Okay. You can feel yourself doing it. That little self-sabotaging monster is between your ears, muttering about all the things you haven’t done and all the things you can’t do. But you know what? You don’t have to listen to it. You have a choice to ignore it and have a better day. Often our […]
via Either You Run the Day or the Day Runs You – Jim Rohn — The Seeds 4 Life
Most people will check their phone, email and social media immediately upon waking up.
Do you do this?
If so, you’re putting yourself in a reactive state of mind because you’re letting outside circumstances dictate what decisions you make.
Instead of living life on your own agenda, you’re choosing to rather respond to other people’s agendas.
This is why it’s so important to have a solid morning routine because a morning routine gets you into the habit of putting yourself first, which sets you up for success throughout the remainder of your day.
In his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen R. Covey says,
“Private victory always precedes public victory.”
This is also known as the Inside-Out approach to life.
When you wake up and you put yourself first, you position yourself to win the morning. And when you win the morning, you win the day.
The first 2 hours of your day are so important because they accelerate or hinder the next 12 hours.
So, the challenge for you is, when you wake up tomorrow morning, instead of reaching for your smartphone as soon as you wake up, take some time to deliberately check in with yourself and start your day on purpose.
My morning routine, for example, includes drinking a glass of water, making my bed, writing 500 words, reading for an hour, doing some push-ups, and listening to podcasts.
This helps give my day a clear direction and is, by far, the best way to succeed in the long run.
If you’re able to develop a proactive approach to life by establishing a set morning routine, you’ll always have a quicker path to success than those who can’t.
The Human Library is a place where real people are on loan to readers.
On the way to the venue, I saw a girl alight from an Uber who was severely deformed in the face. I wondered what would have caused the deformity and how she would cope with it on a daily basis. Poisoned by prejudices I carried , I could not walk up to her and initiate a conversation.
I was lucky to see her as a Human Book a little later. Having a conversation with her, I learnt that she was a Antaeus. She met with a near fatal accident that ruined her looks and caused severe facial deformities. Even after 27 surgeries, she shares her story with a smile
The next Human book that I had an interaction with was a lady who is a cancer survivor. Her husband walked out on her with the fear of contracting cancer from her when she was diagnosed with 3rd stage breast cancer. She shared her tales of how she not only won her 13 yr battle with cancer.
She also broke all the stereotypes that the society had built for her and as a single mother raised a challenged child.
I had till that day stereotyped men as strong and supportive but not as victims.I met a man who was a victim of Domestic abuse. He shared his story of the abuses he was subjected to and how he tried committing suicide several times and has survived. He has set up a help group for abused men.
Nothing is what it seems. I left with a widened perspective on different social groups in our society.
I experienced that the Human Library is a framework the reading experience transforms itself when it becomes a two-way conversation, where readers can ask questions and the book comes to life with intangible emotions. No book can ever give you the kind of learning experience that you get from interacting with people who have gone through so much and survived to tell their tales
Its time that we learn to put our phones down and shed the selfieitis syndrome. Let us learn to talk to the person who is next to us be it a bus stop or in a Uber sharing a ride. I strongly believe that stories and atoms make up the world.
We have all been thru’ valentines’ day this week. I am sure all of you here have a story of your own to share about this. I have mine too. I preferred cash over a rose that cost 150.
Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, has its Origin as a Western Christian feast day honouring martyred saints named Valentinus. It is celebrated annually on February 14 as a significant cultural and religious feast day. It is not a public holiday in any country.
The custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts originated in the UK.
In Norfolk, a character called ‘Jack’ Valentine knocks on the rear door of houses leaving sweets and presents for children. Although he was leaving treats, many children were scared of this mystical person. The enigmatic Mr or Mrs Valentine disappears into thin air after knocking at the door and dropping off their gifts. It is unclear when this mystery figure first emerged but children are as likely as adults to receive a visit. This is the only surviving Norfolk ritual,
With concentrated marketing effort, Valentine’s Day is recognised now as a commercial celebration of romance and romantic love. Valentine’s Day celebrations did not catch on in India until around 1992. It was spread due to dedicated programs in commercial TV and radio channels, love letter competitions and the explosion of the valentine card industry. This has caused a sharp change in how people display their affection in public.
Love – Love encompasses a variety of different emotional and mental states, typically strong and positive. It can be ranging from the deepest interpersonal affection to the simplest of pleasures.
Conquer – Conquering is to overcome and take control of a place or people by force. This is synonymous with triumph, overpower or overthrow, subdue or subjugate
I see Love conquers all as an oxymoron. Oxymoron is two words used together that have exactly the opposite meanings.
The recent movie Padmavath was about love conquering all …. at what cost!
In fact, in a few cases Love is not able to conquer minor personality differences between a couple.
In a lot of cases, Love is not able to handle financial stress a couple may have in their relationship.
In majority of cases, Love cannot do anything if a couple is unable to communicate with each other properly.
And in almost all the cases, Love is not enough to help someone overlook the betrayal that comes with infidelity.
I haven’t experienced any of these personally. Do I thank Love for that ?
I have been loved, and loved unconditionally.
I have been loved profoundly and insanely for everything I am and not what I can or cannot offer the person who loves me back.
Can love be given or can it be earned ? Can love find you or can you achieve love?
I believe that love is one and all of these.
It cannot be confined. It can’t be faked.
It can however be given and shared. It can be contagious at times.
When you stumble upon it, you need to grab it and enjoy it.
Love is like a hug and a kiss, you need to share it to enjoy it.
Love is not restrictive to people. It can also be for things, places and experiences.
We experience it in everyday life but more often than not seem not to notice it.
I noticed love in the form of gratitude for my domestic help this morning when she came earlier than usual especially when there was a pile of dishes.
I fell head over heals in love with Dhruva, my 3 year old nephew when he explored the adventure of a sleepover with me a few weeks ago.
I have experienced love from my mother-in-law When I was sick and in bed, she was treating me with solicitude, bringing me cups of tea, and handing me tissues all day.
As important as where Love comes from, it is equally important where it goes and who you share it with.
One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
As we hear new ideas, not only do we have new places to explore, our minds are often drawn there. To explore this new open space is almost an imperative. We may not always find this new space useful, but we still notice this new space. Even if you don’t pursue the idea, your mind is no longer the same size, it has been stretched.
Our minds are never going to return to the size they were before. And that is the point of the quote.
I had a date with my friend Suman on a friday. We had lunch together, hung out at a coffee shop and later did some quick shopping. The plan for that day was to spend the whole day together. The shopping was quick as I had to beat the traffic and get to St Marks Road by 6.15 latest. He quite couldn’t understand why or what it was that I was so keen on attending without being late. The fact that I hadn’t shared this part of my life with him so far, he being my BFF is a story for another time and place.
I had told him that I had a very important meeting to attend, the place was next to MTR on St Marks Road and that he had to pick me up at 8.30 pm. As I was walking to BTMC, we ran into each other infront of MTR. That was one of the many planned coincidences that we share.
Even as we entered the gates, I knowing fully well that our friday night date would be amongst 70+ people and he very skeptical to be spending friday evening in a place called Ashirvad. He picked a seat on the last row, while I got into setting up the camera and making sure that I had everything I needed to record the minutes.
Just at the strike of 6.30, when the meeting began, I looked to my right to find Suman sitting in row 2 a few seats away. We exchanged glances and he still had no idea what this evening held in store.
As the SAA started and the camera started rolling and the proceedings of the evening started unveiling, I could not share any more glances with him, as he seemed too involved to be distracted by glances.
It was an evening with a CC3, a CC7 and a technical presentation.
During the break, all that he had to ask me was – “ why is this a well kept secret ”. He listened in rapt attention to every detail that the VP Education had to share with the guests. He made mental notes of questions for me. During the table topics, He was so involved that he lost track of time.
Our dinner date was about the 2 hrs, we spent more than 2 hrs talking and reliving his first experience at BTMC. In Suman’s words, -“ its was an exhilarating evening. Intellectual, informative and entertaining all together.” He came with not knowing what he was going to see or hear and the image he takes back home is – “it is a platform for anyone and everyone, where you get to meet people from every walk of life. They come with varying degrees of experiences and knowledge. A place where you learn by listening to others experiences.” He said he imagined himself at a dinner party hosted by Chinese people when Nithin shared his knowledge and experience during the presentation about etiquette at a chines dinner table.
Suman’s mind, that evening was stretched by that much more to accomodate the happenings at BTMC. No matter what he or anyone tries, Suman cannot completely ignore the new information and the influence it had on him.
Take a moment and think about the last week or two. What new things have you learned, what are some of the new ideas to which have you been exposed to? Can you see how your mind has been changed, stretched even if just a little? Can you completely ignore the new information, or do you now think of it when making a choice where the idea might have an influence?
Like a baby’s first steps and first run, like an older child’s first ride on a bicycle without training wheels, or like a teenager’s first solo drive in the car, once we have experienced the expanding of our limits, life is different, and it will never be the same.
What do you plan to do to stretch your mind? What new ideas will you pursue?
It’s up to you to learn new things and expand your mind.
Introverts are thought to be shy and naive people. Even though this isn’t always the case, they’re usually the quiet type that make better listeners than talkers. While listening, they’re able to understand the other person’s need by paying proper attention and relating with their story through deep thoughts and feelings. public speaking isn’t something […]
Thoughts occur in the mind, but they cause emotions that are felt in the body. If we can transfer our awareness from the mind to the sensations in the body, the mind will quieten and the body will relax.
It was the year 2003, I was enjoying my first job in a design studio in Auckland. It was the first time that I savoured the taste of the disposable income. It was a cold saturday afternoon when the hubby was in a mood to accompany me when I went shopping, not to the super market but the shopping mall. I was overjoyed at the thoughts of getting driven around and didn’t have to take the public transport. Public transport to this day in Auckland on a weekend is very bad. I had planned my day and I had also spotted the jumper that I wanted to buy. I was looking forward to a new scarf and the jumper which seen that they were both on sale this weekend.
As I was getting ready to go, the thought crossed my mind that I should remove the long chain with the ruby pendant because I would be trying on several clothes. Yet, I went ahead and didn’t remove them as both the chain and the pendant meant a lot to me. My husband gave me the chain as a wedding gift and the ruby pendant was a gift from my mom on my 18th Birthday. I reminded myself to be careful while changing dresses.
It was the first time we had gone shopping since I had stated working. I treated my husband for lunch even thought it was in a food court. We were celebrating small wins and were happy the ways things were falling into place. Life was good.
Back home standing in front of the mirror and admiring the scarf and trying out different ways to wear it, to my horror, I didn’t see the reflection of the ruby pendant dangling from my chain. There was no chain.
I was immediately transformed, the panic mode button was ON. we drove back to the mall and checked all the changing rooms, spoke to the person who had just finished vacuuming the place and went to the counter
I was so upset with myself that an old habit of severely clenching my jaws came back to bother me. I woke up in the morning with my gums throbbing with pain. For me, any kind of upset shows up in tightly clenched jaws. At times, the clenching is so strong that I have cracked a tooth because of it.
The body is intimately linked to our thoughts and emotions. Thoughts, in general are linked to our brain. When we think, when we stress, we can feel a physical strain on the brain.Thoughts, in turn, are intimately linked to emotions, so much so, that they are like two sides of a coin – not Mutually Exclusive.
Pick any thought and linked to it will be an emotion. Sometimes, the emotion is subtle. You have to be really watchful to become aware of the emotion. But it is always present, linked to every thought.
Thoughts are mental cognitions, our ideas, opinions, and beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. They include the perspectives we bring to any situation or experience that color our point of view.
An example of a long-lived thought is an attitude, which develops as thoughts are repeated over and over and reinforced.
While thoughts are shaped by life experiences, genetics, and education, they are generally under conscious control. In other words, if you are aware of your thoughts and attitudes, you can choose to change them.
