Don't Do It Too Hard

Every time I have worked too hard towards something, I have lost interest faster. And once I gave that up, hardly did I go back to it.

Every now and then I keep getting groundbreaking (that’s what I feel) ideas and then I try to refine it. As long as I’m obsessed with it, everything else takes a backseat. It continues for some days or some weeks (if the idea is really great) and suddenly I feel it’s too boring and quit.

After a great amount of introspection, I have concluded that I didn’t quit because the idea was bad, I did it because my obsession faded and it became too boring due to repeated thinking about the same thing.

Like our body, our brain too needs new experiences. If we overdo one thing for some time, we are likely to lose interest and go back to square one. So the question is- how to balance it and keep our interest alive?

I have tried and it works greatly for me. Now, whenever I’m working on a new idea, I keep myself guarded. I look for the opportunity to identify the indication of fatigue. Once I feel getting close to it, I give myself a well deserved rest for some days and start again with revived interest.

And the biggest advantage is: Nothing takes the backseat anymore.

True Love

My other commitments are keeping me too occupied. Therefore, I'm unable to blog regularly.

Just a few days back, while looking for a story to be published in our company Fun letter, I came across this one. Not to say, this is one of the most touching stories I have ever read.

Have some time to go through it and comment.

Love
Vivek


True Love

It was a busy morning, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said to the doctor that he was in a hurry, as he had an appointment at 9:00am.

The doctor took his vital signs and started evaluating his wound.

On examining, he saw it was well healed, so he talked to a nurse and got the needed supplies to remove the sutures and redress the wound. While dressing the wound, the doctor asked him if he had another doctor's appointment that morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told no, as he needed to go to the nursing home to have breakfast with his wife.

The doctor inquired about his wife’s health. The elderly man told that she had been there for a while because she is a victim of Alzheimer's disease. As they talked, the doctor asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him for five years now.

The doctor was surprised and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?' He smiled as he patted doctor’s hand and said, “She doesn't know me but I still know who she is.”

True love is neither physical nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

Damn the Competition

Did you ever think about competition and it scared the shit out of you? This happened to many many times.

I was then preparing for Combined Defense Services (CDS). Whenever I though about those competing with me, I tried to be optimistic, thought-- Let's look at it as a challenge and work harder. But, truth was-- the optimistic approach hardly helped in subsiding the fear. I could not stop myself from thinking how difficult it would be to contest with hundreds of thousands of applicants.

The more I thought about it, the scarier it looked and it wasn't helping at all in any way.

So, I decided to just do, what I was supposed to-- Stop thinking and start working.

Although the fear was not eliminated, yet the intensity of work was so high that everything else took a backseat. I continued for a few months, appeared for the exam and wasn't sure what would happen.

After the few months, the result was announced and I didn't care to check. One fine afternoon, I got a promotional letter from a coaching institute for Interview Preparation, which congratulated me for getting through the written examination. I was surprised. I went online, browsed through the list of successful candidates, yes, I was one of them.

Do you know even the toppers are as scared as you and me. Only after the result is announced, they come to know what a genius they are.

So, the crux is:
Damn the competition, and don't care how many are in the queue.

You job is just to do the best.

You Can Do It Better Than Me

You would agree when I say-- The higher you go on corporate ladder, the word 'ME' gets stronger. The result: Suppressed creativity, lack of motivation, low morale and inability to take decision among the team members.

On many occasions, I have seen the Senior Executive cutting down the discussion midway and announcing her decree. The silence follows, and the questions are invited just for the sake of it.
By this I don't challenge the Boss's ability to take the best decision. Mostly the senior executives have more experience, better education and wider vision than the team members.

My point is: Do we aim at just getting the work done (machine and animals do that better) or inspire the team to set new milestones, converge creativity, and create a fountain of path-breaking initiatives.

If you feel the team should deliver more than asked for, you must have belief in the phrase

"You can do it better than me." and see what follows.