To laugh or not to laugh?

They say laughter is the best medicine, I'm not entirely sure if that statement is true. It seems relative to the state of your mind. Isn't it? I mean you could only laugh if you were in the mood to laugh. Specially, during these trying times sitting at home away from the world. Your daily routine all topsy- turvey, no alarm bells, no quick showers, no rushing down to the station early morning. However, isn't this what we all wanted? Sometime off, time to rest, time to rewind, time for family? And when we have it, it seems a challenge.

Yesterday, I was chatting with my neighbor and she said she was utterly bored. Now how could you laugh if you are bored? Actually I have the answer for your... You ready? Did you think I'm going to reveal it so quick? Nah! Let me rant and rave a bit before giving you the key to laugh or not to laugh.

Let's rewind the clock a 100 years, let's say this was 23rd April 1920. Almost few years ago Titanic had sank (April, 1912) and Sai Baba was alive just a couple of years ago (Oct, 1918). So back then, if I had told you. I would be able to speak to you using something that looks like a mirror with few sticker like icons on it and you'll be able to press icons and tap into the "invisible waves" that surround the earth. You would think I'm certainly crazy!! But fast forward 100 years and smart phones are just a basic necessity.

What does this tell us? We have the power! Offcourse... we have the power! to not only press the icons of our smart phone and talk to anyone around the world instantly but also it is a reminder of how far we have grown as species. As culture, and as civilization. So what if we are bored or sad or angry or frustrated or disappointed and you took some time to laugh a bit?

Yes that's the answer, as simple as it may sound. Our brains are also like smart phones you could switch from using one app to another just with click of an icon. Sadness to laughter, just simply by using the power of your body over your mind. Simply you need to locate and press that icon in the brain. It is called - Choosing! yes ladies and gentlemen - you heard me. All you got to do is choose to laugh. Choose to be happy. It is not that easy but doable with practice! And to hone your skills we have made it simple and brought to you all online web series of Chat-Chat-Chat.

So would you choose to laugh?

Creating a mindful culture

Creating a mindful culture

I’m sure you would have come across the word “mindfulness” a lot of people I meet think it is something to do with meditation. Nevertheless, practicing meditation isn’t a bad start however mindfulness is a lot more than just sitting down closing your eyes and feeling like Buddha.

Have you lately caught yourself standing in a room thinking why the hell did I come here? Or driving down the road on auto pilot? Or brushing your teeth in the morning without even realising which side you have already brushed? Or eaten your lunch at desk without even tasting a single bite? I got you didn’t I ha ha… well Mindfulness in essence is opposite of mindlessness.

There are two parts to mindfulness –

First, learning to focus and attention on one thing, and being able to bring the attention back when distracted.

Second is about the attitude you bring to paying attention i.e. being open, being focused and interested in what you are doing.

Why suddenly mindfulness is a buzz in corporate culture rather than in monasteries? It is due to the benefit it brings along with it. Imagine if someone can become more creative, have higher levels of pattern-recognition, greater confidence, greater motivation, greater focus and less anxiety obviously they’re going to be more productive and valuable to the company.

So what are few simple ways to create mindful culture?

• Do one thing at a time and do it well
• Be aware of your mindlessness patterns
• Create a soft anchor to flip out of distractions
• Set a time limit for worry or anxiety
• Switch off for at least 10 mins every day
• Recharge your battery often
• Ask for help if you’re in stress
• Develop mindfulness as a skill
• Choose to do three things mindfully everyday like brushing your teeth.
• Choose to respond rather than react
• Learn to accept difficult experiences or changes
• Lastly, Nab’s new marketing punch line – “talk to yourself more”

      

As said earlier, mindfulness is like a muscle which gets stronger and stronger with regular practice. Try the mindfulness app by smiling mind to get started I find it best to switch off during my train trips. You can find your own based on what works for you… happy minding.

“You can’t cross the sea by merely by standing and staring at the water – Rabindranath Tagore”

Unplug your mind

Dump the phone and unplug your mind

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small, A journey of thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

‘Constantly connected’ – if that seems to sum up your day then I have a word of caution for you and it is not coming from me alone, former vice president of Facebook Chamath Pali says “Social media is ripping apart the basic fabric of our society” and he feels “tremendous guilt” over his work on building Facebook’s social validation engine. Believe it or not Facebook has an algorithm to assess your personality and creates so called “short term, dopamine feedback loop called social validation”. Which in simple words means the like buttons, high fives, happy go lucky icons that it reads from your profile and feeds it into an algorithm to target advertisement and social traffic onto your Facebook page.

In an interview with Harvard business school he says he has deactivated not only his but his family’s Facebook account and encourages his kids to call their friends over phone rather checking in status on social media. All this has added another buzz word in our well-being dictionary called “Digital Detox”.

While Technology addiction is not classified as a psychological disorder as of now but it is heading that way quicker than you can imagine. At the same time, there is no denying the fact about value technology delivers in today’s age. However, as the old saying goes “too much of anything is bad” it becomes our revered duty to let our next generation understand the risk that technology overdose brings. Believe it or not we are the last generation on this planet that spent their lives without any screens, apart from a Television.

I still remember the good old black and white TV set in our living room back in 80’s and waiting for Giant Robot, He Man and Spider Man animation series to be aired every Sunday. I never imagined as a child something like tablet or smart phone would make it possible to deliver such content with mere touch of a button. Maybe it was good,since we had time rationed to watch this stuff vs. studies, playtime and family time.

As they say “history repeats itself” number one advise digital detox experts give is rationing screen time in our daily life, so let’s look at how it works:

Implement computer free days – Take out at least one day per month or every fortnight when you

dump your phone, tablet, laptops and TV’s to enjoy time with your family.

Leave the screens out of sleep – Latent technology used in LED screens is a blue optical display which hampers our brainwave pattern, listen to some good old songs or read a book before going to bed instead of looking at a screen. Psychology experts suggest at least one hour gap between sleep and screen time.

Carry your camera – Instead of phone take out your good old camera on holidays to restrict screen time.

Disconnect to reconnect – The best part of living in Australia is the good old “Outback” culture, we are so fortunate to have the biggest backyards and lovely camp sites all over the country. If you haven’t tried camping ever it is a must do activity. Leave your phones and screens behind to rejoice reconnect and recuperate with your family and loved ones.

Control your phone – If you are tempted to look at your phone with every ring, vibrate or notification then take it as a signal to control your phone time. It can be as simple as leaving your phone away and going on a walk with a mate or just by yourself. It is a good idea to switch off your phone at night or at least leave it on silent away from your bedroom.

Schedule screen free nights – Once a week switch off Wi-Fi and turn off TV to spend some good old dinner table time with your loved ones.

“Reward Yourself” - Especially kids for not using internet/ TV/ YouTube for once a week by scheduling screen free trip to park, zoo, aquarium or beach. There are digital detox retreats if you wish to take the pricey option.

Given that our relationship with screen is still relatively new, there are warnings signs that we should look out for and pass on to the next generation the experience we have been raised with.

Who moved my Cheese?

Who moved my cheese?

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” ― Helen Keller

Long ago, I read this book “Who moved my cheese” I learned something about human psychology that day but never understood the real meaning until quite some time, until someone moved my pack of cheese, until I found the real meaning of emotional resilience.

There is something peculiar about us human beings, especially when dealing with emotions. Emotions are distinctive set of body sensations, which we experience under specific situations. These can range from subtle to very strong. There are only three primary colours – Red, Blue and Yellow but we can get spectrum of colours by mixing primary colours. Similarly, there are four types of emotions - Joy, Sadness, Anger and Fear. But we can generate a range of the emotions using combination of these. For example, jealousy is combination of anger and fear, pride is combination of joy and anger. We go through different emotions every moment based on situation to situation testing our psychological response to know if that is going to bring pain or pleasure?

We rely on relations throughout our life. One of the prime areas of our existence that deal with this reaction response every day is relationships. I still remember one of my managers telling relationship is the most important part of your life, be it personal or professional. Relationship does not mean only relationship with people but it also means relationship with profession, relationship with sports, relationship with music and so on. Let’s focus on relationship with some activity such as profession.

In relationships, we experience various primary and secondary emotions like love, pride, respect, envy, anger, frustration, sadness, loss. I remember, when I was ready to move to Australia and resigned my job in India, I was having mix of emotions. I was having emotions of joy, excitement, curiosity to explore new country, meeting new people, gaining wider work experience. But somewhere inside me, I was sad leaving my current job, my friends and my country. To my surprise, I was grieving about the loss and it hit me real hard when I returned after my brother’s wedding back in 2005. Leaving a house full of joy, party, celebration and togetherness to a lonely apartment in Strathfield, it was like a punch in the guts as if a great loss, kind of death.  

Coping with any loss always involves the same dynamics. In every case, whether it’s the loss of a friendship, a career, a limb, whatever, we are forced to admit the fact that we will never experience something or someone again. We are forced to feel an internal emptiness and to accept our pain. Every loss is losing part of us which needs to be rebuilt so that we can replace the loss with new job, new friends and colleagues.

No one can help you unless you get up and start reconstructing the lost part of yourself. I started attending few seminars, going to temple, found a new job and got connected with new people, made new friends “my eagles group” to who I’ll be eternally grateful. I left my comfort zone behind and started taking life head on; I never imagined I would pursue passion for writing and public speaking. Eternal grateful for that change it made me rediscover myself. I had found new cheese, I embraced my new life.

So if you are at the juncture where someone has moved your cheese then get excited because it’s time to do something you never thought you will do. It is time to look after your physical and emotional state. It is time for new adventures you never tried before. It is time to go for a run or fitness class or any other sports you like. Maybe try out meditation you might discover something that you’ve never experienced before. I remember my first meditation session back in 2002 I felt as light as a feather, a bird set free to roam the skies, it was pure and serene.

It is time for New Year to begin, in essence that is what a new year is all about, who cares about earth spinning round the sun in 365 days? But if you look closer it can be real powerful only if you’ve found your cheese.

“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.” Jalaluddin Mevlana Rumi.

Copy of this article is also available on my Linkedin Page.

Fail to plan is plan to fail

In most of my recent conversations with budding entrepreneurs this is the most important subject I harp upon. In todays fast paced business environment, and internet of things age it is very easy to forget the basics and get swamped in hurricane of information that is being thrown at us everyday.

Recently I have been appointed acting VP on yet another board which will make the current mark to 3 start up boards I am presiding on. All very different sectors one is Food Industry, second training and third technology company excluding my own brain child Green Lab Films & Media. I can not reaffirm anymore the need to better plan upfront to save toil later. However, I also know for fact no matter how much you plan things will still go wrong it will still rain during parade.

This is when having a plan B comes into action, you must have already heard about the buzzword "fail fast, fail forward" for people who haven't heard this term earlier. It means don't be afraid to fail "let fear not freeze your actions" which is another way of saying plan better my friend. I remember my maths teacher always use to say "Try and try again until you succeed" and I can't deny for fact how true it is for Lean Entrepreneurship.

In my 25 years of entrepreneurship experience (I started my first venture at fourteen, now don't calculate my age ok!) I can't tell how many times I have failed at one thing or another but still have kept going. From selling door to door instant dumplings mixture to selling pest control solutions to selling NB nature bonds to selling media technology and film distribution. One thing always led to another only what counted was not burying my head into failure but focusing on solution. In-fact that's what lean entrepreneurship and agile mindset talks about, which if succinctly to put in my words is nothing but planning enough to never run out of runway.

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. - Abraham Lincoln"

To read more about lean entrepreneurship or attend my upcoming seminar register here or put a comment below. Till then, Sayonara!

Photo credit: Dilbert.com & Scott Adams.

How to fix bad mood??

Mental well-being is described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “the state in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” 

It’s important to understand that well-being is distinct from happiness, which can come and go, whereas well-being is a consistent state of wellness, satisfaction and contentment. In Australia, many of us work and strive to improve our well-being and quality of life, and that of our families. 

Elements that can contribute to a person’s well-being are:

Health.

Personal relationships.

Feelings of safety.

Standard of living.

Sense of achievement and purpose. 

Feeling part of the community.

Future security.

Good mental health is more than just the absence of mental illness. A positive state of well-being includes feeling good and functioning well.  In totality your mental well-being is linked with not only you but people around you, it is in direct proportion to the quality of your personal and professional life. A bad state of mind not only destroys your day but does subsequent harm to family and workplace, let’s look at few ways to tackle a bad mood.

How to fix a bad mood?

•“Remind yourself that whatever it is that’s causing distress, will almost certainly pass (few things last forever)

•“Try to keep negative life events in perspective; ask something like ‘is it really that bad?’ or ‘how bad will this seem in a week, month or year?’

•“Focus more on what you have and less on what you don’t have; more on what’s going well rather than whatever it is that’s not going well

•“Reassure yourself you’re not alone and you don’t have to cope on your own; tell yourself there are others who care and who can help.” 

“Positive thinking is very useful at times, but positive action can be just as or even more powerful.

So in addition to changing our thoughts, one or more of below behaviours could help to overcome  a bad mood:

•“Exercise – activity is not just good for our physical health but also very beneficial for our well-being

•“Put on your favourite tunes and soak up the positive energy.

•“Call a friend – a problem shared is a problem halved.

•“Read, listen to, or watch something funny – laughter is a powerful anti-depressant!”

•Get out of the lazy funk

•Check your mood monitor score:  https://www.mindhealthconnect.org.au/mood-monitor

In conclusion I would like to quote :

There is no passion to be found playing small -  In settling for a life that is less  than the one you are capable of living – Nelson Mandela.

The more a man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and well being – Confucius.

What You Are Made Up Of?

The impact your life has on society is going to be determined by what you do when life is difficult. It is easy to be productive when life is easy but can you find empowering meanings when the odds are stacked against you to produce the results? It is easy to regurgitate clichés do you have the fortitude to do the work to take the action, or are you all talk? The greatest heroes have overcome the mightiest obstacles, and this is not a coincidence. Some people run from problems, but greatness does not allow you to avoid problems it is in the overcoming of your problems that defines you.

This weekend my two year old daughter was after my life to watch her recently favourite animation “The Good Dinosaur” being a Pixar film, I knew it was going to be fun. But I was totally bedazzled by the dialogue writing hats off to Pixar team and their writers. This is their third film I’m blogging about:

Butch the T-Rex [to Arlo]
“If you aren’t scared, you ain’t alive.”

Arlo: [laughs slightly] you guys would have liked my poppa. He wasn't scared of anything. [sighs] I'm done being scared!
Butch: Who said I'm not scared?
Arlo: But you took on a croc!
Butch: And I was scared doin' it. If you ain't scared of a croc bitin' you on the face, you ain't alive. Listen, kid, you can't get rid of fear. It's like Mother Nature; you can't beat her or outrun her, but you can get through it. You can find out what you're made of.
Butch: You’ll be alright, you are one tough kid

That’s your ultimate testing moment, which proves what you are made up of. The other day, I was speaking to my brother over phone about his struggles being an entrepreneur. Some wretched trader double crossed him, later he sent me a message “Life is full of idiots like these (that trader) who wants to burst your dream bubble (deal)” But he still chose to complete the deal even if it made him loss. At least to show what he was made up of, hats off to you brother! You are one tough kid!

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy - Martin Luther King, Jr.

yours -

@amazing_arvind

The Secret to Future

The Secret to Future

"The Secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine" - Mike Murdock

There is so much to learn in our lifetimes through various instances, experiences & routines. Somebody once said to me "Success doesn't happen in a day, it happens daily" back then I wasn't quite convinced by that statement. Primarily because I use to measure my success by monetary gain or fame. I use to feel that one day I would be successful but later on I realised, it was just a mirage.

You can't wait lifelong for a magic day to occur instead we need to create magic daily. All that time when you laugh out loud, celebrate, mingle with friends/family and people you love they are the times of success. All that time when you experience the emotions of love, care, joy, friendship and togetherness are the times of success, these are the real magic moments we should cherish. These are the times we live our life! it is not the destination but fulfilling journey we should use to measure our successes.

It is not just some day, it happens every day... it is not something to achieve but it is something to pursue every day. As rightly put in one my favorite Will Smith movies... "The Pursuit of Happyness"

Christopher Gardner: It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?

Yours,

Arvind J Baswan

#GreenlabFilms

Click here to contribute to our crowdfunding campaign.