Dealing with challenges

In any situation, be it personal, professional or political, that presents us with challenges and difficulties, we would ideally like to go through the following steps in the order as given: 

1. Console ourselves about the situation 
2. Convince ourselves about the decision to be taken 
3. Prepare ourselves for the challenge 
4. Adapt ourselves to the change 
5. Survive the battleground or madness 

Even bypassing one step above results in misery and burnout.

Random Streaks XXIX

In the current socio-economic scenario, there is nothing called middle-class. Middle-class are just the wannabe rich, but actually poor people. Just as zombies that are neither alive nor dead, the middle class are neither poor nor rich. So they neither get the luxuries of the rich nor the freebies of the poor.

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Life is all about cause and effect. And this cause and effect will most probably be the opposites of each other. You will find yourself in the most unpleasant roads only to end up in the most beautiful destination. Or you may walk the most comfortable roads that lead to nowhere that you want to be. It's your choice entirely.

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Many times we find ourselves out and down. But it important to not stay, down and out.

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The best thing about time is that it does not have a character or quality of its own. It is either the right time or the wrong time for anything you do, depending only on your attitude.

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One would say, the absence of goodness is evil. I would rather say, the absence of evil is goodness. Just as no one sees success without seeing failures first, one can never reach heaven without walking through hell first. One can never meet God without making an appointment with the Devil first. So don't worry about the difficult times in life. It only means you are getting closer to the good times of life.
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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And it can also be held back by a single negative thought. Think positive.
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Like project management, life too has triple constraints. They are Health, Wealth and Family. When one is affected, the other two gets impacted automatically.
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Heaven is not a faraway place, up in the skies. Heaven is all the out-of-the-world experiences you can have right here on this blue planet.
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As the thinking becomes sharp, the words uttered becomes blunt
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When people have gotten used to crossing their boundaries a sufficient number of times, they no longer mend their ways. They instead redraw the boundaries, taking everything else for granted.
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In this modern age, that one piece of text that people will read keenly no matter how long or abstract it may be is a family will.

For everything else to be read, they want it to fit in a mobile screen.
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A second after death, you are just a body.

A month after death, you are just somebody or nobody to everybody else.
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As we sit worrying if we will have enough time to complete an existing goal or take up a new one, time passes anyway. 

Just go for it.
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The most dangerous weapon in the world is social media. And it is triggered by the most dangerous button called 'Share'.
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There are two kinds of happy successful people in this world:

One who buys an Audi to enjoy driving it.

And the one who is driven to buy an Audi.

Why do workaholics give up?

Why do people who have been workaholics (but loyal workers as per their thoughts) suddenly give up? It is because all along their body was giving up but their mind didn't. So they ignored the body. One fine day, the body suddenly gave up all its energy and told the mind it can do no more. That's when the mind realized the gravity of the situation and adapts itself to it, as it has no other choice. The mind-body relation should be that of a husband and a wife. They should love each other, respect each other and take care of each other. If the mind becomes the boss and the body becomes the worker, then you are doomed.

Leaf out of my book #2

In the times of our parents and grandparents, money was hard to come by. Every paise mattered. Building a house and marrying a girl off were a lifetime achievement. Having a car, a two-wheeler, a TV, and so on were all a luxury. Mobile phones were non-existent. The only net that people knew were the ones tied around the bed to protect oneself from the mosquito. Pizza was assumed to be the leaning tower in Italy. Woodlands were the outskirts of the city where no one ventured into in the night. People atleast multi-tasked with the hand fan made of leaf in one hand, and a book in another with a dim yellow bulb above their head. Almost everything was reused, especially rice cooked the previous night. They knew nothing about the advancements of technology we enjoy today. They knew nothing, except how to be happy, naturally. They were not sensitive about the sadness that came in the way of their happiness. They were grateful for the happiness that came into their tough life. They found time for their gods, family, friends, and for themselves. They did not buy a credit card and look into their budget every month for money to pay it off. They instead put lots of love into postcards that they sent to their loved ones. They waited for all good things in life, and relished it when they got it. And if they did not get it, they still lived a contended life knowing they gave it a try. They respected each other for they really were, not for what they expected each other to be. When they had their cups empty, they had a burning desire to fill it. Now that the cup is full, we let it go cold and instead wander in search of another cup to fill. The creative minds ran wild due to lack of fear to try out anything and everything in life. Their life let them take a break and breathe. And they lived and built this planet. We are now continue inhaling that breath while it lasts. Find a life.

Leaf out of my book #1

When I was in school, my father never gave me any pocket money. I was always broke. My father was going through bad times, and sometimes it was difficult even to run a family, pay for the education and meet all commitments. When I started college in 1993, my father gave me a monthly allowance of Rs.125. I felt on top of the world. But soon as I moved on to post-graduation, I felt my allowance had to graduate too. By 1999 I demanded a raise and he agreed on Rs.400. I felt like a millionaire. I got my first job in 2000 with a salary of Rs.4000. 10 times more than what my father gave me. I was on Cloud 9. Ego kicked in. I immediately bought a bike and a computer on installment, almost emptying my salary every month. So I continued taking money from my dad, shameless that I was! :-) But all this while I had not realized how much my father struggled to make that money, what pain he endured to give me and my sister a good education and life. My salary kept increasing, and I stopped taking money from my father. I started giving money to him every month. But I had still not learned what he went through for me to understand what I was trying to repay. One day he told me that I would become a great man someday but he would not be around to see it. I felt bad, but did not think of it much in the days that followed. But after I lost him in 2008, and started taking up the responsibility of being the man of the house, taking care of ftly, I really understood my father better. Ever since I have been making the effort to know him more everyday, and thinking about the fact that, even if I became the President of the US tomorrow, my father is not going to be there to relax in the White House, to smile while he rested and drank a hot cup of tea. But that's ok. Some things are meant to be exactly the way they are meant to be. He lived his life and I have no knowledge or right to judge it, to tell if he lived it well or not. But my life is in my hands. And all that matters to me now is, what legacy will I pass on by my life as an example. Everyone will find their way through the darkness by the light that shines in their mind, for this dark path is within themselves that they need to illuminate. Why do you want others to wake you up, when it is your eyes that are closed?

Say No to anger

On many occasions, or over incidents in life, we tend to give in to anger that builds up inside us, thus reacting in a way that satisfies our ego at that point of time. However, at that very moment, our intellect fails. When we have cooled down, we realize that we have not only proved ourselves to be an emotional fool, but have also given away our future plans to the people who are the cause of our anger in the first place. This outburst in a moment of angered lunatic impulse does not serve us any purpose. Instead, take a minute to think with a calm mind. See where you stand amidst that situation. Get your bearings and think over your next steps. Then just move forward towards your goal. Don't expect people to understand you, and see you for the person you really are. That expectation is just not realistic in this world. So whatever you do, put a lid over your anger and keep your focus on your higher goal. Rise above the minions. Remember, if you bark at the pig, it will not change to become a human. Only you will end up becoming a dog.

55F/Flash Fiction - Story #3

Guy wakes up in the middle of the night to his wife pulling his blanket. He smiled, for she always did that with his blanket. Then he remembered that she had gone to her mother's house for the weekend.

55F/Flash Fiction Story #2

Husband comes home to find his wife in the kitchen, and hugs her. She smiles at him saying she will make him a hot cup of coffee. Just then his phone rings. It's his wife saying she will be late from office as she is tied up with a lot of work. 

55F/Flash Fiction Story #1

Suffering from severe cold and ear pain, I had stuffed both my ears with cotton so that the cold air wouldn't get in. But alas, as my hearing was blocked, I could not hear and know what I spoke.

Random Streaks XXVIII

If time travel was possible and we could travel to the past, then we would never get past our present to reach our future. If time travel to the future was possible, then we will never ever appreciate the present. The best lived life is the one lived in the present, thus automatically manifesting a glorious past and a curious future.

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Life is governed by physics. If this is understood well then we will understand the mechanics behind how this world functions. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That is why, what you give, good or bad, is immediately replaced/refilled by the universe, back to you. So give, to receive.
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Build a garden with your heart and God will water your plants.
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Human belief system and spirituality, in a nutshell - A good man does good, for he wants to go to Heaven when he dies. But in his journey, he thus suffers Hell on earth for being righteous. A bad man knows he is going to Hell when he dies. So he does anything it takes to enjoy Heaven on earth instead.
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If you have only one line of advice to give your children, let it be - do only those things in life that you can tell about proudly to your mother.
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Many people fight and argue not because they have truth on their side, but they have lies to cover.
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One of the major reasons why relationships or friendships fail is because people try to judge the other person based on their own limitations and prejudices rather than by the merits of the person.
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Dreams come from the passionate heart. But it's realization comes from the focused mind.
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When at war, you may hate even your best friend. But when in love, you will have compassion and empathy for your enemy also.
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My greatest pain is not in my own suffering but in knowing that I could not take up the pain of my loved ones so that they could have lived happily. The happiest pain one can suffer in life is sacrifice.
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There is a reason why God gave humans the power of destruction of life but not its creation. It is to let humans survive or fall as a race by their own thoughts and actions.
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When dealing with problems in life, never confuse yourself between excuses and problems. Excuses are what your fears create for you. Reasons are what your experience and rational mind unearth for you.

Fear and Miracle

Both fear and miracle can defy logic. It is up to us to choose.

Every leap of faith

Before every leap of faith,
there is a heap of doubt.
With a constant creep of fear,
the climb appears very steep.
Though efforts and confidence run deep,
the initial luck is just a neap.
But with persistence comes a small bleep of hope,
gradually leading you to reap the fortunes.

Cause and Effect

Life is all about cause and effect. And this cause and effect will most probably be the opposites of each other.

You will find yourself in the most unpleasant roads only to end up in the most beautiful destination.

Or you may walk the most comfortable roads that lead to nowhere that you want to be.

It's your choice entirely.