feat even after a small job because of the clutter in my desk. It would seem as if a hurricane had hit my workspace :).

Now giving a little thought to this trivial thing in our work culture and habit, reveals a lot about us and opens up a wide and enormous quality flaw in us.

The more the confused and disoriented you are, more the clutter in your workspace. Simple equality, no ifs, no buts.

The greatest chef would have the cleanest workstation - A FACT. The greatest painters know where their brushes are.

From now on, make a conscious effort to reduce the clutter after whatever work you do and you would realize you had not been doing those works to the best of your ability and the work's quality would increase.

Let it be cooking or writing or reading or watching TV or anything. Make sure there is very little waste after you being there. Once you achieve this excellent and rewarding habit, you would be surprised how productive you are and how much peaceful you feel within.

You need not become obsessed with this but just make some necessary changes beforehand to avoid clutter later on. Cooking is the most demanding act which would need this.

While writing this post, I am working on my laptop and I have just my laptop on my bed which I cleaned this morning and hence I am able to get a fulfilling experience blogging and blogging alone. Generally, I have my mobile opened in front of me, while I listen to songs and a few books would lie around which might occasionally distract me.

And after this post is done, I would not have left any clutter around because I didn't browse or get deviated and open up plenty of windows but I have just this window and I had been working on this. The feeling is great. A feeling of having been there and experienced the post true to its essense.

A conscious effort of not leaving any clutter, makes me not open up my social networking sites, keeping my bed clean. One small change could bring in a lot of changes which could be good for you.

Concentrate on one work at a time, keep away distractions, use efficient tools and plan well. These could be a starting point to getting things done efficiently and effortlessly and a way to enjoy the trivialities of life to its full extent :)

...learning to live.

Are we ready to lose?

2009-05-30T12:54:00.005+05:30

Whenever we do something, knowingly or unknowingly, we give needless importance to winning. The attitude, I mean here is that of mainly "not losing", saving our faces.

What is that, that makes us feel humiliated at the mere thought of losing? It is not losing that should make us feel inglorified and humiliated but the fear of losing should indeed.

Yes, winning, being the best, getting to the podium, wearing a gold medal is all that would make you beam in the limelight. You would hear a roaring applause. You will be on cloud nine. Great, isn't it? THE ideal world.

But, but, if you really strive hard to be successful. I mean truly successful. Not the one which others praise and sing an ode on you and make you imagine to be successful. It is what you feel inside. If, that is what you are working towards, believe me, you need to be ready and accept to lose. Even to lose BIG TIME.

This is not being pessimistic. It is not being mediocre. It is striving hard to be the best of what you could be in your lifetime. Take anyone, ANYONE, who have reached the pinnacle of glory by their sheer talent/brilliance without losing.

If they had, I bet they didn't venture in to things they should have if they had wanted to be the best of what they could have been.

The best sportsmen, the best actors, the best painters, the best dramatists, the best politicians, the best bloggers, the best entrepreneurs, all failed BIG TIME atleast once in their lifetimes.

See, I don't mean to say, that in the fields they chose to shine, they failed big time. They would surely have failed in anything in their lives that made them what they were and are. The losing would have been the best thing that could have happened to them.

As a child you could have lost big time when you played for your school in the the sports meet. But that losing is what you should have been ready for. If you weren't you would have quit and the world had missed the next Sachins and Johnsons.

If you are really after something, you wouldn't mind losing. Losing is a part and parcel of growth and honing your talent. If you want always to win. It is better you stay where you are right now. Good or bad, stay where you are. Don't try anything new.

Guts, strength, attitude to try anything NEW, needs an acceptance of the possibility of failing in what you are upto. If you fear, shiver, tremble at the thought of failing, please feel free to come to a conclusion of you being successful(imaginatively).

People who seem to be successful and who had gone great distances and people who are yet to begin their life journeys, people who are to start answering their crying passions within, all, know whether they are doing something to grow and whether they are truly successful, whether they are really LIVING what they were meant to live using one simple measuring tool and that is...

by answering to "Am I ready to LOSE?"

'DO' attitude

2009-05-19T14:13:00.004+05:30

We like to grow as a person. We read a lot, we preach a lot. Even then, sometimes it feels as if we are lagging in the same thing we were working on, a year back.

It seems an year of working on ourselves hadn't paid off. Has it not really? When you take a closer look, it seems you haven't improved an iota.

Nothing to worry, there is a solution.

No, it is not a tip neither a secret method to motivate you nor any further good blog to go and read. It is just the time to say "DO".

A simple 2 letter word with the most powerful meaning in it. It is not trying, it is not thinking, it is not feeling, it is not contemplating, it is not saying and it is not writing. It is 'doing'.

When was the last time, you attacked on what you felt like you were lagging at. Did you really work on it. I mean not taking one baby step a day. I mean a full fledged, 'go for it' kind of action.

Let me make one thing clear - After an extended period of 'trying' to do something, we tend to overestimate some trivial activities we could have done easily and tend to celebrate these trivialities. It is not bad in celebrating them but what I mean to say is we are worth more than that.

It makes us look up at those who had 'did' it and feel lost, thinking to ourselves 'how did they do this?'. We don't put ourselves in their shoes. Only if you have a real urge to really 'DO' it, will you be able to think yourselves in their position.

It is not difficult to achieve anything. It is just a small change in our attitude. It might surprise you that this one small change in attitude could answer many of the flaws you had noticed in yourself. It could be the attitude of 'going for it' - 'doing it'.

Once you have this attitude of 'DOing' you will see how everything becomes easily achievable. Trying to diet is a long way off from 'dieting'. No doubts, no buts and no ifs, just dieting.

Trying to find time for your children is not 'being with your children'. If you commit yourselves to whatever you believe in, you are living your life.

Taming your brain is easy, when you don't confuse yourselves with your decisions. Don't go for 'trying, thinking of doing, planning to make it' kind of attitude. It is either yes or no and this doesn't confuse you and you won't feel you are lost.

If you like to see some change in you, don't think of the past, nor the future, bring about the change now, this second. If you face any problems in the process, you won't lose your sight on what you are upto and you would go back to it because of this 'DO' attitude. You won't try to find excuses.

Have this 'DO' attitude and notice what it does to you.

Criticisms?...Invite them...

2009-03-27T06:00:00.001+05:30

-----------------------------
No... It is not the case...can you listen to me...you can't get what I am saying...Really, this is a brillia…Go to Hell!!!
-----------------------------

We come up with some extraordinary idea. We believe it is a treasure trove. We love ourselves for our brilliance. We pursue it, we work hard, we are completely charged.

Out of jubilation, we share our feelings with our friends. Luckily or unluckily someone in the group mocks at our idea and everyone laughs.

We get offended, we don’t show it but we try our best to counter prove that ours is a great idea. It doesn’t sell. We persist, try to push it. Um hum, no use, it is not going through the thick stubborn walls of your friends.

We feel dejected and think after all we blew our horns too early. We realize, might be that, we over estimated ourselves. We lower our self esteem.

The truth is that your friends made you face the buried horrors which you feared facing.

The moment you try to defend your ideas by speaking for it than working on it means you yourself have some self-doubt and you are expecting your friends to say it’s not the case. But all along the truth being, you yourself doubt your success.

When trying to convince your friends, you are indeed trying to convince yourself. If you are so very damn sure of your success, you wouldn’t open your mouth but would plunge into action.

When poked by friends, the insecurity of not being successful grows immensely and we retaliate but all goes in vain and we feel lost.

To maintain composure and to have confidence in what we believe and to be steadfast in what we believed we could achieve, is to face such situations where you are poked, ridiculed.

Instead of retaliating or taking the poking in a negative sense. After all, why are our friends there for? To speak their hearts out. The right way to handle it is in fact experiencing the situation as it is.

If your idea or skill is being ridiculed. If you feel the urge to get back for what is said, it means you are insecure of it.

If your idea really sucks? Might be your friends are true? What if they are true, that you are really bad at something? You are ashamed to face such aforesaid situations? Then your idea really suck or might be that you are indeed worse in your skills.

If you are ready to take acquisitions and being ridiculed, you have a scope to grow and it means that you are truly involved in what you are upto. You would feel satisfied, whatever the outcome be.

Put in your heart and listen to your desire and yours alone and don’t expect everyone around you to know what you are after and you need not convince all before you start. If you wish you did? you are really not into what you are after.

To be successful, be happy to get opinions and criticisms, because it is not criticism which shows where you really stand, it is , how you respond to these criticisms that would clearly define where you stand and could be very helpful in knowing your chance of winning.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Solitude

2009-03-25T06:00:00.001+05:30

Taking a break from all noise and constant movement is very essential for self.

Being always in a company and not taking time for oneself at least for few minutes a day is not good.

Some feelings are good experiencing than trying to put it in paper. Let me try.

Have you ever taken a stroll in a deserted road in the early hours of morning when there is still dew in air, Bbrds chirping and the sun hadn’t minded to rise still ? If you haven’t give it a try.

Being alone helps you look at you. If you don’t even notice yourself, how could you bring about changes that you wanted to in and around you.

Being in solitude is very essential to think clearly of what you are and what you want to be. It is the time for introspection.

The best of solutions are ones that are already available and just needs to be found out. Being alone with oneself helps to get to them. No sounds, no presumptions, no prejudices, nothing to prove, no one to compete. A beautiful world of only you.

And also to keep yourself grounded to reality and not getting carried away by your success or failure in life and letting you know what you truly are – taking a time off with yourself is the best way.

The beauty around you gets magnified when you close your mouth and open up other senses and an heightened sense of awareness prevails which is almost like enlightment. You know that you would get solutions to all your questions.

The state of silence spent with yourself everyday is the best investment you could do ever. It helps you to become the best of you and do the best you could in whatever you are at and be the best in any relation you are in.

Solitude – a private 10 minute vacation everyday.

Leader

2009-03-23T08:16:00.001+05:30

Per se, it is easy to complete a given task exceptionally well. To stand first too is achievable. Dedication, hard work, commitment could take you there. But being successful alone doesn’t make one a good leader.

While taking up a project, you shouldn’t just pick the work/inventories. You also take up the personalities of people who are to work under you. It is your moral responsibility as a leader to help people challenge their own potentials and achieve new heights.

You would have heard of Ayn Rand – Mother of Objectivism. I like Ayn Rand’s concept of Objectivism but not completely. Objectivism in a nutshell is –‘ If you are skilled- it is your duty to do a splendid work in your life and you are not to worry about the weak’.

Might be that Ayn Rand – aimed her writing at CEOs and Managers and not leaders. CEOS/Managers who competed against their peers and wanted to move up the ladder and CEOs/Managers who carried their professional growth the whole time in their head.

Most surprising outcome of many surveys asking employees to point out one thing that they would like to see in their leader is… Guess what?.... ….It is ‘Leader should be INSPIRATIONAL’. What do you think of this? What makes one inspirational?

It is not the knowledge, efficiency, experience alone but a collage of all. It is indeed a mix of all. A very, very talented individual. Ok, then? Have we arrived at the Leader, we were searching for - a very talented individual. No, not at all, indeed we have a long way to go. We have probably arrived at Ayn Rand’s definition of Leaders.

That final fitting piece that is missing to make a LEADER is the emotional aspect of a person. i.e., a person’s personality. Outlook, ability to handle tension/pressure, attitude towards success/failure, people skill – How one respects others feelings, ability, experience.

On the whole who wants to excel himself and grow from whatever he is now . Leader is one who compares his present with the past of his. Not the one who compares his present with the present of others.

Leader is one who doesn’t pat his back for what he is and ridicules others for what he could not achieve. It is one who strives hard every moment to grow not expecting acceptable outcomes alone all the time.

Leader who is content when his team grows as individuals. You think, he doesn’t grow. Success can be shared, one need not be so possessive of it. A leader is discovered.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Criticism? To what extent?

2009-03-20T08:31:00.002+05:30

Most of us could place ourselves in this situation – A friend of us had done a bad work and he/she is not aware of it… A friend of us had done a bad work and he/she is aware of it… Sometimes he/she is too proud to accept it or he/she is too shy to reveal the flaw… This spawns the ruthless critic dormant within us.

When you feel like criticizing something/someone, weigh the reasons well before opening your mouth. Does the situation really require one. Will it help someone. Will your point of view be respected.

When you have the slightest of doubts, it means you are not supposed to open your mouth there. Someimes seeing that look of defeat in someone else’s face drives us crazy to the extent of losing a relation. Stop the urge to hurt further when someone is already wounded.

When you bring out the bad in someone’s work who is all ears to listen to your advice, it would do good to both of you. If given to a wrong person, with a wrong attitude, nothing would be fruitful.

When needed to give valuable feedbacks/criticism, consider the work being done and help the work to be improved, don’t judge the work that went into the work, the attitude of the person behind it, the emotional aspects of the work, but consider it to be your own work and say what could be done to take it to the next stage.

Don’t give the complete picture and describe how the final output would be. Sometimes this irritates the person who did the work and he could feel you are ridiculing his competence and bragging about your prowess.

The best way to handle such situations is to take some time off, analyse the situation and work to be criticized/given feedback, look at the best part of the job done and touch on areas of improvisation. Don’t ever go into the details of how it could be done and what needs to be thought of unless you are leading the team.

Criticism should be done from this frame of mind:

You are an old wise rabbit teaching a lion on the art of hunting and that too only on request not the other way round. This would help you save great relations and I promise you, your peace of mind. Whenever possible, keep out of it. I really pity consultants J.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Facing Procrastination headon

2009-02-27T06:00:00.003+05:30

I have a habit. In a sense it came handy when I was in my college. I get a heightened sense of awareness and alertness when in urgency and when I am cornered.

So, used to study for my semester exams only at the 11th hour. This helped me enjoy a lot of time and only whine for a few hours before exam.

But this ‘habit’ became a habit and now this seems to pull me back. I am finding a pattern in my work and that is, I am postponing many of my works until then when I can’t postpone it further.

This is not helping me now because as such no one is expecting any one thing from me. I have a lot of work to do and I am postponing almost all.

When in school and college, I knew what others expected of me and used to postpone those alone to do what I liked but now as I need to decide what to do now and what to postpone. This seems hard.

On looking into it, I found some patterns/situations when I procrastinate.

They fall under three categories. Category one, obviously it is when I am lazy. Category two is when I fail to prioritize what work to do now and what to do later. Third one is overconfidence in my ability to do it before deadline.

To overcome the first hurdle… I know I know, it is the toughest part and I am trying hard.. I have come up with this simple idea… As I spend most of my time in front of my laptop, I have a wallpaper saying ‘Now. Never later’ This helps me to close my laptop and attend to works which needs my attention at that moment and come back to those works I like to do.

You could have the same in sticky notes or on any white boards where it is visible. As such this technique could also be used for anything other than procrastinating habit... like anger, perfection etc.,

To cross the second obstacle of prioritization, now a days, I am using a list. This technique seems to have a great effect. I am using a simple to-do lists in my Google sidebar and this has helped me to attend to my work according to priority. This even gives a sense of being organized and helps to tackle even my lazy attitude.

The third one, that is over confidence seems to be one reason for putting off work for later, feeling that it could be done in a jiffy. Practically, attending to the works that are easy won’t take much time.

If you fear that you would spend a lot of time on a petty work out of over-perfection syndrome, set a time limit for such work. Start it and end it in the allocated time. So, a time-table is what would come handy to break this over confidence thing.

Now, I am trying to be organized and be focused in each day. I know what to do(To-Do lists), when to do(Time-Table) and find a lot of time to do my fun stuff as all my works listed are crossed :)

Knowing and tackling is the first step right? I am not yet successful but I am improving and this is not a one day fiat. I am altering my habit and in turn my lifestyle. Hope this becomes one of my identity and help me become a better blogger.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Ordinary life isn't mediocre life

2009-02-24T14:23:00.001+05:30

What does it take to be successful and stay successful?

It might sound funny. But most of the time what makes me fear is not the path or work that needs to achieve something but the fear to handle my success.

It doesn’t mean I have all the capability and ability to be successful but even before trying I sometimes give up. This makes me feel bad about myself. I know I could be successful if I put my whole into it but I don’t because of these apprehensions.

The days I put in my best effort and yet come out ‘not a winner’, I feel happy. It’s not the general fear to fail, I came to know but the fear to be a good winner.

I fear that I might be successful and bask in these petty wins and lose the big game... as such I don’t know what the big game is.

Rather than attacking what I lack and using my abilities, I am degenerating my quality of life. I should look at those aspects which makes me feel that I won’t be successful constantly.

When I think about it, it seems too small to stop me but it does. The fear of becoming a constant bragger. The fear of becoming closed and not knowing what others feel.

It doesn’t mean you need to be a mediocre to know and understand people in common. The feeling that being excellent and perfect in anything makes and sets you apart is the root cause.

All are destined to excel and be great in whatever they do but sadly many don’t and that doesn’t mean success is such a difficult thing to handle.

It is easy and it is the way of life. Failure comes but we shouldn’t consider that to be what we are heading towards and shouldn’t stop when we face failures and stay mediocre.

The enigma and charm and glory that surrounds success is what makes it hard to earn and hold on. It is nothing special. It doesn’t make you any different from your brethren.

You don’t live a second more because you achieved something. This simple truth would make you stay down to earth and reach great heights at the same time.

Knowing what you did is what you could and knowing what you did wasn’t and isn’t going to be the only time it could have been done makes you be at peace and achieve success all your way.

Respect others and as well as you. Don’t stop until you do your best in all deeds you touch. You don’t have the liberty nor excuse to lead the so called ordinary(mediocre, less than you could) life. Be at your best and keep your head low. Don’t take in the praise nor the abuse so deep into you that it affects who you are.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T17:51:00.003+05:30

Love is the most beautiful word. There is a sense of softness without any stress even in the word ‘LOVE’.

When do you know you love someone. Need not be your life partner. Anyone you love. How do you know you love him/her.

Sometimes speaking to a stranger like a fruit vendor or a girl selling flowers makes you be yourself. You feel comfortable with what/who you are.

Some look at you without any prejudice, speak to you without expecting anything. No doubts. No questions. Just speak to you. This could be the mutual love we human beings are craving for.

No expectations. Loving you for what you are. Your looks, your habits, your intelligence, your mannerisms doesn’t come in the equation when someone speaks to you and you feel at home. This is love.

No stress, nothing to prove, living the way you are, inspiring you always to be the best of yourself is love.

Every time we try to prove that we are better or good or prove we are not bad to others and even if we come out successful, it ain’t love.

When you are expected to do something to prove your love, it isn’t love.

When you cut the ego of ‘I’ and just live without analyzing what the other is thinking about you or feeling about you and completely believe that they are at your side, It is love.

Sometimes this might put many in a sense of insecurity. Not having control on your life because you are trusting someone. Trust is a synonym for love and nothing could be done about it.

If you could not trust someone completely and you are not ready to undergo the consequences of them doing something you don’t like, you do not love them. But trying hard to fake the true love.

The upside is when you trust someone completely and live your way without proving anything to them. THAT is sharing of love and you need not do anything special. The other person would naturally know he/she is being loved and would reciprocate.

You need not show your love materialistically and fake it. Rather love should drive you to do something even materialistic. Today, before gifting someone, let’s cultivate love and then show it.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Love the love

2009-02-09T06:00:00.001+05:30

Never, ever take love for granted. It doesn’t come that way. When someone shows their love and affection to you, you have all the obligation to reciprocate.

Don’t neglect the love that comes your way.

We think that whoever show love to us would do so forever because we don’t appreciate the efforts they put into it.

Showing your love to someone is the most difficult of all. Someone doing it to you means they still believe you too have it in you, but when their belief in you wanes, the love stops and only then would you start realizing.

So, don’t postpone your love. Show it. It’s not wrong, a smile, a hug, a kiss is never late.

Generally, we take our mother’s love for granted and after sometime our spouse’s love for granted. Some big deeds after sometime would feel like the simplest of sacrifices.

Say, your spouse waits every day for 20 mins to pick you up after work. After sometime, you might stop appreciating his/her deed.

Your mom washing your clothes, cooking meals every day, 365 days without break goes unappreciated.

Life is not a movie, to always ask A.R.Rahman to create magic in the background score to draw tears in your eyes.

Try to appreciate the love from your dear ones. As they say, Even the smallest of love is created only by sacrificing big things.

Guard the love from waning. Loving love, multiplies happiness and joy.

©CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Are we busy?

2009-02-06T06:00:00.004+05:30

Many of us are busy. We don’t attend a friend’s party or we put off our lunch, citing many reasons.

But are we really that busy? The funny part is - when we are really involved in our work and work efficiently, we find time to do all tasks marked against our name in time.

Sometimes, looking back after having worked at a task with full involvement, the enormity of work completed might baffle us.

You won’t break anyone’s heart if you keep focused on the job at hand, by keeping all promises you have made.

Concentrate on the job rather than on you, your efficiency of working, the outcome, the surrounding you are in, the impact of the work you are doing.

Keeping it simple, when you really DO the job, removing all clauses or emotions or concerns or fears or apprehensions surrounding the job at hand, you will become efficient and will find yourself having a lot of time at your disposal.

When you take up a work, just DO the work, with the positive intention of completing it successfully ( no excuses). A simple rule to become the most valuable player in your company.

Face your fears

2009-02-04T06:00:00.001+05:30

Fear – the inbuilt ingredient GOD used in the making of human being.

No human is free of fear. Though in varying degree. Every human fears and only that had helped we, homosapians to survive this long and to become the king of all species.

Apart from the extreme medical conditions, men do fear for a lot of things, darkness, ghosts, height, closed areas, open grounds, public speaking etc.,

Now for a moment, take your time and can you define the feeling of fear?

What is it? Is it as easily definable as happiness or anger?

Your palms sweat, you shiver, you pupils gets dilated, you develop goose pimples, your heart beat paces, you feel cold. But what is this fear, it seems all physical but what does it do with emotional us?

Is it just the fear of death? I feel, it is not the fear of death, but the fear of lack of control, lack of options, lack of deciding on our own.

Let it be any kind of fear, be it darkness, ghosts, public speaking. We would have been introduced to these things or would have experienced them not out of our own will but by force. The inability to make the night bright, the inability to back off from a stage presentation and the experience tied with those actions of us, had left an everlasting phobia in us.

So, today, face your fear, you decide to do it, no one is forcing you to do it, you face it and it would vanquish, because you are in control. Face it how much ever meek your effort be, even attack your fear in the most cowardly way but attack it.

Then you would know, that it is nothing but your unpreparedness that had caused the fear. When you become prepared for anything to happen, it disappears.

Conquer your fear, Face them and break them!!!

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Give space. Don’t smother

2009-02-02T20:53:00.002+05:30

Man craves centre stage. He wants to be in limelight always, 24X7. Every human has his/her own strengths and weaknesses.

If we lack a skill, we don’t try to learn it but soothe ourselves that we are better in something else.

Are we ready to learn? Are we ready to accept that we are one spec in the entire cosmos of human race which had lived here on earth for millions of years. NO. We think we are special, we are different from others.

We are not and no human would be. Of the millions of cockroaches, no cockroach is memorable. Same with humans. Like it or not, this is the sweet truth. There is a reason to call it sweet.

There is a beautiful dialogue between Jet Lee and the blind girl in the movie Fearless, in which the girl after helping Jet Lee in setting right the sowing of plantlets, says, “Plants are just like humans, they need space to grow. Men should have mutual respect for each other”.

I see many around who ridicule others to feel that they are better when they themselves know that they are not atleast the best.

A group of friends chat not to grow but to mock or gossip of someone else’s weaknesses and shortfalls. This had become a pastime.

What do you get by ridiculing and making fun of others and you being in limelight. Apart from the sadistic pleasure, nothing else and for sure you don’t grow.

When you become aware that the person who you ridicule today could excel you tomorrow and don’t feel a prang in your heart but just become aware of it, yeah that is mutual respect. Believing in the best of others, that is mutual respect.

Respecting the best of every person you see than their worst part, in directly makes you grow as a person. You need not be aware of it. It is not needed. But you would be the best you could be.

See the best in others and you would deliver the best you could. This is natural. Because what comes of you is from a positive energy called “mutual respect” than fame, money, respect, power and recognition.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

A Tip to get rid of anxiety and worries

2009-01-28T09:46:00.001+05:30

Take a time off from all the noise once in a while. If you are able to do it every day well and good. For ten minutes, away from chatter and pollution.

Keeping your mouth and eyes closed for 10 minutes once in a while and keeping your mind open could create wonders within you.

This is a kind of meditation without religion and without stress and without pain and without intellect. It is just an experience, experience it.

Sit in a calm place, you and only you. That is the time, you could put yourself back in track of your life. Recharge yourself.

Wear a comfortable dress, sit in a comfortable posture. Keep your eyes and mouth closed. Think yourself not to be bound by your name, status, place, religion, gender, worries, success or anything for that matter. You are just like a nameless bird in this world.

Listen to the sounds of birds, when was the last time you listened to their chirps? Listen to the quivering sounds from the leaves and twigs. Listen to the sounds.

Smell the air around you, slowly. How do they smell? Did you ever notice this smell before. Appreciate the sounds and smell around you.

Sense the wind touching you, are you able to sense the robe you are wearing. Be in peace. Don’t try hard to think of your deeds of the day nor the future lying in front. Be in the present.

Now imagine something very very beautiful from the enormous bounty nature has given. My two favourites are

1. A fresh, lush, small leaf floating on an immense expanse of tranquil sea with no one around. The other is
2. A lone lush green tree over the top of a dark rocky mountain with an evening sky in the backdrop.

Think of something really beautiful, be there and experience them. Relish them. Take in all the beauty.

Carry on with this experience for as long you wish to. Don’t strain yourself, put yourself in peace and be relaxed.

Open your eyes slowly and drink some water. One glass of water would do. Drink it slowly.

This creates an internal harmony. If you notice, your breathing would have become deep and you would feel at peace.

You worries and anxiety would have purged and you would feel energized. This is the you, you were searching. Anything is possible now.

The effect of this extends to hours, sometimes to days and sometimes, this experience in itself will make you feel ready without going down through out your life because you learnt how to put yourself to calm.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Fountain of Happiness

2009-01-26T07:41:00.001+05:30

Some days, we feel high and a sense of having learnt from our mistakes and experiences all along makes us feel ready for anything and a feeling of being at peace comes to us.

A secret to keep that happiness locked forever to rejoice is, never celebrate happiness. When you try to be ostentatious about you feeling happy that day, it becomes a rarity.

When you are happy and at peace, you are fully charged. Utilize it to augment your happiness by concentrating on your duty.

Yah, Pursuit of Happiness is a niche but Pursuit by Happiness would have been more apt. When you know that happiness could catch you anytime would keep happiness tied to you life long.

Keep your heart in whatever you do. Do the best today aiming for a better tomorrow. Try to achieve the smallest of growth everyday. I mean a small personal growth. Do one thing everyday that would make you happy that day.

If you notice, the things you had done all along would have had happiness in them but what made you not draw happiness out of it is not having paid attention to it.

In Japanese culture, tea drinking ceremony is done so ceremoniously and with such dedication so that you are there at present when you drink that tea. Appreciating the company of other fellow tea drinkers and relishing the small (tiny) cup of tea with your whole heart.

Put your heart into what ever you do and relish the small nuances of everyday to keep the chest of happiness with you life long.

There is no other big secret, if you had expected one all along.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts

Start Listening

2009-01-22T23:57:00.001+05:30

Men like to talk about themselves. It is very common. If you are in trouble or you be in joy, if you share your thought with someone, most probably, they too would have something to say in those same lines often than not.

It’s not the case with others alone but with ourselves too.

Try this. It sometimes feels good if you don’t share your strengths. I don’t know why but a feeling of fulfillment comes when not sharing your strengths or for that matter weaknesses.

Days when I tell a lot about me to others, I get a feeling of me not worth what I really am. Here, I don’t mean to conceal yourselves from others but not brag about oneself, your successes, your strengths…

If we try to put ourselves in someone else’s place, we compare with others and get satisfied that we are best at what we are even though we knew we weren’t the best then under those situations. We stop our scope of growth.

By the way, no one cares of your past achievements or failures. If you had taken something from those experiences, it’s good just for you, if you haven’t and just use them for you public relations and branding yourself, no use but to stay put where you are now.

Start listening to others and what is going on around you, so you could take in something from that and deliver more in this world than just boasting about yourself.

It’s not that difficult. When you stop bragging, a realization dawns that more is left in you and you start venturing many things you haven’t tried. You don’t care about failing. You lose the fear to fail because you are not answerable to anyone.

Sometimes, by not bragging, you get closer to your friends, you could really understand people better, you could save many bitter relations.

Just listen, think of others rather about youself when atleast in company with others. That’s why they have chosen to be with you at that moment than being without you.

© CollectionOfRandomThoughts