Where do we seek contentment?
The dictionary defines contentment as satisfication, gratification, happiness etc.
Are we ever content with what we have? Some say they are, some are never content.
Are we satisfied with the way our life is proceeding? Some get up from their sleep and live their life they want it to be, some simply meander as life takes them.
Right through our life, from childhood to adulthood we are not content.
In school, we used to grumble about our marks. I should have got more, he got more than me!! (I was definitely thankful that I got whatever marks I got).
Discontent with the amount of pocket money our parents used to give and with the amount of play time or TV time we were allowed.
During the teenage period, not content with the no of girlfriends or boyfriends as the case may be (I was one of them). Again, no money for petrol for bikes. Not content with the fun that we were having.
During adulthood, chasing the dream job and salary, hopping from company to company. Again, discontent with your life, quarrels with wife/husband (who you married thinking was perfect for you), raising children who turn out to be 10 times as worse as you were during the same age. People say marriages are made in heaven, the starting is true, then the couple go through hell to make the marriage work.
Who do we turn to for contentment?
I guess the first thing would be is to look within. Are we living the life we want to live or is someone dictating the terms? (Am not talking about the higher authority above us!). What do we really want from life and what do we want to achieve?
One of the biggest mistakes we do, is not speak to our parents and confide in them. We think that they are a generation older and are of no use to us. (I did that for a good part of my life..now I've mended my ways)
Of course..good close friends (if any). Good friends who will stand by you, tell you right or wrong on your face. I think I do have some in this category.
After marriage, your wife who is your soulmate, if you get lucky the neighbour's wife. Your children if they listen to you.
Its like chasing the elixir of life. Even as I write this article, am not content with it, Think it can be better.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
What if life had a << and >> button?
Imagine if life had a rewind and a fast forward button..
Would it be a god sent gift or a curse upon man kind?
What would we do if we hit the rewind button?
1) Study better during your board exams knowing what the questions were.
2) Dont get married to the girl who turned out to be a shrew and constantly heckles you.
3) Flirt with the next door girl whom you found cute but never had the guts to approach.
4) Undo financial miscalculations, avoid accidents.
5) Dont take the job which turned out to be boring.
6) Go back in time, buy shares when the stock market was low, making you a lakhpati in the present when the stock market is high.
What would we do if we hit the fast forward button?
1) Know immediately who your wife would be in the future. This is to prevent marrying the wrong girl or to get to know her and fall in love with her now.
2) Cheat Death a la Final Destination
3) Avoid affairs (all types incl the extra marital one) which got you into trouble.
The list is endless on both sides and so is human want.
We would keep committing mistakes and going back in time to rectify it or going back and forth in time trying to live the perfect life that we totally forget to live in the present.
I guess that's why going back in time or going to the future still remains the domain of Hollywood.
Suprising no one wants a stop button except the supporters of euthanasia. Thank the stars that all the buttons are with the man/woman above. I guess even he/she has only the play and stop button.
As for me, I would like to live my life the way its going, my past, though has not been picture perfect, has been good. If I ever get a chance to go back in time, I would like to relive my school life (11th and 12th) and the last 2 months of MBA.
Past is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a Gift, that's why its called the Present!!
Would it be a god sent gift or a curse upon man kind?
What would we do if we hit the rewind button?
1) Study better during your board exams knowing what the questions were.
2) Dont get married to the girl who turned out to be a shrew and constantly heckles you.
3) Flirt with the next door girl whom you found cute but never had the guts to approach.
4) Undo financial miscalculations, avoid accidents.
5) Dont take the job which turned out to be boring.
6) Go back in time, buy shares when the stock market was low, making you a lakhpati in the present when the stock market is high.
What would we do if we hit the fast forward button?
1) Know immediately who your wife would be in the future. This is to prevent marrying the wrong girl or to get to know her and fall in love with her now.
2) Cheat Death a la Final Destination
3) Avoid affairs (all types incl the extra marital one) which got you into trouble.
The list is endless on both sides and so is human want.
We would keep committing mistakes and going back in time to rectify it or going back and forth in time trying to live the perfect life that we totally forget to live in the present.
I guess that's why going back in time or going to the future still remains the domain of Hollywood.
Suprising no one wants a stop button except the supporters of euthanasia. Thank the stars that all the buttons are with the man/woman above. I guess even he/she has only the play and stop button.
As for me, I would like to live my life the way its going, my past, though has not been picture perfect, has been good. If I ever get a chance to go back in time, I would like to relive my school life (11th and 12th) and the last 2 months of MBA.
Past is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a Gift, that's why its called the Present!!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Monday Morning Blues
As the weekend draws to a close, the thought of getting up for work/school/college on a Monday morning appears to fill some of us with more dread then others.
I should rank high up on the list of people who dread mondays.
Because of social conditioning we tend to think, "Oh God it's Monday" or "Thank God it's Friday" (for all the lucky people who have a 5-day week esp the IT geeks)
Some tips to avoid the dreaded Monday:-
1. Ask your boss if you can do a four-day week, starting on Tuesday
2. Set up your own business and declare Mondays your official day off
3. Get a medical certificate by bribing a doctor declaring you medically unfit to work on mondays.
4. Feign selective amenesia by forgetting your way to the office every monday.
Advise to avoid the blues (ever wondered why it is not red or black)
It's not only a hectic weekend that can turn Monday mornings into a day you hate, but a lack of organisation. Have an early night on a Sunday. A late night and early morning start will sap your energy for a whole week never mind a day. And before you go to bed iron your clothes and pack your bag or brief case with whatever you will need for work. Then come Monday morning you will be ready for action.
For an even better Monday, start getting organised and clearing your desk on Friday (Easier said than done, esp when we want to scoot on Friday evenings). If you haven't been able to do it on a Friday, it's worth going in early on Monday before anyone else arrives (what about the last minute beauty sleep??)
It's also worth drawing up a to-do list on a Friday. Then when you get into work on a Monday hit the ground running by doing one or two things on that list in the first hour (I would convince myself that I lost the list somehow)
Disclaimer : Follow the above at your own risk. I dont follow any of what I have written.
Till then, friends, Mondays are here to stay. Avoid it ,Hate it, We still have to drag our a*** to work/college/school all the same.
I should rank high up on the list of people who dread mondays.
Because of social conditioning we tend to think, "Oh God it's Monday" or "Thank God it's Friday" (for all the lucky people who have a 5-day week esp the IT geeks)
Some tips to avoid the dreaded Monday:-
1. Ask your boss if you can do a four-day week, starting on Tuesday
2. Set up your own business and declare Mondays your official day off
3. Get a medical certificate by bribing a doctor declaring you medically unfit to work on mondays.
4. Feign selective amenesia by forgetting your way to the office every monday.
Advise to avoid the blues (ever wondered why it is not red or black)
It's not only a hectic weekend that can turn Monday mornings into a day you hate, but a lack of organisation. Have an early night on a Sunday. A late night and early morning start will sap your energy for a whole week never mind a day. And before you go to bed iron your clothes and pack your bag or brief case with whatever you will need for work. Then come Monday morning you will be ready for action.
For an even better Monday, start getting organised and clearing your desk on Friday (Easier said than done, esp when we want to scoot on Friday evenings). If you haven't been able to do it on a Friday, it's worth going in early on Monday before anyone else arrives (what about the last minute beauty sleep??)
It's also worth drawing up a to-do list on a Friday. Then when you get into work on a Monday hit the ground running by doing one or two things on that list in the first hour (I would convince myself that I lost the list somehow)
Disclaimer : Follow the above at your own risk. I dont follow any of what I have written.
Till then, friends, Mondays are here to stay. Avoid it ,Hate it, We still have to drag our a*** to work/college/school all the same.
Friday, June 02, 2006
The Cellphone
In India, we get to see, feel, touch almost anything we want to buy be it cars, bikes (test ride), vegetables and what not.
Hell, we can even see how the girl looks, talks, walks, sings, dances (no test ride here) before we say ok, during the traditional ponnu paakarathu thing..
However, how come we dont get to do any of it while buying the necessary evil of a gadget called the cellphone. We are shown a dummy piece which is as lifeless as dead fish (i dont know how a dead fish looks).
How are we too assume how the phone actually looks, whether the display is good, whether it has musical ringtones, clarity of speech and the host of other frills and fancies.
Why dont the cellphone manufacturers provide demo phones to their distributors? Would it cost much to the manufacturer's like Nokia or Sony Ericsson who produce more phones than you can blink every minute?
Maybe it's time we all did something about it.
There is a way out here though..con your friend into buying the phone you want to buy, see how it works. If he does not like it and you like it, buy it from him. If you do not like it, simple..con another friend into buying another model.
So life goes on.
Hell, we can even see how the girl looks, talks, walks, sings, dances (no test ride here) before we say ok, during the traditional ponnu paakarathu thing..
However, how come we dont get to do any of it while buying the necessary evil of a gadget called the cellphone. We are shown a dummy piece which is as lifeless as dead fish (i dont know how a dead fish looks).
How are we too assume how the phone actually looks, whether the display is good, whether it has musical ringtones, clarity of speech and the host of other frills and fancies.
Why dont the cellphone manufacturers provide demo phones to their distributors? Would it cost much to the manufacturer's like Nokia or Sony Ericsson who produce more phones than you can blink every minute?
Maybe it's time we all did something about it.
There is a way out here though..con your friend into buying the phone you want to buy, see how it works. If he does not like it and you like it, buy it from him. If you do not like it, simple..con another friend into buying another model.
So life goes on.
Day One @ Office
Day One at Office is something every person looks forward to eagerly or with dread. As for me, I was looking forward to going to office as I had been taking an break after MBA (actually I was idle).
The day started disastrously with a flat tire. I hurriedly got it fixed and managed to get to office on time. After waiting for about 1 hour, the HR lady, came and handed out a set of forms to be filled up to all new joinees. Also I was told my immediate boss was on leave and would not be available till monday.
I kept filling and filling and filling..it took 2 hours in all (1 hour to fill them all and another one hour for the HR lady to come and collect it. By the time it was time for lunch. I gave myself a treat by paying 85 Rs. for mini meals at HSB. I got my food on a silver platter (literally) with water in a silver wine glass. Now I understand what it means to be born with a silver spoon.
Then after another 1/2 hour of waiting the HR lady came to fetch us and ran us thro a small presentation titled orientation program. I also got caught while stifling a few yawns (I was used to sleeping in the afternoon after lunch..habits die hard).
I was left in the IT/IS division where I made the usual introductions and then the people left me alone. I managed to read Newsweek (Jan 2002) edition and Business Week (May 2006). I guess I dozed off also in between.
I somehow managed to while away time till 5.30 pm and I did a Narain Karthikeyan on my way home.
Phew..Surely there is something companies can do to make the first day interesting!!!
P.S - More bad news..they could have actually cut my arms off..I am not allowed to use my pet device (my cell) in between office hours (9 am to 5.30 pm).
The day started disastrously with a flat tire. I hurriedly got it fixed and managed to get to office on time. After waiting for about 1 hour, the HR lady, came and handed out a set of forms to be filled up to all new joinees. Also I was told my immediate boss was on leave and would not be available till monday.
I kept filling and filling and filling..it took 2 hours in all (1 hour to fill them all and another one hour for the HR lady to come and collect it. By the time it was time for lunch. I gave myself a treat by paying 85 Rs. for mini meals at HSB. I got my food on a silver platter (literally) with water in a silver wine glass. Now I understand what it means to be born with a silver spoon.
Then after another 1/2 hour of waiting the HR lady came to fetch us and ran us thro a small presentation titled orientation program. I also got caught while stifling a few yawns (I was used to sleeping in the afternoon after lunch..habits die hard).
I was left in the IT/IS division where I made the usual introductions and then the people left me alone. I managed to read Newsweek (Jan 2002) edition and Business Week (May 2006). I guess I dozed off also in between.
I somehow managed to while away time till 5.30 pm and I did a Narain Karthikeyan on my way home.
Phew..Surely there is something companies can do to make the first day interesting!!!
P.S - More bad news..they could have actually cut my arms off..I am not allowed to use my pet device (my cell) in between office hours (9 am to 5.30 pm).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
