College seems to be so far away in memory considering the little time I get to spend with my friends from college. Work is as demanding as always, but if we try to develop an interest it would be something we can look forward to. That is exactly what I did and I am not regretting one bit of it.
Recently when I caught up with a friend of mine, she seemed so depressed. A lot of things were weighing in her mind and the usually zealous person whom I had known at college, seemed to have vanished without a trace. I am not going to get into the details of it. I found it coincidental that most of my friends were almost in the same category. Being new to the industry, the campus to corporate jump had taken a toll on most of them, life was indeed a bit demanding and they were trying to figure out a way to deal with it.
So the blogger in me got excited immediately at the prospect of having found something new to blog about in a format that I haven’t ventured earlier.
So, to all those people who seem to be at odds with their Life and what It was throwing at them every day, here is a list of things which I would suggest they keep in mind
Have you seen a child? Always smiling, carefree, unperturbed by other’s demands. They seem to do what they want even if everyone is against them. They are bothered and concerned only for themselves and at the end of the way, they win the cake!
I am not asking you to act childish but bring out the child inside you. That is the most important thing to remember and to act upon.
Of course, we are mature enough to know what would hurt others and what would trouble others, so without troubling others, minding our own business we could do those things which would make us immensely happy.
1.Smile. Laugh. A lot.
When was the last time you laughed till you fell from your couch or till your stomach hurt? Did you even respond properly to a joke that was read out to you? Did you even listen or were you busy preparing for another meeting at work? You should know when to work and when it would be apt to give yourself a break from the monotony of the day. Enough has been said about the benefits of laughing. When are you going to start laughing and enjoy? (I would suggest you watch AFV if you really want to start laughing every day. As for me, I just need to listen to someone laughing or think about a funny incident that would have taken place years back, and I would start laughing. You can call me mad, but I’m not the one stressed out here you know!). Believe me that is one of the best and the most effective methods for relaxing after a hectic day.
2. Do what draws your attention.
Have you noticed that kids play with the toys which have a lot of colors and play with dolls which are bright? That is because its draws their attention. Likewise do something which you like doing. Some kind of sports, Arts, some activity, not just your mainstream career. The joy of doing something you like, something which you desire or perhaps doing something which you are good at is something wonderful to feel. It might not benefit you financially, but doing something you like would have a special value, and the happiness it brings is unmatched.
3.Try to like what you have.
You give a toddler a toy, he would be happy. That is till you take him to the store and he sets his eyes on the numerous others toys there. Still, he was content with what was given to him. The world out there has so much to offer and it is all tempting and irresistible. At the same time learn to value what you have at hand. I have friends who speak so badly of the organization they work with and always keep saying, “I don’t like it here, it is horrible, I am going to quit”. Irritated on hearing it over and again, I simply asked her what was stopping her from quitting when she hated the place. Both of us knew the answer. It was a good paying job and she did not have the heart to leave it for the money. When that is the case, why do we continue to talk ill of it? There are thousands of people unemployed who would love to have that job. We have it and we still keep complaining? If not, we should try our best to do what we want. If it is possible, we shouldn’t give up. If it is impossible, we have to try to be content, till we search for and find something that would suit our needs.
4. Play.
Yes. Remember as kids we were encouraged by our parents to go out and play? Not just for a physical exercise but also to mingle with others and learn about how it is to handle things individually or work as a team? Some days, they might have drained our energy, but we always enjoy playing and it is a sort of diversion from the otherwise strenuous school life (Homework, projects, test! Good Lord!).
Today, we desperately need that diversion. More than just a relaxation we need to spend time thinking of something else other than problems at work, problems at home, problems at…well…problems are omnipresent. We need to excuse yourself from those problems and divert our minds to other things which would give our day (as well as your morale) a boost. We should try to make it a habit to indulge in our favorite activity, something which would give us a peace of mind when we are doing it.
5. Express Gratitude
As kids, our levels of enthusiasm were always high. We would get excited for the simplest of things, at the drop of a hat. And what did we do? We reciprocated our parent’s benevolent gestures by smiling widely at them or by giving them a big hug. It was our way of telling them that it meant a lot to us. How many of us continue to thank others, let alone parents for doing us a favor? Not just a favor, for doing something for us?
Always express your feelings and let others know how grateful we are to them. Life is a circle, and it will always come back to us. When someone remembers what we did for them and make it a point to meet us and let us know how important it was for them, don’t we end up feeling happy? When someone is supposedly having a rough day and we choose that day to let them know how important or valuable their help was to us, would they not feel a lot different? A lot better? It’s small things and gestures like these which are capable of changing our mood in a split second.
There is a solution to every problem out there. We need to decide if we would want to keep complaining about it or take steps to sort it out. Life will only throw challenges that we are capable of handling. If you are up against something very difficult, just remember that Life thinks you are capable of handling it all by yourself and meant for greater things.
good post boss..hey sorry couldnot catch up last week when in chennai..hope next time..best wishes
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Golden words that mean a lot and bring happiness if followed, for sure:)
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Great one Ashwini….loved the way you express these truths..And yeah! I have a few of these depressed friends too…i always tell them – if you are 60/70% depressed i can cheer you up, but if you are 100% depressed no one can help you except you. People who laugh loudly, laugh often, thats the kind of peeople we should be with- the others are sometimes happy just moaning without making an effort to change anything. As someone said its all in the mind- whether you choose to be happy or not
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Great pointers Ashwini. What you have mentioned is to key to happiness and enjoy life as god would have wished us for. After all we have only one life. be happy, do what we what, thank our loved ones, aur kya chahiye. Very postitive post on a monday morning.
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Good one ashwini, “Try to like what you have” solves almost many things in life
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I don't know why I keep making typos while commenting on your blog 🙂 This was an excellent piece 🙂 Deserves to be published in Readers Digest 🙂
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Ashwini, Fantastic points to note dear yes loved each one of them
1.Smile. Laugh. A lot.- energy just spreads rapidly and multiplies keeps us so lively and thankful for this life
2. Do what draws your attention.- Keeps you wanting more 😀
3.Try to like what you have.- Reminds you how beautiful life is
4. Play – teaches how to take both success and failure as it comes
5. Show gratitude: ah this one thing we lack we dont show anything neither love nor gratitude we keep it for ourselves, but when shown how wonderful it is !!!
Beautiful post Ash will keep these pointers always in mind 😀
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Lovely set of points. Making a lot of sense here. Enjoy! 🙂
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BEautifulll and all 5 points are so true.. SMILE it takes nothing but it does make the world brighter for sure I agree to that all the time 🙂 loved reading the 5 points .. Play I do but the old knees are giving way now so have had to reduce that a lot 🙂 PS3 does that count he he he he 🙂
and one should always be thankful for everything right or wrong .. loved it loved it loved itttttttttttttttttt 🙂
Bikram's
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Lovely five points to me 🙂
Regards
Village Girl
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Being myself in college now, I seriously need to write these points somewhere in my room!
cute post !! And thank you so much for the tips!!:)
Lovely!:)
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Ashwini… Read the blog while in Germany.
A few simple things for life (repeated so many times, yet it is true)
Life is neither a TEMPEST
Nor A Midsummer's Night's Dream
It is a Comedy of Errors
Take it As You Like It.
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Thank you Ramesh Ji.You should definitely catch up with the Chennai Bloggers when you are in town, the next time 🙂
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Thank you Sir :-).I hope it makes a difference to at least a handful few!
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Thank you Doctor ;-). And there you said it, It's all in the mind, it all comes down to what we choose.
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Thank you Jenny :-), Yes we know life is not all that fair, so with the one life that we have, we can try and make it better than what it actually is.
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Thank you Bharathi :-). Oh yes, it solves many a problem. If only people realized that!
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Thank you So much Mahesh. Glad that you liked it. Thanks for the compliment 🙂
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Thank You Ramya :-), Of everything that you've written, the last point is something which everyone would relate to. We give the excuse of time and take it for granted, and do not show our gratitude unless absolutely necessary. That ought to be changed.
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Thank you Jaish. Glad that you are able to relate to it. 🙂
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Bikram,what I meant by Play is, letting the child in us enjoy. The definition of play evolves with time. At this age, Playing would refer not just to sports, but also doing something interesting.
Thank you So much 🙂
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Thank you 😉
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Thank you 🙂 Glad that you find them useful 🙂
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good post…good points!
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Thank you Ashok 🙂
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Love the express gratitude part! 🙂 Its sad that in the race of life, we seek the in-vogue things at the expense of happiness…
Do stop by my blog! Kappu
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Good post Ashwini..I think we need to keep reminding of them all the time. 🙂
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Now “play” is something I do to relax. Though most of my closed ones don't agree to this philosophy, I still play 😀
I think the problem is mainly because we all jump from college life (cool) to Corporate life (a rat-race) and miss all the things that should've had taken top priority in our lives. And by the time, we realize it, we are already too old. The damage has already been done!
Ashwini, nice way to explain life from the kids point of view. We always miss those days, don't we? Maybe through the points mentioned in this post, we can relive some of them 🙂
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Ah, I need no reason to smile and this post has me smiling even more.
A quirky combination of all your points:
I smile a lot, drawing other's attention but I like it that way and many a times I playfully express my gratitude almost smilingly. (Now, don't show faces!!)
Joy always,
Susan
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yes sure yar..in fact i was very eager to do so..i was also remembering u..next time sure..u 2 plan a trip to dubai ash..cya..
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Good Post Ashwini..
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Thank you 🙂 Gratitude is something which is so important, but people hardly seem to get that fact.
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Thank you :-), Yes, that constant reminder is the need of the day!
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Thank you Binu. Yes, that jump happens all of a sudden that we do not know how to balance our personal and professional priorities.
Ah yes, I'm so missing my childhood days, but at least I'm happy I'm practising what I preach 🙂
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Great Susan 🙂 , You are enjoying as well as living your life 🙂 Great 🙂
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Thank You Santhosh 😉
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Sure Thing Ramesh Ji 🙂
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great points which we know but forget to apply..you brought a reminder 🙂
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Thank You 🙂
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Good tips-you are very wise for your years!!!!!!!!
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Thank you 🙂 Thanks for the compliment 🙂
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