DESIRE

Notice that any self generated action is largely the result of compulsion or desire. While compulsion by its very meaning suggests that there is no alternative and is forceful, desire evokes in our mind a pleasant, willing and positive emotion within us suggesting that the action is something we eagerly look forward to. This is because DESIRE emits from our own ability to Develop Enthusiasm Sustained Interest Renewed Energy. Going to a movie, a party, a picnic gets us excited, enthusiastic and eager whereas attending a lecture or a routine office meeting triggers thoughts of an unpleasant, boring and disagreeable waste of time. Hence it is essential that one needs to generate DESIRE within to make life interesting, to enable you to be proactive and enjoy every moment.

You can generate DESIRE if you see life as an interesting GAME and make a conscious effort to play that game well.

Goal in mind - There must be an objective, a result, a goal that helps one focus. Without a goal we merely meander through life like sheep grazing in the pastures, merely going through the act of eating and sustaining. As human beings we are blessed with greater intellect, imagination and initiative that we need to make use of. This can be done by outlining our goals, visioning the big picture and purposefully striving to attain the goal using all the resources at our command. The goal is the beginning and the focus of any desire.

Attitude is positive – Without a positive attitude we cannot generate self belief. A positive attitude can be generated when one is able to align ones goal, thoughts and actions. The starting point of this is identifying and focusing on the right goal. Focus on what needs to be done and not on what should be avoided. The latter has a negative connotation to begin with and more importantly does not help us focus on one single objective. Then we need to outline the roadmap to reach the goal, the wherewithal required to sustain us in our quest and take a decisive steps to reach out goal. With the right attitude, we begin to subconsciously fill spirit with the desire to succeed.

Motivation is envisioned – Even if know our goal and start with the right attitude, the energy to continue our quest comes from the amount of motivation we can generate within us. The motivation is not merely attaining the goal but must be apportioned into smaller slices of achievements, must include a large dose of self satisfaction, tons of encouragement from the progress made and must include the pioneering path breaking success you have personally enjoyed along the way. Motivation is the oxygen that keeps the desire alive.

Excellence is targeted- Reaching a goal maybe relatively simple. The real achievement is doing it in style. Excellence is the outcome of careful detailing, planning and execution. Excellence is attained when one can improve the existing benchmarks; improvise the current methods and pioneer new techniques along the way. Rarely can one go about achieving a goal all alone. Excellence therefore also includes one’s ability to be a good team player, a dependable team member and a welcome team participant. Excellence make the desire even more personal and appealing.

Once you begin the GAME in dead earnest your will discover your DESIRE and your own ability to Develop Enthusiasm Sustained Interest Renewed Energy

Action Points

1. Think of the latent desires that you had during your school days. The numerous alternative professions you hoped to take upto. The various hobbies and passions that you wished you could indulge in. Do you still retain the DESIRE for it? If yes, what is stopping you from exploring those avenues? Once you have the desire time and money are no impediments; go for gold!
2. Choose from among the following art forms and determine your desire to explore one or more of it

• Painting
• Photography
• Cartooning
• Sculpting
• Dancing
• Classical music
• Doing card tricks
• Magic
• Haiku
• Exotic cooking

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HURDLES

The hurdles is a unique event where mans ingenuity to make the staid and boring activity of running more interesting was improvised upon by putting hurdles that participants have to overcome in order to win. However the hurdles event if seen differently actually mimics life; each day that we live largely is routine but when we seek out opportunities they are there in plenty but unfortunately there are apparently too many hurdles to overcome if one has to grab the opportunities. These HURDLES in real life can be seen as Having Unexpected Resistors Demanding Leaps to Ensure Success.

There are numerous lessons that one can learn from the hurdles event. To begin with one must anticipate the hurdles, one must prepare to cross them, one cannot side step them but have to leap over them and finally even if one stumbles at a hurdle it may not necessarily mar ones chances of success. As human beings though, these lessons from the track and field hurdling event is not easily appreciated and put into daily living. If we analyze each learning point we would realize that life’s challenges and hurdles can be managed with relative ease.

Anticipate the hurdles – There is no one in this wide world who can claim to be free of problems, challenges and tensions. It is therefore prudent to stop, pause and reflect on the possible challenges that one will have to encounter along life’s path. By anticipating, we won’t be taken by surprise, we will have some plans to meet the hurdles and more importantly our confidence won’t be dented.

Prepare to cross them – Just like one prepares for an exam without really knowing the questions that will actually come in the question paper, one can work on meeting some challenges that we can anticipate. E.g. if communication in English is a weakness because one has studied in the vernacular, then working on ones English language skills is imperative.

One cannot side step them but have to leap over them – There is an English saying ‘do not bury your head in the sand like and ostrich’ which implies that when confronted with unavoidable troubles do not try to ignore it or run away from it. Just as the hurdlers have to leap over the hurdles one has to confront challenges with daring and fortitude. Here another saying is equally relevant which states ‘ you cannot cross a chasm in two steps’; implying that at times one has to take a risk and make big decisions. E.g. Someone who is an employee could be passionate about a business venture but he / she has to leave behind the security of a fixed salary and possible take a huge income loss before establishing one’s business.

Even if one stumbles at a hurdle it may not necessarily mar ones chances of success.- Even the best hurdles in the world have a bad day in office occasionally, when they stumble over the hurdles. In life we are more prone to stumble off and on for the hurdles are not evenly placed nor the height evenly adjusted as in the track event. Each day brings new, different and intriguing challenges. Keeping motivated each day is perhaps the most commonly experienced challenge for most human beings. Being satisfied is another huge challenge. These are generic challenges but some specific challenges can be a huge hurdle to overcome. The good part of the hurdles is that life gives us many opportunities to fail and get up and retry.  The best part is that the biggest and most challenging hurdles merely require us to overcome our personal inhibitions. The superlative part of the hurdles we have to overcome is that we do not have to prove our ability to anyone but merely find our inner strength and  passion and align it with our goals to overcome them. These HURDLES in real life can then be experienced as Having overcome Unexpected Resistors Demanding Leaps to Ensure Success.

Action Points:

List out the one hurdle that is impeding your success in the following areas of your life

• Your personal life
• Your professional or student life
• Your social life
• Your self development
• Your thought process

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

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

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MANAGE

When one has to deliver results the key is to MANAGE. Be it people or other resources, the trick lies in  ensuring Meticulous Aim Nagging Accuracy & Good Execution. The challenge of managing has been there since time immemorial. Right from the time Noah had to build his ark things have just got more complex today. Fortunately management as a discipline has evolved in leaps and bounds and technology has aided in making the process more rigorous and systematic. Yet at the heart of the whole business of life is a simple edict, deliver results.

In business, when judged by the yardstick of delivering results, irrespective of the scale of operations, the size of the activity or the complexities involved, we need to simply manage all our resources in order to get the results. Classical management theories have an acronym for the key management functions ‘PODSCROB” which when expanded reads as  P-lanning O-organizing D-directing S-staffing C-controlling R-reporting  and B-budgeting . When we examine each of these we realize that for the functions to work in harmony and tandem what is needed is simply someone to manage to each area. Yet if one has to manage each of these functions there has to be a clear understanding of the role of each function and the interplay between them.

Ironically the real challenge is for us to manage our own life. We are often caught up in the rat race and our goals more often than not, are decided not by us but by our bosses and customers. These professional goals often subvert our own personal goals realting to family life, social life and personal time. It is not that we do not have goals in life but compulsions of daily living have molded us to be subversive to the demands of our career. The conflict between our own ambitions and the demands of a career create tensions and makes our life even more challenging and demanding. If we objectively ask ourselves why we have so much of tension and worry in our life, we make the painful realization that it is because we are not able to manage our life.

Apart from the fact that we are subject to demands of work, society and the challenges of living, another important factor that we need to manage is our own goals. Unfortunately many of us have very vague goals and these goals are rarely tangible but often expressed as adjectives which are hard to crystallize in any manner. A good job, lots of money, a posh house, fame and recognition etc. are terms we use to describe our goals. Notice that none of these terms will mean the same to any two people. If there is lack of objectivity in the goal itself, how can one ever come to know that he/ she has attained that goal. Even more problematic is the fact that we can never manage a vague goal.

Instead of chasing imaginary happiness illusionary riches or perceived success, what we need to focus on is, identifying tangible goals for ourselves personally, professionally and socially and systematically MANAGE it through Meticulous Aim Nagging Accuracy & Good Execution.

Action Points:

1. List out goals under the following heads: personal, professional, financial and social. Under each head there must be at least 5 tangible / actionable / progressive points.
2. If married attempt a role interchange between your spouse and you for 2 days a week to better understand the challenges of each other’s role. If single ask a close friend or family member (parents/ siblings/ cousins) to tabulate a list of goals that they would set for you. Now compare your list and realign your goals if needed. Focus on goals that are extremely tough for you to achieve but something that you really want to.eg. You want to improve your grades by 5% in the next exam but you either hate  a subject or are weak in a couple of subjects. You will have to now double your efforts or get extra coaching for the subjects.

 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/

9 - Let your Life be your Signature

One of the most quoted verses of Longfellow, the seventh verse packs a punch that is hard to beat. It is simultaneously awe inspiring in its articulation, the depth of its philosophy and the breadth of its impact.  

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Longfellow weaves a strong common thread across continents, the centuries, the human race since eternity and the present moment, by comparing the lives of the great men who have shaped it and insightfully professes them all to be SUBLIME. The coup de grace of that verse is a masterpiece - when he points out that the passing away of all great men are actually milestones that provide us the beacon for generations to come.

The poetic beauty of the last line of the verse is the clarity with which he paints a picture of the sands of time and the endless footprints on it. Time is so abstract a concept to visualize but with the quaint usage of Footprints, Longfellow suddenly provides us a near three dimensional view of it.

It is for us to draw inspiration from those many Great Lives- our heroes, our idols and our Gods. We need to mould ourselves on similar lines but using our own self as the mould and then let our own LIFE be as unique as our Signature !

Action Points :

• Work on your personal vision and mission statement.
• Appreciate your own uniqueness- see yourself in the mirror, check out your picture in group photographs, look at your handwriting and don't forget to check out the uniqueness of your signature.
• If you have the daring - write your own epitaph !
  

          Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -
                     Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

8 - Only Today is Ours - use it NOW

In four short simple lines quoted below Longfellow encompasses an undeniable reality that - Only Today is OURS
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act -- act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Neither day dreams or reminisces of the past will help us realize our goals and harness our potential. It is ACTION alone that will result in tangible outcomes. Often we find ourselves, lapsing into the Good Ol' days mood, particularly when we are faced with obstacles and irritants that slow us down in the humdrum of life. Other times when we are more upbeat and excited we tend to visualize the future and paint in the most vibrant colors and almost tasting that illusionary success. The harsh reality however lies in between, TODAY.

While the past and the future have an important role in shaping our today through the hindsight of experience and the numerous possibilities of our imagination, it is work done Today that charts our course and helps us mark the milestones covered. When we are insecure and need guidance to ACT...Longfellow reminds us we must have a Strong Heart (self belief) and Immense Trust (in God) and take the plunge.

ACT- act, is an emphasis that it is both a continuing and an ongoing activity which we need to do every moment of our life! Only the present moment is ours, we need to use it Now and use it Well.

Action Points:

• Begin the practice of making a to-do today list.
• Start doing the least liked tasks first so that you are not stressed about it the whole day
• Try and review the day gone by and think of more efficient ways of doing some of the tasks.

     Power Act - from www.actspot.com is focused on -           
           Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.