Contemplating Aloud

  Smiles are so needed in this world!  I mean a smile that comes from within. The tangible value of such a smile is - the positivity increases when we share it. It is one of those things that increases for us, when we are able to give!  A smile without any corresponding inner experience is no more than a mechanical exercise for the lips or flash of a few white objects arranged in a pattern.  I recall three different incidents in three weeks when I saw a smile from within!  Incident 1: I try to schedule cleaning service for my house every month. Today, the person who was in-charge, while cleaning, asked a few questions. Luckily, I had the answers, and also a book that had the answers. The universe showed a beautiful display of - "every person, no matter their professional duty is inherently intelligent." When I gave her the book, her smile was one of gratefulness and sincerity. Incident 2: About two weeks ago, we had a get-together among friends. We ate, and then played volley

  Some say its the journey that matters, some say that the only points of importance are the start and the end. Is one approach better than the other ? The easy answer is "it depends", and arguably one that is true. You cannot always apply absolute frameworks to a relative world.  Personally, I do like the results, but enjoy the journey more! Many times a literal journey teaches you a lot, allows for an impromptu experience that is fun and in a strange way, satisfies us. Our heart works so hard during normal living that even temporary satisfaction of a few moments is big!  One such experience was on a trip to Udaipur. My sister and my mother loved the folk related experiences the place had to offer. They had booked tickets to a 7 pm folk dance show, and I decided to tag along. The place was a couple km away from our airbnb and google maps showed about a 25-30 minute walk. With plenty of time to spare, we started out. One peculiarity about the old city parts of Udaipur is the

  The simplest definition of work is focused energy towards a particular thing. Even the scientific definition of work is energy transferred to displace an object in the direction of force applied. Work being composed of focused energy is not inherently hard. How can energy be classified into levels of difficulties! What makes work hard is the time involved. The requirement of persistence makes work hard.  Let us not our minds get tricked by the word hardwork, it is just focused energy towards a particular aspect with persistent effort. The question is - are the rewards worth it ? Rewards can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic rewards means we gain some form of internal satisfaction after the attempt. Extrinsic reward is something we receive from the external world - such as compensation, or recognition from our social circles. Both forms are useful.  When it comes to meeting necessities, extrinsic rewards are not negotiable. However for things outside our "necessary nece

Time management has been one of the focal points in management literature for a while. With ever-increasing awareness, most people, rightly look for ways to improve their time management skills. Time along-with health are our most critical resources. If we have both, we can always find ways to meet other needs healthily. We need mastery of two skills for time management -  1. Ability to prioritize tasks 2. Ability to complete the tasks on time! (I will re-write this by the end of this post) The Theory of prioritization There are numerous YouTube videos which explain how to prioritize tasks. The Eisenhower matrix provides a solid framework for prioritization. It decouples importance and urgency. In very simple words, it says prioritize important but non-urgent things over unimportant things. It is theoretically sound, however it is not motivational enough to get you to complete the tasks. Take the example of taxes, a lot of people wait for the last moment to file taxes even though they

  I have always been fascinated by symbols. A corner of my brain is occupied interpreting meanings of symbols, equations, etc. Something simple could reveal a lot, it is largely a matter of perception.  Take the example of  the compounding equation. It says A = P*(1+r)^n. This is probably the most famous expression used in finance. A is the amount, P is the principal, r is the rate, n is the number of years. It does indeed mathematically produce a result that is much higher than the principal. However, Is this just a matter of an algebraic expression ? The problem with this approach is abbreviation. I have never been a fan of abbreviation, one - it keeps everything open to interpretation, two - different valid interpretations can have very different meanings.  Let me re-write the equation to simplify it; Result = Input*(1+ rate of interest)^time factor. Doesn't that widen the scope of understanding a little bit ? Input = Effort Interest = Attention Time factor = Patience Result = R

I did feel some amount of stress last week, the reason was not clear to me. By stress I mean, a physiological perception of uneasiness. Everything organically is okay, but certain situations make us react different to our normal selves. There was a lot going on at work and at school, but I was mentally prepared, and it typically has not stressed me before.  I had to resort to my own method that I had written about it previously here -  Getting a Reset  - to figure out.   When I sat down and had my contemplation, I realized that I did not handle some difficult situations with my normal humility. Small traces of which slipped into my casual conversations as well. Everyone has a different reference point because it is subjective, but I did breach mine. That was keeping me uneasy. Once I realized it, and had knowledge on  how to fix it, I became peaceful again. You can't buy peace, it is manufactured within!  Two of the antidotes to stress are - (i) fearlessness, (ii) get a reset Stres