Contemplating Aloud

To get to the symbol of positive, we must cross the negative. To concentrate on a thing, we must remove our attention from other things and place it on the point of interest. There are two steps to achieving something, removal of the unwanted and addition of the needed. Sometimes it is impossible to physically disassociate from a situation. What to do then ?  Using the powers of the mind is one solution. There are three positive attributes of the mind - will, thought and feeling. These when utilized according to our temperament can cauterize every negative vibe that comes towards us. Cause: The negative vibes can be caused by either our own thinking or a circumstance where we find ourselves being criticized by someone. If it is caused by our own thinking, and we are aware of it, we ought to take action to fix it. Every effort for the same is valuable. It can cast us down if it is due to someone else criticizing us unreasonably. In this case, it is useful to understand a psychologic...

  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...

  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 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 "neces...

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 t...

  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 = Pati...