6 tips to help you focus on your most important improvement area this year

My challenge is to achieve desired results by engaging in deliberated actions that lead to the intended results. Often times, we do not act in consistent manner with what we know is the right things to do. There is a disconnect in our intent and action.  This is something I would like to focus for the year.

 I have used tools (6 Successors To The Elevator Pitch) suggested by Daniel Pink in his book "To Sell Is Human" to position this as a self selling pitch. This concept can be used to reinforce your focus for the year as well.

1. One word pitch: |Push brevity to its breaking point. Reducing your point to single word demands discipline and forces clarity. Choose proper word and rest can fall in place. 
2. Question Pitch: When you are asked question you are compelled to respond. 
3. Rhyming Pitch: Rhymes boosts processing fluency. The ease with which our mind slice, dice and makes sense of stimuli
4. Subject line (Email) Pitch: Utility,Curiosity, Specificity. Utility works better when lots of email- something to gain or loose. Curiosity in low demand -intrinsic motivation.  
5. Twitter Pitch
6. Pixar Pitch

Once upon a time  ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___

Here are my practice pitches on intent vs action that I will use to keep the focus this year.

One word pitch:
Action

Question pitch: 
Why are your excuses stronger than the intent?

Rhyming pitch:
Focused effort every waking hour 
Makes dream real with its magical power. 

Subject line pitch:
6 tips to help you focus on your most important improvement area this year (will try alteration)
Twitter Pitch: (will tweet)

Pixar Pitch                  
Once upon a time I had a good intention
Every day I wanted to act on it but got distracted with other things 
One day I disregarded my excuses and took a small step
Because of that I was able to make small progress in desired direction
Because of that the feeling of making an impact got reinforced
Until finally my actions became stronger than my excuses.


© Ratish

Rip it up - Richard Wiseman

You do not run from a bear because you are afraid of it, but rather become afraid of the bear because you run from it.  - William James

If you want a quality, act as if you already have it. W.J.

Your behaviour does influence how you feel and so , as a result, it is possible to manufacture emotions at will.

He who sings frightens away his ills - Miguel de Cervantes

© Ratish

Happy New Year!!

We have another chance
To go for one more dance
Don't try to flaunt the steps or spin
Just sway to the tune from within

May you forget trying
And learn to live
May you get back
More than you give

May you always be among family and friends
May you have fortitude on life's sharp bends
May you learn to conquer your doubts and fear
And go on spreading joy with each passing year

© Ratish

Didcot
1st Jan 2016

The A-Z of C.S Lewis - Colin Duriez

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world

The human mind has no more power of inventing a new value than of imagining a new primary colour, or, indeed, of creating a new sun and a new sky for it to move in.

A myth is a story out of which ever varying meaning will grow whereas allegory suggests one meaning

Lewis was convinced that through story, the real world becomes a more magical place, full of meaning. we see its pattern and colour in a fresh way. The recovery of a true view of things applies both to individual things such as hills and stones, and to the cosmic - the depths of space and time itself.

Lewis regarded the purpose of his fiction as helping to undeceive modern people, who are separated from the past, with its knowledge of perennial human values, and from an acquaintance with even basic Christian teaching about the realities of sin, redemption, immortality, divine judgement, and grace.

For Aristotle, "Recognition marks a fundamental shift in the process of a story from increasing ignorance to knowledge. Protagonists, in a sense, recognize that they are in an unfolding story - a narrative precedes the event they are in, and will reach a conclusion subsequent to that event.

© Ratish

परिप्रेक्ष्य - Context Hindi Poem

परिप्रेक्ष्य

ऋतुवों का परिर्वतन ऊषा-निशा क्रम

बह्माण्ड राग भैरव लय-प्रलय नियम

जीवन का विस्तार चक्र से परिमित

इस मंच से स्वांग हुए है अनवरत

कुछ पात्र छोड गए नेपथ्य में संकेत

भुक्त-त्यक्त-संचित कथावशेष

रंगावतरण जब होगा तुम्हारा

लीला पर क्या प्रभाव होगा तुम्हारा?

तुम ही कथा-कथक हो

इच्छा, ज्ञान, कर्म के

व्यूह में ग्रसित से

तुम व्यूह के जनक हो

गति में स्तिथि, कोलाहल में शान्त

युद्ध में तठस्थ, भ्रम ज्ञान-अज्ञान

रति रमण करती घट-पट भ्रमण करती

रूचता ठहरती, जचता टहलती

है आरंभ-अंत क्या?

महानाटक के परिप्रेक्ष्य में

है पात्र का महत्व क्या?

हर पात्र का चरित्र है

भाव से, कार्य से

हर मुक्त राग युक्त है

भैरवी की ताल से

© Ratish
Didcot 21st Nov 15

Dwelling (revised)

Lodge by pond is frail and old

Damp in rains, in winters cold

Members of its once prime cast

Are faded memories from the past

Outdoors is yet alive and young

Wilderness has spread and sprung

Vines weave walls like a suture

Hope endures in an uncertain future

© Ratish

Didcot
September 15

Assignment to review a previous poem

Dwelling

The dwelling built is getting old

Damp in rains, in winters cold

All the members of its cast

Are faded memories from the past


The garden yet looks fresh and young

With seasonal flowers that have sprung

Vines are acting as a suture

Holding it together into uncertain future

Didcot
Aug15
© Ratish

Rhyme words taken from poem below as part of poetry workshop

What Fifty Said..

When I was young my teachers were the old.
I gave up fire for form till I was cold.
I suffered like a metal being cast.
I went to school to age to learn the past.

Now when I am old my teachers are the young.
What can't be molded must be cracked and sprung.
I strain at lessons fit to start a suture.
I got to school to youth to learn the future.

Robert Frost

The knife of life

It can cut or cure

Hurt or feed

If used recklessly

It makes you bleed

The knife of life is

A weapon, a tool

The knife of life is

No one's fool

Knives begin sharp

Become blunt in time

Few craftsmen work to

Sharpen their lives

The knife is a gift

Learn to wield it swift

Life is a force

Be Generous

Didcot,  Aug 15

© Ratish

Clear lens and blurred vision

Eye shaped receptacle
Bridged
With soft nose pads

Two slender sticks
Moulded
curved towards the end

Clear high index lens
Mounted
On coloured frame

The vision enhanced
Blurred
later with reflection.

© Ratish
Didcot
Aug 15

Notes to myself: Words and Conversations

Events in recent past have led me to question some of my current mental models on conversation and usage of words.
I had to conduct few difficult conversations with individuals. Also some quips I made were not well received. I have considered retorts and sarcasm to be integral part of conversations.

Words if used in an inopportune manner may be used to misguide, incite hatred, cause hurt or even to filibuster and wash out an entire parliament session.

I required clarity around a few constructs

• What to speak
• What not to speak 
• How to speak it

These are not new questions. Some directions came from the readings:

सत्यं ब्रूयात्  प्रियं ब्रूयात्नब्रूयात्  सत्यमप्रियं
प्रियं च नानृतं ब्रूयात्   एष धर्मः सनातनः

Speak the truth which is pleasant. Do not speak the truth that is undesirable. Never speak untruth, which might be pleasant.This is the path of eternal morality. 

To narrate how things happened is not truth

Some of directions came from sages and practitioners. Kabir in his couplets says:

बोली तो अनमोल है, जो कोई जाने बोल |

हृदय तराजू तोल के, तब मुख बहार खोल ||

Words are priceless for those who know how to use it. They should be weighted inside carefully and then should be spoken out.

मधुर वचन है औषधि, कुटिल वचन है तीर |

श्रवन द्वार है संचरे, साले सकल सरीर ||

Pleasurable words are like medicine and harsh words are like arrow. It enters through the gates of ears and causes distress to the whole body .

While it will take more practice to resolve "what and how" part of the question. From the readings it is clear that I need to exercise more discretion on "what not to speak" part first. We derive pleasure from witty retort as it makes conversation lively and entertaining. The discretion part is that it  should not hurt others.


© Ratish
16 Aug

Poem: Cattle for slaughter

As walked by a farm
I noticed a new herd in the enclosure
Till recently a flock of sheep
Used to occupy the same pasture

They acknowledge my presence
And within minutes
All rushed
Towards the fence

From this proximity
I could clearly see
Yellow ear tags
They were bred and fed
As cattle for slaughter

It was their fate
To end up on a plate
Ephemeral life as captive
Unaware of hereafter
A cattle for slaughter

Further ahead
I chanced upon a deer
It moved away from me
towards the wild
It was untamed and free

On my way back I had a choice
To walk through a fenced pasture
With another sedate herd grazing
Or take longer route
Within I was clatter for slaughter
Outside I was a deer

Didcot 3rd June
© Ratish

Poem: Pieces of Sky

World appears as a dew drops
Scattered on the buds of our eyes
Outstretched hands can reach
To pluck pieces of sky

Our hopes and aspirations
Mingled with naivety
Makes journey's end
Seems almost a certainty

We start to build our castles
With rock, pebble and sand
Using unstable mortar
On an ever shifting land

We choose to forget
One basic premise
Each day we live
Brings us closer to our demise

We do't know
If our dreams will come true
Or if it necessarily should

We don't know
The things we do
Are for greater good

We don't know
At the endgame
How the pieces will rest

But we do know
That journey must end
As we all are guests

So reassess the way you live
Pluck pieces of sky and merrily give

© Ratish
Didcot
26th Apr 2015

Poem: Live

The climbs and slopes
Are the way
They are not
Trials or test

Our nature is to flow
and move on
So when tired
take some rest

You may not pass
Same road twice
So pause
To soak in the sights

Tomorrow is not a given
Today is all we have
So live
Each day and night

© Ratish
11th April  15
On Ridgeway day out cycling...

Here on Ridgeway!!

Notes to myself: Intent vs. Action

Most of us have good intent in life. Many of us do not deliver against our intent consistently.

How do we translate the intent into action? The velocity of outcome can be tracked through FPS:

• Focus on why: A strong "why" that will keep you driven. The clarity will help you choose among the options on how this can be best achieved. It will eventually help you coming back to (or not) it if it needs getting done or it may be superseded by alternatives. 
• Prioritise: Know what the "must haves" are in given situation and time frame. Think about the 80/20 rule. It may be OK to put a few things on the back burner for a while and define what success would look like for things that matter 
• Score: Measure the progress against desired outcomes. This will help you realign and provide the necessary inputs to course correct.

Challenge yourself to follow-up. Consistent follow-up is the differentiator between a dreamer and achiever.

© Ratish
Didcot

Spiritual Equation

I picked up Emotional Equations book by Chip Conley after a long while. This prompted me to think an equation that can act as a guide in my own life. The variables are well known the infinite self and self.

This seems to be a well traversed path. Seekers through the ages would have pondered over this. One verse that stands out is:

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते |
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||
Translation:
That is perfect, this is perfect, this (perfect) comes from that (perfect)
Take perfect from perfect, the remainder is perfect
May peace and peace and peace be everywhere
*Perfect can be replaced by complete, whole, infinite and absolute etc.
Interpretation:
Supreme Being is perfect; you are made in his essence are also perfect. This realization by you does not diminish the completeness of the absolute being. 

 May there be peace around your (external world), extra sensory world (Psychological) and internal worlds.

I was reminded of solving algebra/trigonometric equations earlier in life were we were to prove left hand side equals right hand side. This was achieved by performing various operations such as expansion, and substitution etc.

One particular instance I recall where one of my classmate took a very simple way of solving a particularly complex trigonometric test question. He was able to prove left hand side equals right hand side. His solution was to divide both side by zero. So both side of equations become infinity..

But it did not go very well with our Math teacher. He was enraged by the inventiveness and audacity of the solution. The student was shouted at for sure  and may  even have been canned for his ignorance. Even after all these years I recall the words  which went something like "At least you should have multiplied both side with zero but why divide it?".

This incident gives me a good way to model my spiritual equation. At one side is of the equation is infinite on the the other side self
1 = ∞ 

Then the next logical step is to have zero as denominator of 1. As attachment to self tends towards nothingness self tends to infinity.

 1 =  ∞                
 0
 Self              = Infinite
Nothingness

As long as you associate yourself as an individual being there is a barrier between you and the universe (ie. 1/1=1). When your association dissolves with the body and your actions are not as a doer then something magical happens.  Shunya  a concept that was discovered by Indians was much more than zero a mathematical number. In philosophical construct it is closer to nothingness, emptiness, void or even pure consciousness .

People in all walks of life experience this momentarily when the denominator becomes zero. They experience heightened sense of being, disappearing sense of time and exhilarating feeling of transcendence. Typically this occurs when they are doing things they really like to do. The ancient Greeks called ecstasy ie. "stand outside oneself". This is also being researched in modern times as state of consciousness called flow.

© Ratish