Zip the excuse

Why do we tend to move closer to excuses and find them at every corner and nook? If you need to improve yourself, which all of us need to do, we need to stop finding excuses and do more. Act more, learn more. How can I you may ask. Where can I do? Well this article is about you. 

In the olden days, and in some cases almost a decade ago, education and training was limited to the select few who could afford classes, material and time to go through the process. It was very expensive, time consuming and stressful. Not anymore. Now you have an ocean of knowledge just available on your smart phone and you would be an idiot if you ignore the potential. Don't use your phone to just play games and read jokes on whatsapp. Read good books, search online and train yourself to be better at what you like and what you do. Don't give yourself the reason that you don't have time too. If you can spend 1 hour on facebook, whatsapp, you can definitely spend fifteen minutes a day to learn something new. Do that.

When knowledge is freely available, it is a great equalizer. You need to unleash that potential and use it to your advantage to surge ahead. If you have been given a full paid ticket to learn at Harvard or any other best university in the world, would you just sleep rather spend time reading jokes and unnecessary forwards? The technology has enabled us to do that. Let us push ourselves and learn something new every month. 

When the race needs you to move faster and upgrade, instead of stressing more upgrade your skills. This is a race of death and defeat. So either upgrade or get obsolete. You have no option.

#PositivePsychologist
#atozchallenge
#Ziptheexcuse

Yearn for success

Want success like nothing else. Yearn for it and learn to earn it! The most important thing is wanting success is whether you want it for yourself or for others. If you want to win something for others you might lose interest in between but if you want to win for yourself then there is nothing that can stop you. 

The secret here is to keep yourself going regardless of what the situations are and what people around you tell you. There may be chances of failure but if you keep pushing yourself to do better. When naysayers and situations tell you to stop and be bogged down, tell them to stop irritating you and take a hike. Tell your excuses to take a hike. Tell your problems, issues, fears, distractions to take a hike. Then you take a hike and perform. Because if you don't yearn enough, you will never give enough.

#AtoZChallenge
#ConsumerPsyche
#Yearnenough
 

Don't be a Xerox copy

The brand name has become a common phenomenon to use the name Xerox for a copier and today I want to talk to you about being a rubber stamp. Don't be one. What makes you different from others is your individuality and your touch to the work. If you are just recreating from your previous work today, then it is of no use. You are just repeating everything and it is not going to add anything to you.

At work everyday, try and make small advances to your work and change your work style to match to something new today. Learn something new today and use that to reflect in your work. A new word, a new line, a new idea or anything that you can. 

It is frightening to start something new and think of being acceptable but do give a try. Think of what you can change in your routine, like food, coffee, spices, drink, music, loo, something... change and see how it can make your day different. Life is too short to stick to boring choices. Make a different one today! Make your own choice.

People would recognize you for what you do differently and that would be a part of your character. If you lose that then there is nothing for anyone to remember you about. As parents we should encourage children to have their own individuality and as leaders we must encourage our team to have their own flair and get to the goal. Have that flair for yourself, show me your character.

#PositivePsychologist

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#BeDifferent
#AtoZChallenge

Winning is a habit

Make winning a habit, whether it is big or small a win is a win and it matters a lot to boost your confidence and the zeal to push forward. Actually winning is a strategic step you need to take. Have a goal, plan the steps to reach the goal, work towards them eagerly and don't give up. Constantly evaluate the steps and see if you need to improve on them. Be mindful of the competition and see how you can beat them. As long as you are performing better than the last time you tried is a win in itself. 

When you are looking to win and are doing it regularly it is a good sign. What if there is no competition? Well you can have one - yourself. Take walking for example, plan and walk a bit more and in better time when you can and if you exceed from yesterday, it is a win.

When you are obsessively passionate about your work and are changing the world on bit at a time everyday, then you are a winner. Find a work that does exactly this and be fanatic about it. Unless you are deeply passionate about going to work today, then you need to keep looking and find what do you like to do. Like Steve Jobs said, winning is a good habit and you need to keep it all the time. Trust me once you win, you will cherish that feeling so much that you want it again. Having a passion to come out on top would motivate you to the ends of this world and beyond. 

#PositivePsychologist
#ConsumerPsyche
#WinningisaHabit
#AtoZChallenge

Up you go

When things don't go your way and you are pushed to the lowest point in life, be happy and celebrate for anything that can happen from now on can only mean one thing - it is going to be better!

Last couple of weeks I have been blogging about positive psychology and today this topic would definitely cheer you up. I believe God does not give you more temptations that you can handle and when you are being tested, believe that you are made tough to handle that and hence the test. You don't test a car at a certain speed unless you know it can handle. Similarly God doesn't test you against situations where you can come out a victor. There is a solution to this madness and God wants to you to handle.

Remember the analogy of the rubber ball. What happens when you hit the ball hard on a wall? It bounces back with the same speed that you hit it with. What happens when you leave the ball on the floor? It stays there depending on the gravity pull. The harder you hit, the harder you bounce back and that is the secret to success in life. When you face a failure, take a detour and walk as if nothing happened, with the same gait, bounce and joy in your step. If any, you have become wiser.

Learning to pick yourself up when pushed down is the ultimate key to survival. And don't we all love a winner? So when you are down look up and push yourself up.

#PositivePsychologist
#ConsumerPsyche
#Pickyourselfup
#AtoZChallenge#WorkBlues

Team Maker

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a captain who has seen many victories in his life as a cricketer. His captaincy style is lauded and he is one of the best captains Indian cricket has ever seen. Nadal and Federer are probably two of the best tennis players the world has ever seen and have won numerous matches and titles. Saina Newal is one of the best badminton players in the world. All these people have something in common regardless of the sport. Though they come out as winners and are seen on the podium, they cannot reach there without a massive team effort behind them. Teams of people who take care of them right from training to food to studying the competition to helping them to move on and surge from defeat to victory. The best of the best are because of their teams and it is always a joy to work in teams.

Today's tip would be to work with an awesome team both in life and work. At home make a team with your partner, kids, parents, family and ensure they all know what their roles are and make sure each of them fulfill that to the best of their abilities. The roles can be insignificant to your goal but still they may have to function a particular way to let you win. A team that works together wins together. No role is anything less than what it should be and none of the contributions can be ignored.

Same applies to work where your office boy who gives you water and coffee needs to function efficiently to ensure all the staff goes on their work in an efficient manner. Same applies to your driver, lift operator and many others who help the day go on. Most of these jobs get minimal appreciation and thankless comments are galore. We need to understand that unless these people are at their best, the damage is immense and hence it is important to have them work efficiently every day.

Build a team of people who enjoy their work around you. Be thankful, respectful and appreciate their contribution to the main cause. I have seen worst of the people come out with grace with a little appreciation where money and force couldn't. Train if required and make each one of your team understand their purpose of work. Be a team maker and when your team is shining, you will too.

#PositivePsychologist
#ConsumerPsyche
#TeamMaker
#AtoZChallenge

#WorkBlues

Simplicity

Simplicity is a virtue not many possess and not many can handle. The quicker you get to learn to handle that you would be a winner. Simplicity in what you may ask, so here I go! In everything we do in our lives from things we need, buy, use, how we celebrate, communicate, appreciate, criticize and assume. Look at some of the best world leaders in thought and culture, they have been at their best when they were simple.

Let us start with what we expect from our family. When you get served food, love and affection, learn to appreciate the time taken by the other person in getting things done despite having their own problems and the effort put into bringing things together. Don't fuss about presentation, taste, color, warmth of the food and so on but appreciate that it is there. A small compliment would go a long way in boosting the confidence and appreciation is like wild fire, catches things that are dormant for ages and lights them up. If you really need a presentation try working in the kitchen for a day catering to the family or find a high class restaurant. 

At work, do not be fussy about the way things go about. Being simplistic in your choices. The simpler your choices are the easier it would be to handle the situation. Let me give you another example. Steve Jobs is well known all over for his creativity, innovation in design and business acumen. He could do things that no one else could do in terms of creating trends that world would wake up to. In his personal life he chose a principle of simplicity, which many often ascribe to his visit to India and the principles of Buddhism, Jainism and ancient Hindu Sattvic life values, he kept his choices simple. He always wore a black turtle-neck tee shirt and jeans as he thought these mundane things like dressing up every day would be of no use when you need to focus on more important things about life, work and so on. This principle in life is also seen in the design of the iphone and ipad which had only one button on the top. In the world of mobiles having multiple buttons, this was a revolutionary innovation but it makes your life simple and clean. The same dressing style is taken up by Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook who shows up with a ash round neck tee and jeans unless he is in a suit.

Have simple choices and in life. People around you would fuss for a while, then give up and then ignore and then choose to respect your choices. About ten years ago I started wearing a black tee shirt and jeans to work and kept at it. I get a lot of time to think, use my time in a much better way. Try it out and I am sure you would like it. Have a simply awesome life.

#PositivePsychologist
#ConsumerPsyche
#KeepitSimple
#AtoZChallenge

#WorkBlues

Love what you do

Love what you do. You might have heard this before. What is new in this post then?

Do what you love is what most of us believe in and try to do but not everyone has the opportunity to do what they love for a living. There is a very high probability that you might be stuck in a job or profile doing what you may not be necessarily liking or in some cases hating what you do. In such situations your performance and happiness levels are at the southern most point. How can you change it and push your ratings north? Here are some tips.

1. Appreciate what you have for a job and understand its importance in your financial, family, social status. Be thankful for what you have.
   
2. Be the best you can be. Do not give a half hearted attempt at what you are doing but give your full attention to the work. Spend time to learn how to do it better, seek advice from seniors, learn the art of perfecting it over time and see how much fun you can have at the same boring stuff. You never know.
   
3. Remember the work you do, regardless of where you are working involves a product or service that would go out and eventually effect the people at some point. Remember that your contribution is very important for them to be able to use this product/service. Try and add more value to that.
   
4. Make a good team of people friends at work who wouldn't bother about complaining but contribute positively to your psyche.
   
5. Get involved in a cause or support one from your savings. Doesn't matter how small, it would go a long way in bringing in manifold happiness.
   
6. Aspire to do better, learn how to climb up the ladder at work by being efficient, learning the art and managerial skills.
   
7. Have a personal cave for relaxation - like running, walking, gardening, spending time reading, with children, pets and what not. Have your cave. 

Loving what you do is an art you got to learn quick so you can make your days brighter and better. Once you love what you do, nothing else matters.

#AtoZChallenge
#ConsumerPsyche
#PositivePsychologist
#LoveWhatYouDo

J for Just do it!

Just do it! 

I have seen many people and myself sometimes stay at one point where we are waiting for the best idea to emerge, best design to come up while we sit there and wait till the last minute and then rush into doing things that we are not proud of. You know what I mean don't you?

Most of the work is tiresome and non interesting but we got to get through that to get to the interesting stuff. So it is better to start off early and finish the mundane tasks that make our routine and then have time for the creative, productive stuff.

Plan your day and make good use of the plan. Have complete attention in the time you can. Like have on hour of your best time, morning coffee time in my case, to answer your mails and set out the tasks for the day. In that one hour, don't have anything open on your laptop, have your phone on emergency calls only and focus on completing the task. I also would encourage you to pick up the toughest task you have for the day and handle it as the first thing you would do for today. Answering that query, completing the presentation, replying to the client or making that report. Whatever you usually put off till the last minute, handle that first. Once you do that, you take taken up the strongest enemy on the table and then you are practically blazing through the rest of the day.

Having a coffee break or a simple stroll during the day also helps. Try it for a week and see how easy your day becomes. So don't keep it pending till the n'th hour. Just do it and finish it off.

#AtoZChallenge
#ConsumerPsyche
#PositivePsychologist

A for Ask

This is a series of articles about positive psychology and human psyche and how we can improve our performances and deal with depression, anxiety and negativity. These might just be the tips you are looking at to succeed at the workplace and life!

Today we are talking about the alphabet A and A for me is about Asking!

While it may sound very simple to say, it can be really difficult to ask something. Most of us usually pass on without asking. Ask for help, ask for a explanation, question, learn and try to see what the other person, situation wants from you. If you are unclear about what is to be done, then how would you come up with the solution to it? Some of the most complex situations can be helped with a simple question and that begins with you asking more information about it. 

Never think you would be losing out on your stature or be kindled by asking. It is never so. As kids we all have this curiosity bug that makes us continuously ask questions but as we grow up we stop doing that and lose our focus. Most leaders ask relevant questions, questions that make you change the chaos to order, that make sense out of nonsense. 

Have an attitude of learning. You need not always ask questions to others, you have Google! Ask Google anything and everything that you don't know. Seek answers to questions that bug you, that irritate you and make you feel less knowledgeable. Make sure you have a positive attitude for learning and that you learn one thing new every day. It can be anything, can be simple and yet learn. 

The beauty of positive psychology is that it begins from you and grow out of you so much that it starts effecting the environment around you in a positive way. You opinions change, your relationships would be better and when you set the expectations right about what you ought to be doing, you tend to do them better and all of that begins from a simple action of asking! So let us learn to ask the right questions, seek solutions, answers and make life most energetic and meaningful. Keep that curiosity bug in you alive. What will you ask today?

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#positivepsychology
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