My take on Self-improvement

Ever since somebody invented spam on internet, inbox cluttered with forwarded messages of various kinds has become sort of daily ritual for almost all of us. There is one thing to get information and there is another to get overloaded with information. I am not sure when the line crosses between the two. Some send me jokes, some good quotes and some information of every possible kind...But everyday, as I open up my e-mail and check and delete big portions of these forwarded messages I am sort of frustrated. Not today....Today was different …blame it on lousy weather day ;) Today I decided to actually read a few… ( now please don’t raise a eyebrow thinking that I have nothing better to do. I really do..… and BTW, I do see those pouting faces, smug expressions towards this stay at home mom trying to kill time reading forwarded messages… ouch… its OK I get it) Anyway getting back to my story…A lot of times we want to read these inspiring messages. But mainly they are worth a glance and delete…But today whatever I got through was a cornucopia of information. After I got through a few, it seriously caught my attention. Sure these inspiring messages do make you feel good for a while and then we forget all about it. But what if we really decide to act on these in real life? Will it make everyone’s life better? Will it make us more happy and content? Sure we can compare ourselves to a given situation …personality quiz kind of… we can evaluate our behavior against the best possible behavior under given circumstances. And maybe.. just maybe try to implement some of those traits to become better individual… what’s wrong in that? I am not sure there exists an ideal character. All of us are bound to have those doh moments where we think we could be better. That where the process of self evaluation comes into play. One can just analyze oneself, try to figure out what could be better and figure out ways to improve upon those.. a continuous self improvement process that can make us better…( possibly better at everything ) I have reputedly heard that personal characteristic traits don’t change. As you grow up character is not easily impressionable either. I am not sure I totally agree with that. I do believe that if we start to change our thinking pattern positively, it is possible to change our behavior patterns positively too. Regardless of the age and circumstances. Powerful thoughts bring lasting impressions on the behavior. After all, all grown ups at least want to be best role models for their children. So it’s tough but doable to be roll model after all….(…….now I see…..doh again….) As one of my forwarded MESSAGE goes, “In my mind I'm the one so I'm shining like the sun"

Living up to the potential

This is how it happens all the time...when I return from India after my long trip, the nostalgic feelings sets in invariably.... No doubt I miss my family more than anything but along the way I also miss being first class citizen, I miss people, food, pollution, noise and everything that defines India... I know the fact that the grass is always greener on the other side. Besides US is after all a dreamland of the world..... On the contrary, I feel almost scared about what to expect next when I do return to my birth land... I have a snapshot of the things I love about India... and every trip back home makes me feel displaced in time. Malls on every corner, school kids with cell phones, multiplexes, bistros, baristas, McDs... All these were not necessarily part of my 'Indian dream'. The world is becoming a global village and all countries are starting to look like mirror images of America…..in varying degrees maybe but not by too much margin... I had been warned about several things that strike a 'returning' Indian. The noises, the throngs of people everywhere, the stench of human excrements, and the general hum and buzz of everyday life in a country alive with diversity. True to these expectations, I did realize many of these things to be true…..They were not hard hitting and they didn’t unduly bother me. But the main thing that did become painfully noticeable was the level of expectations from this country. It's surprising that each and every thing seems to be rid with a kind of mediocrity and substandard-ness. The quality of roads, services, products, in fact, of time and value... I am still trying to figure out why there is so much discrepancy between the amount of talent in this fertile nation and the output or infrastructure it bears. Agreed, populations are so large that it is but natural that sustenance goes beyond available means. But does this mean that it will forever operate only at a certain percentage of its possible potential? When and how will this change? And then comes the painful thought of realizing and achieving our own potential.. Its more like dreams unlimited situation.. All of us have such a huge potential yet I read that average human being uses only about 20% of that brain power over the course of life... So where's the hindrance... what's there that stops us? Lack of imagination or too much influential stuff cluttering our minds and consequently limiting our potential? ...Is it the catch up game or the palpably false phenomena? I am not sure I know the answer... but somewhere deep down the fact of not living up to the potential does bother me... whether its me personally or the country which I care about deeply….. Both ways......I will just leave this tinkering thought here for now….

One day without pitter-patter ;)

Today we are forgetting the words silence, quietness and peace. Chaos, clutter, noise, loud speakers, sound pollutions have become all but unfortunate part of our life. Blood pressure, headaches, deafness are becoming common illnesses. We try get a break, to attain peace, we run to beaches, resorts, forests, tourist destinations away from big cities. Then again all those places are crowded too. Peace of mind brings concentration. Peace of mind also helps you be introspective. Moreover it can help you think .I think in this world littered with propaganda advertisements, we need to focus back on thinking independently. Creativity needs peace of mind. Mind feels tired and exhausted with constant noise and chaos. Your ability to work reduces in such environment. What if everyone decides to keep a silence for a day? It will be very tough for me with kids around but its worth giving it a try...Remember reading the phrase 'while speech is silver, silence is gold '. So true! Words are effective but sometimes silence is more powerful. Just the way body needs rest, our mouth needs silence to rest. I think if you control your internal chaos through silence and introspection, outside chaos will automatically stop. Silence can bring peace. I am deciding to switch tv off from my life at least for a week. I am consicensoiusly trying to be more pithy with my expressions ;)as well.. I will let you know the results shortly....Stay Tuned !!!

Small Break

They say that sometimes small things can bring big gains... just as much happiness and satisfaction as big things. Time is really precious thing and its becoming more and more scares. We need to take small breaks to pause for a little in this fast lane life. Moreover, it has becoming increasingly important that we mange the equation of the little time you have to spend it happily and on the budget. Now that I have been running around with two little toddlers who demand my attention every minute of the day, I am realizing how important it is to break away for few minutes. You have to spend time for yourself. It maybe in very small increments but its so much needed. A tonic to refresh your mind from stress, traffic, exhaustion, noise and what not... a small break to gain better perspective at things all over again. It maybe just few deep breaths or a quick shut eye meditation away...

And indeed there was a rally

In my last post, I was optimistic about the rally on the wall street over last week. And indeed there was a rally... Al bite maybe for a short time but it came at a time when everyone desperately needed a ray of hope. Nobody really knows if the stock market has seen the bottom and will move up from here. It could very well turn its back and start its downward trend again leaving us with false hope. Many of the wiseguys on the financial news channels sound convincing on both positive and negative predictions. Currently small cap growth,large cap growth stocks look attractive. Consumer retail sector is promising and so is technology. Looks like financial services stocks have bottomed out and showing some positive turn ... No one is smart enough to predict the future markets accurately but optimism sure matters. So Cheers to the rally and hoping for more !!

Hoping for a rally

It has been a roller coaster ride over a year in the market; a ride that just seemed to continue to go downhill with no bottom in sight. It has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone. Navigating through these challenging markets is unnerving…..but there seems to some ray of hope at least for short term….. Legislative actions aimed at mark to market accounting principles could trigger a rally in financial stocks and the overall stock market. In fact, some wise guys are predicting to see a rally of up to 25% in stocks. There is also an expectation that the so-called Uptick rule, which limits short-selling in stocks, could be restored soon. It is somewhat believable since Stock markets have been so beaten up and equities have been so oversold. One will have to watch for realistic trends that are sustainable. The current scenario still dictates the defensive strategy allocation for underweight in stocks and overweight in cash and bonds. However one can certainly spot some improving trends in utilities, health care and technology sector besides ever green energy and bio tech. When market does turn around the small and mid cap growth stocks are expected to outperform large cap growth and large cap value stocks. This widely popular theory should hold true. And this should provide some great incentive for bargain hunters. Though one has to keep in mind that short-lived rallies are common during periods of extended declines as the market searches for a bottom. I think buzz word for current scenario is caution with optimism…. Cheers!

Glittering Gold

In my previous post Trifecta, I had mentioned about recessionary pressure in all three major aspects of the global economy…namely falling prices in Stocks markets, Crude and Gold… looks like that trend is about to change… The gold is starting to venture out on its own... Based on conventional wisdom it was expected that the gold and precious metal prices usually showed inverse relationship to stocks and oil…however this time that trend was bucked for quite some time… Now though it appears that the Gold is reversing that pattern… the Gold is shining all over again………. For Gold investors it is good news but realistically this trend will not help the recession scenario much…..In the precious metal sector the silver is scaling new highs in the prices and so is platinum. The private investors, mutual funds and hedge funds returns should sizzle at least for this sector. In that sense it appears that precious metals are after all precious despite inflation or deflation. This provides a good indicator for the asset reallocation strategies as well. I am not sure on a large scale basis how many small investors own a gold or similar metal but current trend proves that a good % of the portfolio invested in gold could bring in good results. I expect the gold to keep rising based on current global economic scenario. Though dollar is gaining strength due to weaker currencies else where, the demand for gold as a safe heaven is going to be higher for quite some time…and that should push prices up at new record levels. So for now all that glitters is GOLD after all …. At least a small portion of the investors have something to cheer about…