TRUTH

When faced with a dilemma the simple solution is to tell the TRUTH for that is The Real Ultimate Test of Honesty. Unfortunately telling the truth is not an easy task though it is considered a prime virtue. When we attempt to tell the truth, it is often camouflaged with the mask of our personal perceptions, distorted by our compulsive urge to interpret the happenings and our tendency to be verbose, abets the misreporting of the plain facts.

While most of the above problems are the result of the human beings inability to communicate effectively, the bigger problem is when the communication is deliberately falsified either because of perceived threats, fear of retribution or to shield the guilty and occasionally the victim. The truth can also be very uncomfortable for many, for our indiscretions could be exposed, skeletons in our cupboard could come tumbling out, our carefully cultivated image can be scarred for life and the long arm of the law could catch up when the truth is out.

When the truth gets hidden, what sprouts is often a web of lies and more often than not, the people who spin this web of lies invariably get caught in their own web. The law of life will not let the truth be hidden for long and sooner or later the hard evidence will be laid bare and the bluff called. However lies are not the only way the truth gets hidden; sometimes the evidence is destroyed and it is near impossible to get to the truth. In other cases the facts are by passed and those pursuing the truth send up the wrong track. The most common method of destroying the truth which we are all guilty of is to look the other way and pretend that we never saw anything happening. This gives us the freedom to honestly state that we didn’t see anything while the TRUTH is we chose to close our eyes.

For the ordinary mortal, telling the truth saves him/ her the torturous mental tension of having to come face to face with the reality some day and in the interim, living a life in fear, shame and agony. When we are prepared to confront the TRUTH we are standing up to the challenge of facing boldly and squarely ‘The Real Ultimate Test of Honesty’

Action Points

1.  Read the book ‘My Experiments With Truth ‘ by Mahatma Gandhi
2. Play the card game ‘Bluff’ to get a feel of how tough it is to be dishonest with a straight face. Often it is your body language that gives you away when playing the game. Notice the tension you experience when you are bluffing. Also ask yourself what makes you like the game and if you don’t like it what makes you dislike the game.

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/  

 

 

 

Puzzle

It is a ten letter word..

---d--a--s

Clue:
1.Lover loves it
2.Friends need it
3.Relationship starts with it
4.Life ends with it
      |
      | 
      |
And the answer starts with H 
and the last but one word is E
Now  the word looks like H--d--a-Es
don't give up now....fill up the blanks to get the word...which is within handshaking distance!

GREET

When we GREET some one, we are in fact Giving Recognizable Enthusiastic Energetic Tribute. Hello is the most common for of greeting and it is usually followed by energetic shake hand and a enthusiastic Good Morning or similar such sentiments. Occasionally we also punctuate our initial greeting with How do you do? All these words when expressed with feeling and meaning, form bridges in our daily social interaction and pave the way for a healthy and respectful relationship.

Greetings are a key ingredient in the upbringing of an individual. It is also the essential prelude to any form of etiquettes and manners. The essence of greeting a person lies in the ‘ice breaker ‘quality that it has. It sets the tone for further communication; gives the parties involved the break through needed to interact and ignites the environment with positive emotions and feelings. The form and style of greeting would vary from region to region, culture to culture and would be richly spiced with the local customs and practices. In rural India ‘Namaste’ with palms joined would be the general yardstick, the urban yuppie would not be shy of air kissing and hugging as form of greeting.

Man being on the upper echelons of the animal kingdom has the distinct advantage of being able to interpret and analyze communication of the higher order. The style and display of greeting would therefore play a vital role in forming impressions, conveying messages and getting meaningful responses. Greetings also provides us a culture specific form of initiating communication, a non threatening means of expressing our individuality and a socially acceptable means of reaching out to another. It is in our interest therefore to observe the greeting styles, practice the same so as to ensure that it is done right and most important of all make sure we don’t use greetings as just a formality but we need to make sure that when we GREETwe are in fact Giving Recognizable Enthusiastic Energetic Tribute.

Action Points:

1. 
   
   Study the various greeting styles in other cultures particularly in other Asian, African and Middle East countries. Ask yourself if you will be able to respond in like manner. Try a Japanese style of greeting and reflect on how you felt about it.
2. 
   
   Observe your own greetings when in a good mood, a foul mood and in an introspective mood. Also observe what you can learn about a person from his / her style of greeting. Practice greeting in social situations and try and meet new people at weddings, social gatherings etc. How important is a persons looks, smile and demeanor and how does it impact your own ability to go and make new friends? 

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/

RUSH

Real Urgency Spurs Haste

Even as I write this post I have a got a message from my wife saying ‘Airfares set to rise, better move your butt’. She is referring to the proposed holiday plans in mid May which was decided around February end but the air bookings haven’t been done to date. Now her message has been a real wake up call and I will be forced into Real Urgency Spurs Haste to book tickets.

As is evident from the facts above, the RUSH could have been avoided if one is more proactive, avoids procrastination and plans well. While the basic planning was done, a combination of laziness and indecisiveness on the part of the travelers to freeze the dates and coupled with my own lethargy has compelled me to RUSH. This is typically what happens in real life. Most rush jobs can be avoided if we appreciate the anxiety, stress, trouble and expenses that are add-ons to the original problem when one tries to solve it in a rush.

Despite knowing all this, there are some avoidable rush which is man made and a result of human weakness. Our crazy to flaunt new technology makes us rush to get hold of the new techjazz and pay huge premium price for the products. The story is no different when it comes to seeing movies on the first day or occupying the first row for a live concert of a superstar singer. For those in the orient, their obsession with religion and their compulsion to abide by the auspicious dates and times sees unprecedented rush at the more famous temples and the river banks. The humongous crowds at the kumbh mela and the Balaji Temple at Tirupathi are testimony to this phenomena.

Medical emergences, unplanned happenings, drastic and sudden changes etc. normally prompt a rush, which is unavoidable. This is understandable and excusable but the response to this rush is also a test of organization skills, level headedness, leadership skills and equanimity. Handling rush jobs requires one to have a calm and cool temperament, an ability to think quickly and incisively and the ability to take charge and decide quickly. Ideally someone with hands on expertise and leadership skills will always be the star of an emergency and rush situation. Fortunately there are standard operating procedures now in plan place for various types of emergencies that require clear thinking and quick action. Fire drills, air raid readiness, disaster management mock drills are all designed to ensure that Real Urgency Spurs Haste without Waste !

Action Points: 

1. Do you have daily, weekly and yearly goals and time slots for the same? If not immediately put this into practice. Keep monitoring the progress and review reasons for not meeting your targets. Also critically evaluate your own personal style, habits and work culture; you may find clues to areas of weakness in you that need corrective action.
2. Some regular commitments cannot be postponed. List out the same. Eg. Monthly bill payments, regular exercise, shopping for provisions and groceries, celebrations of birthdays and anniversaries and festive occasions. Out of these what can be automated, delegated, better planned is a question you need to answer so that you avoid the last minute RUSH

 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/