GRACE

If you are reading this post, it is because of the GRACE of God. You being alive and fit enough to read this far, is a sign of God’s Revelation And Candor Everyday.

Call it providence or GRACE, but right now the post you are reading is something very ironic to the post titled God’s Test posted today 22nd Feb2010 in our daily blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/. Whereas the post God’s Test focuses on the Challenges that God gives his most faithful, this post focuses on the numerous gifts showered by God on each one of us every single day. In this day and age of accidents, terrorist attacks and rampant life style diseases cutting short the lives of many; you and I are fortunate to have been spared that fate. We being educated, having access to computer, having the time and energy to write and read this post is again thanks to the GRACE that has been given to us. The fact is that through this GRACE we are reminded of God’s Revelation And Candor Everyday

Far too often, we have the tendency to focus on what we do not have, get envious about what others have and go around mopping that we have got a raw deal. If we were to only change our perspective and thank the almighty that he has given us enough and more to live comfortably, share a bond of love with our dear and near ones and be burdened with the minimum of hardships, troubles and worries as compared to so many around, we would better appreciate Gods Grace. Occasionally our burdens are too heavy, our fears to scary and beliefs too wavery and then we wonder if we have got a curse or punishment for our indiscretions and sinful ways. Yet when we look back there will be numerous such tumultuous times that we have weathered and we are none to worse for the roller coaster ride that was part of Gods Amusement park called Life.

The real Grace we are blessed with is not in having a life, nor in the pleasures of life nor the material riches that we crave for. True GRACE is in leading a life that is happy, content, love filled and peaceful. Most people spend a life time searching for these gifts and in their pursuit of it, chase the devils trinkets of power, money, ego and selfishness mistaking it for the far more subtle Grace that God showers on us. Gods Grace is to be felt within us, shared with all and displayed in our virtues of humility, gratefulness and thankfulness.

Action Points:

1. Look around and write down 3 graces God has showered on each of your family members and yourself. Why do you say that they are graces? Do you think you really deserve these graces? How will you ensure that you will use your graces more effectively?
2. Make this your daily mantra:

                I am only one, but I am one.
                I can't do everything, but I can do something.
                The something I ought to do, I can do
                And by the GRACE of God, I will.”
                          - Edward Everett Hale

Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our daily inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/

TEACH

To Educate And Coach Humanity is the focus of all those who TEACH

One of the noblest professions, teaching is both an art and a science. The nobility of teaching stems from the fact that we are sharing our learning, our expertise and our experience with others with a view to making them educated, confident and independent. The science of teaching outlines the rules and theory which will help one to effectively impart the learning in a structured manner, provide guidelines for evaluating the learning and provides stimulus for upgrading ones own knowledge. The art of teaching focuses on stimulating the students to be attentive, encourage learners to experiment and personalize the style of imparting the teaching.

As the saying goes’ Feed a man and you will make him dependent on you but teach him to fish and he will become independent’ The nobility of the teaching profession lies in the fact that you are giving back to society at large, much more than what you have personally got from the world. Real teaching is all about guiding pupils through the basics, encouraging them to explore the more advanced and facilitating and encouraging them to move beyond he frontiers of academics and books and unlock their potential, be more creative and change the world. Understanding and empathy are two qualities essential for any teacher. There are times when the students feel restless, defeated and frustrated more so when they cannot cope up with the pressures of learning by rote, the weight of parental expectations and unfairness of being compared with peers on pure academic results alone.

Teaching is not limited to merely the classrooms. Our first teachers in fact are out parents, elder siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunties, neighbors and friends and religious instructors, all of whom instill in us the values, the virtues and the social graces so essential to make us gentlemen and ladies. Our good qualities, our bad habits, our thought process, our body language are all greatly influenced by the early teaching we received in our growing up years in the non formal world of family life, social life and religious process. Very often, many of what we imbibe is based observation of the examples set before us by family, society and community around us.

Real teaching therefore is the responsibility of each one of us because by our thoughts, words and deeds we are setting examples for the young to follow. Our lack of patience, our intemperate language, our penchant for gossiping and bad mouthing are all silently observed and incorporated by those around particularly the children and the youngsters. It would be best if we can be polite, courteous, well mannered, use the three magic words of please, thank you and sorry in our day to day living, for then if the youngsters follow and imitate us, they will be well tutored in life and we can be proud and feel flattered; as they say ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’

Action Points:

Have you attempted the challenge posed in the previous post of 7th Feb.2010, where you had to make as many words as possible of 4 letters or more with the alphabets  E T F S N S A and ensure that the alphabet F appears in all the words. Please attempt this challenge now!!

1. Check out your own academic performance when in school and college. It would be unfair and unreasonable to expect your children to do disproportionately better than yourself in their academic performance.
2. Check out your bad habits and the most common criticism about yourself given by your spouse, friends, colleagues etc. Ask yourself if you are setting the right example for others to follow. Outline steps you will take to curb your bad habits.

Many of you are anxiously waiting for the answers to last week’s problem. Here are the words that you can make with the given alphabets and with the F appearing in all the words.
Fate, Fast, Fest, Fans, Feast, Feasts, Feat, Feats, Fastens, Safe,

How many CLAPS did you give yourself?

 Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -

 Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

 You are also invited to visit our daily inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/

CLAP

The most universal form of appreciation world over is clapping. It a Clear Loud Appreciative Praise for the person /event/ moment. A CLAP is simple to perform, is often spontaneous, energizes the people clapping and the those receiving it and heightens the moment to a new level. The wonder of clapping is that it cn be engaged in by anyone who can feel the surge of positive emotion be it a child, a teenager, an adult or the old and the infirm.  

A clap is loud, it can be rhythmic, it galvanizes everyone, it conveys a common feeling that cannot be expressed in words and yet is understood by everyone in the same sense. It needs no clue, but can occasionally be ill timed , partial as is the case when you are supporting a team and can be conveniently used even to convey displeasure or disinterest as is done when people indulge in slow rhythmic clapping to shut up a long winded speaker or an unpopular point of view.

On the other end of the spectrum is the standing ovation, where the audience not only claps with gusto but stands up to honor the personality and / or the moment. The longer the thunderous applause, you can be sure that it comes straight from the heart and also indicates that the ecstasy ended too soon. A clap followed by calls for an encore are the ultimate tribute to anyone who is holding centre stage and that is the defining moment for both a new comer or a veteran.

 Action Points:

1. Do we restrain our natural impulse to clap when we feel moved by the performance or the moment (as in the welcoming of the New Year). Learn to be more spontaneous and be the cheerleader and begin the clapping when you know that something is worthy of applause and praise.
2. Are we game enough to acknowledge an extraordinary performance by a competitor? Do we have it in us to appreciate the skill, the talent and the effort? Sometimes we will be forced to recognize that while we have won the battle, the opponent has won the war; do we have the magnanimity to acknowledge this and appreciate it in Public. 

• [Here is a little challenge for you. How many English words found in a standard dictionary, of four letters or more can you make from the letters given below and which must include the alphabet in RED.F E T S N S A. (Special clue you can even make one word using all the alphabets). First write down the number of words you think you can make. Only then start attempting it. Did you exceed your expectations or were your expectations far too short of your performance? Did doubt play an important part in your estimation?  

Give yourself a clap if you get 4 words, a thunderous clap for getting 6 words and a standing ovation if you get 8 words or more.

 (Answers to the above will be posted in the next blog post of 15th February 2010)

 Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our daily inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/ 

START

The tough part for any new initiative is the start. Beginning a task, be it writing a blog or studying for exams or exercising regularly or giving up a vice like smoking / watching TV/ drinking always gets caught in the rut of excuses. Part of the reason is the lack of real incentive and the psychological pain of losing out on a pleasurable alternative. However if we look at it from a different perspective and expand it to read as Simply Trigger Actionable Results Today, START provides both incentive and motivation to set you on the path to success.

Well begun is half done – is an old quote with infinite wisdom. A good start must be well planned, the road map chalked out, the results measurable and the goal kept in focus at all times. Despite this, the real problem is to begin; we dither for it involves commitment; we hesitate because the road ahead seems long and arduous; we oscillate between ignoring our nagging conscience and rationalizing our diffidence in starting. 

We can have a good start if we see the big picture – the end result – visualize the feeling of elation when we have conquered our personal success peaks. Then break that big picture into smaller ones like pieces of a jig saw puzzle and start with the first piece in hand. Take it one piece at a time or in real life one day at a time. Remember the story of the clock – who one day had a nervous breakdown when it suddenly had a rush of blood and could not fathom how it would keep ticking for eternity. Fortunately the clock repair man diagnosed the problem and whispered in its ears – just take one tick and one tock at a time. The much relieved clock then went about its tasks smiling and keeping perfect time. 

Action Points:

• Outline your New Year Resolutions. Now ask yourself why each of it is an important resolution for you; this will give you the big picture. Now list out how you propose to go about achieving the resolution starting today.
• What is /are your passions. Choose just two of them. Now outline your action plan to scale that passion to a new level. E.g. you love to sing and you are a decent singer. Now if you want to sing on a bigger platform what are the actions you need to take? Put time frames for each action and begin at the earliest.

Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our daily inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/