2010 Resolutions - Progress Report

It has already two months into the new year so I thought it would be good to review my new year resolutions and take them forward. So let us establish some ratings to determine how I am doing.

Distinction: Exceeds Expectations

A - 90% objectives met

B - 50% objectives met

C- 20% objectives met

D- 10% objectives met

E - 0% objectives met

Health: In the category of my health, my progress has been very bad. My resolutions were to wake up at 6 in the morning daily, exercise and run daily and drink a smoothie daily.. but bad to say I haven't been implementing anything consistently. So the report is D because I have some days done that inconsistently. I am thinking of joining a running club and then take it forward from there. I have identified a club near my place but in US without a car it is impossible to go anywhere. So I think it would take more than a month for this to be implemented. Regarding waking at 6 and drinking a smoothie, I am sleeping late so I think I will just take it light for now. But I hope to make progress on it.

Career: In career my resolutions were not to multitask, have 0 issues and to join another degree. To be frank, these are not big resolutions at all. I am unable to stop multitasking and I haven't done much development in these three months to see if they have issues at all. Regarding joining another degree, I am in the process. Though it is not 100% met, this will be rated B

Relationships: So I wanted to strengthen existing relationships with more emphasis on sharing. I am a very independent person and sharing doesn't come naturally to me. I am a voracious reader and I feel that I have something valuable to share like interesting articles or useful information, but I don't send emails to people which are the best methods for communication. Also, I feel that I don't communicate heart-fully and connect well. And regarding my reluctance to share, I think my friend Rajesh, points out in his blog on why smart people are reluctanct to share because they feel that what they know is obvious knowledge or just background thinking. To quote him

Two things:

1. The point that what is obvious to you is not obvious to many other people who are not at the same level of expertise so it is worth sharing them.

2. Not noticing what’s in your “background thinking.” It may be in your background thinking but it’s not in the background thinking of everyone else. So, once you notice this, you can easily package this knowledge and share it.

Read more: http://www.lifebeyondcode.com/2009/12/26/why-some-smart-people-are-reluctant-to-share/#ixzz0h57fjqLz
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

So noticing that I decided that I will share more in the coming time, but I am yet to follow up on that. So still have a lot to do here, and I feel that I can do more in communicating empathetically. Basically lot of scope for improvement and regarding progress, I am sharing more on twitter and my retweets have also gone up. I would give myself only a C, because I have to go forward a lot before, I can feel that I am sharing well. I think this has to happen in real life also. I am reluctant to give advice or say something even what I know because I feel that it is so obvious. I think I have to take part more in the conversation because then I will know what I know and what I can add. Hopefully I can do that more in the future.

Finances: 30 L...That is the magic figure for this year. I didn't know how I would get that much when I wrote it for then, my onsite was not confirmed but now, I am in US earning more than what I could in India. But still, the amount will not come to that which means I should have some other ways of earning too, but at this point I am not excessively bothered about that as money is just a return for the value I provide. So I am concentrating on increasing my ability to create value and share value and then this would just be the side effect. So I think it would meet 50% of desired value. So I will give it a B

Personal: Only this I would say is progressing well in expectations. I have written 12 posts in this year and of them only one I think is outright useful post and most of others have been sharing myself which would have ofcourse helped the reader. And regarding writing story, i have written something, but I have to polish it more. If I don't get time to polish it I will publish by end of this month as it is.

Regarding books, hopefully I will get time to read some classics as I miss my library in India. So this is also a B

So basically, I have to catchup a lot in health, relationships. Career and personal goals are going well but can be better.

Will write a next progress report May 1st week. Till then, take care.

Give me any suggestions that you feel will help me.

If you have resolutions, may be it is a good time to review the progress.

Some Random Reflections about 'Counting Your Blessings'

Image via Wikipedia

Just read a post 'Counting My Blessings' at Vyshu's blog. Ofcourse it made me about things I like and feel blessed about. But it made me think of something else too...

In your life you have had some people who like you but somehow you have not had that much liking for them as much as they have... and there are some people whom you like very much but it feels as if there is not much reciprocation... And sometimes it feels as if I have to somehow like those people who like me but how much ever I try I find that an unsatisfying pursuit. They just don't seem to sustain my interest. I am thinking hard if it is because of a prejudice on my part? Or is it because of my inability to see them right? Do you feel blessed for such love existing in your life?

After much thought on this, I came to the conclusion that it might be possible that we might look interesting to some people whom we may not find interesting enough and we might find some other people interesting to us to whom we might not seem much interesting. It is quite natural for thing like this to happen and am just thinking of the possibility where each person find the other interesting. That might just spark a super spiral of emotional growth , happiness, bliss and purpose.

Is it a romantic thought or not I don't know. Is it the right thing or not I will not know but my heart revels in the fact that something like this is possible...There is a longing which never disappears... Have you ever felt like this ever?

What is love

hi Readers,

I want to know your opinion on what love means to you?

I want to clarify my objective. I want the answer to question regarding the love between a man and a woman... When they say they are in love what does it mean exactly?

Update: One of the readers, Gaargi commented below the following on love

Love is the word used to label the sexual excitement of the young, the habituation of the middle-aged, and the mutual dependence of the old.
~John Ciardi

Most men and women, given suitable conditions, will feel passionate love at some period of their lives. For the inexperienced, however, it is very difficult to distinguish passionate love from mere sex hunger; especially is this the case with well-brought-up girls, who have been taught that they could not possibly like to kiss a man unless they loved him. If a girl is expected to be a virgin when she marries, it will very often happen that she is trapped by a transient and trivial sex attraction, which a woman with sexual experience could easily distinguish from love. This has undoubtedly been a frequent cause of unhappy marriages. ~Bertrand Russel in Marriage and Morals

Though I feel they are really right, it doesnt decrease the importance of love even a little bit...

If we really think about it, life is meaningless, yes we are born, somehow we produce some offspring and then we leave it. This is life in a nutshell. How bad it looks..? So it all boils down to the point of where anyone finds meaning in? Some people may find it in their work, only to realize that it was not worth it after some time, some people in keeping their parents happy until they realize that it doesnt automatically guarantee you happiness...

But I think if two people are in love, then it gives them a lot of meaning which can be rightly characterized as

Love is the word used to label the sexual excitement of the young, the habituation of the middle-aged, and the mutual dependence of the old. as said by John Ciardi.. So that is love - It is something in which you find a meaning to your life, when everything else seems nothing, when suddenly life seems to seem so worthy...

Update 2: We love just because we love, nothing else... not because their tastes are matching with ours, not because she/he is beautiful or not because of any particular reason.. you love because you love..

On Friendship...

I have previously written about friendship here. But that was a partial thing... One of my reader Vidhya sent me this ... Very true and thought of sharing it with you all ... 

People come into your life for a
reason, a season or a lifetime…
when you know which one it is
you will know what to do for that person..
 
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, This person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
 
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.
 
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, Things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, Love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thanks Vidya for sharing this. 

Friendship --- My thoughts

I was a bit of loner during my childhood... May be I dreamt a lot and had my own dream world and hence couldnt identify with anyone else... ..

But after seeing, observing and reading about friends, I liked these excerpts taken from various sources

From Dave's blog:

I learned that a friend is someone I trust to be with me when I am at my weakest and most vulnerable. And they are people who, no matter how painful it is to see, are willing to be with me when I am so helpless and weak. If I would trust my life with you, and vice versa, we are friends. It’s not about whether you are trustworthy, or whether you are friendly, it’s the actual act of trust that is the basis of friendship. If I trust you to be truthful, then you’re a friend. If I find I must be careful how I say things, then it’s something other than friendship.

Friendship is not a state of mind, it’s an act. It’s something you do, it’s not about whether you’re good or not, it’s not a reflection of you, it’s a balanced relationship between people. That doesn’t mean it’s always balanced at every moment. Sometimes you “need a friend” and other times it’s the other way. It’s a trust that’s returned.

One of my best friends, when posed with this question answered it this way --- who will not let his friend go away from his life.. and will do any help when he requires.. to be frank
God gives Mother as our best friend.. and we choose a friend almost equal to her

This is the definition of a friend, should show unconditional love like a mother...but it cannot be so unconditional also... But it should be fine as long as trust is retained....

But if a friend does any mistake, it is our responsibility to say it is wrong, make them understand why it is wrong and give chance to correct them... If you always judge how can we love them.. Only this way does a relationship grow strong but not by leaving a friend at the first instance.


Read my latest post on friendship here