A Special Morning Walk

For last few weeks, I have been able to continue morning walk on the gulf road. Thanks to the reduced working hours during Ramadan which triggered this initiative.

The freshness of air in the morning and to see the changing colors of sun is delightful. Besides this, a walk in nature is a fertile ground for new ideas and fills you with lasting energy.

Today I removed my shoes and walked barefoot on the grass. The tickle of green grass to my sole was something I can’t express in words. Tried this out with closed eyes. Every time my step fell on the grass, the spikes of cold grass made me feel blissful.

Secondly, I tried mixing walk with jog. I would run for some time, when tired, I would start walking, after some time I took rest sitting on the bench and again continued jogging. I envied those who were religiously running, dropping sweat beads from the forehead, but I just wanted to be comfortable not ready to tire myself with this exercise.

After reaching the viewpoint triangle, I spread my hands, closed the eyes and tried to hear the sound of flutter which my clothes were creating against the wind coming from the sea. The waves were more active than usual and created varied noise while splintering some parts on me. When I opened the eyes after a few minutes, it felt so different.

While returning, I tried counting the number of skyscrapers in Kuwait from the gulf road jogging tracks. Despite several trials, I couldn’t get it right. Still it was fun. Sometimes just trying something new feels great. I will try it again next time.

Finally, I came to the car and played Hare Krishna bhajans while driving back home. It was a special ride because there were hardly any cars on the road and I preferred a longer route. The fast ride gives you thrill, but the slow one is even better. On a free six lane road, I was driving at 50-60 km per hour, Imagine! While driving I was able to appreciate nature, streets and myself for the ability to resist from driving fast.

Can there be a better start for Friday?

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.

True Test Of Character

Yesterday, I was stuck in car inside the parking lot of a leading mall for over forty minutes. It was the first time I experienced Friday evening traffic at the Avenues. I could see otherwise well-behaved citizens honking impatiently and pushing ahead out of turn. That made me think- Just a few extra minutes in traffic makes people lose nerves and break rules, what about those who lack shelter and can’t feed their family?

It’s far easy to stay morally upright when your tummy is full, a nice suit to wear and a beautiful car to drive.

Let’s suppose you are standing next to a bakery unfed for two days and don’t have a single penny in your wallet. The Baker trusts you with the store till the time he comes back from the prayer. Can you restrain yourself from stealing? Your answer could be yes.. what you will actually do at that time.. even you don’t know. Few of us have experienced such predicament.

It’s very difficult to hold on to your principles when the time is tough and loss of hope. Trust me! That’s the time to test your true character.

Adequately Resourced

I generally get brilliant ideas at unusual places.. in the washroom, at the airport lounge, while driving or on a morning walk.

In none of these situations I carry a notepad or pen. As a consequence, when I reach office or home and try to recollect, half the ideas are already vanished.

I must admit I’m old fashioned when it comes to gadgets. I hate typing at my Samsung mobile, looking at which the sales guy gave me a sarcastic look when I asked him to show iPhone 4.

I shared the above concern (inability to recollect thoughts) with a friend of mine and his quick advice was- “Buy a phone with a voice-recorder.”

My Samsung already has a voice-recorder which I’ve never used. The problem was not with the phone, but my ability to recognize this feature.

I see many cribbing for lack of resources. When you stop over and ponder, mostly you will notice, you already have all that you to need to carry on the path to realizing your dreams.

Don’t use lack of resource as an excuse to stop you from reaching your turest potential . Keep your mind and eyes open. You’ll find yourself resourced enough.

The (un)Objective Comment

“I loved Kites. Bollywood has come a long way.” I excitedly shared this with my friends.

“It’s bullshit. I can’t imagine Hrithik Roshan acting. Better you go and watch The Notebook. It’s true copy.” My friend Steven snapped.

I could imagine the conversation leading to argument and decided to change the topic. We started discussing how fantastic the pickup of BMW was which we were driving in.

After spending the fantastic evening in the Dubai bar, when we reached back the hotel, I was curious to know why Steven did not like Kites. I tried to probe and he endlessly reiterated that the idea was not original. I too am, not very appreciative of stolen concepts and agreed with him. However, I personally like Hrithik Roshan’s flawless performance and can bet it was one of his best. So, I added with caution, “ Where do you think Hrithik could have done better.”

“I just don’t like that nut.”

“But, you said his acting was bad.”

“I just hate the look of that six-fingered.” He snapped.
“How’s that related to his acting.” I questioned.

No answer. I assumed he did not know whether Hrithik’s performance was flawed.

This reminds that, over time our perception is built and it’s not easy to challenge them. This may sometimes stop from appreciating a great deed or celebrating a big achievement. If you still hate someone, ask yourself—WHY? If you don’t have an answer, look for something to appreciate.

Now, I’m trying to figure out why I hate Shah Rukh Khan so much.

The Guy In The Glass

I just read this poem and have realised how truthful it is. Thanks Dale Wimbrow for bringing such a beautiful poetry to us.

Not to be missed!

Vivek

The Guy In The Glass


When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life,
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous,
difficult test If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum,
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears,
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

Don't Tweet Trouble

In the last few months we have heard at least a dozen controversies related to social networking sites and blogs. Laymen have lost jobs and ministers have lost their cabinet berths. Reporters have been fired and diplomats have been snubbed.

While facebook, twitter and blogger have made every man a super man and every lady a wonderwoman, they have created a himalayan imbalance in our lives. The conflict between personal opinion and official stand had never been rare. What is creating chaos these days is, the opinions which were limited to a close group of friends are reaching out to millions. While emotions run high among humans, it is not easy to stop yourself from tapping a tweet on your smartphone. By the time emotion settles and you realize what a misfire it was, news channels are already discussing it. Then starts protests, effigy burning, war of words and so on. This whole new set up gives no scope to damage-control. I have even seen some people closing down their accounts and many more are confused.

While the concept of social networking has empowered us to a new level, it expects us to display a great amount of restraint and responsibility.

To play safe what I do is- Access Facebook and Twitter once a day and before I post anything I’m very clear, it’s not going to cause any trouble. If in dilemma, I don’t post at all.

Happy Tweeting!