Gadgets and Gizmos – is that a piece of addiction or a piece of connection?

I wonder how our life would be one day without any gadgets? Yes, no mobiles and laptops especially? Will we get lost? I will certainly feel very handicapped. I don’t know if I could spend a day without looking at my mobile. I’m okay to admit that my life is quite dependent on that gadget! My reminders, my calendars, my notes and my family & friends, wow in that tiny gadget exists so many connections, so much information!  Drawing comparison to our ancestors, I still don’t understand how they would have survived in a world like today which is so connected and advanced. But the biggest question is, are we so dependent on gadgets that we fail to think, remember or just forget the idea of meeting/chatting/picking phones to stay in touch? 

Is just a mere whatsapp chat/facebook ping all that it takes to wish someone on his/her bday, or exchange few messages. Yes I agree, it certainly helps being in touch, but does that add value to the relationship we share with our friends? Sometimes, the bond is disconnected, the words written don’t convey any deeper message or anything at all? Words while written can be forgotten easily, but while spoken stays or lasts longer. I am so sure, if I pick the phone to call my friend after a long gap, it will certainly make her feel better just hearing my voice. I get a little envious on the fact that our ancestors valued family time. They certainly would have dedicated time for bonding and enjoying little pleasures of life. 

Sometimes it is necessary to break this barrier, the technology barrier and take time to enjoy nature, talk to birds, smell the roses, take a walk without any distraction.Talk to someone who’s sitting with you, spending time with family and friends without these gadgets. Limiting these to only what’s important to you will help you achieve a lot of things. I have tried it, but not mastered it, but I know I will eventually do it.

I’M AS FIT AS A FIDDLE!

It feels good to hear that, did I just say “HEAR” only? Increasingly one’s fitness plays a major role in one’s Life. If only we all imbibe these healthy habits of eating right and working out, we could keep so many lifestyle diseases at bay.  Your body defines you, the more fit you are, the more it leads to a healthy body and a healthy mind and thereby resulting in more productivity. Every day, dedicating a minimum of 20-30 mins of time to a fitness habit has become the need for today’s fast paced life. Each one of us remember to start our day brushing our teeth; if only we make exercise a habit too, we can still look and feel young even as we get older.  Age is just a number; it doesn’t necessarily lead to illness. I am trying to dedicate time, I am trying to say it Is as important as building a career,  if I don’t do it or motivate myself, I know I can never, so friends, It’s within us to ensure our long term happiness, these are all the tiny steps we take towards the bigger picture. Today, popping a pill even for a cold has become a fashion, nobody wants to suffer even for a day, and we all know the answer to have a life free of sufferings. Just following a simple mantra to eat right and most importantly, control portions and engaging in a form of a exercise be it a sport/dance/aerobics/anything of your choice.  Let us all enjoy our LIFE, as to me it simply means LIVE IN FULL ENERGY!

Look Good, Feel Good!

Look Good, Feel Good is the norm for today. I am not trying to force it! Let me tell you, each one of us have our own ambitions, goals in life that we go after, we all know clearly what we want and what we don’t. While we understand these simple things so well, it’s even simpler to understand the expression, Look Good, Feel Good! Most of us who are working spend significant amount of our time at office or perhaps in travel where we have our minds working 24/7 thinking about how to give our best. Sometimes in the bargain, are we losing out on anything? Yes, most certainly!



As much as how important your work would be, it is equally important to keep yourself fit and dress up well and take care of yourself. We all must realize that these two tangents work in parallel. These little efforts we take is only going to benefit you. Everyday, consciously work towards it, the day you decide to look 100% your best, the feeling comes from within that will only boost your confidence. I am saying it is very essential to give you a mental piece of mind, would you just mind getting a compliment that may somewhere make your inner self happy. Of course not, the more and more you feel good about yourself, the more you are at your best. This may be something you are all aware of, but sometimes we all can get complacent and end up not taking our best efforts to look our best.



“When you look good, you feel good. Confidence with what you're wearing is very important. If you feel good, you will always perform your best without worrying about anything.”
Maria Sharapova

When you find the “Companion in You”

In the hustle bustle environment that we live in today, how many of us take time to talk to yourself? Maybe the percentage is very minimal. But talking to your innerself is an art by itself. To master that, you need to be in constant touch with you. Philosophical, boring? But take a minute to relate to this, have you ever found a companion in you and when you do, do let me know what comes to your mind.

There are many at times, one feels lonely, wanting to be engaged in all the activities that make one happy, but it’s definitely temporary, as they say, Happiness is temporary. In the nosy-poky environment that we live in today, waking up to the alarm, door bell, munching breakfast on the way to work, chasing deadlines at work, attending calls to whatsapping, facebooking and writing mails, do we take a second to think of spending time with your inner companion. Hell No! Where’s the time, why should I do it?

I too once strongly believed in the fact of why I should spend time with myself, but quite on the contrary, when I tried doing this, trust me, there definitely was a change. What do you when you travel alone? perhaps read a book, listen to some good music or if you busy engage making presentation or maybe talk on the phone, I did all this, but now, I take the time I get to talk to myself, not literally and ask myself, if am keeping myself happy, your inner soul begins to converse, sometimes its much better a companion than maybe your best friend. You can analyse yourself, amend your erratas and certainly, work towards what you really want to achieve in your life. Try this, it’s an art, but if you master it, you will certainly find a change, if you have not, then allow yourself some more time, to find your “Inner Companion”.

I Dont Think That You Want That Stress

When we are born, we have no answers to where, who, what and how we came into this world. When we grow, we want answers to all those questions ... we want to be RECOGNISED!..

To simply put, today while I went shopping...I saw a stunning dress, I liked it and I had my cheque ready to pay. Within a fraction of second, I changed my mind, I saw another dress, and I said why not this? I dropped the one on my hand and picked this instead.  End of Story? No...How can a story end without a moral?

I came back home and tried the one I had just picked and loved it but I was not happy with the fit. Perhaps I should have stuck onto the one that I saw first which was less expensive and the I kept thinking on and on. Then I ended up wearing something really old from my wardrobe to go out and when I returned, I was disappointed, because I had originally planned something and it did not turn out the way I had wanted. So is it anybody's fault but mine. Why did I change my mind?

I don't know, maybe I wanted more, maybe I desired more, maybe I was not content. Why are we complicating our lives so much? Maybe my shopping example is trivial, but the fact is we humans are constantly in a rat's race, we always want more of what is required or beyond limits. Yes, we all are in a competitive working environment, we want to top the charts always. We want promotions, recognitions, blah blah,... the best iPAD, the best car..the best of everything..but in the end, if we don't get any of what we "WANT", we are disheartened. It's not wrong to WANT, but when WANT overshoots the borderline, time for a reality check. Only do what is within your purview. Never stretch beyond your control, you might end up not stretching but stressing.

The ART of Saying NO

Blogs are usually associated with one's feelings, emotions and experiences. Is that the norm of the day? NO! and that's why I get inspired to write something different. The human tendency is leniency. The more lenient you are, the more you are your own defeat. Be it at work or at home! Practice to say NO. You may wonder, is it wrong in accepting things that you can do when somebody tells you to. Yes or No is the answer. If you ask me, don't accept it without giving it a thought.

Accept tasks only that's aligned to you, over and above that no one is going to reward you cause you are not doing justice by overloading yourself. Instead, take a task at a time, master that and then move to another. This way, you know and learns things from scratch. If not, you are only attempting something which will never get accomplished as you are not ready for it.

On an impluse you may accept it thinking you are capable of much more, but the fact is only when you get down to do it, you realise, a simple NO at the beginning could have fetched you a bountiful of positive results. It's good to think high of your abilities not when it gets beyond what is achievable by you. There's noone other than you who is going to either get appreciated or affected by this simple and easy tip, the art of saying NO.

Now, question is when and for what to say NO. For eg: If someone asks you to climb a mountain when you hurt your feet, you know the expectation is ridiculous, would you do it? Ok! perhaps this is exaggerated. But at work or at home, when you are assigned a mammoth task beyond your potential to do it, just say NO.
Be diplomatic but don't be a fool. Those who are yet to attempt, it's never too late, those who have, you are there soon!

Simple Gratitude can create MAGIC

For those who have read the book, the magic from the secret series, the thoughts that am going to share may be known. But for those who have not, here is a reason why you must grab a copy for yourself, its always better late than never!

I have been struggling with an uneasy feeling for the last six months, I kept trying to question myself what could be wrong, is it my work, my travel, my health or what could that be? I knew I could not find the answer ..Until one morning, while at the airport enroute to blr, I was browsing for a quick read to keep me company i discovered the magic that turned my life in no less than a week's time. Thanks Rhonda, your work is brilliant! I can now confidently say I dont feel that discomfort anymore. it's gone! ... I tried connecting the dots to solve this, it was simple. To simply put it, my problem did not lie in one area but all the possible areas cause I had not given the time to say Thank you for all that I had which seemed to be keeping me still happy. But I did not realise the value of it until the magic happened. I chalked down all the problem areas and uttered the magic words, thank you to each one of those problem areas and zoom, vanished all my problems. Now I believe in the fact that "there is no such thing as problems, its only we who create it for ourselves." So how did I go about doing it? For eg: When I returned to Chennai, I was completely ill, I read this book and attempted to say, so what I am sick, I am so glad I have the facility to visit a doctor and get my treatments in place, how many of them out there dont even have this, so I learnt to say Thank you! problem area 1 check! So it's simple, when you begin to think that you are blessed in many ways your so called problems will seem trivial, learn to say thank you for all that has been given to you then you know you dont have any more reasons to worry but only to be happy. So apply the magic thoughts wherever you go, remember the more gratitude you show, the more you get in return. So here's the magic that made me say good-byes to many problems. See if this magic works for you...

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today

Isnt' that saying so apt for each one of us? Absolutely, though I want to religiously follow that, it never really happens. Ah! How can I finish all that I want to do, I dont have the TIME, time is never enough and the biggest enemy for all of us. Agree? In the recent past while I was at an office event, I got to attend an interesting session by Azim Jamal, the Corporate Sufi specialist who shared nuggets from his books. One of the most interesting thing he shared which still lingers in my mind and which  am consciously making an attempt to follow till date. It proved beneficial for me, you might find it phenomenal too. We all live in a mobile world,  everything we do, is fast paced and on the move, we don't realise but we all end up saying "Gosh! wish I could have done this, that" "How I wish my day could have been more productive" "I hope to finish it atleast by tomorrow" so on and so forth. PERIOD.

This is aligned to the law of attraction, every action has an equal and opposite reaction to it. Dont get me? Ok! So here it goes, we start our day in a rat's race, we want to leave early to work, we get a call, we get delayed, then the traffic becomes so insane, you have to be at work by 9 am, you know it, no wonder you kept snoozing that alarm, Kiddin! but still ended up half hour late to work. So it starts here, the CRIBBING session. I am already late, how am I supposed to finish so much today? Then your Blackberry rings, wait hold on, a beep says "You have got a mail", well we the multitaskers attempt doing all that's not possible at a single time. Time goes on, it's already 6 pm, time to leave home. No worries, today I can extend half hour more as I came late, you put on the ms. honesty attitude. But still you have the same 8 tasks you had jotted down when you came in the morning? Who is to be blamed for your unproductive office hours? Is it the phone? Is it the mail or is it the late coming, or is it just you?

All in All. Change your pattern, set targets, leave early from home, even if you get late, dont let that bog you down. Switch off that Blackberry for an hour, so what, your client will understand, keep that mailbox aside for an hour. Just an hour try staying aside from all that can distract you even if your work profile demands that. You will realise, one hour is just more than enough for you to achieve one big accomplishment a day. Post that hour, resume with all the madness, but still folks, you have achieved your targets, one per day, you are right on track.... Do it and feel even better. So remember, never put off till tomorrow what you can do today!

Sweet 16 to Turning 30!

Has the title got anything to do with what am going to be writing here! Well yes and no could be the answer. I am an absolute crazy and bubbly girl who loves to jump around, get excited with the most silliest of things, been raised in a family that gave me complete freedom, with great bunch of friends both in my school and college days, absolutely no reasons to complain. Even after I crossed 16, I still felt that am sweet 16, going on 17... first you take the role of a student, then to a full time employee, everything goes fine, the grass is green, the sky is blue and the cows do chew! Ouch! bad joke, never mind. Life still goes on!Then comes a time, where getting married becomes the norm,Every girl's dream is to find that perfect match, or should I say she loves to dream? Correction in my case this little girl found her perfect match too. And then starts the film of 'Transformation", sweet 16 to Turning 30! nah not literally, its just an avatar similar to costume change, yes, thats all, you tend to develop a sense of maturity, within a fraction of a second, you tend to take up huge responsibilities and time never becomes sufficient for anything you want to do! It's just upto you to TAKE IT, After all you get what you give, so give it your best, and you would definitely get it back in return, not that if you punch someone on his face, you are going to get it back LOL! I meant LIFE people, its beautiful cherish each and every moment of it! 

Myriad expressions of love?

How blessed would we feel if we begin to understand the myriad expressions of love? Bet, we can’t count them all. Each day everyone around us express their love towards us in myriad ways. Some are understood, Some are best when not understood! :)

As a child, the first love that we experience is that of our parents, the love that you call as unconditional. The relationship is more taken for granted and better if it remains that way. The times spent with friends during our school and college life is entirely different what you would term more as Fun with Love. Nothing that emphasizes care, nothing that truly gives you the feel that he/she is there for you. But we don’t complain, it's understood. And Love is often overrated; blame the movies or whatever, its different for different people. The beauty lies when you don’t try to dissect the LOVE given to you to the WAY perhaps you want it. In this correlation perhaps, the famous saying "What you give is what you get" may not work :(. Now coming to the most important part, the love shared when two individuals are married, it again gets exaggerated. You may address Love only when "you get a peck on the cheek" or perhaps by a "simple hug". Well even Love can be expressed sometimes by just holding your hand while you are trying to cross a road or perhaps when you simply ask, how your day went.

In summary, “Love is made up of three unconditional properties in equal measure:
1. Acceptance
2. Understanding
3. Appreciation 
Remove any one of the three and the triangle falls apart. This, by the way, is something highly inadvisable. Think about it — do you really want to live in a world of only two dimensions? So, for the love of a triangle, please keep love whole.” 
― Vera Nazarian

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