Our Actions – The Chain Reactions

Yesterday I wrote about how connected we are. This connectedness leads to chain reactions, when it comes to our actions. We may not be aware of the far reaching consequences of our actions.

Both good as well as bad actions have chain reaction effects. Think about planting a tree, say a mango tree, as being equivalent to a good action. If the tree bares fruit, many would consume those over time. And those consumers could include relatives, friends, strangers and even enemies, who knows. Think about chopping down a tree, that already bares fruit, as being equivalent to a bad action. All those who used to consume fruit, would not get any more in the future, including enemies, strangers, friends and relatives.

As our actions effect others, their actions would effect us, and we may or may not be aware. And every action has a reaction, not only in physics but also in society. Hence our actions spark reactions, and due to or far reaching connectedness, that leads to chain reactions.

We are Connected

Bulk of the people that we see, pass by or work with are strangers to us. We know very few around us. However, we are connected to all of those who are around us, much more than we think we are. Just think about the person who would pass by you, sit next to you or ride next to you. You may not know him or her. But you most probably than not breath the same air that the stranger breaths. How can you guarantee that the air that hists your lungs now was within the lungs of another person that is close to you a while ago?

Lord of War

There is one firearm for every twelve human beings on this planet.

The world's biggest arms suppliers are the US, UK, Russia, France and China. They are also the five permanent members of the UN security council.

Films Got Good Thoughts

Films got awesome quotes at times:

“Everything happens for a reason” - False Prophets

“Easy does not enter into grown ups lives” - The Weather Man

Good to watch a few, that helps. I used to watch a lot. But somehow lost the habit for some time. Now I am back to that again.

Leadership

Leaders are not those who sit and command. They are those who serve.

One can turn to a true leader and ask for help with guarantee that the leader would have the skill, knowhow, capacity and strength to help.

You can have positional power, but the charismatic power has greater depth.

It is said that leaders are born. But I believe that we can build good leadership qualities, remember, practice makes perfect.

Learn from Geeks

Geeks lead the way. They have gone through many hardships to become a geek. And they continue to work hard. If you know of any geek in your preferred field, you could probably learn a lot of them just by observing them. As an example, if there is a computer geek at your work place, you can observer some of this best practices. When I was in the university, in my early days with computers, I could not work for more than, say, two hours in front of a computer, I got eye pains. However, there was one guy, who was in the computer lab almost the whole day and he does not seem to have a problem. And many considered him a geek because of his skills with computers. One day, while he was using a computer, I went to him and looked at what he was doing. And he was browsing the Web. I asked him, how he could work long hours with the computer without getting eye pains. He told me that he would set his background to gray, so that it does not trouble his eyes. And he told me that I would probably be using the default white background. He was correct and I followed his advice and it worked for me.

However, be careful that sometimes, some of the geeks would not enjoy being observed or asked. Some are over protective that they would not reveal the secret of their success. However, a real geek would not have to hide anything. So be aware of the fake geeks as well, you may think they are geeks, but they are really not.

Have You Ever Fallen?

Your instant answer would be yes. We always remember that we fell. But do you also remember that you got up? Well that is the most important part, the fact that you got up and not that you fell.

Look at the bright side and remember the good news. That we got up and continued on our course.

Falling was important, and that thought us lessons. Lessons on our wrong doing, stupidity and instability that caused us to fall. We should also learn form the way we got up, the things that we need to do into get up in the right way and with shortest amount of time. That too is important.

In the future, avoid falling again as much as possible, also remember to get up, if you happen to fall, as soon as possible and be as stable as possible. After all, falling is inevitable but getting up is the most important part

Memory

Memory in an asset. One of the problems with me is that I tend to think, when I am going through something that I can always re-read or re-visit the stuff that I am going through, so that I do not have to remember everything. The problem with this thought is that, you hardly get a second chance to go through the same things over and over again. The secret of success in remembering stuff, I think, is to select or scan through and identify the important facts. Usually our minds are sensitive to new information, if we have some interest in the subject matter that the new information reveals.

I usually do not try hard to remember things. However, if something interesting crosses my mind, I happen to keep a picture of that in my mind.

And the other important thing is that, even though I think that I am a forgetful person, I happen to remember stuff more than I think that I can. Our minds are much more powerful than we think they are. And our memory storage is much, much more spacey than we think.

Parallel Processing

Can you parallel process? Can you do two things at once? Well it is pretty simple tough it may deemed to be a bit complex.

Start small, you can listen to music while you drive, cycle, jog or walk. Some of us do that while working as well. Well music can be replaced with news or even technical or religious talks. I tend to mix them up, meaning, sometimes I listen to music and some times to news or talks.

If you go further, by identifying multiple things that you can do at once. I think the choice could be unique to each individual, but you can learn form others, sometimes through observation.

While brushing teeth, sometimes I water the plants. The two tasks hardly need both hands at once. In place of going to the gym, I can wash my car and clean the garden, that is exercise plus work get done.

Sometimes, you can initiate several tasks that could run in parallel. Till water boils, I prepare the stuff for my cup of coffee. Wash the cup, put coffee powder and sugar in the cup and be ready to pour water by the time water boils. Well if you are using a coffee machine that is a different matter. But I do not use a coffee machine. While having the coffee, I read a book or a paper.

Well, someone may question, so what is the big deal? Well, the end result is that you save time. You can make the coffee when water boils, meaning that you are waiting for it. You can have the coffee and then read the paper, meaning that you need separate time slots for the two tasks. And there are many tasks in life like those, that you can do in parallel and save time. Then you can use the saved time to those tasks that you complain of not having enough time.

Read and Listen

What we are is based on what we know. What we know is based on what we read and listen to. In other words the nature and amount of the inputs to our lives make us what we are. Some may have the idea that, what we speak show what we are. Correct, but again you got to remember that what we talk too are based on what we know and in turn that depends on how much we have learned, reading and listening.

My simple point is that you got to read as much as possible and listen as much as possible. In other words, concentrate on the inputs to life. Our outputs would naturally be shape by the nature of inputs. Good that you are already reading. And I am listing to a song, while I am writing this blog.

Expertise - Passionate Perseverance

I believe that every person got to be an expert on some thing or the other on this earth. Yes I know that it is not the reality, but the world would have been a better place if it was reality.

The problem is not the fact that not everyone is an expert, rather that many do not try to be one. Many fall short of being a real expert but think that they are experts.

You need perseverance to be an expert in some area. You simply cannot afford to relax. You got to keep in touch all the time and pay attention. Now that may sound to be lots of tough hard work. But I think otherwise. If you have passion, you can keep up the phase. After all, the world around is so dynamic, and we do keep phase with that, more often than not.

So what it takes to be an expert: Passionate Perseverance.

Don't Judge

Often, we do not have the right perspective to come to the correct conclusions. We think that we know all the facts required to make a call, but we may not have considered all angles.

Sometimes as outsiders, there may be many facts that skip our perspective. While it is always good to have faith in what you already see, it is always good to verify to make sure that you have considered multiple perspectives to get the correct picture, as close as you can get.

It is always dangerous to have a shallow vision, and the time that we wait to clear the waters to see the depth is always worth it.

Law is Undefined

I was reading a book recently and found that there is no agreed definition on law. Well those who are familiar with law would know of this already, but for me, it was news, because I did not know that.

Isn't it ironic that we are governed by something that even could not be defined clearly. We talk about 'law enforcement'. If law cannot be defined concretely, neither would enforcing law be defined clearly. So how are those enforcing the law be given precise job descriptions? It is going to be vague.

Anyway, I strongly believe, that more than law, values matter. I remember what happened when 911 went off line with hurricane Katrina. Law enforcement was badly hit by mother nature, due to the break down in infrastructure 911 did not work, and some people took maximum advantage of that by fostering crime, while others suffered the consequences. However, if people respected values of human life and respected human dignity, such a chaotic situation with regard to law enforcement would not have created.

Law alone cannot ensure a safe and sound society. Yes I agree that without law, it would have been much worse, but that the same time, with values and respect to values, it would have been much better.

I am Enjoying Weekend

Last week was a successful one. I was able to archive many of my objectives at workplace as well as in personal life.

It was hard weeks work, I worked at least 9 hours each day. But that was worth it. Hence I can relax over this weekend. Forget about the TODO lists and just lie down and relax, drive around a bit and watch couple of movies. That adds to the week's achievements.

Life is good, after all.

Thinking – Try to be Positive

The way we think has a greater impact on our lives. And most importantly, we can change and improve the way we think, improving our lives. Some talk about the power of positive thinking. While there could be various counter arguments, I too am a believer of positive thinking. There is an element of positive thinking in my “Just do It” post.

There are many times in my life that when I changed my thinking form “can I?” to “I can!” mode, the things became simpler. It sure takes time to get into the habit, but you sure can get there. Think positive of positive thinking.

His Joy

When I come home form work, my son is overjoyed to jump to my hands. Then he looks all the others around and smile with pride. He spends almost all of the evening expecting my arrival.

This shows the love, need and happiness that he associates with his father.

His life is filled with very simple needs. And he is overjoyed when he archive them as well as he brings joy to those who are around him. I wish adults too could enjoy life as the nine month old baby does. It is not easy for adults to do that, because we have made our lives overly complicated. As an example, my wife does not even care to show her face when I come home. See the difference.

Trust in Teams

In life, at times, you got to trust people. In a tram, the secret of success is trust, members need to trust in each other. We happen to be part of many teams time to time.

However, when you are in a team, the trust should be not beyond the team factors. Because not all can be trusted on matters other than non-team related factors. Even with regard to team factors, sometimes, people may try to play bad to show them up as the cream of the team. To do this, they may act dirty and and even use under cover agents. I never enjoy these under cover dirty acts, because they harm the team spirit as well as they are not sustainable. However, you got to know and be watchful for those people who do that, because more often than not, some may try and play this role.

One of the amazing things that I have found out is that, even though it is pretty much clear who acts dirty, it is hard to imagine those who help the dirty under cover. They play 'good guy' to the whole and feed all the info and facts to the dirty. Those are the rascals, watch out for them. They can slit your throat while kissing your lips.

New Day – New Beginning

Each new day is a new beginning. Yesterday is gone. Take in to account the good and bad form the past and face the new day with a fresh mind.

We do not have to wait till next January 1^st to look for a new beginning. Can start today. Do not worry about planning so much if you do not have a plan already. Just start fresh and just do it.

Joy When Achieved

I was able to complete very critical tasks for my project at the work place today and last Friday. In fact I completed three critical tasks withing just about ten hours of work. I am sure, someone else would have taken at least couple of weeks, that is not boasting, but my knowhow on what I am doing helps.

I am so joyful that I could complete these tasks so soon. In fact, I thought that it would take at least a week. But just within two working days, it is complete.

Some people take weeks to complete tasks because they are not that passionate on what they do. I enjoy working on something, and more over, I am joyful when I complete the task successfully. Enjoy the journey to achievement, and enjoy the achievement itself.

Kind Words

They light up the sky. Yes kind words could do that. We can alienate people, with out harsh words, even though we may be speaking plain truth. However, any matter, any truth could be presented to anyone with some kindness. Sometimes we tend to think, that because we stand for the truth, the tone does not matter. However, the receiving person could be at any state of mind. Anyone, no matter how much depressed he or she is, enjoys a kind word.

Sometimes, it is hard to be kind. But if you let it go, then it becomes easier to be kind. After all it helps, so it is worth the price.

The Sky

I like to watch the sky and relax a bit time to time. The blue color gives you the spacey feeling. I wish I could float like a cloud, or fly like a bird.

Sometimes our minds are constrained to the house, or the workplace. It is good to look up time to time to remind that there is a space out there all the time above us. We build fences and walls to mark our property, but you can never prevent a cloud form passing over, not even a bird for that matter.

What do you fear?

Fear often hinders us. I do not think it is a bad thing. Because sometimes, we need fear. As an example we fear the law, hence avoid wrongdoing. Those who do not fear law are criminals.

However there are times we fear things that we should not really fear. And in those cases, fear hinders us, an d keep our minds low. As an example, when I was in the university, during study leave, some people were studying because they feared they will score low or because they feared that others would score higher than them. That screws up the whole study process. Sometimes, we fear our co-workers, that they would do better than us. More often than not, these fears are baseless and moreover, hinders our progress.

Close Your Eyes

When you close your eyes and wait a few moments, you can relieve your stress and recollect energy. You can let your heart float light in the air. Even you can visit places you have never been before and you would never ever would.

Closing your eyers for a few moments, helps you to recollect, improve your imagination and in simple relax for a moment at any given time. Often, literature associates closing eyes with getting help in times of need - “close your eyes, and make a wish, and ...”. And I am going to close my eyes for a few moments now......

Your Truth

Any individual, has some truth that only that individual would know about. In my case, there are so many things that I have never told anyone.

Sometimes, there are mysteries around us, and many seems to wonder what really happened. There could be few who were at the scene and who planned everything, and they may know the real story.

Sometimes, what people know, but never revel could be valuable knowledge. Could even benefit others. However, on this earth, some of the truths would be berried alongside the death of those who know them. Those would be never captured, and there would not be any way to capture it.

Delegate

Sometimes, I have taken too much toil and burden on my work life, because I have failed to delegate enough work. But now that I have learned the art of delegation, the life has become much simple.

The key is to trust those to whom you want to delegate. Sometimes you may feel as if the person is not competent enough to do the task, and that is because of your lack of trust. Also, you got to get rid of the “do it myself” feeling.

I am amazed on how some people started performing when I delegated some of the stuff. They take pride in what they do and come up with amazing results.

I Love My Son

I enjoy spending time with my eight and half months old son. He fills my life. I think I am gradually starting to enjoy my fatherhood.

He loves spending time with me too. And there is one thing that I like the most, that is his love for me is genuine. No matter what he would do when he grows up, he loves me now. He cries when I am not around, and rejoice, when I am back form work. He is teaching me what love really is, I feel it when he hugs and kisses me.

He makes me proud, when he stands up and play with the big ball. At his age that is quite an achievement.

Perseverance

It has been a month since I started writing this blog. I have been able to write this every day, in line with my initial objective - write one entry every day. I am glad that despite a busy month, I have been able to achieve it.

I have been a hard working guy when it came to office work. However, lately I thought that I give some time to my personal life as well, and this blog is one of the outcomes of that thought.

I did not try hard to write stuff serious, or very lengthy. That was the secret of my success. I am glad if someone read, even if none did, I am still glad that I wrote it and I did enjoy doing that.

Save the Gone

Things that you sped are gone. Gone are gone, no one is going to give it back to you. So, if you think of spending something and did not at the end of the day are sunk costs. You can safely deposit those into an account and never withdraw, and see how your saving grow and how much you have wasted.

I am going to open a new bank account, count all those would be expenses and deposit them there and not withdraw those money for some time. Those savings such as, when I took the bus in place of driving, the desert that I skipped, the savings I made by purchasing something form a bargain sale are going to go into that account. Those are supposed to be money that should have gone out of my pocket. Let the gone be the savings.

Trust Yourself

The society is sure going to judge and criticize you. But you have to have faith on yourself. Many, including me, are concerned of criticisms. However, we have to question the wisdom of those who criticize us. Those who criticize may not be the geeks and may be going by the common beliefs. They may often overlook the ground realities.

When you are doing something, especially something novel, you got to think twice, and even should double check along the way. Once you are certain, that you are on the right path, based on your experiences and evaluations, you got to trust your self, no matter what others say. Because you are the one who knows all the truth about what you are doing.

Sometimes, irrespective of our own knowledge and feelings, we tend to be driven by what others would say. That is really bad. Because you are not trusting your own self. If I cannot trust my own self, there is something really wrong with me.

There are some other times, that others trust you, but not you yourself. If you are certain that others are not fooling you, then it is worth lifting yourself.

Trust yourself, and do it the way you want. If you succeed, you know that you did it right. If you fail, you can always learn form your mistakes.

Sleep Tight and Wake-up Light

If you could sleep like a rock and wake up like a flower, your mind is free of trouble.

Every day when I wake up, it happens to flash my mind, the TODOs that I have to attend. Today I realized that I was so light hearted when I woke up, because today I am on leave as well as yesterday, and I know that there are no TODOs. I was amazed that the feeling was so enjoyable, a day to relax.

Sometimes, if you can do your all minor things last night, minor things such as preparing the bag to be taken to office, write the daily blog entry, cleaning your table or preparing your suite for tomorrow, the morning becomes so relaxing.

It helps you to sleep tight, rather than keeping your TODO list at the edge of your mind and waking up with a troubled mind.

It is Great to be an Achiever

Today marks a great achievement in my life. My team at the workplace was able to release a major software that would create history. I have this great feeling of relief today. And I feel like I am a conqueror.

We went though almost two years of hardship to reach this milestone. However now tat we have reached that, it marks the end of an era as well as a beginning of a new era.