In our work lives, when something isn't working, we struggle with which part of problem to tackle first. Do we start with cost reduction? What about morale? Or should we begin with process improvement?
In our personal lives, it's the samne dilemma - which problem do we work on first? Should we resolve to do better with home finances? Make our marriage more fulfilling? Get rid of ten kilos? Spend more time with the kids?
The optimist says there's oppurtunity everywhere we look. The pessimist says everything is messed up, and it's as though every system is perfectly designed to stay messed up, no matter how many things we try to fix.
We pick the problem to work on, and either we fail or succeed. If we fail, we add "frustration" to our list of problems. If we succedd, a new problem pops up to replace the old one.
You have too much stress, you get diabetes and other stress diseases, to beat the stress you start to overeat, smoke or drink. To solve this, you start to spend time at gym and outdoors, the kids get neglected, your boss complains you are not spending enough time at office. You can't afford to lose the job or the kids or your health and you are back to stress again.
As they say in Landmark - The solution to a problem becomes the next problem. And the more things change, the more they remain the same Why is that?
I spend nearly a decade with transformational work of Landmark and I think fixing things in a patchwork style, does not achieve anything. The end is same as the begining, sometimes even more complex.
Think about the people you know who have wrestled with the same personal problem for years - weight, drugs and alcohol, or an unhappy personal relationship. Although they may say "I want to get help" they dont change or improve. Their actions show a recurrence. Why is it so hard to change? Because wrestling with that problem over and over - sometimes winning, sometimes losing but always struggling.
Our default future has a certain predictable shape.
The more things change the more they remain the same. - So what is the option? There is only one solution that works. That is because it is not a solution. There is nothing to fix, change or imnprove.
Rewrite a future. When you do that your actions shift from disengaged to proactive. From resigned to inspiring and from frustrated to creative. Imagine if everybody in the family could rewrite the future of the family or employees can create a future for the organisation.
That kind of transformation will create a wave of momentum.
Some of you may find the above heavy or confusing. Well all I can say here is transformation is hell of confusion and it rips you apart. But that is the only thing that I have found really works.
No fixing, changing or improving. Just creating a future that fullfills me now and it will be there for ever.
Take Care
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
No news is good news
When people of my generation (including me) were born, the world was a different place, it was a much better world.
We went to school on foot or in a rickshaw, the children of affluent few were seen on a bicycle. On the way to school we used to cross railway tracks, negotiate a steep climb and sometimes even find way through a water body. Our parents gave us guidelines on safety, but most of us never used it. We fell from rickshaws, got messed up in water or even broke bones speeding on cycles.
There was no mobile phone available, and the parents could not be communicated. Strangers took you to nearest doctor, who treated you for free and some stranger carried us to our home in our torn clothes and lost bags. But, we all got our treatment, no one died on the streets. The mother had no way to communicate the incident to father who was 20 kms away on work, and will return late night. No news was good news.
People used to write letters and address each other as respected father, Dear son, your's faithfully. The receipt of a post card from a dear one, was a source of immense joy and pleasure and sometimes sorrow. There was love and emotions in those postcards and Inland letters. The only news that needed to be communicated urgently by telegram was child birth and death. No news was good news.
In 1970's and early 80's there was one black and white TV in a cluster of 10 homes. Which showed only one channel containing programs of poor quality for 4 hours in evening, one movie in a week and one music show. However it was great source for the entire family or some times neighborhood to sit together and enjoy.
Those were good days.
Today everyone carries a mobile phone (some even two), each home has computers and internet. Each room has one TV. There is communication at finger tips. Emails, SMS, International calls, Domestic free calls and what not. Thousands of TV channels and millions of websites throw garbage at us non stop.
Today the list of dear ones has changed. No one writes letters. No one addresses parents as Dear Parents, Satkar yog, Agyakari or Your's faithfully.
We have more time for colleagues and work, than family. The relationship has become telephonic. Festival greetings are shared by stolen and forwarded SMS and forwarded chain emails. Every one watches different TV channel in a different room. Or listens to my kind of music on his Ipod or mobile phone.
This is time of news at fingure tips, the time of communication.
This is also the time of panic, anger, threat, frustration, pretense, greed and self center. Today we communicate more - and we loose more. We have lost emotions, care, respect, satisfaction and social manners.
Its time to break this addiction. Communicate less. Write letters, use pen and paper. Keep one TV in home and switch off your mobile phone at home.
No news is good news.
We went to school on foot or in a rickshaw, the children of affluent few were seen on a bicycle. On the way to school we used to cross railway tracks, negotiate a steep climb and sometimes even find way through a water body. Our parents gave us guidelines on safety, but most of us never used it. We fell from rickshaws, got messed up in water or even broke bones speeding on cycles.
There was no mobile phone available, and the parents could not be communicated. Strangers took you to nearest doctor, who treated you for free and some stranger carried us to our home in our torn clothes and lost bags. But, we all got our treatment, no one died on the streets. The mother had no way to communicate the incident to father who was 20 kms away on work, and will return late night. No news was good news.
People used to write letters and address each other as respected father, Dear son, your's faithfully. The receipt of a post card from a dear one, was a source of immense joy and pleasure and sometimes sorrow. There was love and emotions in those postcards and Inland letters. The only news that needed to be communicated urgently by telegram was child birth and death. No news was good news.
In 1970's and early 80's there was one black and white TV in a cluster of 10 homes. Which showed only one channel containing programs of poor quality for 4 hours in evening, one movie in a week and one music show. However it was great source for the entire family or some times neighborhood to sit together and enjoy.
Those were good days.
Today everyone carries a mobile phone (some even two), each home has computers and internet. Each room has one TV. There is communication at finger tips. Emails, SMS, International calls, Domestic free calls and what not. Thousands of TV channels and millions of websites throw garbage at us non stop.
Today the list of dear ones has changed. No one writes letters. No one addresses parents as Dear Parents, Satkar yog, Agyakari or Your's faithfully.
We have more time for colleagues and work, than family. The relationship has become telephonic. Festival greetings are shared by stolen and forwarded SMS and forwarded chain emails. Every one watches different TV channel in a different room. Or listens to my kind of music on his Ipod or mobile phone.
This is time of news at fingure tips, the time of communication.
This is also the time of panic, anger, threat, frustration, pretense, greed and self center. Today we communicate more - and we loose more. We have lost emotions, care, respect, satisfaction and social manners.
Its time to break this addiction. Communicate less. Write letters, use pen and paper. Keep one TV in home and switch off your mobile phone at home.
No news is good news.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Not everything needs to be fixed
Ever since I was a child, I used to look at the people who were undergoing surgeries and deaths, divorce and separations, working in a foreign land and not available to families in need. And I always was clear that there is something wrong in these people. These things happen to others, not to me.
I am different.
The irony of life is all that we hope and are sure of will never happen to us, happens to us too. As they say "The more you resist, the more it persists".
I can recall some incidents in my life too. A collapsed business, a second disaster in business, a legal fight with tenant over non issues, sudden death of a parent, emergency surgery of a child, turbulent shift in country of residence for family, and so on.
I also never imagined that I will be a successful man. Looked like it will be an average life, with a no glamor or importance. But that also ditched my belief. While going through all the turbulence in person life and dealing with disasters, I learned many a lessons.
It is surprising that in a foreign land, where no one knew me 4 years ago, I have a successful and satisfying career and social life.
But the life ironies don't seem to give up. Just when we think - "And then they lived happily ever after" - life kicks you where it hurts the most. And teaches you a new lesson.
So, should we be grateful for these kicks by life, or sulk and crib?
It took me a long time, but I've finally figured it out. When it comes to life, just take it one day at a time.
My wife and kids have gone back to our home country, leaving me struggling for what's next. I have recently been diagnosed of diabetes and stone in my kidney. Another thing I knew would never happen to me. But I just want to tell you, I feel great to be alive, am still invited to chair the social events and conduct high level trainings. I am blessed to conduct children education classes on weekends.
And I maybe here today or in India tomorrow or in USA next year.
I want you to know that I am enjoying it.And this is the way, I will live the rest of my life. As Randy Pausch said "Not everything needs to be fixed".
I am different.
The irony of life is all that we hope and are sure of will never happen to us, happens to us too. As they say "The more you resist, the more it persists".
I can recall some incidents in my life too. A collapsed business, a second disaster in business, a legal fight with tenant over non issues, sudden death of a parent, emergency surgery of a child, turbulent shift in country of residence for family, and so on.
I also never imagined that I will be a successful man. Looked like it will be an average life, with a no glamor or importance. But that also ditched my belief. While going through all the turbulence in person life and dealing with disasters, I learned many a lessons.
It is surprising that in a foreign land, where no one knew me 4 years ago, I have a successful and satisfying career and social life.
But the life ironies don't seem to give up. Just when we think - "And then they lived happily ever after" - life kicks you where it hurts the most. And teaches you a new lesson.
So, should we be grateful for these kicks by life, or sulk and crib?
It took me a long time, but I've finally figured it out. When it comes to life, just take it one day at a time.
My wife and kids have gone back to our home country, leaving me struggling for what's next. I have recently been diagnosed of diabetes and stone in my kidney. Another thing I knew would never happen to me. But I just want to tell you, I feel great to be alive, am still invited to chair the social events and conduct high level trainings. I am blessed to conduct children education classes on weekends.
And I maybe here today or in India tomorrow or in USA next year.
I want you to know that I am enjoying it.And this is the way, I will live the rest of my life. As Randy Pausch said "Not everything needs to be fixed".
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Home or Foreign? Confusion.
Why do we leave our home and come to foreign lands?
Is it just the lure of a few extra bucks or something else? What is the price we pay for the extra bone in our plate? I have been thinking on the subject for a while. Obviously all thoughts start from one's current situations and confusions.
So while I may try and make this general, the confusion is me.
What the ideal time period and age group to work overseas and specially in Middle East & Africa? Should one come with family or single?
To add to my confusion, their were as many views as people I met.
Armed with all the confusion I started to work on the issue in a more analytical way. And I conclude.
Working in a foreign land is not for the light hearted soul.
One should sell his soul and self esteem, before one lands here. There are freedom of sorts, but at the end of the year, the joy of returning home for a month of holiday says it all. We all long for homeland, because we experience freedom there.
Saving is a myth - specially in Middle East (if you want to maintain the same standards as in your home country).
To my horror and surprise, most people I met actually said saving was the biggest reason to work here. I got so many responses in this domain, that I started to look up my spending pattern. What I got was horrifying. I was spending more money as a % of my income to meet the same nature of expenses as compared to home.
Making it simple, the cost of groceries and monthly household supplies comes to 25% of salary, Education 10%, Utilities 10%, Eating Out 10% and so on. The same expenses in % back home is at least 25% less. So what ever I was saving was flowing out in meeting the cost of living difference. To make the situation worse at least 15% of income every year is wasted on emergency air travel to home & back.
So then why do people come here and slog in high temperatures and different cultures.
As my inquiry became intense I got some very interesting answers.
One type of people are who are newly married couples and they do not want to live with the family. So people escape to foreign land on the pretend of job requirement, where as they come here to enjoy freedom from family ties.
Second type of people are ones who have grown up kids, family liabilities are over, and they want to live a slow and semi retired life. High incomes and low expenses balance is what draws them here.
There is a very interesting third type and majority falls in this category. People who will not get a job for even half of what they earn here. People who do not own a motorcycle, get to drive luxury cars here. Its a mega change in living standards and fulfillment of wish lists. These people can generally be seen loaded with vulgar gold bracelets, chains and more rings than fingers.
But what about me?
Well. I like the region and the culture. Life is easy and slow, but this is no reason to live in a foreign land, away from ones family and culture.
So my advice (as if it matters). - One should come to foreign lands, enjoy the place, learn some thing new, understand new business dynamics and cross cultural operations. But don't stick around for the rest of your life. Go back to you home as birds and cows do. Love your country, contribute your life and time to your given land, culture and religion.
Home is where we belong.
Is it just the lure of a few extra bucks or something else? What is the price we pay for the extra bone in our plate? I have been thinking on the subject for a while. Obviously all thoughts start from one's current situations and confusions.
So while I may try and make this general, the confusion is me.
What the ideal time period and age group to work overseas and specially in Middle East & Africa? Should one come with family or single?
To add to my confusion, their were as many views as people I met.
Armed with all the confusion I started to work on the issue in a more analytical way. And I conclude.
Working in a foreign land is not for the light hearted soul.
One should sell his soul and self esteem, before one lands here. There are freedom of sorts, but at the end of the year, the joy of returning home for a month of holiday says it all. We all long for homeland, because we experience freedom there.
Saving is a myth - specially in Middle East (if you want to maintain the same standards as in your home country).
To my horror and surprise, most people I met actually said saving was the biggest reason to work here. I got so many responses in this domain, that I started to look up my spending pattern. What I got was horrifying. I was spending more money as a % of my income to meet the same nature of expenses as compared to home.
Making it simple, the cost of groceries and monthly household supplies comes to 25% of salary, Education 10%, Utilities 10%, Eating Out 10% and so on. The same expenses in % back home is at least 25% less. So what ever I was saving was flowing out in meeting the cost of living difference. To make the situation worse at least 15% of income every year is wasted on emergency air travel to home & back.
So then why do people come here and slog in high temperatures and different cultures.
As my inquiry became intense I got some very interesting answers.
One type of people are who are newly married couples and they do not want to live with the family. So people escape to foreign land on the pretend of job requirement, where as they come here to enjoy freedom from family ties.
Second type of people are ones who have grown up kids, family liabilities are over, and they want to live a slow and semi retired life. High incomes and low expenses balance is what draws them here.
There is a very interesting third type and majority falls in this category. People who will not get a job for even half of what they earn here. People who do not own a motorcycle, get to drive luxury cars here. Its a mega change in living standards and fulfillment of wish lists. These people can generally be seen loaded with vulgar gold bracelets, chains and more rings than fingers.
But what about me?
Well. I like the region and the culture. Life is easy and slow, but this is no reason to live in a foreign land, away from ones family and culture.
So my advice (as if it matters). - One should come to foreign lands, enjoy the place, learn some thing new, understand new business dynamics and cross cultural operations. But don't stick around for the rest of your life. Go back to you home as birds and cows do. Love your country, contribute your life and time to your given land, culture and religion.
Home is where we belong.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Laughter is the best medicine
Laughter is the best medicine. If you can laugh when you are ill you will get your health back sooner. If you cannot laugh, even if you are healthy, sooner or later you will lose your health and you will become ill.
Laughter brings inner energy to the fore. When you really laugh, for those few moments you are in a deep meditative state. Thinking stops. It is impossible to laugh and think together. When you really laugh, suddenly, the mind disappears. And the whole Zen methodology is how to get into no-mind.
Dancing and laughter are the best, natural, easily approachable doors to attaining no-mind. Existence melts into you; there is an overlapping of boundaries. And if you are really dancing ? not managing it but allowing it to manage you, allowing it to possess you ? if you are possessed by dance, thinking stops. The same happens with laughter. If you are possessed by laughter, thinking stops. And if you know a few moments of no-mind, those glimpses will promise you many more rewards that are going to come.
Before the mind disappears there open two alternatives: sleep or sushupti/ samadhi and satori. When thinking disappears, these are the two alternatives left: either you move into satori � a fully alert, no-thought state; or a fully asleep, no-thought state � sleep.
And sleep is more natural, because you have practised it long. If you live 60 years, for 20 years you have been asleep. It is the greatest activity that you have been doing; one-third of your life is spent in sleep. Laughing, how can you fall asleep? It brings a state of no-mind and no-thought, and does not allow you to fall asleep.
In a few Zen monasteries, every monk has to start his morning with laughter, and has to end his night with laughter. It will be difficult, living in a family set-up, to suddenly laugh early in the morning. But do try it; it's worth getting out of bed laughing. Yes, for no reason at all. Isn't it good to be alive?
One day you will not get up in the morning. One day the milkman will knock at the door, the spouse will be snoring, but you will not be there. One day, death will come. Before it knocks you down, have a good laugh � while there is time, have a good laugh.
And look at the whole ridiculousness: again the same day starts; you have done the same things again and again for your whole life. Again you will get into your slippers, rush to the bathroom � for what? Brushing your teeth, taking a shower � for what? Where are you going? Getting ready and nowhere to go!
Look at the whole ridiculousness of it and have a good laugh. Laughter leads to more laughter. And almost always I have seen people doing just the wrong thing. From early morning they get out of bed complaining, gloomy, sad, depressed, and miserable. Then one thing leads to another and for nothing. And they get angry. it is very bad because it will change your climate for the whole day, it will set a pattern for the whole day.
In their insanity, Zen people are saner than you are. They start the day laughing. Then the whole day you will feel laughter bubbling, welling up. There are so many ridiculous things happening all over! God must be dying of laughter down the centuries, for eternity, seeing this ridiculousness of the world. The people that He has created, and all the absurdities ? it is really a comedy. He must be laughing.
If you become silent after your laughter, one day you will hear God also laughing, you will hear the whole existence laughing with you even the trees and stones and stars.
So what are you waiting for. Now laugh for no reason
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A Prayer
Let me do my work each day;
and if the darkened hours of despair overcome me,
may I not forget the strength that comforted me
in the desolation of other times.
May I still remember the bright hours
that found me walking over the silent hills of my childhood,
or dreaming on the margin of a quiet river,
when a light glowed within me,
and I promised my early God to have courage
amid the tempests of the changing years.
Spare me from bitterness and from
the sharp passions of unguarded moments.
May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit.
Though the world knows me not,
may my thoughts and actions be such
as shall keep me friendly with myself.
Lift up my eyes from the earth,
and let me not forget the uses of the stars.
Forbid that I should judge others
lest I condemn myself.
Let me not follow the clamor of the world,
but walk calmly in my path.
Give me a few friends who will love me for what I am;
and keep ever burning before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope.
And though age and infirmity overtake me,
and I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams,
teach me still to be thankful for life,
and for time's olden memories that are good and sweet;
and may the evening's twilight find me gentle still.
Max Ehrmann (1872-1945) was an attorney from Indiana, best known for writing the "Desiderata" which begins with the famous line: "You are a child of the Universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here."
and if the darkened hours of despair overcome me,
may I not forget the strength that comforted me
in the desolation of other times.
May I still remember the bright hours
that found me walking over the silent hills of my childhood,
or dreaming on the margin of a quiet river,
when a light glowed within me,
and I promised my early God to have courage
amid the tempests of the changing years.
Spare me from bitterness and from
the sharp passions of unguarded moments.
May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit.
Though the world knows me not,
may my thoughts and actions be such
as shall keep me friendly with myself.
Lift up my eyes from the earth,
and let me not forget the uses of the stars.
Forbid that I should judge others
lest I condemn myself.
Let me not follow the clamor of the world,
but walk calmly in my path.
Give me a few friends who will love me for what I am;
and keep ever burning before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope.
And though age and infirmity overtake me,
and I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams,
teach me still to be thankful for life,
and for time's olden memories that are good and sweet;
and may the evening's twilight find me gentle still.
Max Ehrmann (1872-1945) was an attorney from Indiana, best known for writing the "Desiderata" which begins with the famous line: "You are a child of the Universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here."
Friday, May 1, 2009
What do you want to be remembered for?
When I was thirteen I had an inspiring teacher of religion who one day went right throught the class asking each one, "What do you want to be remembered for?". None of us of course could give an answer. So, he chucled and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to answer it. But if you still can't answer it by the time you are fifty, you will have wasted your life".
I am always asking that question: "What do you want to be remembered for?". It is an question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see yourself as a different person-the person you can become. If you are fortunate, someone with moral authority will ask you that question early enough in your life, so that you will continue to ask it as you go through life. It is a question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see yourself as a different person - the person you can become.
Credit : Peter Drucker
I am always asking that question: "What do you want to be remembered for?". It is an question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see yourself as a different person-the person you can become. If you are fortunate, someone with moral authority will ask you that question early enough in your life, so that you will continue to ask it as you go through life. It is a question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see yourself as a different person - the person you can become.
Credit : Peter Drucker
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Myth of the Tireless Leader
Couple of days ago I wrote about Sleep. Couple of days ago Larry Summers fell asleep in a big meeting. Larry is the key guy in Obama's Administration and is being seen as the saviour from financial Tsunami in US.
I picked up the below from a Business Blog.
And the White House press corps snapped a battery of photos to share that news around the world. Like most everyone, I suspect, I giggled at his embarrassing moment and wondered how those in the room felt about the doze.
We've all been in meetings when someone has dozed off. It usually means the person is either deeply disengaged, or more likely exhausted. Summers is clearly the latter, presumably driving himself round the clock, sleeping minimally, to unwind this crisis.
Good for him, some might say. These are trying times that demand leaders who would forgo rest to solve our problems.
No doubt, demonstrating insane stamina on the job is some kind of alpha dog badge of honor. Part of the idolatry of that subspecies of leader known as an NFL coach, for example, comes from their preposterous work habits. And I still recall an unnerving New York Times article from 1997 about various high profile business leaders (including Disney's current CEO Robert Iger, PR guru Howard Rubenstein, and then-book publisher Judith Regan), boasting about how little sleep they needed.
Unfortunately, the myth of the tireless leader is just that--a myth. The ugly truth about sleeplessness is that it's linked to obesity, diabetes, depression and, yes, increased mortality. Forgoing sleep doesn't make you a hero. It makes you ineffective.
I make better spot decisions when I've had a good night's sleep--and better decisions still, having thought about them over a good night's sleep. And I try to manage employees guided by my own experience. I don't want the new mother dragging herself back from maternity leave at six weeks if she's exhausted. I'd rather cope without her for a few more weeks and have her back "whole" and rested. I don't want people traveling on a red eye and heading straight into a busy day just so they won't "waste" the day.
In fact, getting that rest isn't a waste at all. They'll do better work. And you'll be a better leader for having let them sleep.
As for Summers, he should be well aware of the toll of running himself ragged. Neil Rudenstine, former president of Harvard University, was forced to take a leave of absence to deal with "exhaustion." What good will Summers be for helping sort out the crisis if he's forced to take a leave or collapses on the job?
Even if he survives this all, I'd feel better if he weren't debilitated by exhaustion as he makes decisions that will affect all of us for years to come.
Maybe Summers' impromptu nap shouldn't make us giggle so much as worry.
May be some people I know, should also read this, and go to bed early.
After all - "Early to bed and early to rise, may Jack healthy, wealthy & wise."
I picked up the below from a Business Blog.
And the White House press corps snapped a battery of photos to share that news around the world. Like most everyone, I suspect, I giggled at his embarrassing moment and wondered how those in the room felt about the doze.
We've all been in meetings when someone has dozed off. It usually means the person is either deeply disengaged, or more likely exhausted. Summers is clearly the latter, presumably driving himself round the clock, sleeping minimally, to unwind this crisis.
Good for him, some might say. These are trying times that demand leaders who would forgo rest to solve our problems.
No doubt, demonstrating insane stamina on the job is some kind of alpha dog badge of honor. Part of the idolatry of that subspecies of leader known as an NFL coach, for example, comes from their preposterous work habits. And I still recall an unnerving New York Times article from 1997 about various high profile business leaders (including Disney's current CEO Robert Iger, PR guru Howard Rubenstein, and then-book publisher Judith Regan), boasting about how little sleep they needed.
Unfortunately, the myth of the tireless leader is just that--a myth. The ugly truth about sleeplessness is that it's linked to obesity, diabetes, depression and, yes, increased mortality. Forgoing sleep doesn't make you a hero. It makes you ineffective.
I make better spot decisions when I've had a good night's sleep--and better decisions still, having thought about them over a good night's sleep. And I try to manage employees guided by my own experience. I don't want the new mother dragging herself back from maternity leave at six weeks if she's exhausted. I'd rather cope without her for a few more weeks and have her back "whole" and rested. I don't want people traveling on a red eye and heading straight into a busy day just so they won't "waste" the day.
In fact, getting that rest isn't a waste at all. They'll do better work. And you'll be a better leader for having let them sleep.
As for Summers, he should be well aware of the toll of running himself ragged. Neil Rudenstine, former president of Harvard University, was forced to take a leave of absence to deal with "exhaustion." What good will Summers be for helping sort out the crisis if he's forced to take a leave or collapses on the job?
Even if he survives this all, I'd feel better if he weren't debilitated by exhaustion as he makes decisions that will affect all of us for years to come.
Maybe Summers' impromptu nap shouldn't make us giggle so much as worry.
May be some people I know, should also read this, and go to bed early.
After all - "Early to bed and early to rise, may Jack healthy, wealthy & wise."
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Why Sleep Is So Important?
Why Sleep Is So Important
Many hard-charging managers pride themselves on their ability to work long hours and get by on 5 or 6 hours of sleep. But the truth is that they're shortchanging themselves -- and their companies.
"Sleep is not a luxury," says Dr. James O'Brien, medical director of the
When you sleep, your brain catalogues the previous day's experiences, primes your memory, and triggers the release of hormones regulating energy, mood, and mental acuity. To complete its work, the brain needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep. When it gets less, your concentration, creativity, mood regulation, and productivity all take a hit.
How sleep works
To understand why the right amount of shut-eye is so important to performance, it helps to know how sleep works.
Healthy sleep is divided into four-stage cycles. As we progress through stages 1 and 2, we become increasingly unplugged from the world until we reach the deep sleep that happens in stage 3. In deep sleep, both brain and body activity drop to their lowest point during the cycle, and blood is redirected from the brain to muscles.
The fourth and final stage is named for the rapid eye movement -- REM -- that is its defining characteristic. Our brains become busily active in REM sleep, too, even more so than when we are awake. Dreaming happens during this stage.
In a full night's sleep, we experience three or four such cycles, each lasting 60 to 90 minutes.
The work sleep does
Different yet equally important restorative work happens during deep sleep (stage 3) and REM sleep (stage 4).
Deep sleep is crucial for physical renewal, hormonal regulation, and growth. Without deep sleep, you're more likely to get sick, feel depressed, and gain an unhealthy amount of weight. According to the National Sleep Foundation's 2008 Sleep in America poll, those who sleep less than 6 hours per night on workdays are significantly more likely to be obese than those who sleep 8 hours or more (41% vs. 28%).
In REM sleep -- stage 4 in the sleep cycle -- the brain processes and synthesizes memories and emotions, activity that is crucial for learning and higher-level thought. A lack of REM sleep results in slower cognitive and social processing, problems with memory, and difficulty concentrating. The same 2008 sleep poll found that people who sleep less than 6 hours per night during the workweek are twice as likely as their better-rested colleagues to report difficulty in concentrating.
A deficit in sleep leads to deficits in work performance
Performing complex tasks and navigating complicated relationships -- the heart and soul of a manager's work -- both become much harder to do when REM sleep suffers. And when you cut back on sleep, your REM sleep suffers the most.
There are two reasons for this:
- Your brain, when confronted with sleep deprivation, opts for lighter sleep and hence less REM sleep.
- Later sleep cycles tend to have longer REM periods than cycles earlier in the night. When you sleep through only one or two cycles instead of three or four, your REM sleep is disproportionately affected.
When your brain is starved of REM sleep, concentrating on a single activity is challenging. Multitasking -- an inescapable bane of managerial work -- becomes exponentially more so.
A deficit of REM sleep also makes it tougher to pick up on nuances in discussions or negotiations.
"When you're trying to understand the subtext of what someone is saying, your brain needs to use a bunch of programs at the same time," says Dr. Gandis Mazeika, head of Sleep Medicine Northwest in
In addition, recent research shows that sleep deprivation takes a toll on decision-making ability.
Getting more from the sleep you get
Given the demands facing managers today -- working in a 24/7, always-on environment is a big one -- a full night's sleep is sometimes an impossible dream. Fortunately, there are ways to get more out of the time you do manage to spend in sleep:
- Avoid caffeine. Cut out caffeinated coffee, tea, and soda ideally 1 hour before bedtime -- and chocolate, too. When you sleep, make it a commitment.
- Try to nod off quickly. To fall asleep fast, you can occasionally use a sleeping supplement. But be careful. For example, the much-prescribed Ambien is specifically for sleeping seven to eight hours. If you don't have that much time, don't use it. Although some antidepressants can help you feel drowsy enough to fall asleep, they also tend to compromise REM, says Dr. O'Brien. A more healthful approach for some is to meditate a half-hour before hitting the bed.
- Darken the room completely. Your brain creates a hormone called melatonin that senses when it's dark out and primes you for sleep. If you try to sleep amid too much light, your brain may decide you're not ready for bedtime after all. So turn off the TV, shut down the computer, turn the clock to the wall, and close the blinds tightly. Use an eye mask if you're sleeping during the daytime.
- Sleep in a restful environment. Make sure the room is quiet and your BlackBerry is out of hearing range. Sleep on a comfortable mattress; Dr. Mazeika advises you get a new one every five to 10 years.
Exploit the power of power naps
Don't forget that brief day-time naps can be helpful. If at all possible, close your office door (if you have one) and try to doze for 10 to 20 minutes.
"Power naps are real and help you feel refreshed," says Dr. O'Brien.
But keep the naps short, he warns. With a longer nap, you're likely to wake up while in deep sleep and feel worse than before. It can take up to 30 minutes to feel fully alert after awakening from deep sleep.
By keeping your nap to 10-20 minutes, you should be able to achieve stage 2 in the sleep cycle and wake up energized rather than groggy. A short power nap should provide enough of a boost to keep your performance going strong the rest of the day -- and is more effective (as well as healthier) than a cup of coffee.
Why Sleep Is So Important?
Why Sleep Is So Important
Many hard-charging managers pride themselves on their ability to work long hours and get by on 5 or 6 hours of sleep. But the truth is that they're shortchanging themselves -- and their companies.
"Sleep is not a luxury," says Dr. James O'Brien, medical director of the
When you sleep, your brain catalogues the previous day's experiences, primes your memory, and triggers the release of hormones regulating energy, mood, and mental acuity. To complete its work, the brain needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep. When it gets less, your concentration, creativity, mood regulation, and productivity all take a hit.
How sleep works
To understand why the right amount of shut-eye is so important to performance, it helps to know how sleep works.
Healthy sleep is divided into four-stage cycles. As we progress through stages 1 and 2, we become increasingly unplugged from the world until we reach the deep sleep that happens in stage 3. In deep sleep, both brain and body activity drop to their lowest point during the cycle, and blood is redirected from the brain to muscles.
The fourth and final stage is named for the rapid eye movement -- REM -- that is its defining characteristic. Our brains become busily active in REM sleep, too, even more so than when we are awake. Dreaming happens during this stage.
In a full night's sleep, we experience three or four such cycles, each lasting 60 to 90 minutes.
The work sleep does
Different yet equally important restorative work happens during deep sleep (stage 3) and REM sleep (stage 4).
Deep sleep is crucial for physical renewal, hormonal regulation, and growth. Without deep sleep, you're more likely to get sick, feel depressed, and gain an unhealthy amount of weight. According to the National Sleep Foundation's 2008 Sleep in America poll, those who sleep less than 6 hours per night on workdays are significantly more likely to be obese than those who sleep 8 hours or more (41% vs. 28%).
In REM sleep -- stage 4 in the sleep cycle -- the brain processes and synthesizes memories and emotions, activity that is crucial for learning and higher-level thought. A lack of REM sleep results in slower cognitive and social processing, problems with memory, and difficulty concentrating. The same 2008 sleep poll found that people who sleep less than 6 hours per night during the workweek are twice as likely as their better-rested colleagues to report difficulty in concentrating.
A deficit in sleep leads to deficits in work performance
Performing complex tasks and navigating complicated relationships -- the heart and soul of a manager's work -- both become much harder to do when REM sleep suffers. And when you cut back on sleep, your REM sleep suffers the most.
There are two reasons for this:
- Your brain, when confronted with sleep deprivation, opts for lighter sleep and hence less REM sleep.
- Later sleep cycles tend to have longer REM periods than cycles earlier in the night. When you sleep through only one or two cycles instead of three or four, your REM sleep is disproportionately affected.
When your brain is starved of REM sleep, concentrating on a single activity is challenging. Multitasking -- an inescapable bane of managerial work -- becomes exponentially more so.
A deficit of REM sleep also makes it tougher to pick up on nuances in discussions or negotiations.
"When you're trying to understand the subtext of what someone is saying, your brain needs to use a bunch of programs at the same time," says Dr. Gandis Mazeika, head of Sleep Medicine Northwest in
In addition, recent research shows that sleep deprivation takes a toll on decision-making ability.
Getting more from the sleep you get
Given the demands facing managers today -- working in a 24/7, always-on environment is a big one -- a full night's sleep is sometimes an impossible dream. Fortunately, there are ways to get more out of the time you do manage to spend in sleep:
- Avoid caffeine. Cut out caffeinated coffee, tea, and soda ideally 1 hour before bedtime -- and chocolate, too. When you sleep, make it a commitment.
- Try to nod off quickly. To fall asleep fast, you can occasionally use a sleeping supplement. But be careful. For example, the much-prescribed Ambien is specifically for sleeping seven to eight hours. If you don't have that much time, don't use it. Although some antidepressants can help you feel drowsy enough to fall asleep, they also tend to compromise REM, says Dr. O'Brien. A more healthful approach for some is to meditate a half-hour before hitting the bed.
- Darken the room completely. Your brain creates a hormone called melatonin that senses when it's dark out and primes you for sleep. If you try to sleep amid too much light, your brain may decide you're not ready for bedtime after all. So turn off the TV, shut down the computer, turn the clock to the wall, and close the blinds tightly. Use an eye mask if you're sleeping during the daytime.
- Sleep in a restful environment. Make sure the room is quiet and your BlackBerry is out of hearing range. Sleep on a comfortable mattress; Dr. Mazeika advises you get a new one every five to 10 years.
Exploit the power of power naps
Don't forget that brief day-time naps can be helpful. If at all possible, close your office door (if you have one) and try to doze for 10 to 20 minutes.
"Power naps are real and help you feel refreshed," says Dr. O'Brien.
But keep the naps short, he warns. With a longer nap, you're likely to wake up while in deep sleep and feel worse than before. It can take up to 30 minutes to feel fully alert after awakening from deep sleep.
By keeping your nap to 10-20 minutes, you should be able to achieve stage 2 in the sleep cycle and wake up energized rather than groggy. A short power nap should provide enough of a boost to keep your performance going strong the rest of the day -- and is more effective (as well as healthier) than a cup of coffee.
Queen of Heart
Queen Of Your Heart
I know you have lot of things to achieve,
Still I would say, “you will”, when you won’t believe.
Your scope of success is so big,
Your tensions are also realistic,
You think no one can think of how you feel,
But I feel you cannot think of how I deal,
With the feelings I have for you,
Despite of discord, your respect in my heart is always due.
You say you feel that I love you more but at times act suspicious,
How I may not protect, as for me you are so precious?
You rule my heart for being true soul and not by being smart,
But… I feel sorry for myself in failing to be ‘Queen of your heart’.
Why? Here is my reply.
My aim is to win your heart in a way that you cann’t think of being away,
Mind it, not by holding you tightly instead by being in your thoughts slightly,
Like the way you are in mine, but don’t worry I am still fine.
Yes, I am there in your mind but as a responsibility as everybody undertakes,
Not as a beloved for whom everything is done with a sense of love as all it takes.
I feel, you see the people and intuit the best in every way, as are they,
Also analyzing love philosophies of people and think of loving me in the best way.
Dear I have loved you and not them all.
Whether you succeed or you fall.
I know you are different but you don’t know it,
God will always be there for you; trust me a bit.
I know you feel free and happy when out with your friends,
Is it for the sake of friendship and enjoying life’s normal trend?
Else, is it for sparing yourself from responsibilities?
As it includes your struggles plus conflicts with me driving in more difficulties.
I wished for delightful things for us and I always keep juggling & trying,
Those moments of conflicts hurt a lot as they give sign that still you are not mine.
I would look forward for your silent promises in my lifetime,
That you are forever and ever mine.
I usually avoid telling this to you,
As again your feeling of being harassed is due,
But somehow wanted to make my heart clear,
Without fruitless arguments & shedding tears.
Just be the way you are & mark progress lines on your life chart,
And I’ll strive through life alongwith a desire to be ‘Queen of your heart’.
I know you will be you,
But that’s the way I am.
Love & Marriage
A student asks a teacher, "What is love?"The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the wheat field and choose the biggest wheat and come back.
But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."
The student went to the field, go thru first row, he saw one big wheat, but he wonders...may be there is a bigger one later.
Then he saw another bigger one... but may be there is an even bigger one waiting for him.
Later, when he finished more than half of the wheat field, he start to realize that the wheat is not as big as the previous one he saw, he know he has missed the biggest one, and he regretted.
So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hand.
The teacher told him, ".this is love.. you keep looking for a better one, but when later you realize, you have already miss the person...”
"What is marriage then?" the student asked.
The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."
The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he feel satisfy, and come back to the teacher.
The teacher told him, "this time you bring back a corn... you look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is the best one you get... this is marriage."
But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."
The student went to the field, go thru first row, he saw one big wheat, but he wonders...may be there is a bigger one later.
Then he saw another bigger one... but may be there is an even bigger one waiting for him.
Later, when he finished more than half of the wheat field, he start to realize that the wheat is not as big as the previous one he saw, he know he has missed the biggest one, and he regretted.
So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hand.
The teacher told him, ".this is love.. you keep looking for a better one, but when later you realize, you have already miss the person...”
"What is marriage then?" the student asked.
The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."
The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he feel satisfy, and come back to the teacher.
The teacher told him, "this time you bring back a corn... you look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is the best one you get... this is marriage."
Friday, April 24, 2009
Relationship
One of the most difficult relationsips for a man to manage is his wife. We marry fantasies and then reach peak of fun and joy in the initial few days. Both parters are busy doing Brand Management for themselves and their respective families. Slowly the fantasies transition into realities. Difference of opinion emerge over Shopping Habits and Upbringing of children. My mother becomes better then your mother. My job becomes more important than your job. In the meanwhile children reach teenage. Now the focus shfts from finding faults in each other to our approach towards Parenting. You want to divorce but don't do it because it will have cause trauma for children.
Without even knowing you have crossed 40 years and then the next difference of opinion starts. House and Retirement. Social groups and religious beliefs.
Well this is where things become little more complex. You have attended relationship management training programs and leadership courses. None of that seems to be working in your relationship. What produces results does not work at home.
You need to unwind more often and Liquor bills start to increase.
Realtionship goes down the drain. In laws from both sides move in to provide Free of Charge (unsolicited) consultations. Children move out to Higher Studies. Home is quite. Silence is golden, but too much silence is deafening.
Now we are 55 years, have tea, lunch, walks together, but have different friends, different relegious circles, and watch different TV channels.
And then one day one of us dies, unfulfilled and incomplete. The other parter then grieves over what he/she could have done if only he/she would have lived for a few more years.
This relationship is the most complex and difficult.
I invite you to post your experinecs and comments.
Without even knowing you have crossed 40 years and then the next difference of opinion starts. House and Retirement. Social groups and religious beliefs.
Well this is where things become little more complex. You have attended relationship management training programs and leadership courses. None of that seems to be working in your relationship. What produces results does not work at home.
You need to unwind more often and Liquor bills start to increase.
Realtionship goes down the drain. In laws from both sides move in to provide Free of Charge (unsolicited) consultations. Children move out to Higher Studies. Home is quite. Silence is golden, but too much silence is deafening.
Now we are 55 years, have tea, lunch, walks together, but have different friends, different relegious circles, and watch different TV channels.
And then one day one of us dies, unfulfilled and incomplete. The other parter then grieves over what he/she could have done if only he/she would have lived for a few more years.
This relationship is the most complex and difficult.
I invite you to post your experinecs and comments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)