Musings and more

Life Lessons: 09/02/09

priyankavaidya — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:04:44 +0000

After an emotional slump yesterday and a conscious effort to get out of the procrastination bog, it has been an amazingly productive day so far. Yesterday was just like today with my to-do list neatly penciled in but with no motivation to take a crack at it and today I seem to be whizzing through it.Life Lesson Learnt: Time flies when you are at your productive best, and at the end of the day you are amazed at what you achieved and wonder why everyday cannot be like today.
A weblink for today is in line with the life lessons from yesterday and today. In this interesting and honest post again by Shaun Boyd, he mentions how “sometimes done is better than perfect”. I can absolutely relate to his post as I start off a project with much enthusiasm and slowly it dwindles to nothing. 30DT don’t work always, sometimes it takes a physical gut wrenching effort to just finish off something you started passionately in the first place. And if this project doesn’t align with your overall goals, then simply quit and invest your energy elsewhere. Life Lesson Learnt: That one extra step when you want to quit can make all the difference between a win and a loss.

Priyanka S Vaidya

Life Lessons: 09/01/09

priyankavaidya — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:31:40 +0000

There are some days when you only exist and cease to live. Days like today when in spite of everything going well, I lack the motivation to start off on a good note. Days when you question everything around you. Days when I troll the internet in search of “feel-good” articles and seek my enthusiasm to march forward. But I did learn that there will be days like today and I need to deal with them. Life Lesson Learnt: Its when you are hardest hit is when you should never quit.
I am unsure at the moment about a lot of things as minor as the content and layout of blogs, to which profession I should really work in. Whether I have the skills and experience needed to join my organization of choice and whether I am located in the right continent. And here’s a wonderful proverb I came across that I would like to share.Life Lesson Learnt: Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
From today onwards, I will link to a blogpost I liked/found interesting and the lessons learnt from the article. This collection of articles by Shaun Boyd is a must read. Not only did these articles uplift my black mood, they helped me understand why I need to appreciate my current scenario instead of complaining and reboot my system to look at the glass half full rather than half empty. The article that stood out the most was Steve Jobs’ Commencement Speech at Stanford. Life Lesson Learnt: Stay Hungry Stay Foolish!

Priyanka S Vaidya

Life Lessons: 07/24/09

priyankavaidya — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:03:51 +0000

Seeing all those tick marks on my to-do makes me giddy with happiness. I have managed to whiz through two successfully productive days in a row. I can safely say that I have covered all the secondary items, yet even doing that has ensured that I know a little more about the Indian stock market, have finally gotten around to getting assignments done for my distance MBA and also started working on my blog for biopharmaceutical controls! I have also manged to get in touch with a few old friends and found some nice blogs to follow. Of course this blog has been updated fairly regularly as well. So Yay! .Life Lesson learnt: Now I truly understand the meaning of baby steps!
I have been waiting around forever for a person to call me. No, it isn’t my husband or a loved one, but a technical recruiter with a certain firm. Now, working with that firm has been a professional goal of mine and it’ll be a dream come true if that actually happens. Unfortunately, this one man who could either give me hope or dash them seems to be perpetually out of office or out sick. I had put my life on a brief hold and even decided to take some major life altering decisions based on this one call. Life lesson learnt: Keep your head down and keep working on every to-do list item, instead of stalling or pausing your life for that one job call. Time and tide waits for no man or woman.

Priyanka S Vaidya

Life Lessons: 07/27/09

priyankavaidya — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:47:15 +0000

So after spending time trying to figure out my niche, I decided to dip my finger in every possible pie of interest So, accordingly, as of today I will dabble in this and that till I find my IT. Hmm , that statement did make profound sense to me, even though it might have confused you Life lesson learnt: In case you are not sure of finding your niche and excelling in it, dabble in all things you like and find the one you are most passionate about. Who knows it could be 3 things!
Personality makeover is a concept that me and half the human population is enamored with. I came across a website that promised to be a step by step guide for a makeover, so I devoured it in one go. It was a good read, but however, it pretty much corroborated what I already knew. It did lead to some very interesting mind musings though, and here’s some food for thought. Life lesson learnt: A personality makeover could be outside-in where the new avatar demands you be a different person or it could be inside-out where the goodness inside will slowly cascade into appearances as well. Not sure which is right!
Mondays need extra motivation boosts, especially if you’ve enjoyed a food and wine laden weekend. But today, has blessedly been an ultra productive day except that I won’t be going to the gym. Worked on two of my blogs, and felt that if I just keep my head down and follow the 2 do, I get a whole lot more done! Life lesson learnt: Just bazooka through the to do list and even on Mondays you can get a lot struck on your to do!

Priyanka S Vaidya

Life Lessons: 07/23/09

priyankavaidya — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:17:43 +0000

I have been prowling the internet again, in search of more blogs on personal development or self help (A classic symptom of a procrastinator, I once read.) A central theme to most of them highlights the fact, that in order to be successful, one needs to find a niche and then absolutely master that area. A mundane, repetitive task if done well can be a masterpiece! Life Lesson learnt: Find your niche and then bring the nerd on!

Priyanka S Vaidya

Life Lessons: 07/22/09

priyankavaidya — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:35:15 +0000

So many to-dos, so little clues. So many rhymes, so few dimes. My life now isn’t at any major cross-roads but rather at the beginning of a winding road. I cannot really see ahead, and see a little patch of the road I left behind. I am impatient to start down the winding road, yet hesitant. I want to find my flow, yet am too lazy to go in its search. Today is a day, I’m full of paradox. I remembered a funny quote from Bob Moawad which goes ” You can’t leave footprints in the sands of time if you’re sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?” Life lesson learnt: There are some days when you are content to leave buttprints in the sands of time although you dream of leaving behind footprints.

Priyanka S Vaidya

Life Lessons: 07/21/09

priyankavaidya — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:21:21 +0000

Away from the blog, gym and the daily routine and here’s the scenario. Do not feel like going to the gym, although I plan to push myself and show up! And tread the mill The blog statistics are…you guessed it, back to “flat” and the daily routine is in a slump. But all this is acceptable since, I enjoyed an excellent 3 day vacation at the Seashells Resort at the Diamond Beach. I have always been in love with the ocean. The expansive silver blue water, the empowering crash of the waves, the warm rich sand and the wonderful, dazzling sky hugging the ocean on the horizon. It certainly is the spa for the soul! Beaches bring out the poet in me and while on this trip, I did not pen a few verses I did think a lot about life in general and of course had something to add to my life lessons Life lesson learnt: Everyone should spend some time at the beach and make their own footprints in the sands of time. It truly is a spa for the soul!
Just heard the wonderful songs “Its amazing” by Jem. I first heard it in the movie Sex & the city and finally took the time to listen to it yesterday and was hooked. Some songs inspire and uplift your mood every single time you listen to it. I’m stealing a line from the song lyrics for my life lesson. Life lesson learnt: You know who you are, you feel it in your heart!Its amazing what you can do!

Priyanka Vaidya

Life Lessons: 07/17/09

priyankavaidya — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:50:03 +0000

I completed reading Finding Flow last night. It gave rise to a lot of questions in my mind and led to a lot of reflections. Have I experienced flow in the real sense? Does flow always have to be a work related experience to seem “profitable” in the monetary sense? I realized I “find my flow” while reading books or taking long walks, just being amidst nature. My enthusiasm for any idea, any product dwindles in a couple of days and makes me a not-so-proud owner of many half baked projects. 3 months worth of guitar classes, giving up midway before mastering a sport, learning a language halfway and losing interest, many business ideas knocked around and abandoned This brings me back to my new friend “consistent persistence“. What If I can push myself a little harder and overcome that barrier between finding flow and procrastination? Life lesson learnt: Push past the two day enthusiasm for any project and that might help me “find flow” in many areas of life.

Priyanka Vaidya

Life Lessons: 07/16/09

priyankavaidya — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:33:54 +0000

Total Body Workout! This class is a low impact high calorie burner class. Last week I’d chickened out mid-way through the class since my heart couldn’t keep up! Today I decided to keep working no matter what and see the class to an end. After dancing to Jai ho and American boy and sweating profusely and lifting barbells, I decided this is definitely one of the best workouts I’ve had! Its a total calorie burner regime. Life lesson learnt: I think I found the magic formula to increase my gym “sticktoitiveness”. Aerobics, yoga and the treadmill! Also, learnt that weigh scales are very sensitive to potato wedges and burgers!
Instant rewards of consistent persistence were apparent today from my blog statistics. Normally this blog, which I rarely updated and seldom posted had a flat line representing the viewer statistic. A pretty sorry shape for someone who aspires to be a blogger. Just two days in a row of continuous posts and I can see a small bump in the statistics. Like I said yesterday numbers and graphs are such a positive feedback! Life lesson learnt: Dogged determination to just show up everyday is the first baby step to increase self discipline!
In an excellent post, Leo (of Zenhabits) discusses how one can successfully overhaul one’s life, one baby step at a time. I was very relieved to read that most readers who posted comments said they are impatient and expect a top to bottom make over instantly. I am of course, yet not happy with the changes I’ve made so far, but I realized I need to appreciate these baby steps a whole lot more! I have been showing up (and working out!) at the gym regularly, writing a blog post consistently and working on more of my to-do list items. Life lesson learnt: I have learnt to accept that these micro changes will help me to bring about the big changes one day. I need to work on my patience and accept that what’s been programmed in me for 27 years cannot be re-engineered overnight!

Priyanka Vaidya

Life Lessons: 07/15/09

priyankavaidya — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:12:42 +0000

It was weights lift day today at the gym! I am not much of a gym person and the treadmill, cross-trainers and what nots are to me an alien concept; a very monotonous way to exercise. I prefer a walk in the fresh air, or a competitive sport any day. But for the last week I’m trying the mix’n'match routine of the gym, and have been actually lifting some weights! Its been a steady progression and I’m using these unknown set of muscles again! I know its purely psychological but today I felt like I had toned up just a little bit and weighed a few ounces less Life lesson learnt: They might say its not all about numbers, but even an ounce worth of drop in the weigh scale gives you the positive high to show up at the gym more often!
I came across a very inspiring article today in the Times of India. It proclaimed how Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys and now a cabinet minister has cut through the bureaucratic red tape and got things moving even before he has properly resumed office! These people are certainly my real-life heroes. I did read Shoba De’s “Superstar India” which captures India’s journey through its 60 years of Freedom. I would love to read “Imagining India“, Nilekani’s book which pens ideas for the new century and profiles the contrast so deeply rooted in this nation. Life lesson learnt: Be inspired by people like Nandan who instead of complaining and being pessimistic about the system, are pro-active and see the glass as half full!
After much dilly-dallying, and being a classic example of a perpetual procrastinator, here’s an attempt to do what’s really important. Reading the news, scouring the internet for information (which is absolutely unecesary right now) twittering, day dreaming isn’t absolutely helping at all. Like Scott Young mentions in his recent post, I need to focus ruthlessly and say no to all these distractions. Or for that matter time-box them to allow my important things to be done and still have time for fun. Life lesson learnt: Focus! Focus! And say no to distractors!

Priyanka Vaidya