Speaking of Dads

A  dad is born

When a child comes into this world crying

Everyone assumes dad knows all

But dad is extremely scared and has no clue what he must now do

With the cutie bundle in his arms, so small.

 

Dad’s always been the man of the house

Now there’s little one who’s his responsibility too

Dad’s heart swells with love and pride

But how he wishes there was a universal ‘Dad’s Guide’.

 

He’s training to be a “Dad” on the job

Hoping that he’s getting it right

Dad can handle complicated deals at work without batting an eyelid

But he’s at a loss how to handle the tantrums of his kid

 

Dad wants to be strict, but not too harsh

He wants to be gentle, but not be taken advantage of

He keeps wondering what his dad did

When he was a kid

 

The years roll by, Time waits for no one

There’s a young man in place of the child

Dad beams with pride

“I stumbled this journey, not always sure I was doing what is right

But guided by love, intuition and my own dad

And I would say that is not at all bad”

 

Few more years pass and Dad is now Grand dad

Grand dad is carefree and confident – after all, he’s grand

The world now had a new dad- scared and unsure and treading his path with care

Dad (now Grand dad) smiles and says “Son, you got this, Hang in there”

 

 

Be the Architect of your Happiness- 2 Simple Tips to be Happy

How we live life each day is how we live life. I know that sounds cryptic  Let me try and explain what I mean.

As we go through life, hoping to find happiness at the destination, we often reach the destination only to be met with a sense of flatness. Many of us are guilty of tying our happiness to a particular event or achievement. For instance, ‘I will be happy when I get that job’ or ‘I will be happy when I have lost xx kilos’. When we make our happiness conditional, we are putting the onus of our happiness on something external- be  it a person or an event.

And we spend our life chasing that goal, forgetting to enjoy the process.

Life is made up of moments, tiny little moments that come together and make our days, weeks, month, years and ultimately our lives. To truly enjoy life, we need to enjoy the moments.

We cannot look for that magical XYZ period when we will become happy because we got the job. Because that moment in the future in made up of several tiny, small moments that lead up to it. When we enjoy every moment, we enjoy life.

How do you Live Life Each Day

When we wake up in the morning, we have the power within us to create the day we want. When we create an intention to have a wonderful, productive day, where we undertake activities that take us closer to our goals, we are able to fulfill those intentions.

On the other hand if we start the day absolutely clueless, as to what we intend to accomplish on that day, it should really come as no surprise that the day goes by and nothing of value is done. Naturally, at the end of such a day, you may feel a sense of disappointment, which unfortunately will spill over to the next day and the cycle continues.

Break the cycle now.

Work Towards Happiness

Happiness is not a magical feeling that just comes to you. Just like everything else, you have to work at being happy. And the more you practice being happy, the happier you will be. It will start taking lesser effort to be happy until you are happy all the time.

Imagine that!!

Create Happiness Everyday withe these Two Simple Strategies

1) Make Time for Things that Matter and

2) Make time Things that Make you Happy

Making Time for Things that Matter

Hopefully you already have your goals in life.

Go through each day trying to do at least one or two activities that will take you closer to your goals. As the day unfolds, unexpected things may crop up that need your immediate attention. In the midst of all the chaos, make sure to do at least one thing that is directly connected to any one of your goals.

For instance you may have a goal of losing 10 kg by a certain date. Be sure to start you day with an exercise routine and ensure that you maintain your diet throughout the day. This, way, at the end of the day, you have the satisfaction of knowing you have advanced towards at least one of your goals, if not all. 

And this feeling will make you happy.

So there are two things here we just saw that will make you happy:

1. Set up goals
2. Take steps, even small steps that take you towards your goals

This way, you start enjoying the process of reaching your goals, and not just the end destination.

2) Make Time for Things that Make you Happy

All of us have a random list of list of things that make us happy. It could range from having a piping hot cup of coffee while watching the rains or seeing that particular episode of Friends where Ross and Rachel kiss. It could be chatting with our spouses or parents, cooking up a meal for the family or ordering in from your favorite restaurant. 

Make sure that you do as many of these things as possible during your day and week. And here’s the key, don’t wait for the time to enjoy your coffee…put it in your schedule. In the midst of my work day, I will have a cup of coffee, just as I like it and enjoy that moment of 5-7 minutes completely with no other thought.

The best way to do this is to compile a list of things that make you happy. This could be a list of 10 things or 100 things or more. This could be a dynamic list, to which you keep adding more items.

Once you have the list, keep actively scheduling your ‘happy moments’ into your day, through out the day.

This ensures that you are happy and pleasant always, which also boosts your motivation and energy for work.

I must add that the idea for the happiness list and actively scheduling the happy moments into the day is borrowed from Rob Dial’s podcast.

Are you ready to be the architect of your Happiness?

50 things that make me happy

1. Spending time with family.
2. Playing scrabble and NPAT with Anand, Abhinav and Kaamya.
3. Saturday evenings just chilling out, ordering from out and listening to music.
4. Nightly talks with Abhinav and Kaamya
5. Cooking with Abhinav
6. Talking with Kaamya, combing her hair.
7. My morning coffee with peace.
8. My miracle morning routine.
9. Watching reruns of TV shows with Anand
10. Having random discussions with Anand.
11. Talking to mom and dad.

12. Talking to Ramesh,Prabha and R, S and S.

13. Planning and organizing and sticking to the plan.

14, writing. Creative writing.

15. Reading.

16. Spending time on pursuits  that lead to self development and personal growth.

17. Introspection. Spending time with myself.

18. Cooking with Abhinav.

19.  Having silly talk with Kaamya.

20. Talking to my school friends.

21. Having random thoughts that I wish to write on.

22. Planning my days, weeks and months and years.

23. Planning vacations.

24. Going on vacations.

25. Visualizing vacations.

26.  My workouts.

27. Creating diet plans for myself and sticking to them.

28. Sipping tea during work. 

29. Sipping tea while watching the rain.

30 Watching my yellow hibiscus grow.

31. Deep work.

32. A sense of a day well spent accomplishing important tasks.

33. Having family around – cousins and all.

34. Baking.

35. Getting praises at work.

36. Singing/Practicing Music.

37. Having opportunities to do acts of Kindness.

38. Taking long walks in nature.

39. Listening to self development podcasts.

40. Always keep things measurable. Create set routines for things.

41. Create and design a beautiful home, Visualize.

42. Taking silly pictures.

43. Having dinner together.

44.ordering from LSD.

45. Having chocolates.

46. Gossip / talk with friends.

47. Working out.

48. Cleaning cupboards.

49.Just sitting.

50. Listening to music.

51. Wrapping up work at 6.00 pm

52. Cooking something amazing.