Act on What You Learn and Experience

If you have read this blog so far, congratulations. You have gained INFORMATION.

If you have put even ONE idea from what you have read so far into PRACTICE, you will gain KNOWLEDGE about how it works. More importantly, KNOWLEDGE about your own self. 

When you start adapting your actions according to what you learned from doing, it makes your own life better. Now, you have acquired wisdom.

Therefore, here is my suggestion:

STOP READING THIS BLOG if you have not been able to put a single idea so far into practice. 

Real learning happens when you DO something about what you read and experience. 

Without DOING, all your reading is simply stuffing your mind with information. It is intellectual stimulation. 

That’s barely useful, right?

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T H I N K

Your words attract energy.

If you use toxic words, you will be surrounded with toxicity.

If you use kind words, you will attract kindness in your life. 

Before you speak, THINK: 

  • T: Is it True
  • H: Is it Helpful?
  • I: Is it Inspiring?
  • N: Is it Necessary?
  • K: Is it Kind?

When what you speak isn’t any one of the above, the best expression is to choose silence. 

This does not mean you soften your language or be too submissive. This is not about being weak. 

Saying what is true requires firmness. Saying what is helpful may not always be platable. But you still say it with words that clarify your intent. Words that gets other person to think. Words that generate energy. 

When you consistently choose words using THINK acronym, you build trust of others. You solve problems. You build relationships. You become a better person yourself. 

Then, you attract the right energy. 

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A Journey of a 1000 miles

If you want to run a marathon, don’t start with thinking about which wall will you showcase your medals on. 

Start with running a kilometre or two. Focus on building strength and stamina so that you can run 5 kms.

Do it for a while and then run 10 kms. Then take up a half-marathon.

This is how we build our capacity to do bigger things. That’s how we build confidence. 

That’s probably the reason they say that a journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step. 

What’s that small next step for you?

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90:90 Rule

Sometimes, we really want to do something but we cannot because we think we don’t have time. 

The rule of 90-90 comes in as a handy tool. 

Find out what you truly want to do or learn.

Spend first 90 minutes of the day doing it.

Do this without a break for 90 days.

You will see the change. 

P.S: For me, being creative is what I want to be. So I spend first 60-90 minutes of the day writing this blog, creating sketchnotes, reading a book and consuming ideas that are important to me. This habit has been a game changer for me. Give it a try!

P.P.S: 90 minutes may be too much if you are time constrained. Start with 20 minutes a day doing what you truly want to do. Increase it as you find momentum.

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You are what you focus on

You are what you attend to.

You are what you focus on.

If you don’t own your focus and attention you are a slave, a commodity, some ‘thing’ for others to use as they wish.

Make no mistake…

This is about your freedom and liberation to create your own life.

Own Yourself.

Own your ability to attend to your own life, to focus as you know you can.

Focus is freedom…

Source

At a time when most people spend hours on social media, they forget that they are the product being used by those companies. They hijack our most valuable resources – time and attention. 

Focus is freedom. Discipline is freedom.

You be mindful about your FOCUS, INPUT and PROCESS. OUTPUT takes care of itself eventually. 

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Where Does Stress Come From?

Stress at work doesn’t come from hard work.

Stress comes from complacence. It comes from not taking action on things that you can act on. 

It comes from ignoring things that we shouldn’t.

It comes from not investing in relationships. 

It comes from putting things off for some other day. 

So, next time you are stressed about something, take action. 

Discipline, action and consistency are an antidote to stress. 

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Choice > Chance

My dad was detected with heart condition but doctor mentioned that there is no emergency for surgery. We did not leave it to chance and chose to voluntarily get the surgery done.

It was a proactive decision. This choice allowed us to plan it meticulously and get mentally prepared. 

Had we not chosen, we would have left it to chance and let an emergency happen. Why bother when there is no immediate symptoms? Leaving things to chance is never a great strategy – especially when our health is concerned. Emergency situations lead to immense stress, especially when you could have anticipated it and managed it proactively. 

This applies to a lot of decisions that we don’t take because there is no pressing need for it right now. We don’t act because we can’t see the consequences. 

One thing is clear from my experience: Being able to CHOOSE > Leaving things to CHANCE. 

You can only leave things to a chance AFTER you have done everything you could have done. Then, those are circumstances you have to accept. 

Our ability to see things before they happen and manage them proactively through right choices is our super power as human beings. Animals don’t have that gift. We do. 

We need to make good use of it.

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Daily Wins

I was in a meeting with an author whose book I was illustrating. 

He mentioned something so simple and yet profound, that it struck the chord with me.

He said we need 3 daily wins:

A Physical win – You can tick it for the day if you worked out. It could be anything from intense workout at gym to doing a spot jog or a brisk walk or taking stairs.

A Mental win: Tick it if you fed your mind through reading, writing, learning and creating something new. It could be as small as writing a small paragraph in your journal to reading a few pages of the book. It could be drawing a sketch or having an insightful conversation with your friends or family. 

A Spiritual win: Tick this if you spent time meditating, sitting still, observing your own thoughts, praying or reflecting about your own self. Just a few minutes of stillness provides much needed spiritual energy.  

The more we focus on winning in these three areas, however small the win is, the better we become. 

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The two sides of a coin

Life is not a coin with just one side. There’s always other side of it that we need to pay attention to. 

  • There is no reward if you are not willing to take risks. 
  • There is no growth without pain. 
  • There is no clarity in your action without clarity in your intention.
  • There is no relationship in absence of trust. 
  • There is no talent without discipline.
  • There is no love without acceptance and commitment.
  • There is no wealth without investment. (Yes, saving is not enough).
  • There is no learning without reflecting on our thoughts, actions and behaviors.
  • There is no education without an open and curious mind. 
  • There is no creativity without imagination. Greatness and creativity are the outcomes of working on “What could be” rather than working on “what is”. 
  • There is no self-esteem devoid of courage to stand up for what you truly believe in.
  • There is no improvement without “trying” things out. 
  • There is no success without any failure. 

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The Rule of 1%

Consider this:

We often focus on big goals and high-effort activities to reach that goal. In the process, we underestimate the power of tiny actions when done consistently leading to big outcomes. 

A brisk walk for 20 minutes today is tiny. Done consistently each day for a year, it results in massive gain in health.

Investing a few hundred bucks each week feels tiny. But when you do that for 3 years consistently, the return amazes you.

Writing 100 words today might not feel significant. Writing 100 words each day for a year means you have a book in the making. 

Tiny actions compound to create big results IF they are done consistently and improved upon.

“Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.” – Jim Rohn

Even Math proves it:

Key questions to ponder upon:

  • What areas in your life can benefit from improving just 1%?
  • What does that 1% improvement looks like?
  • Is that 1% smal enough to be sustainable?
  • Are you committed to really improve?

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