Sunday, February 10, 2019

New Month and New hopes

The new month is 10 days in and I must say, I have a very positive feeling about this year. Why? I am not sure, but one of the things that I am noticing is ,I am getting things done that I wanted to and were pending for the longest period on earth.

The funny thing is, once I was done with some of those tasks, I questioned myself. Why did I delay this for so long? I am not the first one to criticize myself for sitting on my back side waiting for things to happen.

I have come to realize that nothing is standalone in life. Everything around us is linked, so for example, if we avoid doing something that we don't like, we end up also avoiding doing things that we like. How else can we explain the fact that , I know so many talented musicians, writers, singers, who are working at a 9 to 5 job and not doing extraordinary things they are capable of?

So we need to get the balance, balance between things which we must do ( whether we like it or not) and things we want to do. The important thing here is that , we must get things done. Getting things done is a habit, and we need to inculcate it, to be able to do it constantly. Like any habit, you can inculcate it in 40 days and you can break a habit in a week.

40 days in , and I have tried to inculcate the habit of getting things done. Where am I? I wouldn't say I am there yet, but I am closer to it, than when I started. The important thing is to keep at it and I am in the middle of figuring out my processes and ways to do things, which work for me.

These processes will help me avoid my weaknesses as much as possible and work with my strengths. It is similar to the Gallup strength finder assessment. It tells you, what your strengths are and in the order of their impact on your way of looking at things. It is amazing that many years ago, when this study was done, it talked about the exact same things that I am only discovering now about myself.

It tells me two things, people haven't changed much at the core- even with the passage of time ( centuries also), what has changed is the tools we use to express or emote. Second, I am on the right track. While everything I talked about is out there, the real challenge is in implementing it in our daily lives. Who says it is going to be easy? Will it be worth it? Hell yeah!!


Cheers
Shady West Side

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

2 weeks in

It has been two weeks since I last posted. Now is the time to give a quick update. So I listed down 5 things that I want to achieve this year. Each of those tasks range from long term to short term goals. The idea was to prove to myself that I can set targets and achieve them as well.

I learnt a lot of things( already!), that I had unlearned over a period of time. One of those things was that if everything does go smoothly as you want it to, DON'T WAIT till it happens smoothly. MOVE things around so that it happens. Case in point, I had ordered some raw materials, to move my saplings to a pot, from Pune. Unfortunately, they never arrived. I waited for one weekend, but the last weekend also, it seemed like it would get delayed. Now the saplings, really needed to be moved and so I ventured out in Chiplun. To my surprise, I found the raw materials, good quality and at the same price as in Pune.

Patience is a virtue and sometimes I have shown patience when needed. But , I am also guilty of sitting back on issues which have eventually blown up. This time, I almost did the same mistake. While I was forced to take action and make the move, I realized that ,I have to be proactive. I am sometimes so stringent on my methods and processes, that I forget that the process I set up is to achieve something and ACHIEVING my end goal is more important at almost all the times than following the process. I will always remember to think two steps ahead, but to also plan every day or revise the plans everyday.

There are four more targets for the year, and each of them is at an initial stage and there will definitely be more progress when I move to Pune. Now, I know, may be this sounds like procrastination but at this point in time, I want to take up one little thing at a time. It might make me slower, but I am surer that way.

That is all that I have for now, I will be back soon with another update and hopefully with some exciting news.

Cheers!!

Shady West Side

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

A challenging New Year

As 2019 has just risen over the horizon, I wish everyone reading this blog and everyone around the world all the luck for this year. I am sure this year will bring new challenges, surprises, smiles, some tears as well. That is par for the course.

Every year is the same, it is always about what we make of it. So how do we achieve more? How do we make sure that the year is the best possible year for each one of us?

By challenging ourselves to achieve more every year. And here is what I have set my priorities and targets for this year :

1. Grow 5 veggies in my terrace garden : The terrace garden is non existent at this moment. Heck, I am not even living in that house and wouldn't be in Pune till the beginning of February this year. But I have already dabbled in the gardening a bit and am preparing for some veggies from it, when I go there. I have already grown tomato seedlings in to beautiful plants and I hope to get some fruits later this year

2. Write Technology related articles on a blog : I am an avid technology guy, the gadgets section is the first place I walk to when I go to any mall . There were predictions and thoughts about tech in the mobile world which I got right quite a few times. And in this era , where coming out and talking tech is so easy and a pleasure, I want to jump on the bandwagon sooner than later.

3. I DIY : Making things at home, even the smallest of things are always a pleasure. My target is to make atleast 3 items in the whole year which will be helpful at home and would be created entirely at home. 

4. Get FIT : I intend to join the gym at office and run regularly. The idea is to get back to the fitness levels I had a few years ago, when the gym was an essential part of my daily routine. Obviously my targets have changed from having six pack abs to just a presentable physique ( my wife will be the judge)

5. Move to a new country : I obviously cannot reveal the name of the country , but I really am trying to move to another country. The reasons are obvious, better salary, better lifestyle and prospects. I will post more about it as there is progress.

As a welcome change , I have posted after years on my blog and to be honest, this blog post sounds , feels amateurish , hopefully the quality improves as it goes.


Cheers
Shady West Side 
( This feels so good!!!!!!!!!)