Tag: work

Life

Life lessons from today

1. Taking notes while reading is an excellent way to grasp (and re-read) important information.

2. Don’t worry about the next 8 years, think about the next 8 days and executing super hard on them.

3. “Don’t charge for how much time it takes you. Charge for the value you provide.” – Ankur Warikoo

4. Hanging around with the right people is priceless. Even if you’re paid less, figuring out how to earn money from other sources would be easier.

5. What you think about, you being about. Never the other way round.

6. Spending less time on Twitter and Instagram is a phenomenal saving of your time. Time = money. Period.

7. Feeling sad is a habit more than circumstances. So is feeling happy no matter what.

Work & Business

The equation

A boss is happy when they get the desired results from the employee – without following up.

An employee is happy when they get the desired results from their boss – without following up.

Thoughts

Do you want to change the world?

To shout is not power. It is lack of power.

To demean people isn’t truthful. It’s lack of self-control.

To check phone every three minutes is not being there for your team. They want you to be easy before anything else.

As we get caught up in this endless wave of doing what the world says is right, we forget that the world needs more people who are aware, not a photocopy of the world we need to change.

Work & Business

Does the culture of your company matter?

Today I saw a dance video of a friend of mine. She apparently was dancing with her college gang. Their energy, sync in moves, facial expressions and body language – revealed more than words ever could.

Here’s what my little knowledge of psychology tells me:

  • The people we surround ourselves with determine who we become.
  • Even they didn’t know that their friends play so important role in their happiness.
  • It is the best thing if we choose our people wisely, and if we don’t that’s a doom on us.

But why are we talking about this?

Because I was a star player in my first job because I was nurtured that way.

In my second job, things changed drastically because:

  • I asked a lot of questions, which made my manager believe I am getting too excited and I don’t know anything.
  • I was always happy and booming with joy, which was also perceived as a sign of dumbness.
  • Most importantly, there was once a trainer who was invited to our office. Those days my manager wasn’t talking to me (yes, that also happened!) because I had taken two days off owing to ill health. My work was in sync, so I attended the one-hour zumba session that the trainer conducted.

And damn, after that session it was a guilty feeling that encircled me. The feeling that I should have sat stuck at my desk because my boss would like it – I just didn’t want to be limited by that feeling so I attended the Zumba session. And more than anything else, it was organized by the HR of the company, and I, inter alia, received a formal email from her for attending the session.

This was just one instance, I could lay at least ten such instances that made me feel small in the organisation. Btw, instead of teaching me how to solve difficult problems, my manager used to ask me: “Will you be able to do it?” This wasn’t because I had proved my inability to him, it was because in our informal conversations he always highlighted how he felt men were more apt to doing this job.)

Was I wrong? Yes, in the desire of joining that organisation, I was wrong. Was I wrong in my stint at that workplace? Well, only if curiosity and cheerfulness are wrong.

In a fortunate tale of events, my leader did not like me and asked me to “look for further opportunities” because I didn’t fit the bill of fitting in.

I did get out of the organisation, and it was the best thing that happened to me.

Now, before we conclude, there were some good things in the organisation:

  • They did provide me bread and butter
  • The operations and sales team were driven to meet the customer needs, always
  • We had a break of one month after working for two months (good as well as not so good as all drive was lost).
  • My manager (yes the one who stopped talking to me) was cool and calm (sadly not driving me to performance.)
  • He said he felt bad about the leader asking me to leave, and it was all in good intent. He treated me like his daughter and perhaps because of which never bothered enough to make me bold enough to face the muddy waters of the job which is of the most importance to perform.

But this post isn’t necessarily about what was good in the organisation that I worked with, and what wasn’t. It was more about the culture. All organisations are the best – if they hire the right people

My friend was dancing along with her friends and they all enjoyed it. I danced with my colleagues and my non-communicative manager felt worse because of this. Of course that guilt slid into me. Of course that did affect me.

That is why it is important to review the company and the culture you are working with.

It is going to be hard, but so is it hard for the company to find the right fit for them. If they could do the emotional labour of being patient and going through the difficult stuff, so is it your responsibility to move the needle and go to the place you would be proud to say in your first page interview.

Knowing Yourself

Why do we reflect?

You reflected on something that you wanted to change.

And you decided to change.

The question is: Till when?

Not only for one day or two. What are you doing to make change stick?

Before forming one more new habit and failing at all of them and calling yourself a failure, create a plan for sticking to just one habit.

And then the next. Drop by drop. Dip by dip.

Work & Business

The equation with boss

Boss.

The moment one uses this word, it comes across as someone who is dominating, trying to pull you down, and thinks nothing in your interest, only in the interest of getting work done.

While I have worked with several bosses over the past years, I understand getting a good one is merely a chance of luck. Otherwise we are all doomed.

When you have a good one, there may be times when you may still want to change parts of their personality.

Of course, you may be considering job switch or client switch (because the client is also a boss) or making any other move, there is something you can always change, which is: becoming more elevated in your state of mind.

This may sound like the most obvious answer. 

Feeling bad and rejected because of boss? Make a more elevated state of mind.

Feeling resentful towards them? Create a more elevated state of mind.

Want to do gossip about them? Create a more elevated state of mind.

You may actually not want to do that in all these situations, and just go and deflate their car tyre as an easy option.

However, here’s the harsh reality friends: Unless you change your own attitude (no matter how good it is right now – remember, elevation 😇), you won’t have the power to change your attitude towards someone else.

By all means keep looking for a new job if this one doesn’t feel right for you. 

However, in the midst, in the process of finding out a new one, is it really worth your time to spend emotional and mental energy on someone who probably doesn’t care? Perhaps they are going through a bigger life problem that you aren’t aware – and their behavior is simply a reflection of that problem. Maybe their kid is not as bright as you and that’s why they want to pull you down.

Perhaps none of these reasons exist and still they aren’t humanly nice to you. Everyone is fighting a battle we don’t know – not even about our immediate family.

To make the change outside, starting within is perhaps the first step. And the last one. And all the steps in the middle. Everything else will be taken care of.

No, no one would change because of that. But you won’t be losing yourself in the process of coping up or finding a new boss. That’s when, you become your own boss.

People

We, the humans

Just because we are humans, we will thrive in accordance with living with other humans.

This would, in itself, make the process difficult because all humans are different.

However, if you learn to be easy, things are going to change – because you cared for the common good, you cared to make the other person feel good, and also you didn’t care to follow the angry zone of the world and marched to your own beat of ease and peace.

Life

Patience

Today an Amazon packet was to be delivered. The boy reached on the ground floor, and called.

Since I didn’t receive, I immediately called back, however was unreachable.

So I went to the balcony of our first floor home, and saw him.

He asked for my name first. I responded. Then he asked for his number that flashed on to my screen. Then he even asked for my number that was there on the package. For no reasons, no one has ever done that.

A part of me wanted to get angry at him. However, I told myself: “He must also be in pain for going out and meeting so many people in these conditions. More so, maybe he had lost a valuable packet in the past for not doing due diligence.”

This suddenly stopped me from getting angry. And gave me perspective.

We choose our emotions. And then, those emotions choose us.

Life, People

If you’re feeling negative

If you’re feeling negative because of someone, there are two options:

You can talk to them. Or you can’t.

If you have the relationship to talk to them, please do. It will clear all the mist.

If that relationship is not where you can talk, does it make sense to lose your sleep over? Perhaps the person needed to be talked to, is you.

Truth be told

Is truth false?

If you choose to show your authentic self, it is amazing how many people would offer themselves to help you.

Society has taught us to show only goodness and beauty, and that is what brings respect from others.

The real thing, if surfaced to the top, would bring in reality from everyone else as well.

Collectively, we will take things forward, by showing where we lag.

Otherwise, false impressions will create false realities, which will serve no true purpose.

Life

How to find that balance

Today I was supposed to meet some deadlines.

Then my niece came over, and she came specially to play with me.

So I had two choices – to scold her to come uninformed, or to play with her.

I did the latter.

Because you know what?

I have always stood by doing great work. So now I had a great bandwidth to delay.

It’s all about finding that balance. Do epic work to such a large extent, that when you don’t, it doesn’t make any difference:

Life

Is nepotism real?

We have witnessed real life examples of nepotism…at least for Bollywood.

While I reality, nepotism exists everywhere.

You may do all the good work however the boss has someone else as their favourite.

So be it even if you go volunteer for a good cause.

We all are lying on different spectrums of that.

The goal, then, is not to cringe about it.

The goal is to decide what you’re going to do despite it.

Life, Success

When you have a terrible life problem

Someone in my circle, is going through a tough time in their life.

They have been going through a lot of tough decisions that they want to take.

Last couple of days, we got to spend some time together.

I spoke with them on some days, and they were okay the next day.

Today they’re back to square one, wishing and wanting the world to change.

Here’s the secret about the world: It will change the moment we change.

In order for us to change, it will:

a. initially require focussed effort

b. an effort to leave your bad habits

c. the belief that in order to change your life, you need to change your life.


The dependency on people is short lived. You get to spend your entire life with yourself. What you choose to do when no one is watching, is what you get to become when everyone is watching.

Work & Business

Feeling worthy each day!

Warren Buffet says that he enjoys his work so much that he would tap dance to work, and paint on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel.

Life is supposed to be like this.

At a point of time in my life, my life didn’t look like this. I hated my days.

Yet I continued investing in my learning.

And what came out of it, is totally novel.

Life feels blissful. Even if I work more, it is the best version of my life so far. Still to get better each day.

The thing that saved me, that will probably save you as well, is: investing in my learning each day. No matter what.

Everything else is just a byproduct.

Knowing Yourself

To feel whole

You will feel whole.

You will feel better.

You will feel you belong.

You will feel you matter.

And you do.

The problem is not you feeling bad or empty. The problem is you not acknowledging it. When you do, you immediately take the dagger from the emptiness to yourself. And then you begin.

Success

Candy Crush rules

It is hard.

The easiest thing is to sit on the couch and eat French fries. Or play Candy Crush.

Waking up in the morning and working out relentlessly didn’t come easy to Jordan as well.

It is going to take a lot out of you to get there. Yet if you don’t make the efforts to get there you will get to a place it would be very difficult to get back from.

Working requires hard work.

Doing nothing requires hardest work to deal with yourself.

You get to decide.

Knowing Yourself

The feeling of emptiness

It’s a feeling that just doesn’t go.

Or sometimes I mix it up with my introversion and love for work.

This is not for likes or comments, just to reveal a wall that’s been hiding.

And I do end up breaking it sometimes, only to come to the stones that built it up in the first place.

That I want to go to the hall and chit chat with my family.

That I want to be optimistic along with sharing that feeling of emptiness within.

That I know that it’s okay to be okay when it’s not okay.

Yet I do none of these.

Because anything that is not stomach ache, fever or diabetes is not a disease – that our society and upbringing has taught us.

Perhaps because they would want to hide it under anger, like everything else.

Perhaps because it requires the need to acknowledge your own inner needs to be able to acknowledge them in other.

Yet on the other side of the tunnel I see hope.

And I trust that hope like sunshine.

And somehow we will manage to come out of it.

I don’t know how to end this, yet this is not the end. For sure.

Action, Process

The cooking compound interest

When I had initially learnt to cook, I’d multiply the amount of water and spices by the number of people who were eating the food.

Since I knew the perfect ingredients for my dal rice, i.e., what I cook for myself in Noida – while cooking the same for my parents at home I’d just put 3X water and salt.

Thinking it would work.

Except that it didn’t.

It requires lesser water than 3X of a single person’s water. It is just building up.

In life if we want to do something that seems humongous, we just need to begin the difficult process. As we keep taking small steps, we realise in the latter half of the journey that later you don’t have to make those 3X or 4X of efforts at the start.

The compound interest of your efforts will be more than enough to make you reach the destination.

You just need to start. Will you?

Knowing Yourself, People

Being strict

Strictness does not mean rudeness.

Strictness also does not mean lack of a great bond.

Strictness also does not mean lack of respect.

However when work is to be respected, accountability must arise.

When we let people know the inherent measure of respect, we create a space for them to respect themselves.