take it easy

Life gets hard and loved ones get harsh too. Deadlines are strict and there’s always much to do. When the going gets tough, take it easy on yourself. Don’t stretch too hard; don’t push too far. Comfort yourself and treat with respect. When every thing fails, follow the ‘take it easy’ policy!

Find time for your loved ones

You’ve been thinking of them, but have not found enough time to catch up. You wish to speak but have enough to work on. Your mind is frequently being visited by their thoughts every now and then. You told your friend, lover, spouse, and sibling, mother that you’d speak to them. You know, they’d waiting and you’ve tested their patience enough. Yes, you are busy but have been procrastinating it. Then wait no longer. In between work, whenever you plan a break, keep them as your incentives to finish your deadlines. As you are done with one task, take out time to speak, text or email them. Sometime the list of callbacks, keep getting longer and when you can’t focus. Just pick up your phone, look at the watch and give yourself that break and just do it.

When you pour out your heart, the guilt is gone. The differences are bridged and you’ll feel your loved ones have never been away.

Unclutter

Be it things or thoughts, it is important to unclutter. If it’s old and worn out, grow out of it. There’s no use of holding onto such thoughts or things that will lead you nowhere and whose non-existence would make no difference to your life.

The packed closet, overflowing bookshelves, unread emails, paper-piled desk, drawers full of parts of pens and pins, or a phone with no space for new messages…it is time to unclutter.

Whatever irritates you or gets in your way to smoothly reach something, should be given attention and time to sort. Stop, give it a though, figure out 5-10 minutes and clear it. Promise yourself to come back if you are busy. Watch your habit of making a mess around. Spot, check and work on it. Stop yourself from creating further mess like dropping a useless pen in your drawer or randomly stuffing a book in one of the shelves. Organize your things, let go of your old, worn out thoughts and make space to breathe. 

Once you've uncluttered the environment in and around, you’ll feel pretty sorted.

Lazy Sundays!

Oh, lazy Sunday! How much I love you.

After a tiring work-week, you come like a blessing. But as they say, ‘hay days are short lived’, you pass away within no time. You give me time to relax and de-stress. You come as a sweet fruit after a weeklong of hard work. It is good to have you around; I wished you were more frequent. But something that is accessible daily looses its charm, so its good you come after 6 days and are greatly loved and cherished. 

Go play in the outdoors...

I don’t see many kids playing out these days. No noise of shouting each other’s names, no petty quarrels, no sharing, no sportsperson spirit. Rather today it’s more about being at home, watching TV, playing games on play stations and Xbox, using laptops, iPads and smartphones. And that’s the tech-gen of today. Of course no one is to be blamed, but we must push them to go out and play.

Take your kids, little sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews out in the garden for a while. Play the games you grew up with, run around the trees for a ‘tree-to-tree’, form a ring or roses, go around to know who put the letter you wrote to your father, in your pocket..pocket..pocket…

It is on us to pass on the joy of playing in the outdoors, do it with them to encourage.

Greet when you Meet!

Hello coupled with a smile does the trick anytime any day.

It’s the easiest way to cheer someone up or break the ice. It doesn’t harm, it takes just a few passing seconds. Whether you know the other person or not, a hello is completely harmless and neutral way to greet. A person of any age, any stature can be greeted with a warm hello. We use it often on the phone, then why not when face-to-face. A ‘Hi!’, ‘Hey!’, ‘Howdy?’, ‘Wassup?’ or our traditional ‘Namaste!’ too are completely okay. But make sure you don’t shy away rather make it a point to ‘greet when you meet!’

Express Gratitude!

Acknowledge the beauty in life. Take time to appreciate and express gratitude. It’s easy to comment and taunt, but if you make it a practice to see the beauty around you can replace it with the habit of complimenting others. We all fish for compliments and love being liked, same goes for others. When you look and learn from the positives of the people and give out respect for who they are, you feel positivity in and around you. Quite like a boomerang, you get what you give out and you must give to others what you expect from them.

In your childhood, you must have written notes and cards to your favorite friends, teachers and of course to your parents. You wrote to them what they meant to you and told them they are the best. Continue the habit; take time in appreciating people build the habit of expressing gratitude, every day.

Weave a wonderful life...

After the '26/11' attack in Mumbai, one of the Taj Hotel Assistant was asked about his thoughts that ran in his head when he found himself surrounded with terrorists firing randomly. Many may expect him to talk about fear, terror, remembering god, family, friends, etc. All he said was, "I suddenly recalled those undone things in my life - learning to play guitar, globe-trotting and exploring newer locations. I felt how I have wasted my life till now by just thinking of earning bucks, as now I know that I won't be alive anymore to do any of those things which could have made my life wonderful for me."

Fortunately, the person in talk survived and is now taking his guitar lessons. Life gave him a second chance and he wants to make the most out of it. Not everyone gets the opportunity to play the 'second innings'. Remember, there is a tomorrow for sure, but 'may be' not. Let your life be thankful to you for weaving it with beautiful moments. This time, do what you love... on a serious note.  

You hold the key to your destiny…

We all need love and affection. A small compliment or acknowledgment, gives our moral a boost. We feel worthy and happy. Also there are times when appreciation from others makes us aware of our quality or strength.

But, why do we always depend on others and wait for positivity from outside. Why do we expect from them? Why do we rest our happiness to embrace from outside? Why do we rely on others to help us know, who we are? Why do we focus on their opinion when we have our own to cater to? Why we neglect our decisions, but trust in what others say?

When you put all your faith on others and shift to them for all your decisions, you begin to tamper your confidence. It is good to take opinion but always have your say as the final one. Never play down on your capabilities. Take time to listen to self. Accept compliments humbly and appreciate others point of view, but remember you hold the key to your destiny. Pave your path with self-confidence and responsibility.