My words are a piece of legacy I'll leave behind. The goal isn’t to live forever, but to create something that will. This blog is a part of self-discovery & a symbol of my passion for writing. This is my space - beyond the judgement of others. Here, I dabble mostly in romance, poetry, haiku, shayari, book reviews, social issues that bother me and topics that add value to life with a dash of personal insights about life - an entertaining fiction itself! Happy reading :)
1. Better concentration & enhanced productivity: Brains tend to be most alert in the morning. Starting your day early improves your concentration. In addition to being able to focus on goals and task lists without being interrupted by family members or coworkers, getting up early means that by the time you get to work or school, you’ve had (EXTRA) hours to properly acclimate yourself to the day.
2. You have more time on your hands! So, the way we rush for everything is insane! We rush to jump buses, trains, rush to work, rush breakfast. It is always a rat race. Waking up early makes it very easy to plan your life. I mean, while the world is rushing to make breakfast, you are already done with that and at a much more relaxed pace too. You’ll be more alert during peak hours, as a result, you’ll get more done!
There are so many things that need 30 seconds or even less. Here are a few, I would suggest! :)
1. Boost Your Confidence and Reduce Stress (POWER POSE!): Find a quiet place. Stand up straight and lift your chin. Keep a straight posture and a superhero stance. This releases confidence-boosting testosterone instantly! You can try doing this prior to an interview or public speech. Or it can simple be used to help with stress!
2. Micro-meditate: Take that tiny bit of time, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to build mindfulness in this digital age. This helps in clearing your head, especially when you’re in the middle of the day & feeling anxious.
3. Stretch: 30 seconds is pretty much the perfect amount of time to hold a stretch! It is relaxing, soothing and makes you flexible!
4. Pay your online bill(s): It only takes a few seconds to fill up your card details and pay up. It decreases your debt/pending payments. It's great adulting! ;)
The first few days of the lock down were enjoyable, but as days went by, I’ve been feeling different degrees of anxiety, restlessness and despair. The prolonged lock down has been impacting our mental well-being in the face of a seemingly invisible pandemic. I’ve personally been disoriented, but here’s what I’ve learnt out of it:
The Art of Delegating & Prioritizing Tasks on a daily basis! This is a skill that I believe everyone should master. The problem is that many of us are trying to micromanage tasks and the people around us. But, micromanaging drains all your mental energy on tasks that don’t matter. By learning to delegate, you can free up your time and mental space for important tasks. Many of us lack the skill to prioritize. But, I learnt this art to increase productivity and output. I believe that the biggest reason why people fail at prioritizing tasks is that they lack daily planning. This is one thing I learnt in 2020 - plan daily, strike off tasks. Some days I do suck at it and am the most unproductive, but mostly I do try & accomplish what I have planned to do in a day. These skills were important to learn - as I am no longer all here & there in my head about finishing things and I exactly know what task is for which day.
Have a structure for your day in place. By this, I don’t mean you’ve got to be productive all the time. NO. But knowing the tasks and activities to be done sorts your head-space. It protects you against too much idle time, boredom, and feeling trapped within your own home.
Fear helps us to protect ourselves from threat or danger, and we’re facing a global pandemic. Fear is a natural and adaptive response, but do take breaks from fear triggers.
Balance your thinking & negative thoughts. Focus on the facts and let go of what you don’t know.
Be critical of your news consumption. This situation has made many of us obsessed with watching news & disease stats every now and then. Know that, less news intake is a whole lot more. Staying up to date is important, but getting too caught up in the media reports can be a trap. Misrepresented facts may actually increase anxiety.
Let’s be action oriented. There can be a rise in addictions, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, loss of identity and function, and relationship difficulties. Prioritize your mental health, read and indulge in activities that help you release stress.
A LOT can be done from home. Until a couple of weeks ago, working from home did not even seem like an option to most people. Until there was no other choice. And then it occurred to us, how almost everything that we did in the office can be done at home.
Buying less is possible. Save more. Lock down has posed a threat to many people’s salaries and work security. I suddenly realized I just stopped spending money unnecessarily on Nykaa, Amazon, etc. Lock down made it easier to tell the difference between the things I WANT and the things I NEED. Also given the oncoming recession, it is important to not spend on unimportant items.
I learnt professional skills & upskilled myself. Organizations like Coursera have been offering several free certification courses to people during the lockdown period. Make the most of them.
I learnt the ability to appreciate true sense of freedom. When news about the lock down in Wuhan started circulating in January, the measures taken by the Chinese government seemed draconian. It seemed impossible that these rules would soon apply to all of us, here in India! This unprecedented state has made us appreciate all of the little things that made up our lives before all this started. We were free to get a haircut, go to the gym, buy groceries & much more. We were free to buy coffee made by a stranger. We were free to visit our family and see our friends whenever we pleased. This lock down has taught me how valuable and indispensable this personal autonomy is.
Stay grounded in the present, and reach out to others when needed. The world as we know it will never be the same, and I hope neither will we. If we are privileged enough to survive this, let’s hope we break from the past and enter the world anew, carrying a fresh perspective and a greater sense of appreciation, for everything we have.
In this well-crafted memoir, author Rooney chronicles her journey towards holistic wellness as she healed from a host of debilitating diseases and her family falling apart.
She introduces readers to her past through flashbacks—physical and sexual abuse as a child, her joyful marriage disintegrating as her husband’s career progressed, and dozens of doctors piling on diagnoses and medications. In 2010, Rooney’s life took a life-altering turn when she moved to Hawaii and met Xavier, a shrewd, composed Eastern healer who guided her towards health with constant probing. Xavier’s enduring patience with her fuels her sense of humor which allows her to express her true feelings. With his help, she thrived and separated herself from the toxic environment of her family, established a healthy diet, and learned to nurture herself. But the biggest hurdle was weaning herself from the heavy medications she had become dependent on for years. As she made monumental strides to improve physically, she also engaged in the grueling emotional work of overcoming the pattern of self-destruction rooted in an inability to love herself.
The author takes you through her personal transformation, kicking & screaming, as she experiences her awakening realizing that her choices are creating her reality. This book is a soul’s journey, a spiritual story, told by a woman as she discovers that the body, mind & breath are all connected. She comes to realize that her emotional state of consciousness is creating her physical challenges. Xavier helps her to connect with that inner voice which becomes the pivotal trigger that propels her forward with confidence in knowing she has established her connection to her essence.
Rooney’s writing style is genuine and engaging; short chapters keep the pace lively. The chapters usually ended with a statement that enticed me to keep reading. The narrative weaves seamlessly between what is she experiences in Hawaii, her childhood and young adult years, and the years during which her diseases progress. Not even a physician can fix a person if they're not willing to participate in their own healing. She captures Xavier’s advice in memorable stories and phrases, like his observation that in healing, “there’s a point…where you stop swimming away from something and begin to swim towards something.”
Julie’s honest reflection & relationship with her emotional state of mind throughout the process of healing radiated with so much honesty. You can feel her sorrow when she realizes that she needs to listen to & depend on her own intuitive voice in order to go forward & be truly healthy and happy. I'm inspired and uplifted, and the writing, injected with humor and passion, makes this book worth sharing with anyone I know! Her total healing is raw and remarkable. Quite the courageous lady.
Verdict : An astonishing yet plausible story of recovery told with authenticity and a healthy dose of humor. Would recommend this book to anyone really wanting to understand what true health is all about.
Rating : 5/5
P.S : This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
If you know that you have a very short time of good health, how would you like to spend your time? You want to fulfill your dreams, spend quality time with your family or do what you are best at. Very similar is the case of Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was asked to give a lecture and he couldn’t imagine it to be his last one. Randy said “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand”.
This book is inspiring, motivating and can craft the inanimate to life. The author has beautifully combined humor, intelligence, and wisdom. He has exemplified many stories which cover subjects like hard work, team work, sacrifice, self-confidence, modesty, dreaming big, perseverance, positivity, courage and dealing with adversity. For the reader, the book is a glimpse into the life of a dying man who fights every moment to be alive and not a mere story.
He finds himself winning the parent lottery. He was influenced by his loving and supporting parents. During his life, he learnt many lessons from his experiences and has shared them in a striking manner. He also reveals how he achieved his childhood dream of becoming a Disney Imagineer, getting to Zero Gravity, being the coolest guy at amusement park and playing in the National football League (which he never made it).
The book shows a transformational change of his life when he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, portrays the changes in his day to day life and how he managed to achieve more in those turbulent times. He always maintained a positive outlook. Pausch loved his wife and children and he expressed it after every slide of his last lecture. He has dedicated his last lecture to his children and concludes by looking forward to sharing his dreams for his children. He recounts that his wife Jai was his caregiver and this means a lot to him. This book makes us feel like family to him, supporting him in his battle against a terminal cancer.
In a chapter entitled, “It’s About How to Live Your Life,” Pausch talks of his cancer and it’s effects on the remainder of his life. He described how he tried to live his life and offered some tips on coping saying “this is what worked for me.” He talks about giving yourself permission to dream big, and achieving your goals. He points out that we all have a finite amount of time and energy and that time spent complaining cannot help us achieve our goals.
The book is an easy read, that’s packed with a lot of punch. It’s a collection of 61 short stories and is a celebration of a life worth living. Pausch packed a lot of distilled wisdom and knowledge of his 47 years.
There are many nuggets of wisdom interspersed throughout The Last Lecture.
If you want something bad enough, don’t give up.
Luck = Preparation + Opportunity.
Recognize when it’s time to change your strategy. “I signed up for the hardest treatments that could be thrown at me because I wanted to be around as long as possible to be there for my kids.” When Pausch realized that, that was not going to be the case, he changed his strategy to leaving a legacy and spending quality time with his wife and each of his three children.
Get the fundamentals down for everything. Have you mastered the fundamentals for your job?
Your attitude affects the outcome of every situation.
Complaining does not work as a strategy.
Value people more than you value things.
While reading The Last Lecture, I gleaned three questions to differentiate us, and I’m still trying to answer them for myself:
What are three things that matter the most to you?
What’s unique about you?
What do you alone truly have to offer?
Written in a highly personable and conversational fashion, The Last Lecture is part autobiography, part life lesson, and all heart. Through a quick tour of his life and career, Randy demonstrates how one should live while being candid about his impending death.
Despite his condition, Randy’s writing is light-hearted and upbeat. One can’t tell from the prose that its the work of a dying man as its often peppered with deadpan and occasionally self deprecating humour.
Perhaps the hardest part of the book to read are the sections where Randy writes about his family. One can feel how painful it must be for him to plan so many things ahead – writing little notes to his kids, making videos, bringing his family on various activities etc – while in the throes of death.
It is certainly admirable that Randy manages to rise above his circumstances and to continue to be a teacher even unto his death. As the author himself has shared, the book isn’t about dying but about living. I do know for sure that it has provided me with lots of food for thought about what I should do with my own life.
What readers take away from The Last Lecture is in this same vein. The book isn’t about one man’s struggle against cancer, or the outcome of his treatment (Pausch died on July 25, 2008). It’s not an overcoming-all-odds story. It’s about making the most out of what you have, and enjoying every minute of the adventure, regardless of how it turns out in the end.
P.S: This post is among the top 15 winner posts. That's my winner badge :)
I believe that the greatest
gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you. - Joyce Meyer
We do not value health, until
sickness comes. If one is healthy, he has hope, the one who has hope has
everything for himself. Every man's sickness and ill health is his personal
property, I believe, which means we are all responsible for our health and also
for the cheer we spread around if we are in the pink of health!
As a child I was always blessed
with good health. And so I kept my parents away from the pain of carrying me
again and again to the paediatrician. On the other hand, my baby brother was
just the opposite. He kept my parents on toes as they kept rushing him to
doctors. The greatest wealth and happiness is indeed health and not pieces of
gold.
Many children of India suffer
from malnutrition. The cause is within us, but fortunately, the cure too is
within us. Children with good health are the wealthiest. “Health and
cheerfulness naturally beget each other.” ~Joseph Addison. How true,
isn't it?
For
the babies : Nutrition for toddlers should be food that is
pure and natural - not processed with additives. Toddlers enjoy finger food.
They need a break from purees and cereals. Feed them fruits or green vegetable
snacks. Give apple slices and carrot sticks when they have enough teeth and
ability to chew them. Be sure that your kids are up to date on their
immunizations. Babies need strong bones, healthy weight to stay alert and
active. Choose a natural drink for them - water. Don't let them become the
slaves of TV and computers, push them to play outdoors and please, please -
feed them healthy snacks! Raise happy
kids : Raise healthy kids!
Parents ~ let your child grow,
let his imagination run wild, let him be healthy, mentally and physically,
both! Do not script their lives. Make them eat their meals on time. It is too
simple a strategy for happiness. Let them refuel their growing brains with
regular meals and sound sleep. Apart from your unconditional love, striking a balance between eating and doing
physical activity is important for them.
Balancing
what you eat is the key to healthy lifestyle. Eating a wide
variety of foods in the right proportions and maintaining a healthy body
weight is something that everyone desires. Healthy eating habits can help
prevent heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression,
certain types of cancer, and arthritis too.
When you eat a balanced diet
containing whole grains, meats, low-fat dairy products, fruits and vegetables,
your body has the necessary fuel to run it efficiently. A balanced diet boosts
energy and enriches the body, thus making it strong enough to combat diseases. Crash
diets mostly fail because they try to fool the body. Rapid weight loss promises
are metabolically unsound and unsafe. When a person suddenly goes on a crash
diet and restricts calories the body needs, the body actually starves. This
threatens the nourishment level of the body. Never, never opt for crash diets.
I
try and stick as far as possible to healthy home cooked food, even if it is
simple daal, chawal and subzi! A void junk food as much as you can.
To boost my immunity I do have
a spoon of Dabur Chyawanprash daily. It does not have any side effects and
increases resistance power against diseases and common ailments like flu and
cold.
I exercise, if not daily, thrice a week, so that my body is active.
We all know that honey has many
advantages. But rarely do we know, that it helps to lose weight effectively and
in staying healthy? A Times Of India report quotes that you can drop a dress
size by simply consuming 1 teaspoon of honey every night before going to bed.
Simple, isn't it? Honey helps burn a lot of fat and increases stamina. During
sleep, honey works its magic and burns fat. Magical, isn't it? I make sure I have a spoon of honey before
going to bed every day. I also give
a healthy start to your day with a spoonful of Honey with a glass of warm
water. The key to being healthy is a
combination of healthy diet, honey and exercise!
Apart from that, my tips on
staying healthy, in a nutshell are:
-Get enough sleep at night. By
not allowing our body sufficient rest, the immune system will sputter, and as a
result, not function at full capacity and become vulnerable to common
illnesses. A healthy, deep sleep is important!
-Consume plenty of water. Water washes away toxins, allergens and wastes
from our body. It keeps our immune system operating optimally while improving
the way we feel, look and live.
-Exercise. An increase in blood flow associated with moderate exercise
helps to circulate antibodies along with white blood cells necessary to fight
infection more quickly. As a result, this provides our bodies with an early
warning system to ward off potentially damaging germs. In addition, the
increase in body temperature as a result of physical activity aids in
inhibiting the growth of bacteria; thus allowing the body to fight infection
more effectively. Exercise can be something as simple as brisk walking.
-Eat a healthy and well balanced diet. To strengthen your immune system,
you need to first avoid the things that weaken it. Cut back on junk and fast
food, however tasty it may seem. Stick to fresh fruits and veggies. It is very
challenging in the world we live in to obtain sufficient nutrition with the
foods available to us. They are over processed and void of many essential
nutrients.
-Cut down the stress. Stress
can be avoided by partaking in relaxation activities such as yoga, tai chi,
meditative breathing and muscle relaxation.
-Stay Happy. Have a
positive attitude. If you are always complaining, always negative and always
expect that things are bad and only getting worse, you run the risk of
compromising your immune system. Instead, think positive, live in the present
moment and do not take things too seriously.
-No alcohol, drugs, coffee or smoking. It depletes the immune system and
body of important nutrients and eventually damages your overall health.
-Increase your intake of antioxidants. Our Indian culture is famous for
Ayurveda, herbs. Our generation needs to relive such boons of the past for us
to be an immune nation.
-Personal hygiene. Keep your hands washed before preparing
foods/eating/touching your face. Use hand sanitizers or use anti bacterial
soaps.
Health is wealth, is an old
adage! ‘Jaan hai toh jahaan hai’, ‘Sar salamat toh pagdi hazaar’, well say it
in any language, they all mean the same, “Save your head first, your
possessions should not be your priority. You can buy worldly things anytime later,
but not health.”
However
busy you are, always strive to be #ApneTareekeSeHealthy. Do any activity
that keeps you active, eat healthy and drink lots of water, don't skip this
part.
