[Time-Management] 100 Thoughts for Self Improvement!

 

10th October 2012

`Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything'

George Bernard Shaw

Two things are very important for our progress - change and progress. While change is automatic progress is not. Just because changes are taking place all around us, it does not mean that we are progressing!

Progress is a result of self initiated self monitored, self controlled and self disciplined life style. In the world of change, if we are not progressing, it means that we are deteriorating. It cannot take place without our active involvement.  

I want to give an example to illustrate this.

A caterpillar transforms into a beautiful butterfly without any effort on the part of the caterpillar. The caterpillar just stays within its cocoon and after a passage of some time, it becomes a butterfly. Nature takes care of this transformation. The caterpillar and the butterfly are two different species. They differ from their food habit, movement etc. We hate to touch a caterpillar, but love a butterfly.

If we remain quiet as a caterpillar, the law of nature which transforms a caterpillar to butterfly will work in the reverse direction – we will deteriorate automatically, but not progress!

Changes are taking place all around you. Would you like to progress? If so how are you going to make it happen?

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Thoughts for Self Improvement!

 

9th October 2012

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."

Helen Keller

 

 

Life is not about what happens to you. It is about how you respond to what happens to you! The same situation may trigger different responses by two different people. Blindness can force a person to beg. But the same blindness can motivate a person to take it as a challenge to come up in life. Helen Keller has proved this.

Rejection has destroyed many entrepreneurs. But Walt Disney was not destroyed. In fact a series of rejections made Walt Disney. JK Rowling got so many rejections from leading publishers. But her response to rejections was different from any other writer. Set backs are common. But a constructive response to setback is uncommon which distinguishes great people from ordinary.

I am an educationist and I spend a lot of my time in schools where I come across many parents whose children are dyslexic. Dyslexia is a problem which results in learning difficulties. But this did not stop great people like Albert Einstein, Steven Spielberg, Winston Churchill, and General Paton etc from achieving great things in their lives in of their dyslexic background.

We will have problems as we work towards our goal. It is up to us to take problems as stepping stones or stumbling blocks. It depends on our mindset!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Thoughts for Self Improvement!

 

8th October 2012

`There's nothing more dangerous than a resourceful idiot'

Scott Adams

We know the words `resource' and `resourcefulness'. A `resource' is a stock or supply of materials or assets. Money, material, machinery, manpower etc are examples of resources. `Resourceful' is a state of mind. It refers to the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties.

We may have all the resources. In fact we can access to the external resources. But unless and until we are resourceful, we will not be able to use the resources effectively. Successful people are resourceful, which means that they are in a state of readiness and alertness.

A resourceful person will be enthusiastic. He will be opportunity oriented. He will be restless to use every opportunity and invest all his resources to achieve an outcome in life. Shortage of resources will not stop a resourceful person to achieve his life's ambitions.

The life of Helen Keller is an example. Even though she was deaf, dumb and blind, she was highly resourceful to use her tactile sense to understand the world. Ultimately she won the Nobel Prize.

Even though there is not resource, a resourceful person will persevere to get them. All the resources in the hands of an un-resourceful person are a waste!

Are you a resourceful person?

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Thoughts for Self Improvement!

 

5th October 2012

`Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act!

Action will delineate and define you.' 
 Thomas Jefferson

Some people call my seminars as `time management' seminars or `motivation' seminars. Unfortunately both the descriptions are wrong! Motivation cannot be from outside. Motivation is an internal urge that a person experiences.

Even if a person is highly motivated, he cannot deliver results without an effective strategy to use his motivation energy. This is what I do in my seminars! In fact this is what any consultant can do. People have ideas, but they may not know how to convert their ideas into products or services.

All of us have some talent or other and we have to find a platform for the same where the talent is given a `commercial value' through a specific well thought out action plan which is called a strategy. Motivation without an effective strategy will only result in disappointment and depression. If we don't have a strategy and when we produce no results, we will end up in blaming or complaining someone or something.

This is where great people differ from ordinary people.

Over this weekend do a small exercise: list all your goals on side of a paper and against each write down an action plan. If you are not able to match a goal with a strategy, your motivation alone will not help!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Thoughts for Self Improvement!

 

4th October 2012

`The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart'
Helen Keller

Have you come across people who are `emotionally blind'? Sounds strange, isn't? If you are physically blind, you cannot see the objects in front of you. When you are emotionally blind, you cannot notice others' emotions appreciate their feelings!

Emotionally blind people cannot:

  • Notice the anger in other people.
  • Notice how people feel internally.
  • Cannot understand and respect the emotional outbursts of others.
  • Cannot reciprocate the emotions others undergo.
  • Cannot read the emotional expressions on the face of others.

The list can be endless. Emotionally blind people cannot understand the emotional side of the communication. They cannot express their emotions either. Words will have literal meanings to them. They will find it difficult to empathize with others. They will find it difficult to enter into the world of other people and look at things from their perspective. Emotionally blind people will not look beyond the external behaviour and understand the intention behind the same.

Physical blindness can be corrected by others. But emotional blindness can be corrected only by the person concerned.

Are you emotionally blind?

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Thoughts for Self Improvement!

 

3rd September 2012

`Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals and values are in balance'

Brian Tracy

We have to be strong – both bodily as well as emotionally. The purpose of physical exercises is to flex and stretch every muscle so that they are fit. If you are not used to sitting on the ground, you will find it difficult to sit on the ground for a long time. If you are used to typing, stop typing for a month and notice what happens to your speed when you resume. Most of us have practically stopped writing and we are mostly typing. So even when we want we cannot write!

An unused muscle becomes useless.

So are our emotions. Anger, jealousy, irritation etc are all very important emotional states. What will happen if you cannot feel angry or irritated at all? We have to get angry on things which we don't like to get rid of them. If you don't feel angry or irritated on laziness, you will remain lazy forever! Constructive jealousy will give you the positive energy to work hard. Absence of these emotions will result in a state called `emotional paralysis'! When you are paralysed bodily, you cannot move. Similarly emotional paralysis will make your mind to become static. Such a mind cannot be creative and energetic!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Thoughts for Self Improvement!

 

2nd October 2012

`One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside.'
 John Lennon

 

We all know that we have muscles in our body which are different from our flesh. The more muscles we have, the stronger we will be. The more flesh we develop, the more will be our health risk. We go to gym to work out or do some exercise to burn our flesh and build muscles.

Have you ever thought about `emotional muscles'? Sounds strange, isn't? Just as our body develops flesh and muscles, our mind also develops `emotional muscles' and `emotional flesh'! Like we do physical exercises to strengthen our bodily muscles, we should also do mental exercises to strengthen our emotional muscles. We should `stretch' our mental faculties by going after large tasks, control negative emotions such as anger, irritation, meditate etc to strengthen our emotional muscles.

All the basic principles which apply to building bodily muscles will apply to emotional muscles also. Just as we diet to strengthen our bodily muscles, we should also do `mental dieting' by avoiding unnecessary thoughts and feelings!

Once you have understood this simple comparison, you can build on this concept and understand how to build your `emotional muscles'!

Consciously try this for a few months and realise how strong you become emotionally! In fact if you don't build emotional muscles, you cannot put your bodily muscles into use!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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