How To Keep Going In TOUGH TIMES
Remember those times we were on a steep uphill climb in life? Surely, everyone went through their respective TOUGH TIMES in life. Problem is, that is part and parcel of our life and there's NO way to ever shield or exempt us from those episodes. What we need to face head-on is How To Keep Going In TOUGH TIMESπππThe harsh reality we continue to face is that our world itself has been lurching from one crisis to another. After that global pandemic, which did cause dramatic changes how to conduct our daily lives, economic uncertainty has creeped in [WHO has not heard of escalating inflations in almost all countries?]. Even social and political turmoil were NOT left behind. Then we factor in the personal traumas people also need to deal with. Declining health, unemployment, separation/divorce or worse, even violence and accidents aroundπππSo indeed there is just NO WAY for us to avoid sorrow, adversity or distress in life. BUT here's something to soften things up, HOW TO KEEP GOING IN TOUGH TIMES. The least we can do [within our limitations] is to 'smoothen the rough waters' because it is imperative that we REGAIN CONTROL of the situation at hand. Easier said than done but we need to better adapt to unexpected life-changing events πππThe more difficult part is for us NOT to tag our inadequacies as a CHARACTER FLAW when sometimes we're more sensitive to emotional distress and are finding it difficult to cope with hardship OR adversity. Our favorite character-building trait to be nourished is RESILIENCE. It is NOT such a 'macho thing' to build RESILIENCE because that is an ongoing process that requires quite an effort to build and maintainπππWhile it is often difficult to imagine anything good coming out of traumatic experiences, building RESILIENCE can help us find any [and sometimes the remaining] POSITIVES in the most difficult moments we would face. Think of a life where the gloomy clouded skies will deter us and dampen our spirits to carry on our pursuits. While it's NO CAKEWALK, HOW TO KEEP GOING IN TOUGH TIMES is no rocket science✅✅✅No one size fits all. That explains why we're here, to share my 2-cents where it's worth it.
Monday, October 16, 2023
Being Thrown Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire
Being Thrown Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire
You and me will agree that being in that frying pan alone will be an ordeal because we could end up TOAST. But can we agree farther that Being Thrown Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire will be the 'mother of all ordeals'? Even the multiplier effect of the intensity of that 'HEAT' where we get directly exposed is already unfathomable. Let's simplify things. What if you were fighting gangs all by yourself but it was a 'cat and mouse' tiff as you were smart enough even when ON THE RUN. Not until you would realize that being on the frying pan is not the end because Being Thrown Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The FireπππLooking back, I've been into the frying pan countless times in the past. And for me to downplay those ordeals will make me a sheer hypocrite because the SURVIVAL RATE is considerably on the low given that during those situations, all the CARDS ARE STACKED against you. And as you slip and slip down the line, your remaining hopes continue to flicker and dwindle until you up with a single coin where you will end up with just two options, of flipping that solitary coin. Unfortunately, there is a fair chance that HEADS YOU LOSE and TAIL YOU [still] LOSEπππ
Comparing things apples to apples, having a tiff or even a heated fight within your family makes you [STILL] better off versus a worst case scenario when and where either family member has already WALKED AWAY [and probably having BURNED THE BRIDGES] by then. At that point, that becomes analogous to Being Thrown Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fireπππ
You might get back at me and ask, HAVE I BEEN Thrown Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire? Nein. Nada. Het. Tidak. Otherwise, I won't be right here on my laptop, spending a luxury of my personal 'off time' for my deep-seated passion to blog and write. In case you want to push me farther and throw a hypothetical question WHAT IF I was Thrown Into The Fire? Good grief. IF I may play my 'Nostradamus' card, I'll sadly admit I'm non-existential IF that I ever ended up that pathπππAll is NOT lost though once you end up Being Thrown Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire. So how? RUN RUN RUN for your life. This is NOT the end-of-the line for you but the insight we're picking up today is, summon anything and everything within yourself and will yourself out because Being Thrown Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fireπππ
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Choose Your Battles
Choose Your Battles
Hey Hey Hey, if we are fully armed, can we just go out there, pick on anyone and expect to remain unbruised and end up as the last man standing? No sirrrrrs. Even history tells us that the generals from way way back. Napoleon, the great French general who was heavily bemedalled and decorated with so many battles won found his ill-fated invasion of Russia as the final nail on his coffin as the sheer size and climate of Russia decimated Napoleon's forces. If only he heard that we got to Choose Your BattlesπππKnowing what battles to fight [or which ones you should either avoid or leave behind, or worst, even walk away in the middle of the skirmish] remains the most critical to success. If and when we find ourself fighting too many battles [on too many fronts], trust me, you and me will end up heavily drained whether emotionally, mentally or even physically. What then worsens things is that the quality of life and even our performance whether at work or in our business will be impacted. Who says fighting too many battles will NOT take its toll on us❓❓❓So HOW do we CHOOSE OUR BATTLES? Thinking that you have to fight a battle that actually belongs to someone else is a very easy mistake to make. Sometimes we do get involved in another person's battle without even meaning to. Alternatively, we might be the kind of person who likes to 'stick it up' on behalf your timid colleagues. If at all, RESIST falling into that trapπππThen, down the line, let's ask ourselves, WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL WINNING THIS BATTLE MAKE IN OUR LONG TERM? To answer that question, step back and look at the BIG PICTURE because that might mean your strategy. OR your relationship with your boss at work. OR might mean the direction of your career [which you DON'T want to get derailed]. When you consider all the possible outcomes, assess how will they affect the BIG PICTURE❎❎❎Then flip the coin and ask yourself, WHAT IF YOU LOSE that battle? This is the way to go, assess things both ways. An evaluation of the downsides is NOT a reason to avoid going to that battle BUT instead weighing the downsides against the upsides in a clear-headed fashion will help us down the road to identify if IS IT REALLY WORTH FIGHTING THAT BATTLE? Then if you DON'T fight that battle, will you ever live with yourself afterwards? Point is, whichever tack you take, you should NOT be remorseful or regretful at all in the future. Do Choose Your Battles in lifeπππ
No Perfect Time BUT Now
No Perfect Time BUT Now
Everything AS IN everything starts with an IDEA. From that time that seed of an IDEA pops-up, that's when each of us will be plotting our own respective paths. NO common tracks for all. NO super highways for us to cruise akin to the F1 races. NO flight plans similar to those supersonic plans. IDEAs will then take their own ways to germinate. So when is the perfect time for that IDEA? No Perfect Time BUT NowYes folks, this is the blunt question we should confront ourselves IF and WHEN we end up in that predicament. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? The pitfall here most of us suffered in the past is that we [wrongly] thought it's always a proven formula for success if we let things evolve and take its own course because pushing hard will doom us to failπππ
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Wife Knows Best
Wife Knows Best
Stumbled across the Quora.com post by Rebecca on 08.25.2023, to quote: JIM HAD AN AWFUL DAY FISHING ON THE LAKE, NOT CATCHING EVEN ONE. ON HIS WAY HOME, HE STOPPED BY THE SUPERMARKET AND ORDERED FOUR CATFISH AND TOLD THE FISH SALESMAN: PICK FOUR LARGE ONES AND THROW THEM AT ME. THE SALESMAN ASKED, WHY SHOULD I THROW IT TO YOU? BECAUSE I WANT TO TELL MY WIFE I CAUGHT THEM. THE SALESMAN SAID, OH OK BUT... I SUGGEST YOU TAKE THE ORANGE TROUT. WHY? BECAUSE YOUR WIFE CAME IN EARLIER TODAY AND SAID THAT IF YOU CAME BY, I SHOULD TELL YOU TO TAKE ORANGE TROUT. THAT'S WHAT SHE WANTS FOR SUPPER. Oh Oh Oh...... Wife Knows Best⏳⏳⏳
So, do we agree on that Wife Knows Best? Me thinks, NOT just conditionally YES but absolutely YES. But of course, right? When you spend your non-work and non-business life with your spouse/partner, it is a given that everything, lock, stock and barrel will be mutual and common for couples. BUT heard of couples who purportedly endured and lived together for many decades but in reality, living their OWN SEPARATE LIVES❓❓❓I remember when I resided in India for almost a year, living and breathing like a typical Indian. And getting privy even with sneak previews of their private lives, like one of my male colleagues in my project had a prospective bride. And the bride's family reserved a hotel function room for the formal 'meet up' between the two families. Lo and behold, the prospective bride's credentials was presented by her family, like a convent-bred, legitimate scion from the middle class, graduating from a top notch university. Being very new and unfamiliar [at that time] to the Indian culture, that was an 'eye opening' experience for me then❗❗❗Fast forwarding today, how come we still here HAPPY WIFE, HAPPY LIFE? BUT to correct the off-track and unfair interpretation of this favorite one-liner, it will be the worst disservice to all wives if this meant that wives are material-centric? NO sirrrrrrs. On the contrary, if a wife leads a HAPPY LIFE, that kind of positively reflects back to the fact that Wife Knows Best is more telling because it [very likely] implies that we have a wife at hand a wife who Knows Best in its totalityπππSo, you might get back to me and question me why I seem to be beating around the bush. So how can we all align so that Wife Knows Best? As heard quite a thousand times, IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO. No single superman OR superwoman can carry the weight in your married life. Instead, consistently calibrate so that Wife Knows Best✅✅✅
Why Humility Pays Off
Why Humility Pays Off
Is it true that Humility Pays Off? Really? WHY? HOW? Let me share this joke from Quora.com courtesy of Dale Bishop's post on August 17th. Three men were sitting in the same row of the Boeing 767 waiting for their long haul flight to take off. As the airplane got airborne, , the guy on the left blurted "Admiral, U.S. Navy, Retired, married, two sons'. The guy on the right blurted: 'Admiral, U.S. Navy Retired, married, two sons, both surgeons'. The guy in the middle humbly and meekly said: 'Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Navy. Retired, never been married, two sons, both Admirals' ✅✅✅That's NOT to say we should NOT display our own confidence as a leader, whether in school OR at the workplace OR out there in the market but it's just that we need to temper our confidence with HUMILITY. Yet, as we all aspire to be leaders [YESSSSS, admit it folks, everyone of us is nursing that hope to be a leader in our own way], we all need to come to terms as to how much essential is HUMILITY for us to reach that zenith of effective leadershipπππSo WHY exactly? Experts have embarked on studies which led to the same conclusions that proves how impactful HUMILITY is. Primero, it does allow us to LEARN as most successful people learn from their own mistakes to improve their performance and even teach others. HUMILITY comes into the picture because it is an essential foundation to be able to admit that we're NOT perfect and that we will benefit from reflecting on WHAT we should do differently, all because of HUMILITYπππFurther, if there is anything HUMILITY proves, it does prove that we DON'T KNOW IT ALL. And this is one very envied hallmark of a LEADER. Someone who admits his lapses and inadequacies and in the process, even picks up lessons and improves himself along the way. Now, here comes a positive spin of that 'DOMINO EFFECT' when HUMILITY tends to create 'ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES'. By admitting our shortfalls and inadequacies, that opens up opportunities for us to LEARN, even providing us with better perspectives in lifeπππFriday, October 13, 2023
It's About Teamwork, period
It's About Teamworkl, period
Our thread today is About Team[workl], period BUT the problem is this word TEAMWORK has been one of the most common, normal and usual word we ever come across in our daily life such that it hardly carries a weight [EXCEPT in competitive sports]. But hey, TEAMWORK is an essential part of accomplishing our responsibilities and goals. Truthfully, NOTHING would ever get done without TEAMWORK. When we work together, we can get things done faster and more accuratelyπππReading The TEA LEAVES
Reading The TEA LEAVES
Reading The TEA LEAVES is something I heavily hesitate to venture or explore simply because 'Teaf Leaf Reading' a.k.a. TASSEOLOGY is a fortune-telling method that uses tea residue on the bottom of the cup to predict what the future will bring [to the tea drinker]. Then, after drinking the tea, the residue on the bottom of the cup forms different shapes or symbols , each of which have distinct meanings and many ways to interpret themπππTo clear up a possible confusion that we are venturing into 'Tea Leaf Reading', NO sirrrrrrs, we WON'T. Having said this, what we're harping is that in life, there are multiple instances when and where we tend to be in that 'Tea Leaf Reading' scenario. If you're still a student in school, surely when you receive a failing grade in a subject, you WON'T get flabbergasted. WHY? Because expectedly, you should have taken the initiative to do 'Tea Leaf Reading' of your situation in school. It's the same thing in the workplace. WHY will you get shocked when you receive an HR Memo regarding a specific policy breachπππIn your relationships with your partner/spouse and even within your immediate family, once someone gives you the 'cold shoulder' the past days and weeks, would you attribute that to just 'mood swings'? Genuine issues run deeper way beyond the surface and similar to the way the Tea Leaves will form at the bottom of the cup, genuine and real issues are buried deep down there. Similarly in life, the most difficult issues we need to resolve could be buried deep beneath way beyond the surface and it requires more than just token effort to unearth such burning issues yet cloakedπππ
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Sad When Bias Impacts Our Decision-making
Sad When Bias Impacts Our Decision-making
More than a year ago, U.S. Judge Penney Azcarate rejected all of Amber Heard's claims in her $50 Million defamation suit against Johnny Depp. We all know that Johnny Depp ended up the 'runaway winner', including in the amounts of punitive damages the court slapped on Ms Head. But NOT to question that judicial ruling, nevertheless, that led me to reopen my thoughts When Bias Impacts Our Decision-making [and BTW, this has got nothing to do with the defamation case]πππ
As each day we all unconsciously make decisions that can cause immediate results or long-term impacts at either our personal or professional levels, this led me to revisit that jargon tagged as 'MENTAL SHORTCUTS' which is a.k.a. BIASES as it may present possible challenges OR obstacles when it comes to formulating the best decisionπππWithout us endeavoring to get into the turf of psychologists, me thinks that it makes sense for us to reduce our UNCONSCIOUS BIAS by getting on the basic fundamentals of the largest types of BIAS. Let's start with SIMILARITY BIAS which means that we prefer things that are like us over things that are different than us. Likely, YOU and me went through that in the pastπππComing close to the heels is that EXPEDIENCE BIAS which happens when we prefer to act quickly rather than take the needed time to receive clarity and crystal-clear understanding. Just like when we're interviewing a job applicant, we could be relying solely on one data point straight from the job applicant's resume, which is NOT right❗❗❗The third bias has been more predominant given that recent pandemic that forced us all to continue our pursuits virtually, so to speak. So, DISTANCE BIAS is that instinct to prioritize things that are NEARBY [such as physical space or time]. This could appear when individuals look to the guidance of those currently present in a meeting, rather than those working remotely. Indeed, it is SAD WHEN BIAS IMPACTS OUR DECISION-MAKING❎❎❎
What Separates DOERs From DREAMERs
What Separates DOERs From DREAMERs
While Steve Jobs has long left behind everything in life, Apple's co-founder continues to make a lasting impact which may probably last for many generations to come. And in his trailblazing successes in life, he did identify one very 'UNCOMMON' habit found in most successful people and that's really What Separates DOERs From DREAMERsπππ
To quote Steve Jobs, 'MOST PEOPLE NEVER PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL. MOST PEOPLE NEVER ASK AND THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES THE PEOPLE WHO DO THINGS FROM THE PEOPLE WHO JUST DREAM ABOUT THEM'. Remarkably, Jobs did share that at age of 12, he mustered that unusual courage to call up none other than BILL HEWLETT, the co-founder of Hewlett Packard. And his ask was, 'I WANT TO BUILD A FREQUENCY COUNTER AND I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY SPARE PARTS I COULD HAVEπππ
Amused at that unutual 'boldness' of a 12-year old lad, HEWLETT laughed and gave Jobs the spare parts. How did Steve Jobs react? He said 'I WAS IN HEAVEN'. So, that single phone call impacted Job's life and taught him one of the greatest lessons in his brilliant career which is, 'BE WILLING TO ASK FOR SOMETHING YOU WANT'. In so many businesses today, though, FEAR keeps people from being open to ask for what they want❗❗❗
Straight from my thought processes...
Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt [FUD]
Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt [FUD] These days, the clouds are getting gloomier and the horizons out there are getting bleaker than bleak. ...
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