Tag: corona

How Can You Stay Sane in Stressful Times!

Hi All, Here’s your weekly dose of “5-Bullet Tuesday”, list of things I’m enjoying or pondering.

Quote I loved – 

A smile acts upon difficulties as the sun upon clouds – it disperses them. Keep smiling.

Story I loved hearing – 

I was listening to a podcast in which Jack Kornfield, a trained Buddhist monk talks about remaining calm in crisis as the best approach. Jack has conducted online sessions for people in China and other countries that are severely affected by the Corona virus. He Talks about how when in ancient times when the pirate ships were caught is storms, everyone on the ship was saved if even one of them remained calm. This one person would show everyone the way forward and all would survive even the mightiest of storms. Today, in this time of crisis, I want to invite you to be that one person. How could you be that one person, you may be thinking. Read further..

Best advise I heard on staying sane during stressful times –  

According to Jack Kornfield, here are the steps to follow:

1 Acknowledge your anxieties – Write down your worst fears and worries on chits of paper and put them all in a bowl. Place them at your place of worship in the house. For Lord to take care and hold it for you.

2. Change the lens through which you’re seeing the happenings around you. Start believing that this is not happening to us, but for us. – Is there something to learn from this? Can this downtime be used for deepening compassion, strengthening connection and improving ourselves?

Turn it around and say the universe has provided you with a retreat which would otherwise not be possible.

Hasn’t this situation already taught us to look beyond the boundaries of geography and religion? We’re all, the entire humanity in it standing together like never before, in this fight against the unknown.

3. Get real: Denial is wrong and so is getting lost in the future. It’s time to get into action. We have got work to do, a lot of it. Stay home, clean the house, wash the dishes, doors and handles too. Clearly, there is not any time to waste, no time for gossip and no time for a constant inflow of breaking news.

A motivation tip I loved the most- 

This too is by Jack Kornfield, “Remember, we have generations of ancestors behind us, who are looking at us today and saying -we too survived some extremely tough times, you will too. You can do it. Keep the faith.”

A creative way of creating the Daily Top 3 things to do –

Jonathan Fields, the author of The Good Life Project says that to live a good life no matter what the circumstances, you need to constantly work on filling three life buckets. These three buckets are those of Connection, Contribution and Vitality.

Connection – Attend online meetings, rekindle relations with the family, express gratitude to the real hero’s- the doctors at the frontline.

Contribution – Like I said before, stay home, clean the house, wash the dishes, and doors and handles too. 

Vitality – Learn and grow. Physically, Spiritually and mentally. Various things you can do for that. For example, even in this downtime, my calendar is busier than ever.

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[5-Bullet Tuesday] Here’s Why You Should Use a Namaste!

Hi All,

Here’s your weekly dose of “5-Bullet Tuesday”, list of things I’m enjoying or pondering.

What I’ve learnt —

It was International Women’s day this Sunday, the 8th March, and with PM Modi himself endorsing it, the gung-ho was like never before. Even the Corona virus scare couldn’t dampen the spirits. I asked some of my friends about what their organizations in Delhi NCR were upto for Women’s Day. Here what I gathered:

  1. NIIT Ltd organized a session on breast cancer awareness and gave a token to all the ladies. Some other companies also organized full day workshops followed by a special lunch for ladies.
  2. Kellton Tech’s CEO sent an email to all ladies staff on Thursday evening with an Amazon Gift voucher and a surprise note that they could take Friday and Monday off!
  3. Macquarie organized decentralized team huddles and gifted “Can I have it all?” book nu Anuranjita Kumar to all the lady colleagues.
  4. Some companies arranged placards on which men would write a pledge or an appreciation note for their female counterparts.
  5. Many organized food stalls especially for ladies, gave chocolates or gift hampers to the ladies as soon as they reached office on Thursday

That’s quite a list, isn’t it? The most bizarre being two straight days off for ladies, and that too when Tuesday anyway is a holiday for Holi. What did your company do to make women’s day special?

Quote I’m pondering —

Here’s what late Zig Ziglar, the great motivational speaker, replied to someone who had casually remarked, “The problem with motivation is that it doesn’t last.”

Ziglar’s reply was, “..well, neither does bathing! That’s why we recommend it daily”.

What I’m reading –

I’m flipping the pages of 48 Days to The Work you Love, by Dan Miller. Some books, this one included, have value bombs loaded all over them. You may not read cover to cover, just read a few pages a day and that’s enough to keep you strong through the day.

Here’s an excerpt: If there is one consistent killer of securing a new job, it’s the poor self-esteem of the seeker. Here are some telltale signs that your self-esteem may be slipping:

  • You manage time poorly – you’re missing or are late for commitments
  • You’re slacking off on exercise
  • You’re dropping out of social involvements
  • You’re becoming a couch potato
  • You’re letting relationships deteriorate

If you’re honest answers to most of the above are yes, it’s time to find ways to bruce up your self-esteem. 

What I’ve been using –

I’m unlearning the handshakes and been practicing using the good’ol Namastes instead. One positive side effect of the Corona virus. Just in case you’ve forgotten, here’s what Namaste means-

What I recalled–

While teaching the kids about going back to Namaste to prevent the spread of the virus, I recalled a harmless and cute little handshake prank that was common back in college days. A girl had played this with me first perhaps during ragging and coming straight out of a very conservative school setting, it had killed me with embarrassment. I am trying my hand at making a comic strip (using Pixton) to tell you what it was. Check it out.. and click this link in case the image below isn’t clear enough.

I hope you will now remember to say Namaste and avoid shaking hands :).

If you like this post, then show the love by sharing it with friends and family. The best part of writing a blog is the discussion that follows, so do register your thoughts and views below.