I am, by nature, a terribly unorganized person. This hurts and helps me.
My strong disinclination to disciplined pursuit of plans - be it daily schedule, or work priorities, or even product strategy - also helps maintain my tendency to continuously question and rethink radically. That usually helps.
What hurts is the physical impact of this tendency. That is where I am most closely aligned with entropy, especially when it comes to my work spaces. In these, one could find a small sample of the universe - varying actually from paper pin to paper plane, from sugar sachets to microcontrollers - littered in every colour of the spectrum. This hurt because the clutter affects my brain, which just stops working, thereby driving me to CCD or even Pondicherry to get think space.
Thankfully, this is now in the past. I have found a sustainable solution, which might possibly help you.
I realized that cleanliness is as infectious as clutter. Cleanliness inspires cleanliness. And cleanliness inspires creative thoughts. But cleanliness is tough to achieve and maintain.
So I selected a small area, and decided that no matter what, this space shall always remain organized and clean. Let everything else be a mess. That was easy to do. I gradually expanded that clean zone, and consolidated my mess into mess zones. "Gradually" is very important here - one must give time to sustain each expansion of the clean zone. Over a few months, almost my entire workspace - at home and Peach - are clean. "Almost" is also a keyword here - cuz this effort is asymptotic - one might even need some mess zone to remain.
Today, I remain unorganized at heart, but every time I create a clutter, it is so small that it stands out, and I feel compelled, irritated, to fix it - or when time does not permit, move it to my mess zone, which, fortunately, is physically restricted in space.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Happiness for Success
A TED Talk (Shawn Achor: The Happy Secret to Better Work) that I watched recently gave me a unique realization - that it is not that success causes happiness, as is traditionally believed - rather, it is happiness that causes success.
This makes good sense. The speaker clarified that success for the sake of happiness usually tends to inspire us to only create higher goalposts, which we never eventually reach, and thereby always have reason to be dissatisfied and unhappy.
Happiness inspires us to do good things for the world around us, and that in turn creates well-wishers for our success. Happiness helps us identify our passion, what we will naturally want to work hard for and excel at. Happiness will make our efforts and life in general more enjoyable and livable.
But how do we start? How do we attain this happiness without success?
Happiness (or lack of it) is, to the most degree, a state of mind. Only a small part of it is determined by reality; most of it is a result of our perceptions about the reality - our worries, our excitement, our anticipation, our guilt, our pride. We can choose which feelings to experience, and which bad memories or unpleasant information to weed out, especially if they do not affect our next actions. Should we choose to focus on the good, and be happy and optimistic, we will be inspired for action and success.
Link to the TED Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work
This makes good sense. The speaker clarified that success for the sake of happiness usually tends to inspire us to only create higher goalposts, which we never eventually reach, and thereby always have reason to be dissatisfied and unhappy.
Happiness inspires us to do good things for the world around us, and that in turn creates well-wishers for our success. Happiness helps us identify our passion, what we will naturally want to work hard for and excel at. Happiness will make our efforts and life in general more enjoyable and livable.
But how do we start? How do we attain this happiness without success?
Happiness (or lack of it) is, to the most degree, a state of mind. Only a small part of it is determined by reality; most of it is a result of our perceptions about the reality - our worries, our excitement, our anticipation, our guilt, our pride. We can choose which feelings to experience, and which bad memories or unpleasant information to weed out, especially if they do not affect our next actions. Should we choose to focus on the good, and be happy and optimistic, we will be inspired for action and success.
Link to the TED Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Neatness for inspiration
I have observed that keeping my workplaces organized has a clear effect on my desire to work. Likewise, finding my personal spaces in neat shape lifts my moods.
I assess that the total amount of new papers or stuff we receive or process on any given day rarely requires more than a few minutes of sorting and placement. Should we organize them before leaving for the day, we get to enter an inspiring workplace the next morning. Else, we create a back log, which we naturally try to ignore and let pile on.
The story is much different at home. Here I find that maintenance is far more difficult than messing things up. Only a few of us may have the luxury of a dedicated housekeeper. And thus I find the sights of messy bedrooms and quake-hit dorm rooms in quite understandable.
Even so, I think there exist some compromise solutions. We can club room organization with other activities, such as watching TV or talking on the phone. Major overhauls can be put for weekends.
My personal experience dictates that it is more than worth the effort to keep our surrounding environment in good order - makes work more enjoyable and increases our happiness index. I suggest giving it a try.
I assess that the total amount of new papers or stuff we receive or process on any given day rarely requires more than a few minutes of sorting and placement. Should we organize them before leaving for the day, we get to enter an inspiring workplace the next morning. Else, we create a back log, which we naturally try to ignore and let pile on.
The story is much different at home. Here I find that maintenance is far more difficult than messing things up. Only a few of us may have the luxury of a dedicated housekeeper. And thus I find the sights of messy bedrooms and quake-hit dorm rooms in quite understandable.
Even so, I think there exist some compromise solutions. We can club room organization with other activities, such as watching TV or talking on the phone. Major overhauls can be put for weekends.
My personal experience dictates that it is more than worth the effort to keep our surrounding environment in good order - makes work more enjoyable and increases our happiness index. I suggest giving it a try.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Smarter Phones, Dumber Me
It seems like the smart phone, supported by social media, has taken over me, and most of the world around.
I get shocked, in the brief moments of detachment from this supplementary smartness, how it has invaded every part of my routine. The easy access to information it gives me creates a desperation to know what is going on - curiosity is supposed to be a good thing - except that it is useless information that we are overdosed with. Rarely are we updated about new technology advances and interesting philosophical opinions of wise people. What we rather get to see are the latest controversial news stories and selfies of friends and celebrities. This noise by far outweighs the little useful wisdom we may argue that it provides.
The overt access to easy information has also eliminated many pleasant pursuits of the good old days. Ranging from collecting clippings of our favourite celebrities to writing thoughtful letters to people we care about, these pursuits connected us with our inner identity, which is beautifully unique in each of us. Being well-read does not matter - if we need to know something, we look it up specifically - but we forget that only by gathering wider knowledge, even that which seems irrelevant, can we identify the trends and derive lessons. Today, we are fast evolving into a single kind of useless zombies, with no real value to contribute, driven by the new breed of celebrities and media manipulators who tap into our desperation to be updated.
Finally, I hate the way the smart apps have invaded my privacy. Instant email alerts imply that I am liable to respond to every communication quickly. WhatsApp pressurizes it even less subtly. I do not appreciate Google finding out where I tend to go on weekends. And if I wish to purchase something, I will look for options, rather than be alerted four times a day by e-commerce apps.
It is not going to be easy controlling my addiction to smart phones, taming it to tell me only what I want to know, restricting its role to a "mobile" phone that gives only my loved ones immediate access to me. It seems losing 10 kg of weight might be an easier pursuit - and yes, a zillion apps will help me in that too. But I will try nonetheless to succeed in this resolution. So let me find a few good apps that help with resolutions! :)
I get shocked, in the brief moments of detachment from this supplementary smartness, how it has invaded every part of my routine. The easy access to information it gives me creates a desperation to know what is going on - curiosity is supposed to be a good thing - except that it is useless information that we are overdosed with. Rarely are we updated about new technology advances and interesting philosophical opinions of wise people. What we rather get to see are the latest controversial news stories and selfies of friends and celebrities. This noise by far outweighs the little useful wisdom we may argue that it provides.
The overt access to easy information has also eliminated many pleasant pursuits of the good old days. Ranging from collecting clippings of our favourite celebrities to writing thoughtful letters to people we care about, these pursuits connected us with our inner identity, which is beautifully unique in each of us. Being well-read does not matter - if we need to know something, we look it up specifically - but we forget that only by gathering wider knowledge, even that which seems irrelevant, can we identify the trends and derive lessons. Today, we are fast evolving into a single kind of useless zombies, with no real value to contribute, driven by the new breed of celebrities and media manipulators who tap into our desperation to be updated.
Finally, I hate the way the smart apps have invaded my privacy. Instant email alerts imply that I am liable to respond to every communication quickly. WhatsApp pressurizes it even less subtly. I do not appreciate Google finding out where I tend to go on weekends. And if I wish to purchase something, I will look for options, rather than be alerted four times a day by e-commerce apps.
It is not going to be easy controlling my addiction to smart phones, taming it to tell me only what I want to know, restricting its role to a "mobile" phone that gives only my loved ones immediate access to me. It seems losing 10 kg of weight might be an easier pursuit - and yes, a zillion apps will help me in that too. But I will try nonetheless to succeed in this resolution. So let me find a few good apps that help with resolutions! :)
Friday, September 12, 2014
Four levels?
I'm
often confounded by my observations of happiness people - I find
underprivileged people, such as our watchman kaka, happy most of the
time, despite facing every challenge / disaster in the book - and I find
healthy and financially fit people complaining all the time. Why is
this so?
I analyzed, and found that there seem to exist four levels of intellectual maturity:
1. Subhuman - they seem to have a reduced degree of sensitivity to bad events, probably as they're accustomed to tragedies, and hence small gestures can also make them happy. They hardly know any philosophy or geography or what exists outside their world. They usually believe in God and miracles, which is why they don't simply commit suicide realizing their hopelessness.
2. Transactional - they get happy and sad as reactions to events around them. Their memory is weak enough to let them quickly get over some displeasure by the next material gain. Their interactions with God are also mainly transactional. Their world revolves around themselves, and they don't care much to know beyond.
3. Worried - they (think that they) know about the world, and realize how terrible it had become. Some believe they can improve it, others find those efforts futile. They may show faith and religion, but inside aren't so sure if God really exists. They all have every reason to remain in pain - be it financial insecurity, weight gain, family fights, corruption in the system, bad state of education, global warming or even piracy in Somalia. They mock the ignorant yet envy their bliss.
4. Buddha - those who attain this state enjoy every aspect of the world around them. They know beyond economics and geography and politics - they have and seek spiritual maturity. Faith in God gives them security. They find the variety in human behavior and challenges in the world to be creations of God and delightful means to learn. They seek and find pleasure in opportunities to serve others and enrich the world around them. They practice the true form of nishkam karma. They are always happy.
What do you think about this classification?
I analyzed, and found that there seem to exist four levels of intellectual maturity:
1. Subhuman - they seem to have a reduced degree of sensitivity to bad events, probably as they're accustomed to tragedies, and hence small gestures can also make them happy. They hardly know any philosophy or geography or what exists outside their world. They usually believe in God and miracles, which is why they don't simply commit suicide realizing their hopelessness.
2. Transactional - they get happy and sad as reactions to events around them. Their memory is weak enough to let them quickly get over some displeasure by the next material gain. Their interactions with God are also mainly transactional. Their world revolves around themselves, and they don't care much to know beyond.
3. Worried - they (think that they) know about the world, and realize how terrible it had become. Some believe they can improve it, others find those efforts futile. They may show faith and religion, but inside aren't so sure if God really exists. They all have every reason to remain in pain - be it financial insecurity, weight gain, family fights, corruption in the system, bad state of education, global warming or even piracy in Somalia. They mock the ignorant yet envy their bliss.
4. Buddha - those who attain this state enjoy every aspect of the world around them. They know beyond economics and geography and politics - they have and seek spiritual maturity. Faith in God gives them security. They find the variety in human behavior and challenges in the world to be creations of God and delightful means to learn. They seek and find pleasure in opportunities to serve others and enrich the world around them. They practice the true form of nishkam karma. They are always happy.
What do you think about this classification?
Saturday, August 23, 2014
My Precious...
I am a bit shaken up by an interesting situation that took place two days ago. I am probably more shaken up by my response to it.
I was just about to park my car at home at lunch-time, when I saw a rabari-style clothed person walking on the road close to my home. He had a child, presumably his son, on his shoulders. Based on the way he walked, I judged that he is a beggar, and will ask me for money should he encounter me as I got off the car. Not wanting to be approached, I didn't drive in, but drove around the block and returned from the next intersection, just so he may pass by my house.
As I drove past him, I observed that he didn't quite seem to be a beggar. His son had worn a smart school uniform, yellow shirt and grey shorts (yes, I can't even remember what I wore yesterday, but I can't forget this image) and had a bag on his back. I observed that the father was walking oddly (thereby leading me to judge him as a beggar) because he seemed to be trying to entertain his son. The two seemed to be having a good time as they walked in the afternoon heat.
I immediately felt guilty for being biased about a fellow human being. But my fault and guilt didn't end there. I felt bad about being who I am, having the ability to drive home in an air-conditioned car for lunch. I felt pathetic being possessive about "my" financial resources, which in reality I can claim only by virtue of being born in a reasonably gifted family - even whatever I may claim to have earned on basis of my "abilities" or "skills" is similar, for I could gain those qualities only because I was gifted a platform by birth. Yet I was selfish enough to try to outsmart someone deserving from having a small fraction of those gifts, of which I must be at most, a trustee.
I realized the supposedly obvious fact that the love of parent and child transcends all sections of the society. There is not enough love in our world, and if we want some of it, we must nurture what exists around us. I had the power (try to see the term beyond my arrogance) - the power to be nice to the duo, respect their love with a smile, and even help should the gentleman actually be a beggar. I was clearly more gifted than the duo, and no excuse can justify my refusal to make a small act of kindness.
I think the lore of God appearing as an underprivileged human to test our character is common in the scriptures of all major religions. God probably appeared as the duo to test me, or better yet, to suggest an improvement, a return to the values that I should cherish, so I may enjoy this life better.
I see good analogy of money in "The Ring" of Lord of the Rings - we somehow seem to increasingly resemble the pitiable-yet-greedy Gollum, losing our health and mind and happiness over what we term "my precious". We scheme, we don't love, even as we want love. We hide and protect the resources given as a platform to pursue efforts to further beautify the world. We find reasons to doubt and feel insecure about people around us thanks to money - when God actually places them around us to give and seek love and joy.
I hope this public confession will help my realizations last beyond these couple days, and drive me to be a better human being.
I was just about to park my car at home at lunch-time, when I saw a rabari-style clothed person walking on the road close to my home. He had a child, presumably his son, on his shoulders. Based on the way he walked, I judged that he is a beggar, and will ask me for money should he encounter me as I got off the car. Not wanting to be approached, I didn't drive in, but drove around the block and returned from the next intersection, just so he may pass by my house.
As I drove past him, I observed that he didn't quite seem to be a beggar. His son had worn a smart school uniform, yellow shirt and grey shorts (yes, I can't even remember what I wore yesterday, but I can't forget this image) and had a bag on his back. I observed that the father was walking oddly (thereby leading me to judge him as a beggar) because he seemed to be trying to entertain his son. The two seemed to be having a good time as they walked in the afternoon heat.
I immediately felt guilty for being biased about a fellow human being. But my fault and guilt didn't end there. I felt bad about being who I am, having the ability to drive home in an air-conditioned car for lunch. I felt pathetic being possessive about "my" financial resources, which in reality I can claim only by virtue of being born in a reasonably gifted family - even whatever I may claim to have earned on basis of my "abilities" or "skills" is similar, for I could gain those qualities only because I was gifted a platform by birth. Yet I was selfish enough to try to outsmart someone deserving from having a small fraction of those gifts, of which I must be at most, a trustee.
I realized the supposedly obvious fact that the love of parent and child transcends all sections of the society. There is not enough love in our world, and if we want some of it, we must nurture what exists around us. I had the power (try to see the term beyond my arrogance) - the power to be nice to the duo, respect their love with a smile, and even help should the gentleman actually be a beggar. I was clearly more gifted than the duo, and no excuse can justify my refusal to make a small act of kindness.
I think the lore of God appearing as an underprivileged human to test our character is common in the scriptures of all major religions. God probably appeared as the duo to test me, or better yet, to suggest an improvement, a return to the values that I should cherish, so I may enjoy this life better.
I see good analogy of money in "The Ring" of Lord of the Rings - we somehow seem to increasingly resemble the pitiable-yet-greedy Gollum, losing our health and mind and happiness over what we term "my precious". We scheme, we don't love, even as we want love. We hide and protect the resources given as a platform to pursue efforts to further beautify the world. We find reasons to doubt and feel insecure about people around us thanks to money - when God actually places them around us to give and seek love and joy.
I hope this public confession will help my realizations last beyond these couple days, and drive me to be a better human being.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Rules of Expectations
I have been quite obsessed with the feeling of love lately. While I have received love in abundance all my life, and still do, it is in giving love that I have had many realizations. And so yet again, you rare reader, I will torment you with another blog about love yoga.
Papa suggested yesterday that expectations seem to be the taxes on relationships. People have greater expectations from the ones close to them. Expectations seem to put a toll on the innocence of the relationship, maybe even test its strength.
I see many cases around me where people expect their spouses to do or achieve or deliver certain things. Parents expect their kids to perform and later maintain them. One of the causes behind these expectations is possessiveness. Possessiveness can lead to insecurity, which raises some of the worst expectations - husband not letting wife meet guys, wife nagging at husband, parents comparing their kids.
It is easy to relate expectations with love. But I disagree with this seemingly obvious relation. I think true love raises only one noble kind of expectation - to make the loved one act in his/her own (loved one's) interest.
Let me elaborate.
True love, by definition, seems to be the act of putting the loved one above oneself.
Ergo, my expectations cannot matter more to me than my desire to see my loved ones happy and healthy. There is therefore no way that I will want to tax a loved one - that is, expect him/her to do something against his/her interests - and do something that I want. Or, I am violating the definition of love, and not actually loving that person.
If you still do not get my point, you might wonder here, will this not actually lead to chaos in relationships?
Quite the opposite actually. When I love my loved ones, I will make sincere efforts to ensure their well-being. In line with karma yoga and love yoga, I will do so only to derive my own pleasure - I am not obliging them. Now given the fact that they are humans, one of the supposedly smartest breeds on this planet, it will not take them much time to realize my sincerity. Most of these smart beings will feel like reciprocating this feeling, even if for the most selfish reason of ensuring that they continue receiving my devotion. And eventually they will discover that it is fun loving me - so I get the bonus advantage of receiving more love.
I think this can be the most beautiful competition of sorts - people trying hard to make their loved ones happy - people trying to put others before themselves. Indeed, we can be expressive enough to clarify what makes us happy and what doesn't, but that is only to help them love us better, and only if they feel like it. Nobody loses in this effort. Nobody needs to compromise. There is infinite scope for expansion in caring for others.
Another point I wanted to cover - addressing the "rights" over loved ones. We may find it wrong when people use their supposed rights to force people who love them to restrict their actions, or do things they want. And I disagree there also. I think we can judge this force to be right or wrong only based on the end objective.
Should we apply this force to derive our own satisfaction or to strengthen our sense of security, we are being stupid and our love is adulterated. We are then risking the loss of our loved one's feelings for us. But should we apply this force to protect our loved ones, to stop them from hurting their interest, to help them achieve greater well-being in ways they do not agree with at the time, I find nothing wrong, and find no limits applicable. We most naturally do this for our kids - why should we compromise in our feelings for adults?
Adults may find it suffocating and intrusive. They may even use their wisdom to judge that we're being selfish or foolish. But then, we do not make such efforts to become popular with them - our objective is only their best interests. Therefore, so long as we continue having feelings for them, we have no reason to back off or give up in our efforts to make them do what we find right for them. Of course, we must adapt our expressions to be more effective at convincing them, and we must always be open to realizing that we might be wrong.
I base these thoughts on what I have seen and known Papa and Bhai (my grandfather) to be doing. They have repeatedly been "stupid" to trust the people who try to fool them, act in interest of people who disregard them. They enjoy one-way relationships or unilateral care. They do not mind if people "use" them. This is what makes me put them up close to people who I consider great - in line with Gandhiji and the Pope and JRD Tata and likes. This is why I find them respected and loved by pretty much everyone who knows them. This is why I consider them truly successful in life.
Papa suggested yesterday that expectations seem to be the taxes on relationships. People have greater expectations from the ones close to them. Expectations seem to put a toll on the innocence of the relationship, maybe even test its strength.
I see many cases around me where people expect their spouses to do or achieve or deliver certain things. Parents expect their kids to perform and later maintain them. One of the causes behind these expectations is possessiveness. Possessiveness can lead to insecurity, which raises some of the worst expectations - husband not letting wife meet guys, wife nagging at husband, parents comparing their kids.
It is easy to relate expectations with love. But I disagree with this seemingly obvious relation. I think true love raises only one noble kind of expectation - to make the loved one act in his/her own (loved one's) interest.
Let me elaborate.
True love, by definition, seems to be the act of putting the loved one above oneself.
Ergo, my expectations cannot matter more to me than my desire to see my loved ones happy and healthy. There is therefore no way that I will want to tax a loved one - that is, expect him/her to do something against his/her interests - and do something that I want. Or, I am violating the definition of love, and not actually loving that person.
If you still do not get my point, you might wonder here, will this not actually lead to chaos in relationships?
Quite the opposite actually. When I love my loved ones, I will make sincere efforts to ensure their well-being. In line with karma yoga and love yoga, I will do so only to derive my own pleasure - I am not obliging them. Now given the fact that they are humans, one of the supposedly smartest breeds on this planet, it will not take them much time to realize my sincerity. Most of these smart beings will feel like reciprocating this feeling, even if for the most selfish reason of ensuring that they continue receiving my devotion. And eventually they will discover that it is fun loving me - so I get the bonus advantage of receiving more love.
I think this can be the most beautiful competition of sorts - people trying hard to make their loved ones happy - people trying to put others before themselves. Indeed, we can be expressive enough to clarify what makes us happy and what doesn't, but that is only to help them love us better, and only if they feel like it. Nobody loses in this effort. Nobody needs to compromise. There is infinite scope for expansion in caring for others.
Another point I wanted to cover - addressing the "rights" over loved ones. We may find it wrong when people use their supposed rights to force people who love them to restrict their actions, or do things they want. And I disagree there also. I think we can judge this force to be right or wrong only based on the end objective.
Should we apply this force to derive our own satisfaction or to strengthen our sense of security, we are being stupid and our love is adulterated. We are then risking the loss of our loved one's feelings for us. But should we apply this force to protect our loved ones, to stop them from hurting their interest, to help them achieve greater well-being in ways they do not agree with at the time, I find nothing wrong, and find no limits applicable. We most naturally do this for our kids - why should we compromise in our feelings for adults?
Adults may find it suffocating and intrusive. They may even use their wisdom to judge that we're being selfish or foolish. But then, we do not make such efforts to become popular with them - our objective is only their best interests. Therefore, so long as we continue having feelings for them, we have no reason to back off or give up in our efforts to make them do what we find right for them. Of course, we must adapt our expressions to be more effective at convincing them, and we must always be open to realizing that we might be wrong.
I base these thoughts on what I have seen and known Papa and Bhai (my grandfather) to be doing. They have repeatedly been "stupid" to trust the people who try to fool them, act in interest of people who disregard them. They enjoy one-way relationships or unilateral care. They do not mind if people "use" them. This is what makes me put them up close to people who I consider great - in line with Gandhiji and the Pope and JRD Tata and likes. This is why I find them respected and loved by pretty much everyone who knows them. This is why I consider them truly successful in life.
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