Life

Articles about my life, experiences, learnings and more

There are 150 posts filed in Life (this is page 18 of 30).

Put the glass down

Found this story somewhere and I am putting it down followed by my views on it –

Put the glass down

Put the glass down

Once a professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, ‘now, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?’

‘Nothing’ the students said.

“OK what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?” the professor asked.

“Your arm would begin to ache” said one of the students.

“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”

“Your arm could go numb; you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis; have to go to hospital for sure!” Ventured another student, all the students laughed.

“Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?” Asked the professor.

“No” was the reply of all the students.

“Then what caused the arm to ache; the muscle to stress?” After a pause the professor asked “Before my arm ache, what should I do?”

The students were puzzled.

“Put the glass down!” said one of the students.

“Exactly!” said the professor, “Life’s problems are exactly like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem OK. Think of them for a long time; they begin to ache. Hold it even longer; they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.”

The above story conveys a wonderful message in a very simple way. All our problems, in themselves, are not any trouble. They become so when we are not able to let them go, and hold on to them. We all know that worrying about a problem (person or situation) will not do any good to the output which we are expecting. But still, many times, we can’t stop thinking and worrying about that problem. This not only makes the problem look bigger than it is, it also effects other people and situations around us.

Putting the glass down is a very important task which we need to do regularly in our daily lives. Whether it is a problem at the workplace or at home, it is very important to regularly let it go so as we are really able to enjoy life and all what it has to offer. Holding on is what only makes the problem bigger and bigger all the time. By letting go, we will not get unnecessary tension and instead feel relaxed and ready to take on other areas of your life which need your attention.

So, remember to put those glasses down today which you have been holding on for long, and keep doing it regularly.

5 Benefits of Early Morning Exercise You Don’t Know

We all know the physical and health benefits of exercising daily in the morning. If we exercise, we will remain fit, healthy and energetic all through the day. We also know the health benefits of exercising in our sedimentary lifestyle. Regardless of age, exercising helps us prevent chronic diseases and maintain our cholesterol and blood pressure levels. It also helps us burn those extra calories and to keep our weight in check. Exercising also keeps different parts of our body active, making it easier to do any strenuous physical task whenever required.

But there are many other benefits of exercising daily in the morning which we don’t realize. These benefits effects our mood and energy levels all through the day. Here I am listing 5 such positives from exercising which we don’t realize –

1. Personal Victory

When you wake up early, and get out of bed for exercising, that itself is a victory. A personal victory over our lazy and procrastinating self. A victory over the many different reasons which you will find for not getting out of bed in the morning. And let me tell you, those reasons will always be there. Having the courage to actually get out of bed and go walking or jogging is a personal victory. And what better way to start your day than with a personal victory over that part of yourselves which is weak, doubtful and unsure by the part which is courageous, brave and energized.

2. Confidence in Yourself

Keeping your confidence in yourself is very important, especially in times of setbacks, emotional turmoils or financial difficulties. Knowing that you wake up every morning and exercise will always remind you that you are a winner. It takes a lot of courage, determination and discipline to exercise daily and when you apply these traits in exercising, you know you can apply these in other areas of your life too. You carry the positive energy coming from exercising to the rest of your life and that will help create a chain of positive events, even in difficult times.

A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time - pills or stairs. ~Joan Welsh

A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time - pills or stairs. ~Joan Welsh

3. Stress Buster

Life is full of surprises, and not all of them good. And it hurts when a not-so-good surprise reaches us when we are not expecting it. Often we find ourselves reaching for things like food, alcohol, or drugs because they make us feel better. The same feeling can come from exercising. Exercise provides an outlet for negative emotions like your frustration, anger, resentment towards an individual, an organization or a situation, which in turn promotes a positive outlook. Medically also it is proved that exercising releases mood-elevating chemicals in the brain and reduces the amount of negative hormones.

4. Peaceful Greeting to the Day

Exercising is a wonderful way to greet every new day as it begins. Nothing can be better than seeing the first rays of light on the horizon or the sunrise. Everything is so quite and peaceful in the morning, and many say that mornings are the most productive time to do anything. You can easily hear the sound of the wind, of bird chirping in the morning. You can focus on your breathing in the morning as the city is still asleep and you are alienated from its hustle and bustle. Mornings are also a wonderful time to read a book, or to think and make plans for the day ahead.

5. Free Time Later in the Day

When you get up early in the morning, you are calm and relaxed as you get time to think and plan out your day. You don’t to have to rush to get ready to catch the office bus or take the car through traffic in a rush to reach office in time for that 10 am meeting. Instead you are free and can leave early to avoid the traffic rush. With this state of mind, you are more productive and energetic the whole day and will obviously wrap up your work earlier than in normal days. This will leave you extra time in the evening to spend with your kids and family. Just imagine the kind of sleep you will get at night if you get up and exercise, then reach office and work more productively,  and later spend some quality time in the evening with your family.

In such a lifestyle, there is no space for any stress and we will always be better equipped to handle life’s problems and setbacks when they come. All by doing one simple act of exercising daily, and regularly. If you have always thought that you didn’t have time to exercise because you are busy, think again. Because exercising does not only gives you benefits in that 30 mins or 1 hour that you exercise, it has a huge impact on the whole of your day. I would say, certainly a worthwhile investment to do daily first thing in the morning.

Why Receiving Is As Important As Giving?

Recently I have written about giving and what it can do for you, and creating a new culture of giving and helping is the vision behind PickaFight. In this article, I am going to focus on why the ability and openness to receive is as important as giving to constantly improve the quality of our lives. When we give out, it is also important to be open to receive, which is one of the toughest steps for us as human beings. Even receiving praise and appreciation makes us uneasy many times, leave alone to receive criticism, and the different lessons our setbacks bring along with them.

I see life as a journey and all of us as its pupils. We should look to enjoy the ride and feel its energy. There is so much to learn from each moment, be it moments of happiness, despair, sorrow or anger. We should always seek to be life’s students. The day we think we are the master of our lives, life has a knack of knocking us down to show us our place. For example, Sachin Tendulkar has almost all cricket batting records to his name. Still, you can see his humility and love for cricket whenever he speaks. He is always a student of cricket, and always looking to learn and receiving to improve his batting. He never goes out and says, “I am the master, I am the best, I don’t need to learn anymore.” Always be a student of life to truly enjoy what it has to offer.

We live in a world where learning and receiving is only linked with formal modes of education and training. So when a person finishes his school and college and moves into the professional world and later into family life, the emphasis on receiving declines. Every success makes us more confident and less open to receiving. Every failure or setback normally takes us into a blame game, whether we blame ourselves or somebody else. This makes us stubborn. What I am trying to say is that life is the biggest teacher and its every moment is a lesson. But it reaches only those who are open to receiving. This one ability is what makes all the difference in the quality of lives we live.

Always keep your minds open to receive

Always keep your minds open to receive

In my recent article, Seeking Comfort in Discomfort, I mentioned about learning from uncomfortable situations and people. This learning is only possible when we give up our ‘being right‘ or ‘the problem is not with me‘ attitude and are open to receive the lesson life has hidden in that moment. It takes patience and courage to really look deep inside and ask ourself, “What can I learn from this situation?” or “What is the next level I need to step upto to deal with this challenge?”

Life is always giving to us, be it through some situations, events or individuals. It only depends on us how much we want to receive. We receive only that much for what we are open. That is how some people have great lives and others don’t. If you the see the greatest achievers, be it in sports or business, the one thing you will find in common is the willingness to continuously learn from life, situations and people. ‘Kaizen‘, a Japanese concept which means “continuous improvement” is a perfect example of what I am saying. Kaizen is based on making little changes on a daily basis, to make things better, to make yourself better, day after day. It is applied in every aspect of a person’s life in Japan where we all know their industrial productivity standards are a benchmark all around the world.

All of what you want to do, everything you want to achieve, be it spiritual happiness or material goods, it can’t happen if you are not open to receive. And if you are, you will learn from life so much that you have no idea the kind of person you can become and the kind of results you can accomplish. If you don’t believe it, try to be open to receiving for the next few days. Just be aware of each situation you face, each person you met and try to introspect what you can learn from him/her. We can learn a lot from small and little things which we normally ignore. For example – You can learn from a janitor in your office the art of smiling and wishing everyone. Situations which don’t go the way you expected can teach you patience which is a very important virtue missing in our fast paced daily lives.

So just absorb yourselves in your daily lives and receive as much as possible for a few days. Try to implement what you receive to bring in daily improvements when you face similar situations in life again. Be aware of every moment. Don’t go on auto-pilot. See if you can make out any difference in a few days. I am telling you, you might be astonished.

Five Values exemplified in the book “Banker to the Poor” by Muhhamad Yunus

Among some of the best books that I have read is ‘Banker to the Poor‘ (buy from Flipkart or Amazon) by Muhammad Yunus. It is the story of how he created Grameen Bank with the vision of easy credit availability to those who need it the most. It is a fascinating read, and it is impossible not to take something away from it. He saw a vision, and against all odds, ran Grameen as a business and gave micro-credit to the world. He changed the way the world looked at banking. Apart from the economics, he and Grameen Bank has had a huge social impact in Bangladesh, with millions of households being empowered to live a life they love. For his efforts, Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

There are many traditional human values which have been exemplified in this book, and by Grameen Bank and Muhammad Yunus. These are the values which are common to most successful people, most winners alike, be it in the field of sports, business, politics, or social change. I am listing below the five basic values which the story of Grameen and Mr Yunus very clearly demonstrate –

1. Vision

Muhammad Yunus describes the poverty situation in Bangladesh in this book as “There are many ways for people to die, but somehow dying of starvation is the most unacceptable of all. It happens in slow motion. Second by second, the distance between life and death becomes smaller and smaller, until the two are in such close proximity that one can hardly tell the difference.” He started the Grameen Bank and his microlending experiments with a vision to eradicate this poverty, from his country and from this world. He saw credit as a very basic human right, and went to provide it to the poorest of the poor. He saw the vision of a poverty free world where credit was easily available to those who are most in need of it. He had this vision in Bangladesh, an Islamic country where business and money is looked down upon. Most of his borrowers are women, even when the purdah is still prevalent in rural Bangladesh. He started a bank when nobody in Bangladesh supported him. But he had a vision, and no obstacle can deter him from his vision.

Yunus with his borrowers

Yunus with his borrowers

2. Patience

There is a famous quote by Gordon Livingston, “Only bad things happen quickly. Virtually all the happiness-producing processes in our lives take time, usually a long time: learning new things, changing old behaviors, building satisfying relationships, raising children. This is why patience and determination are among life’s primary virtues. ” You will not find a better example which demonstrates patience than the story of Grameen Bank. Muhammad Yunus started his experiments in 1974, starting with a $27 loan to 42 people. He continued his experiment from village to village asking the government banks for help only to find closed doors. The Grameen Bank was established only in 1983 and he had to face several hurdles from the government and big banks every step of the way. It was only due to his patience and determination that he turned his dream into a reality.

3. Perseverance

The initial days of his micro-lending experiments were rocky. Nobody believed that he can do what he was saying, and his numbers always fell on deaf ears. He never got funds from the government banks, and Grameen was formally formed only in 1983 after years of perseverance. He continuously had to execute his pilot projects on a bigger and bigger scale just to prove his concept, which he did without frustration and anger. He turned conventional banking practices upside down by lending to the poorest, people who have no collateral and to women who form now 98% of the bank’s lending population. Inspite of all this, he persevered and continued his efforts. He changed his strategies, tactics, and goals over and over, but he never changed or give up on his vision.

The story of Yunus and Grameen Bank

The story of Yunus and Grameen Bank

4. Adherence to Principles

Right from the start, Yunus created a culture of hard work, integrity and simplicity for all his employees. He mentions in the book how his branch managers go out into villages and talk to people about their problems and not just about their business. Simplicity is evident in Grameen branches all over Bangladesh. The pay is minimal to the employees and they have to undergo a training living with the poorest. He created the Sixteen Decisions, which asked borrowers to modify their traditional ways of living. The 16 decisions are –

  1. We shall follow and advance the 4 principles of the Grameen Bank – discipline, unity, courage, and hard work – in all walks of our lives.
  2. Prosperity we shall bring to our families
  3. We shall not live in a dilapidated house. We shall repair our houses and work toward constructing new houses at the earliest opportunity.
  4. We shall grow vegetables all year round. We shall eat plenty of them and sell the surplus.
  5. During the plantation season, we shall plant as many seedlings as possible
  6. We shall plan to keep our families small. We shall minimize expenditures. We shall look after our health.
  7. We shall educate our children and ensure that they can earn to pay for their education.
  8. We shall always keep our children and the environment clean
  9. We shall build and use pit latrines
  10. We shall drink water from tube wells. If they are not available, we shall boil water or use alum to purify it.
  11. We shall not take any dowry at our sons’ weddings; neither shall we give any dowry at our daughter’s wedding. We shall keep the center free from the curse of the dowry. We shall not practice child marriage.
  12. We shall not commit any injustice, and we will oppose anyone who tries to do so.
  13. We shall collectively undertake larger investments for higher incomes
  14. We shall always be ready to help each other. If anyone is in difficulty, we shall all help him or her.
  15. If we come to know of any breach of discipline in any center, we shall all go there and help restore discipline
  16. We shall introduce physical exercises in all our centers. We shall take part in all social activities collectively.

These principles, along with the credit from Grameen, empowered the villagers day after day to live up the vision of Muhammad Yunus of a poverty free future.

5. Innovation

All through his fight for micro-credit to the poorest and his journey with Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus challenged traditional practices and continuously innovated to find a way through the different challenges he faced. One of his innovation was to focus on lending to women, as they are more likely to think about the benefit to the whole family. All this in a Bangladesh where women were not even allowed to touch money. Whatever traditional banks did, he did the opposite. He loaned to the poorest of the poor, he loaned to people in groups, not individually. He gave loans without any collateral or security, and without paperwork. He simplified loan repayments by weekly meetings of self-help groups. By all these innovations, Grameen and Mr Yunus effected a paradigm shift in the financial banking system.

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It’s part of the game

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius

When you play football,
Often you will slip and fall
Then you won’t look for advice,
You don’t even think twice,
You just get back up again,
Because it’s part of the game!!

Life is also very similar,
Only the playing field is bigger
At times you will win every battle,
Nothing will seem like a struggle
You will win awards and acclaim,
This is just one part of the game!!

But life is not a fantasy,
At times it will go crazy
Even easier roads will look tough,
It will seem life is playing a bluff
Don’t wonder what life became,
Because this is another part of the game!!

Falling and getting back up,
That is how our life is setup
When the night seem longer,
It is only making us stronger
Nothing is wrong, none should we blame,
Because it is all part of the same game!!

Hardships are life’s little tests,
They are as real as our conquests
Every fall and wound is like a teacher,
The lesson is ours to find and discover
In failing there should never be shame,
For getting up is also a part of the game!

Get back up, and dust off your clothes,
Make the best of whatever life throws
Take control, and be proud of who you are,
See for yourself you can go how much far
It’s again the time to play, to take a big aim,
Hit or miss, it is all part of the game!!