What's on Your Canvas for 2018?

Another year (2017) going by and another one(2018) knocking at our doors. The deja vu is all so familiar and again it's time for another set of resolutions.The same ritual of setting goals and then striving to actualize it will continue unless something done differently. The onset of new year also brings about a resurgence of ambitions and expectations that matter to us and our lives.

In the midst of all this, the million dollar questions that crosses our mind so many times are

• Can we make this year any better?
• Can we make this year count more in our life? 
• Can we manage more luck, success, happiness and prosperity in the new year?

Standing still between the past (2017) and future (2018) and aiming to make our lives more worthwhile, our quest to make our impending "present" the best begins. Our search for answers and  solutions continues. A quick reflect back on our Canvas for last year could help give us an insight into the missing pieces. Those missed out or incomplete caricatures, landscapes, sketches and the missing colors speak a lot about what we need to do better this time around. A simple solution by way of mending the missing elements in the canvas will not only render the canvas complete but also  add great meaning to our life in 2018 and beyond.

Make the Canvas (of our life) ready for 2018 is just about

• Identifying the pieces that are missing in our life in terms of our mission, vision, goals, or action items. Incorporating these pieces will not only complete the picture but make it holistic too.

• Bringing to conclusion all those incomplete tasks that stand on the verge of losing relevance and importance if not catered to Now. Those goals and resolutions which just need an action plan and that first step to make it happen.

• Adding more zing to those half-hearted tasks which are as good as any incomplete because of the lack of proper pursuance. Adding passion and purpose in our efforts will liven us and make our life an experience to cherish.     

Let's paint our best life on the canvas and splash it with all the beautiful colors of positivity and optimism to welcome more success, happiness and abundance forever in our lives. 

So, get going and create you masterpiece Now !

Have You Found Yourself Yet ?

It's so easy to lose ourself in the rigmarole of living life in the fast lane. Riding high and fast on the superhighways of information and communication we eventually find ourselves at crossroads. It's only when we get confronted with anxiety, confusion, exhaustion and stress we realize that we stand stranded in this maze of uncertainty and chaos. Every alley in this maze appears a mystery and whatever alley we take leads to hinterland, a place bereft of the ambitions and dreams that we wanted for our lives. We find ourselves participating in this mad rat-race where everyone is trying to outdo others and reaching for goals they never really set out for themselves. 

Sitting in the "nowhere land" and pursuing and engaged in meaningless misdirected pursuits, we appear clueless about our goals and dreams. Lost amidst the inner and outer cacophony, 

we ask ourselves ""How do I Find Myself Now ?" 

This act of asking ourself the above question triggers the process of "finding ourself" facilitated through more self-interrogation and introspection. This leads us to the realization that to find our true self, we firstly need to address the  root system of our lives, i.e. the building blocks that hold the key to our life-long success. These building blocks build shape our personality by providing direction to us and helping us identify a meaningful reason for our existence and survival. These building blocks stand same for all of us and all we need to do it to provide them our context 

So, before we find ourself lost in life, let's try to build clarity in life by strengthening the following key building blocks of our life:

• Passion : This determines our orientation in life in terms of what excites us most, what makes us enthusiastic, what our hearts beat for. The passion is our preferred choice in life. Identifying the passion sets the tone for living a satisfying and happy life. Asking ourself the question "What thing/ task gives me immersed and gives me immense joy and happiness while performing it?"

• Purpose : This refers to the sole reason for our existence and gives a clarity about where would we like to contribute. The purpose ensures we are making a difference in the way we envisaged for our life. The best way to determine Purpose is to ask ourself the following question - "What am i living for ?"

• Mission : This is the most critical of the building blocks as it is the core around which our lives revolve. Mission refers to the guiding principles that we define for living our life. At any point in our life, we adhere to these principles while taking any action or decision. Mission is like the "nucleus" of our life. It's worthwhile to spend a good amount of time in defining the right "mission" for ourself. Our "Personal Mission Statement" acts like a compass in our life and keeps us on track always. Asking ourself "What set of statements/ principles would act as my reference point and guide me at every stage of my life ?" will help us define our personal mission better.

• Goal(s) : These act as milestones in our life and act as key motivation to grow, evolve and achieve more in life. They give shape to our dreams and desires. The following few considerations would help the goals be more effective

• Goals should align with our passion and purpose
• Goals should be specific and shouldn't be too easy or too difficult. If it is too easy then it won't provide us with challenge enough and if it is too difficult, then we may get overwhelmed by it.
• The focus should be on goal-setting and goal-getting both because without taking any action, goals may just remain unfulfilled dreams.

 Remember the below mantra 

Building such a robust life so that we never get lost in life is all about getting the above four building blocks right 

A Successful Journey Needs A Destination !

To establish the right context, it makes sense to start with few important questions :

• Is it important to know where you are headed, be it about any journey we undertake?
• Is it crucial to begin the day with clarity about the tasks to be accomplished that day?
• Is it important to live our life with a clearly defined set of expectations?

For sure, the answer will be a resounding "YES" though we do not always comply with it. A simple case in point is the way we live our life, more as a ritual rather than a mission; also those times when we mindlessly go through life's chores without any thinking about why we are doing them ?

And if asked why we are doing them, the immediate reaction is- "So what ?, how does it matter how i traverse the path as long as i am going somewhere?"

Little do we realise that this "somewhere" itself is the biggest problem. Quoting Lewis Carroll - "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". This illustrates that "somewhere" may not turn out to be our "desired land". If all we want from ourselves is to be in a state of "motion" then it will only lead to "commotion". 

Why is Destination important ?

The most important reason that we need a destination is because our dreams is at stake. Every journey in our life is an unfulfilled dream till we reach where we desire to. Imagine the plight of those who embark on an expedition to Himalayas or Antartica or any other place without identifying where they need to stop ! 

At a personal level, think about the times when we step out of our home, we know exactly where we need to head. Likewise, every other journey that we embark upon needs a finish point too. Every Start needs a Stop and unless destination is identified it's only going to result in an abrupt stop. We can't expect ourselves to be "moving" without any movement, forward, backward or sideways. 

Don't we all yearn for few important things in life ? Don't we all yearn for a life well-lived ? Don't we all engage in a quest for success and happiness in life ? Then why not define what we seek and make the road easier to travel for ourselves!  

Summing up the need for identifying Destination - It gives direction and meaning to our lives. It also makes us more efficient and productive.

How to identify/ define Destination in Life ? 

If Destination is so critical for out life then it becomes imperative to identify it. Few ways we could do so is

• Imbibe the habit of putting a closure to every task that we undertake 
• Give the destination the shape of a well-defined goal
• Link the established goals with relevant areas of our life
• Visualize the dream state we want to achieve to enable us establish the appropriate destination
• Be clear about the distinction between an intermediate goal and the main goal
• Don't get overwhelmed with the journey itself as it needs to end at some point       

So, the choice is ours - whether we want to live an incomplete life laden with unfulfilled dreams and desires or we want a meaningful life laden with accomplishments and happiness!

"Thanks to Thankfulness" - The shortest path to GRATITUDE

Technology has permeated every aspect of our life, promising to make us better, effective and more productive; the gaps have also been bridged in terms of seeking/ accessing information/ knowledge and everything is available at our fingertips now. Still the biggest irony that exists is that the parallel online world created to bring together and connect people across geographies, continents, countries, etc. has been created on a bedrock of loose human values. 

A case in point is – can we recollect easily the last time we appreciated something around us or in others? 

Isn't is hard to do so as there aren't be too many such occasions.  

The interconnectedness of people that promised camaraderie and togetherness has in fact created a more self-centered society where personal success and achievement rules the roost. We are seeing an erosion of fundamental human values and Gratitude is one of those key values that is diminishing. The “Thanks” or “Thank You” are hard to come and if they come, they are just so robotic.

Let’s dig deep and examine why gratitude is eroding and what could we do to cultivate it

What is Gratitude?

Gratitude is the basic quality of appreciation or being grateful.

Why is Gratitude important?

• Gratitude builds holistic health and personality by positively impacting our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspect.
• It shapes the growth of society as connecting together is a key tenet of a flourishing society
• It complements the interconnected nature of the virtual world that we live in. Our parallel online world needs real values to build lasting relationships.
• The new smartphone generation needs to imbibe basis human values like gratitude to build a holistic personality.
• Gratitude acts as feeder to many more essential human values like kindness.

How to cultivate Gratitude?

The simplest way to cultivate gratitude is to make a transition from “Thanks to Thankfulness”. Practising the following would help us achieve the same 

• SATISFICING which means finding delight in what’s given to us. This builds in the quality of being grateful for what we have. This further triggers our orientation towards the much needed concepts of decluttering, minimalism and essentialism. Maintaining a “gratitude journal” is an easy way to do so. The journal entries act as a reminder to us that by default there are plenty of things that we need to be grateful for in our life such as the beautiful body, the nature, the family, the friends, the sunshine, and so on.

• MINDFULNESS which builds awareness of the present moments and makes us appreciate the beauty that lies in each moment. This generates feeling of gratitude and makes us grateful for each moment.

• EMPATHY which is the foundation of human relatedness. Empathy propel us to connect with others at a deeper level and establish an emotional connect. It’s this deeper connection that builds in us feelings of gratitude.

• CONNECT MORE – One of the major downside of technology is that the opportunities to meet face-to-face are very few. This lack of physical connection inhibits our basic human tendency to relate to others. Establishing more face to face connections will kindle the feelings of gratitude.

• A LITLLE EXTRA – Once we imbibe the basic feeling of empathy and start connecting more (at a physical level), offering a little bit extra through our intent and action will develop more gratitude.      

For all the readers looking for more scientific explanation about the benefits of gratitude, here's the link to a wonderful article http://happierhuman.com/benefits-of-gratitude/

So, what are you grateful for today ?

Discover Your Operating Zone ?

Remember playing a juggler? The times when “busyness” becomes second nature to us and we assume we can manage multiple things together. This “fool’s paradise” is very short-lived and brings us the realization that “Work More- Achieve More” mantra is misleading and applying it only results in “Worked Many – Achieved None”. The ramification of this “juggling act” that we perform at times, impacts our overall productivity and our efficiency takes a hit.

During these times of utter distraction, achieving “flow” i.e. , state of being fully immersed in the task,  does seem quite daunting. The mere realization that “we are most productive when we work in our most resourceful state” could help us establish the context based on the right premise and makes this task achievable. The first step towards achieving this improbable but not impossible task of “flow” is to understand our “Operating Zone”. 

The "Creative Zone" is the most resourceful state and should be the "desired state" for anyone wanting to be more productive in life.  This zone puts us in a "flow" mode and we tend to generate lots of ideas and innovation.

The "Neutral Zone" is the transitionary stage where the realisation to move out of the status quo happens and mental preparation for the Creative zone happens.

The "Comfort Zone" is where no "need" occurs other than to be where we are.

 So, to move ahead and build forward momentum, it's essential to identify our "operating zone" and then take appropriate action for our growth. 

RAS - The Genie Inside Us !

Is there a way to turn all our dreams into reality?

Possibly yes, but only when we

• get hold of a magic wand and "ABRACADABRA" our way to success

                                             OR

• call to our service Aladdin's Genie

The possibility of us finding a magic wand or Alladin’s lamp is next to impossible but lo, there exist a genie inside each one of us which when invoked has the power to transform all our dreams into reality and put us on path to goal accomplishment.        

This genie is very much an integral part of our physical self, our identity and is known as RAS (Reticular Activating System). Remember the coincidences that appear in our life and leave us in wonderment when what we seek appears all around us (whether it’s a new car we have been longing for or  a new holiday destination we have been exploring or anything else that is being sought by us). For a moment, it appears as if some supernatural power is at play but in real all that’s happening around us is a manifestation of the genie called RAS. Rather than rubbing of the lamp, this genie (RAS) just needs to be fed with our goals, things we intend to achieve in life.

RAS (Reticular Activating System) is a network of neurons located in the brain stem. It connects with other parts of the brain and to the spinal cord. In addition to being responsible for sleep, wakefulness and breathing, RAS is also responsible for many other functions like eating, elimination of boy waste and bringing things to our attention. Every moment, our brain is  bombarded with million of bits of information but only few thousand gets processed by it and what should get processed is determined by RAS.   

RAS  acts as a point of confluence where all our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, value and external influences meet. Based on what is fed by us in our conscious mind (in the form of goals), RAS filters the incoming sensory inputs (except smell which goes directly into brain’s emotional area) and sends to the subconscious mind only the information that aligns with our goals and focus. This is how coincidences occur with us as our subconscious start seeking in the environment what we have established as intent in our conscious mind.

So, to invoke the genie inside us so that it fulfills all our dreams, all we need to do is to establish goals effectively by writing them down. It’s only when the genie(RAS) sees the real intent in our goals that it starts weaving it’s magic in our life ! 

BUSYNESS - The Utopian Paradox

The Utopian Paradise of Productivity and Efficiency that we dream of in 21^st Century is infact a Paradox built on the pretext of “Busyness”. The phenomenon of Busyness emanates from our desire and quest for “more”, at times even more than what we can manage or handle. The self-imposed demand to be the best and be “ahead of the pack” is further compounded by the plethora of information, knowledge and digital technologies that surround us.

We, the super species of 21^st Century are smitten with the concept of “more” and bitten by the bug of “busyness”. We love to be always “busy” and wants lots on our plate, most of the times more than we can possibly manage or handle. Productivity and Efficiency provide the foundation for this Utopian world we dream about but if “multi-tasking” becomes the order of the day and being into “too many” becomes the success indicator, a status of achievement then there’s still a long way to go for us.

Being in the midst of information overload, clutter, unfinished tasks  gives us a false feeling of having achieved something but in reality there’s hardly any accomplishment. In the “shroud of pretence” that we create , productivity and efficiency gets overshadowed by our deep ingrained habit of pretence or showing off. This sets in a false belief of accomplishment where nothing much exist. All this is a sure shot way to leave us anxious, depressed and restless and that is detrimental to our overall wellbeing.

“Busyness” may seem overwhelming but few small steps could definitely help us move out from this trap and create the Utopia. Some of the steps are mentioned below:

• Replace multi-tasking with single-tasking and focus on “one thing at a time”. This would enable us to put all our energy and undivided attention on the task at hand which will give us better results. 

• Understand limitations of our brain, in terms of how much information it can process. This would help us understand our “stretch limits”.  

• Limit our “digital engagement”

• Create regular “mindful periods” in daily routine to reflect on our tasks and priorities

It’s time we realize that busyness is not helping us get  better at anything in our life. The action is plenty but accomplishment is nil or little. So, let’s evaluate whether we are affected by the “busyness” bug and do whatever it takes to become more productive in life!

Are You Living A "Subset of Life"?

If accomplishing Money, Fame and Power defines our success in life then why is it so that many of us still feel a certain hollowness/ vacuum inside us; a hollowness that prods us to reflect on self and

then ask many probing questions such as

" Is my life turning into a blob?"

"Why am i not satisfied with my life?"

"Why do i feel a body-mind-soul disconnect?"

"Why do i still desire more of what i already have (money, power)"?

"Why does internal happiness still elude me?"

"What is missing in my life?"

We may think we are treading a path and moving towards a destination but it's actually a directionless pursuit leading to a land of obsession and desire. All this self brooding converge towards a serious food for thought which is

"Am I living a subset of life?"

"Why don't all my accomplishments in life (money, fame and power) provide me with real joy, peace or satisfaction and merely add up (cumulatively) to only become a subset of my life?"

source:http://www.spyculture.com/tom-secker-ripple-effect/

The answer is revealing and requires a discerning insight into our approach towards life. The fact is

that we are focusing on high-end subsistence, thereby diluting the actual aim of our existence which is to live with purpose. That purpose gets clear to us the moment we check the ripple effect that our individual life generates. If the ripple effect is missing, the purpose is missing and it's only a self-centered life we are living by catering to our own needs.

The real joy and satisfaction in our life appears when the ripple effect generated by our actions positively impacts others and bring joy in their lives too. The moment the realization dawns on us that there is a life beyond our "personal self", that is when we start giving a purpose and meaning to our life and our existence. The transition from "ME" to "WE" is when the transformation occurs in us.

We don't really need a long checklist to identify whether we are living a "subset of life". The following pointers would act as a good reference

• Do we have a bigger Purpose identified for our life beyond the high-end subsistence?

• Whether all our actions and goals align with out purpose and mission

• At night, when we retire for the day, do we sleep with satisfaction with a feeling that we spent our day well and contributed our best for a larger cause than just fulfilling our own desires and needs

• At dawn, when we wake up, do we feel a surge of energy and excitement to live the day     

Let's make our existence count and move beyond mere subsistence. Let's create a Super Life by bringing Purpose and Mission in our existence !

The 4 Cardinal "Cs" of Life !

A successful life is built upon layers of goals achieved by us. If we aim to accomplish all our goals in life then we need to ensure forward momentum in life. Every step we take should be progressive, thereby ensuring our growth. Challenges and Opportunities would never cease to crop up in our journey to success so we need to be well prepared to confront these challenges, address them appropriately and take advantage of these opportunities. One of the simple, easy and effective way to sustain our forward momentum in and progress in life is to harness the power of 4 Cs. The 4 Cs are simple elements which when adopted and mastered would not only put us in better control of our life but also propel us towards achieving greater heights in life. All that stands between us and success is a better understanding of these 4 Cs and their application in our lives. 

Let's explore these 4 essential building blocks of better life

The 4 Cs are - Choice, Change, Consequences and Correction. They are well connected and act as feeder to each other. Their convergence point is a point of guaranteed unlimited success. Let's understand what each of the 4 C stand for: 

• Choice - When opportunity strikes, it's time to decide and choose. The power of choice is always within our control and our choice decides whether we move closer to our goal or away from it. What we choose is what we become.

• Change - The process of change is always uncomfortable initially but the mere resolve to be ready for change/ transformation is the deciding factor. Our willingness or unwillingness to change (after weighing all pros and cons) determines whether stay put in our comfort zone and be a mediocre achiever or we move into our creative zone and live our best possible life

• Consequences - Every choice that we make in our life has a flip side to it. Being wary of the unfavorable conditions and having a plan to deal with them put us in better control of those situations and our life.

• Correction - Every step/ action towards our goal may highlight certain gaps that need to be plugged in to continue our forward movement. Our ability to gain insight into what holds us back and then doing the needful to mend it is what ensures our steady progress towards success.  

In a nutshell, the 4Cs mantra is 

"Choose to Change, anticipate the Consequences, be prepared to do the necessary Correction and then Carry on Creating an awesome life"

When Questions Become the Answers!

The Art of Self-Questioning 

Questioning has always been a powerful tool for humans to delve deep into our personality and gain insight and understanding of human behavior and growth. Socrates, the great philosopher used the power of questioning to great effect and demonstrated how effective questioning could yield the desirable results aligned well with our defined objectives.  “Socratic Questioning” is still used as a powerful technique for building critical thinking.

Life is a continuous pursuance of our dreams and desires with no in-built checks or auto-correction in place. To keep progressing in life, it’s essential that we regularly stop, step back, reflect, correct and then again move forward with better clarity and renewed energy.  There can’t be any better way for doing this than “Self-Questioning”.  When we perfect the art of “self-questioning”, our questions become the answers to whatever holds us back. Let’s dive a little into what makes the process of “self-questioning” more effective and useful

Why is Self-Questioning important?

Growth, Progression and Achievement are 3 cornerstone of a successful life. Questioning helps identify the strengths and barriers and the act of questioning to self creates alignment with our Purpose, Goals and Actions. From thereon, the self-questioning process helps us reflect, review, make necessary correction and restart.

Self-Questioning is the most important form of self-talk that we do. It establishes a connect with our inner self to bring out the powers and resources lying latent in us.

Framing Questions

When Question itself becomes the Answer, then it becomes crucial to develop a robust framework that generates the appropriate questions that we should be asking yourself. When indulging in self-questioning, we should frame questions starting with the following:

•          Where do I stand now? (Status quo)
•          What do I want to achieve in life? (Purpose and Goals)
•          Why do I want to achieve the above Purpose and Goals? (Rationale)
•          How do I plan to achieve your goals? (Strategy)
•          (By) When do I want to achieve them? (Deadline)

To sum it up, a robust framework of self-questioning is built by seamlessly integrating self-coaching principles in the entire process!

When Emotions play Dominoes

There are times in our life that we can recollect when we slumped from bad to worse or rose from good to better/ best. Those times and incidents not only leave us surprised/ shocked but also in wonderment of why and how it happened to us. What could have triggered such a drastic change in an instant, taking us from a point of control/ manageability to a point where things just seem to be sliding away from our grip. The culprit here is none other than our EMOTIONS, the element of our personality that’s most talked about but least understood. Many a times Emotions get tricky and play dominoes in our life if not checked and managed in time. Emotions, per se, are neither good or bad and it’s only our interpretation in the context and our reaction thereafter that lets the emotions loose and starts the dominoes effect.

As we move into a sphere of interaction with self or surroundings (environment and people), one of the basic emotions gets activated inside us. This basic emotion assumes proportion based on the intensity of our thoughts and interaction. This intensity sets the dominoes effect in motion and impact us in 2 major ways

1.  our activated emotions take a leap from a mild form to a more extreme one, which is not only stronger but very overwhelming too. Once it assumes the stronger format then it becomes extremely difficult to manage the emotions  
2. affects us at all levels – mental, physical and spiritual. The dominoes may trigger at one level but then encapsulates the other also. 

Irrespective of the nature of emotion (positive or negative, based on our perception), there’s always a danger of dominoes effect happening. Whatever is the nature, the dominoes effect will put us in a highly energised state and this will be very difficult to tame or to harness. More damage is done when the emotion is negative as it severely makes a dent at our subconscious level hitting at our esteem and confidence.

To halt this roller coaster ride of emotions and stop the dominoes effect of emotions, all that is required is to 

• Accept that emotions exist and are an integral part of our personality. Nothing could re-iterate this fact more clearly than the existence of “Emotional Brain” in us 
• Understand the damage the emotions could inflict on us
• Learn to identify emotions in our self as they occur. Move from a thinking state to feeling state in situations
• Learn to manage the emotions right when they occur by positive and productive actions/ behaviour

So, let’s get the ball rolling and stop the emotions juggernaut ! 

ZEAL takes us to ZENITH#AtoZChallenge

Z is for "ZEAL"

We always aspire to reach the Zenith in our life and this gets manifested in the form of our

aspirations. But many a times our half-hearted efforts results in unachieved goals and a gap persist between our Inspiration and Aspiration.  Even though we are inspired to achieve our aspiration triggered goals, still there’s something that holds us back from achieving our goals. This missing piece is “ZEAL” which ensures sustained movement towards our goal(s). ZEAL refers to enthusiasm and excitement that is so much needed to keep us inspired always.  

Why ZEAL is important ?

·         Helps us achieve our goals

·         Keeps us passionate about our actions/ tasks

·         ZEAL breeds positive energy that is necessary to move forward  

·         We become a positive influencer for people around us

·         It provides direction to our efforts , so we need to ensure that it’s channelized in the right direction

·         Keeps us in a creative frame of mind and ensures better problem-solving and decision making

How to ensure “ZEAL” in life ?

·         An early diagnosis of our goals would help us ensure that we are pursuing the right goals

·         In case the ZEAL is missing, we must  change our goals and pick the ones that excite us and make us enthusiastic

·         Adopting an optimistic mind set ensures positive outlook towards life

·         Build in sufficient “self-time” to pursue our hobbies and calming activities like mindfulness, meditation and yoga. This will bring more clarity about  our goals in life

·         Build proper checkpoints to keep us on track. Also do a regular review of goals and  do the necessary correction whenever required

“ZEAL” is the backbone of  a Progressive Life ! 

YEARN for YIN_YANG#AtoZChallenge

Y is for YIN-YANG

PERFECTION and BALANCE are 2 things that each one of us is striving for in our life. But the irony is that we are trying to achieve it in a completely non-conducive environment which consist of a world that’s overflowing with information & knowledge; mind that is filled to the brim with chaos and commotion and a body that is all the time busy multi-tasking. We are aiming for the improbable considering the dynamic eco-system we live and operate in. The best way to achieve balance is to seek progression instead of perfection and move forward. The moment we start accepting the duality of everything in life, we will achieve balance in life. This principle of duality is YIN-YANG, a concept/ approach which helps us deal effectively with uncertainties of life - ups and downs, good times and bad times, opportunities and challenges.

Why is YIN-YANG important ?

·      Life is never a smooth ride and we need to deal with adversity as well. YIN-YANG prepares us for dealing with the downs in life and move ahead in life

·   Adopting the YIN-YANG approach build in us the requisite mental strength to deal with difficulties

·        YIN-YANG prepares us to build multiple perspectives

·        YIN-YANG helps us perceive the adversities as natural       happenings and not get bogged down by them 

How to balance YIN-YANG ?

·         Accepting failures and negative events in our life as natural occurrences, similar to the positive ones

·         Focus on achieving balance in all aspects of life – work, home, relationships, etc. The more all these aspects are in harmony, the more balanced our life will be

·         Include practices like mindfulness, meditation and yoga which connect us to our inner self

·         Practice gratitude and be thankful for everything in life

·         Declutter life to attract clarity and positivity in life

 Bring YIN-YANG in life and live holistically forever ! 

"X-FACTOR" avoids being a "XEROX"#AtoZChallenge

X is for "X-FACTOR"

“Survival of the fittest” is the mantra for success in this highly competitive world. There is a cut-throat competition everywhere and in everything. To come out victorious we need to outclass our competitors and also be the preferred choice.  To stand apart from the crowd we need to be unique in something, possess some special talent, develop some special skill/ knowledge which is what is termed as “X-FACTOR”.  This “X-FACTOR” is the real differentiator for us which separates us from the rest of the crowd and puts us right there in front and in limelight. “X-FACTOR” is what we excel at.

Why “X-FACTOR” is important ?

·         It makes us more charismatic and creates a magnetic effect in our personality

·         It is an important trait in our personality which differentiates us from others and determines our success

·         Gives us an extra edge over our competitors in situations where every competitor meets the basic mandated requirement of education, skills and knowledge and something unique or different plays the deciding factor

·         It paves the way for us to move forward in life

·         It boosts our self-esteem and confidence as we find worth in our existence

·         It helps us identify our USP (Unique Selling Proposition) which helps us direct our energy and effort on our unique talent, skill or passion

How to identify/ develop “X-FACTOR” ?

·         Exploring our interests and passion helps us identify our “X-FACTOR”. What excites us and keeps us involved is most probably our “X-FACTOR”.

·         If in various social situations, people approach us and show keenness to interact with us because of our certain behaviour/ attitude then that’s an indication of our “X-FACTOR” at play

·         Once identified, it’s important to develop it further to retain that extra edge in our personality and capitalise on the opportunities that come our way.

·         Hone your “X-FACTOR” skills as much as possible by practicing it over and over again, Be an Outlier by doing it for 10,000 hours

·         Try bettering at the “X-FACTOR” by doing it with interest and attention

Let your X-FACTOR make you a WINNER !

WILLPOWER makes a WINNER#AtoZChallenge

W is for WILLPOWER

Many a times winning is more to do with our inner ability and strength rather than the external skill or knowledge. The true test of a winner’s personality is his/ her ability to push themselves towards accomplishing the goal(s) or completing the task at hand in spite of all odds and many challenges. This ability is termed as WILLPOWER and is a necessary personality trait for anyone wanting to achieve great/ big things in life. WILLPOWER connotes inner strength and/ or determination needed to overcome all obstacles and always be inspired to complete the task at hand, those tasks which others may give up because they are hard to finish. 

Why WILLPOWER is important ?

·         Gives us the power of choice – either to give up or move on and be an achiever

·         Enables us to overcome any difficult problem or obstacle 
      with ease

·         Gives us inner strength to take tough actions in life and be ready for any challenge

·         Build us determination to complete the task and achieve the defined goals

·         Helps us move out of our comfort zone and adapt quickly to any kind of CHANGE in life

·         Gives us an edge over our competitors and make us competitive

·         Builds a positive self-image; positively impacts our self-esteem; boosts our self-confidence

·         Builds a strong character person

 How to build WILLPOWER ?

·         See the BIG picture instead of focusing on short-term benefits of achieving any goal

·         Be creative by taking up challenging tasks

·         Develop a solution-oriented mind set to find ways to do things

·         Break up goals into smaller and manageable sub-goals which are easier to track and achieve

·         Develop inner strength through practices like Mindfulness, Yoga and Meditation

·         Use Affirmations to build up positive self-image and self-confidence

·         Adopt an action-oriented approach in life – always willing to try out things and attempt them

·         Don’t get overwhelmed with the task/ goal. Think action and the sub-goal

·         Overconfidence is a killer. Don’t assume success. Take every task as new and give it your best try

Let your WILLPOWER be the magic wand of SUCCESS !