SPIRIT

The true worth of a person is revealed in the SPIRIT that he/ she displays when the going is tough and the chips are down. It is in picking up ones self when one stumbles and falls on the highway of life that we See Passion Ignite Response In Time. For many of us setbacks and failures sap our energies, weaken our resolve and tempt us to throw in the towel. At this low ebb in life, we need to review our emotions, regain our confidence and pick up ourselves to fight a fresh battle. It is the SPIRIT within us that will ensure that we can focus on accepting the challenges posed by life and march on with a song on our lips and a prayer in our heart to forge ahead with renewed vigor.

When we are passionate we crave incessantly and it is this craving that acts as the fuel that fodders our desire to succeed. Passion also helps us remain focused on our goals and provides us the motivation to overcome all obstacles and impediments that prevent us from smoothly attaining our goal. In the process it is possible that we try in vain but fail to succeed in our mission and we get disturbed and disheartened. We may also be tempted to give up and pursue some things else in which our heart is really not in. It is at these inflection points that our spirit, powers us with a renewed energy and the spark to gather our wits, recoup our resources and relaunch our efforts to attain our goals.

In pursuing our goals, we are often required to respond appropriately to all situations be it encouraging or demotivating. When the going is good, we need to scale up our efforts in order to ensure that we go with the momentum and give the right thrust to our plans and efforts. If we slacken and hope that things will turn out right, we might overtaken by events or competition and our efforts could be in vain. It is our spirit that will ensure that we are always charged up and fired up to step up the pace. When faced with differences, difficulties and desperation, we need to respond calmly and coolly without giving into the temptation to rave and rant or pass on the buck. This is not easy because when the going is tough, it gets tougher to face the heat. It is the person who let his/ her spirit ignite the urge to respond positively and decisively who will triumph.

When we look around and see the numerous people who have overcome personal, financial and social odds and make a success of their lives, we see it as a triumph of their SPIRIT. The contribution of social reformers, freedom fighters and social activists is a classic case of the SPIRIT coming to the fore to sustain them in their agenda of acting as change agents for the welfare and development of society in general and the people in particular.  Believe in yourself and let your SPIRIT guide you to See your Passion Ignite Response In Time and help you succeed in your mission in life.

Action Points:

1. Make a list of activities that excite you and a list of those tasks that you hate to do but have to because you can’t avoid it. The challenge is for you to find some motivation in those routine / boring/ disliked tasks so that you might have some passion injected into it. E.g. There are many men who hate to shave every day. If they saw the task of shaving as a key component of their enhanced features or if they can visualize themselves as exceptionally likable after shaving they would have a new impetus to look forward to shaving every day.
2. Be aware of disruptive and useless passions that make you unpopular and / or make you ineffective. Make an effort to cut out those passions lest they become more of a handicap than an asset. E.g. Some people are passionate about forwarding every SMS message or emails that they feel must be shared. Or there could be others who are so passionate about their philosophical ideologue or sport or political views that they cannot help but inflict it on any and every audience.

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/

STRIVE

To attain anything in life one must STRIVE for it and that is when you Start Towards Important Victories Everyday. Often we are confused about how and where to being something, simply because the journey ahead seems too long and arduous. The bare minimum requirement for success is making an attempt. If we don’t even attempt anything, it is impossible for anyone to even remotely taste success. The beginning of any task is the when one actually STRIVES to attain success.

There are opportunities galore around us for us to take advantage off. Yet self doubts, a negative attitude and fear of failure hold us back from even striving to explore those opportunities. The opportunities could come disguised as problems, offers too attractive to be true or very simple openings that have tremendous potential that make us wary of them. What is really needed is an urge to explore chances that seem attractive even if we are unsure about the finer aspects of it. E.g., To get a job one needs to have a CV ready and float it to the right potential employers so that there is a fair chance of getting an interview call. Yet many a time we are casual about the quality an contents of our CV, do not make even cursory study of potential employers and reject possible employers on frivolous imaginary grounds.

Other times we fail to strive simply because of a laidback and casual approach, lack of clarity in our minds about what we want and worse of all because we find our efforts being thwarted by our own kin and kith. Sometimes it is our ego that blinds us to opportunities because we are unable to visualize ourselves striving to do what was never even remotely visualized as our calling. A doctor who wants to become a chef will be dissuaded by the sheer outcry from well meaning friends and relatives. Imagine starting a business as an undertaker. The reality is that death is a certainty so clientele is not a problem. However the profession is not viewed very kindly so we avoid it. Off late there are people entering the agricultural space yet they are seen as deviants for there is a rural bias and a down market tag attached to being a new age agriculturalist.

The challenge for each of us is to overcome the pressures be it self inflicted or piled on by others. To overcome the pressure it is imperative that we become more pragmatic, less emotional and enthusiastically goal focused. That is when we really begin to STRIVE and Start Towards Important Victories Everyday

Action Points:

1. List out 3 bad habits that you want to overcome. Make an action plan to begin working on overcoming it. Begin today. To deter you from giving up the effort share your plan with someone who is equally concerned about you overcoming that bad habit and request that person to prod you, punish you and fine you if you do not stick to your plans.
2. Outline 3 positive goals that you would like to achieve during the year. One could be a financial goal like savings, another could be a personal improvement goal like reducing weight and the third could be something for a social cause like spending time in an orphanage or old age home. Ensure that you are disciplined and work on achieving those goals.

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/

SHARE

As children we are often encouraged by our parents and teachers to SHARE and this ensures that we Start Helping All Receive Enough. While some of us felt happy to share what ever we had, most of us were more possessive and declined to voluntarily share our possessions unless cajoled or compelled to do so. Ironically, almost all of us coveted what others had and felt hurt and miserable when we denied those goodies by those who were fortunate to own them. Whether it was a ride on a rickety tricycle or sharing a cricket bat or a piece of cake or some cookies, if someone else had it we felt the urge to partake of it.

The psychology of sharing gives us insights into our own mindsets and behavior patterns. Most times we refused to share because we took pride in not just owning something but took perverse pleasure in denying it to others. It could be the latest gadgets or toys that we might not even know how to use or enjoy but we got a strange pleasure in denying someone else the opportunity to explore the wonders of it. Sharing would also expose us to the risk of getting less of the object be it an edible item or less time to enjoy if it were a non edible item. Very high on our risk parameter is the risk of damage/ breakage or appropriation by the borrower. In fact if we look back there must b so much we have hoarded over the years without either using it or enjoying it and with time the object has lost it relevance or utility or has become outdated an stale. Look at the number of old LP records or spool tapes that we refused to let any one borrow. Are there some pens and stationary that we hoarded for use at a good time? Do you have books that have never ever been opened and read but never given to anyone to refer to either?

Now look back at the times when you were the beneficiary of the largesse of some kind friend or understanding elders who let you partake of something that you could never have owned. Perhaps it was learning to cycle on a friend’s bicycle which you fell of from numerous times scraping yourself and damaging the cycle too. The pain of the fall must have long been forgotten but the pleasure of cycling still triggers a warm feeling inside. Imagine you looking longingly at a doll or a ball that you so desperately wanted but could not afford but most surprisingly somehow your parents managed to gift it to you for your birthday. Also recollect the pleasure you derived from bringing wonder, surprise and awe on the faces of those who benefited from your magnanimous gesture of sharing some of your prized possessions. The most common item that one shares is books (unfortunately reading is no longer as popular today) and that apart perhaps you lend someone a suit for his first big date or a cherished cosmetic to a young lady on her prom night.

When one has to SHARE, it is important that we do it with good grace. There is no fun in sharing grudgingly, unwillingly or reluctantly for the feeling of bad grace pervades and dampens the spirit of sharing. It is equally vital that we share not just from what we can spare but real sharing is giving out of your little. Remember sharing lunch during school days, with friends who craved your mother’s special dishes and you let them eat it all, saying there is more at home for me when you knew that there wasn’t any left. When giving off clothes you have outgrown ensure that it is mended, washed and really presentable. It is worthwhile remembering that when you SHARE you ensure that you Start Helping All to Receive Enough and since what goes around comes around you will soon get your SHARE too.

Action Points:

1. Make a list of all the things you have collected/hoarded/ stored which you do not visualize using in the immediate future. Against each item write down the name/s of someone who will appreciate it or make good use of it. Work out a schedule to share these items that you no longer need. Ensure that you have a big smile and a warm hug when giving these goodies off.
2. Some of the simplest things that you can share include a warm smile/ a pat on the back/ lavish praise/ heartfelt sympathy/ a thank you note/ respectful acknowledgement / volunteering your time and efforts

The answers to the questions in the previous blog dated 4^th August 2010 are

• H _ _ n   (4)   HYMN
• G_ p _ y (5)   GYPSY
• M _ t _   (4)    MYTH
• R_y_h_   (5)   RHYTHM

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/ 

THINK

There have many people who have asked me how I manage to come up with a variety of new and apt acronyms week after week. The answer is simple; you just need to THINK and that means one has to Try Hard to Invite New Knowledge. Last weeks post also had a small exercise as part of the Action Points, where again you had to think a bit and then get the answers. If you haven’t got all the answers make one more attempt before you check the answers at the end of today’s post. What is important is that one makes a good attempt at exercising ones grey cells before one calls it quits. Even more important is that we leverage our ability to think logically, creatively, rationally and philosophically to solve our personal problems; be it one of relationships, personal growth or the challenges posed by daily life.

Logical thinking is what we are most familiar with since most of our lives we spend in logical thinking. We have rules for grammar, mathematics, science and we have similar rules of discipline, decorum and decency, almost all of it following a logical order. Our day to day life is overwhelming influenced and controlled by logical thinking. Most of the problems we are confronted with are first sought to be over come by logical analysis and correspondent logical answers. The problem with logical thinking is that it confines our thoughts to set patterns and it does not have a provision for emotion and feelings to be juxtaposed in the process. Our creative thinking is sparked through the softer side of formal learning like arts, craft, debates, essay writing etc. We nurture our creative thinking by honing the skills by being inventive in playing pranks, finding excuses to escape punishment, by being curious and making new discoveries which open our eyes to new possibilities and by pushing the boundaries of our established thinking into the realms of imagination, fantasies and wishful thinking. E.g. When one blows into a balloon we can inflate it. Someone wondered what would happen if we fill helium gas which is lighter than air into the balloon and suddenly you had balloons that could float in air. Someone decided to see if the balloon was made gigantic in size and filled with hot air if it could take a joy ride using the original principle of the helium gas and soon we had hot air balloons being used to soar up.

Rational thinking mirrors logical thinking but it is generously sprinkled with abundant doses of feelings, sensations, humanness and if required laced with a generous helping of creative inputs. E.g. An eye for an eye logically sounds like a the most appropriate system to ensure fairness to a victim but to the rational mind sounds very barbaric. With a healthy dose of creativity we have established the judiciary system to ensure that the guilty are made accountable and the victims given fair justice. Philosophical thinking focuses on marrying the various types of thinking into a process of self fulfillment. Philosophers study, analyze, explore, and propound the ideal thought process that attempts to capture their understanding of harmonious day to day living. Human nature seeks answers to complex questions like the origin of life, the existence of God, afterlife etc. and philosophical thinking attempts to fulfill that quest.

At various times each of us indulge in these varied styles of thinking. When we desperately seek answers we alternate between these styles rapidly and pick up the answer that suits us. Many a time the answers thrown up by each style contradict each other and confuse us. We are then forced to THINK and Try Hard to Invite New Knowledge that will offer us a clearer path forward.

Action Points:

1. Assume you are in a museum that has some of the finest paintings by the world masters including paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso and Rembrandt. Suddenly you become aware of a fire raging. You can save only one of those priceless works of art. Which one of those priceless treasures would you save? (This was a question posed by a leading newspaper and the best answer they awarded the prize to will feature in the next blog post. Meanwhile you can send in your answers as a comment to this post.)
2. Here are 4 words in English which do not contain a vowel. Can you fill in the blanks and identify the words? The number of alphabets that make up the word are given in brackets.

• H _ _ n   (4)
• G_ p _ y (5)
• M _ t _   (4)
• R_y_h_   (5)

The answers to the questions of the previous blog post dated 26th July 2010 are as under:

2E and 1N on a F = 2 ears and 1 nose on a face
S is B (Hint it is a well known phrase) = Small is Beautiful
5 T on a F = 5 toes on a foot
3 W on a T = 3 wheels on a tricycle
B B B S & T T L S = Ba ba black sheep & Twinkle twinkle little star

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/  

SHAPE

When we attempt to give a form or structure to anything we fancy be it a drawing, a sculpture, writing, communicating or even our thoughts and reflections we are in effect giving it a SHAPE which enables us to See How A Pattern Emerges. In order to ensure that we can shape our future and script our success it is important to understand how one should go about the process of shaping our dreams and turning them into reality.

Visualization holds the key to us being able to format a shape first in the mind, then on paper and finally in the end result. To visualize one needs to tap into all the senses, be vivid in our imagination, indulge in letting our mind run amok and rein in the diverse responses and collate it to get the first rough cut. The trick in visualization is to suspend judgment and not to filter our thoughts with any form of logical or so called rational filter. Instead just let your imagination run wild and explore all options, create magical moments and fantasies and capture and concoct the most improbable scenario. When there are numbers one can be choosy so the focus is on generating the quantity and then sort out and isolate what we truly believe in or hope to harness fully. Eg. Write down 10 social problems that you are deeply concerned about as a citizen.

Transcribing on paper is the perhaps the toughest part of the process of giving shape to our ideas, dreams, visualization and strategies. There are two possibilities at the time of transcribing on paper; the first is the plethora of ideas and the second is a complete lack of ideas. The latter leaves us with little option but to choose from the limited options. It is when we have plenty of options that we get caught between what to choose and what to leave out. Here we need to use a combination of filters to distill the best option. First is the filter of simple logic and screen for the option that is most likely to be a winner. The second filter is the filter of practicality and this could mean scanning resource availability, time constraints, criticality and acceptability. The third filter surprisingly is an antithesis because it works on the principal of gut feeling and instinct. Eg From the above 10 social problems that you have listed pick one concern and write a letter to the editor of the newspaper on the same. Whilst writing bear in mind the following questions.. What will your focus be on? Why should the letter b published by the newspaper? What is the impact your letter to should make on the reader?

Can you see a pattern emerging during the process of your efforts? Visualize a target board used in archery where there is a small bull’s eye circle with bigger and bigger circles around it. When you begin to transcribe on paper you begin with the biggest circle as your reference point and then you narrow it down slowly to reach the bulls eyes. However one hits the bulls eye only when attempts the shots. Similarly execution is the final step in shaping success. One will need to constantly rework and redraw until the bull’s eye is clearly visible and that is when one needs to take the plunge and execute the plans. It is when one commits that one can begin to give SHAPE to ones hopes, dreams, desires and passions and it is then that one can See How A Pattern Emerges triumphantly.

Action Points:

1. Draw a target board used in archery from memory. Color code it too. Next look up the net and view an image and compare it with your own effort. Do you experience a sense o pride in your effort? On need not be a skilled artist to do the exercise, yet one can easily get a sense of achievement on doing the exercise.
2. Attempt to solve the following. Let your imagination run riot and then rein it in if you want to solve it.

 (The first one is given as an example for you to understand.)
24 H in a D = 24 hours in a Day
2E and 1N on a F =
S is B (Hint it is a well known phrase) =
5 T on a F =
3 W on a T =
B B B S & T T L S =
(Answers will be given in the next post )

 

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/  

 

 

 

REST

Look around and you will find harried mothers, exasperated children, stressed out business executives, tired workers and many listless people moving around like zombies. Perhaps you are one of these too and you are aware that you are not at your optimum best. A short reflection will perhaps enlighten you to the reality that you may be working too hard and that what you really need is REST and Recoup Energy Smartly & Totally.

The trouble with trying to rest is that many of us feel guilty that we are whiling away our time whereas in reality it is a way to unwind and recoup our energy. If our mind is not willing to accept that not doing anything and lazing away is almost sinful, going through the motions of resting becomes even more stressful, for it saps our mind and body because of the constant tension created by our own lack of belief in resting. Our discomfort about resting would often be a sign of our workaholic nature or symptomatic of a troubled mind. When we have too many activities lined up, take on varied responsibilities and are poor in delegating tasks rest becomes the rust that corrodes our compulsive need to be busy bodies.

 

There are many who really get confused about how to rest. To a certain set of people rest is all about vacationing but wanting to extract every moment out of the available time. They invariably plan out vacations designed to encompass extensive travel, sightseeing and long days at the end of which each passing day becomes even more stressful than the previous day. They return from trips more tired and haggard but secretly relieved that they visited many places but blissfully unaware that they didn’t savor the beauty of the place. There are others who are more impulsive and go unplanned for long trips and then feel cheated when they encounter reservation and hotel booking problems and come back drained and disappointed. Nothing beats the people who go vacationing with their laptops and files for they end up annoying everyone including bosses by their tardy responses and the family by their insincere pretence of enjoying family time.

Anyone who wants to enjoy the best rest must be prepared to switch off completely from their present activities. This includes switching off cell phones, laptops and any form of communication that is work related. The tougher part is switching of mentally from the work mode to a chill mode for we invariably end up worrying about frivolous matters that should be ideally left to the boss or subordinate to handle. While a good sound sleep is a wonderful way to rest, one can also indulge in ones passions like music, movies and reading to get the ideal rest. Learn to indulge in what you crave (in moderation if there are medical restrictions) be it wining, dining and dancing or being an occasional couch potato. Vacationing is a highly recommended too because it can also help broadens ones horizons and possibly promote bonding and self discovery too. If you have a group with you be it family or friends, ensure that you strike a balance with the plans of all those accompanying you. It is pointless ending up arguing and disagreeing when you plan to rest. Soak in the freedom, enjoy the bliss and peace, catch up on sleep and never forget to plug in to the ‘moment’ for that is when you really REST and Recoup Energy Smartly & Totally.

 

Action Points:

• Name your 3 favorite leisure activities. When was the last time you indulged in any of them and soaked in the pleasure of it completely? Is there something that you wished you could indulge in but held back because of circumstances? Do you think you can work towards making that a reality in the next 2 years? Start planning for it and experience the joy of planning and notice how relaxing that is too. 
• Given a choice between the following holiday spots which one of them would be your choice and why?

- A beach resort
- A trek up the mountains
- An idyllic locale in the country side
- A five star hotel located in an A grade city

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/    

DECIDE

To make up ones mind means to DECIDE but the process is not as simple as is sounds because one need to Develop Extra Clear Insight to Discern Emphatically. To get an idea of the problems one faces in taking a decision, recollect the story of the man who was asked to sort out potatoes. This is an apocryphal story about a man who was searching for a job and who managed to get a job of chopping wood, which he did with great alacrity and impressed his farmer boss. He was then asked to sort out the potatoes into 3 piles small, medium and big. At the end of the day, the boss was stunned to see the man barely having a few potatoes in each pile. On inquiry the helper confessed that he was having a very tough time deciding in which pile each potato should go. Clarity in decision making is tough especially when the facts are subject to varied interpretations.

If there are law suits that are growing in geometric proportions worldwide, a large part of the problem lies in the reality that deciding who is right and who is wrong or deciding on an equitable solution is extremely tough. In fact world over more and more people are tempted to believe in using the legal system to address their domestic issues which in normal course could be amicably settled. This trend of increased litigation is partly due to the complex nature of the decision making process for each party to a dispute believes that he/ she is right and decisions of mediators are rarely accepted for fear of bias. This throws up another angle about the decision making process; it must never be influenced by personal preferences or bias or the end results could be disastrous. 

The ability to discern becomes another critical skill for anyone who needs to exercise judgment and decide. Experience is often a reasonable ally of anyone having to make a decision. However our past experience must not close our minds to the possibilities of other alternatives. As Mark Twain puts it ‘One must not be like a cat who once having sat on a hot stove refuses to sit on a cold stove’. Equally important is firm faith in our chosen decision. Many a time we attempt to change boats midstream and in the process end up falling overboard and drowning. The classic story of Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez who when he landed in Mexico on the shores of the Yucatan by ship ordered his men to burn the ships so that there was no turning back on the decision made to conquer or perish.

Finally it must be borne in mind that not all decisions we take bear fruit. Sometimes we go wrong in executing the decisions, other times the decision is right but the anticipated outcome is not got. Timing is just as critical for the decision to bear fruit. What is important however is that we develop the habit of taking decisions for only then can truly Develop Extra Clear Insight to Discern Emphatically.

Action Points

1. Read up on one of the great decisions taken by King Solomon http://www.kingsolomonlegend.com/the-judgment-of-solomon.html 
2. List out all the things that you need to do during the day. Now prioritize it and begin executing. Do you need to reprioritize the list more than once? Were you forced to reprioritize because you missed out on some crucial assumptions or you made the wrong assumptions to begin with?
3. Here are the answers to the scrambled words challenge posted on 13 July 2010 in our blog http://actspot.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/expect-nothing/ 1. ALONE 2. HAVOC 3. GRAZE 4. NASAL 5. STAMP ( Did you underestimate the time because you were overconfident or were you undermine your abilities and overestimated the time)

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