New Year Old You?

Is change important?

Change is the only constant in the world. Seasons change, moods change, our bodies are not the same as they were yesterday and neither are the promises made by our political idols. The earth is transforming, planets shifting their atmospheric climate and satellites altering their paths. And yet we are the same? We still hold grudges, maintain resentment, dislike green leafy vegetables and abhor physical activity. We complain about bosses and teachers, gossip about friends behind their back and litter the roads of our beautiful cities. We plan great ‘New Year’ parties and yet we are the ‘same old’ people we were yesterday or three or five or ten years ago. We have scope to be better, to grow in mind, heart and and spirit; but we choose not to. We want to stay who we are. We don't want to change (even for the better).

New year resolution
World over, New Year resolutions have gained prominence. A resolve to exercise, donate to charity, speak respectfully to parents or improve ones grades. And for many these fizzle out within a few days or weeks of the year. The impetus to change gets fed by enthusiasm from friends, family and colleagues at the time of making a resolution; but the momentum required to see it through is frequently lacking. What is the reason for obsession with making resolutions and sharing them with the world, tweeting them, and placing them as status updates on Facebook? Change matters when it is implemented. Actions speak louder than words. It’s quintessential to know the difference between the new resolve versus the new person we become owing to that resolve.

How many of these apply to you?

• You feel you need to stop smoking
• You are lagging behind at work
• You are unable to make new friends
• You can’t bring yourself to exercise
• You worry about things all the time
• You end up hurting people you love
• You procrastinate and delay action
• You hold back because you're unsure
• You don't tell others how you feel

If even a single one applied to you, you know you need to change something. And who better than you knows that it is not going to be easy. The road to self-betterment is not an automated conveyor belt that can transport you without human effort. It is a long and winding path that requires endurance, willpower and fortitude. Identifying a problem is the first step towards its correction. Realizing and accepting shortcomings is the only way to developing an effective plan to overcome them...

What's in a date?

What’s in a date?

Will you be a different person on 1st January 2015 from 31st December 2014? You are transforming every minute because you grow older every millisecond and your body’s cells are changing continuously. Nonetheless chances are most likely that you find yourself to be the ‘same person’: low on energy, asocial, tired, frustrated, depressed, lazy and procrastinating. The resolutions that you make may be unrealistic and amenable to failure; only to make you become even more of what you wanted to ‘not be’. By associating change with a specific date, we defeat the purpose of that change. One needn’t wait for January 1st to exercise; a resolution made on 30th December or 29th August would work as well too. Alternately some people resolve in September that they will make a new year resolve to exercise. That alleviates the need to exercise until the New Year has actually arrived. And we see people making the same resolutions every year, the cycle continues, new years come again and again and the person is just ‘older’ but pretty much the ‘same’.

Give birth to a new you

You don't need a new year to feel new. And you needn’t demand rebirth to be reborn. Any day is good enough to become a new person, originate new tasks, offer new ideas and inculcate newer humanity in yourself. Be realistic in your expectations from yourself. As regards others, try not to expect anything at all. Strength lies in giving, not receiving. Give yourself that chance to change. If you decided to lose weight and couldn’t, it’s not the end of the world. What matters are the steps you take to reach that goal. Success is not guaranteed and failure is never final. They are both inevitable spokes in the wheel of life. By doing your best to achieve the best, not just for yourself but the world around you, you become the change that you want to see in the world.

Beware and be aware

31st of December will come every year, as the wheels of time never stop turning. However you need to make the most of not just that date but of every single day that presents you with new beginnings and fresh opportunities. If you are reading this in the middle of January 2015 or August too, don't think that it’s too late. You don't need another 31st December to make fruitful change to your life. You can still be the person you want to be irrespective of the date and time. Be a new you, today…

More than sadness?

Ordinary sadness

The normalcy of unhappiness is less acknowledged by our society that strives for perfection (which itself is a myth of perception). Dissatisfaction, sadness, frustration and discontentment are all customary reactions to anomalous events. What one chooses to do with them takes them on the path to personal growth and transformation versus depression and melancholy. Nonetheless awareness of the direction of emotions is imperative to understand one's own psychological processes. There are things we know; and then there are the masked and unknown subtleties that escape our eye. Identification of trouble is the first most important step for solving it. Clarifying the myths to bask in the warmth of reality...

Do I have 4 minutes for ME?

ask yourself and if you do have those 4 minutes please click HERE 

ME: My Evaluation

How do I score?

Who knows you better than you know yourself? After all you decide who you are, what you think, how you feel and how you behave right? You make and break yourself. You create your own opportunities. You pass and you fail, you struggle and you prosper; and it’s all in your own hands. Your individuality is discrete and hence unique to you. You know your strengths more than anyone else does. And you have your limitations, which the world may be completely oblivious to because you never expressed them so no one knew. You are your best friend and worst critic. Yet there are few things about you, that maybe you sometimes misapprehend. Things you must know. The truths about yourself.

Being in control

You are the controller of events in your life, and you can choose to escape from personal responsibility too; yet you are always in control. If you ascribe misfortunes to loss of control, you probably have been too risky with your own actions. You could believe any of these:

• I was in control (you drove the car and you had that accident)
• I voluntarily gave up control (my wife is in control of me now)
• Someone was controlling me (my boss just always has his way)
• Everything was out of control (I don't know how I lost my job)

Believe

People who believe they are in control are more optimistic, more satisfied with their lives, and have better moods. They really are able to sort things because they believe they are truly in control of themselves. If you can sort your mind and your reactions, you can practically regulate anything on this planet. Just like a medicine that does good, honesty towards yourself leads to better consequences. It is true, you just need to believe it and act on it.

Act now! Click here to connect with us if needed

Managing emotions

Mood is a persistent state of your emotion. It is something personally felt by you, the ‘feeler’ and is observable to others too. Some moods could be positive; like happiness, excitement, exhilaration, exaltation, while others are characteristically negative like sadness, disappointment, gloom, frustration, despondency or depression; to name a few. Everyone goes through different emotions in their lifetime, over years, months, weeks, sometimes even several times a day. Life cannot be positive all the time. However, when a negative emotional state is persistent, and it causes longstanding trouble to the person feeling it, it qualifies as a problem and we need to do something about it. The truth about negative emotions is that they have become common. Sadness is a ‘customary’ reaction to loss, fear is a normal reaction to danger and frustration may be one to rejection; all of which are inevitable in everyone’s everyday routine existence. All such situations involve pain and the blues they cause are warranted. But staying negative for too long, letting the pain and anger engulf you, and inability to snap out of it is not justifiable. That’s the difference between a negative mindset as a passing emotion; and a disorder that needs attention. The first step to correcting a problem is getting aware of them...

Refuel yourself

The purpose of life is to have purpose in life. People are driven to action and as long as the drive sustains, life goes on. But external drivers fade, idols collapse (to err is human) and the world changes its ideals ever so often. You settle for lesser standards because some goals seem to not be accomplishable no matter how hard you try (so you feel). It is important to find your own inspiration, build the inner desire to excel and lay your mark, develop the will to change the world around you, enhance your earnestness to put in your best irrespective of what it brings you in return. Inspiration is part of your persona. It is your personality. You are the vehicle and its sole operator. Galvanize yourself to purposeful action; you are the only fueling station available, so don't miss the chance. Be the light you want to shine on the world. You will never then be in the dark. You can do it. Never cease to take the helping hand that takes you on the path to self accomplishment. 
To take that step click here

Time to decide...

Taming the gadget monster

Parenting: A challenge

Your children need you more than you will ever be aware of. Inside that little monster who seems to ‘like’ troubling you and testing your patience after you’ve had a hard day at your workplace, is the angel who wants you to guide her, do things for her, teach her and help her because she cannot help herself enough.  Children need you to set things right for them all the time. Set their beds, their clothes, their schoolbags, homework, books as well as their limits and goals and their life…

Pearl 2