Are you making art ?

Have you heard about cryptokitties? Cryptokitties is a game to buy, breed, collect and sell adorable kitties - but you have to use the cryptocurrency ether to buy them. Its a rage these days and is being hailed as the first mainstream crypto application.

Why are people buying these? Because they are fun, novel and they're are cute cats :) It is introducing crypto in a fun and entertaining way. Some people are thinking it as a way to experiment with crypto while others are in it to make a quick buck.

This got me thinking about what is the motivation behind we buy anything non-essential - i.e food, medicine and transport stuff and basic clothing. It is either of these - to play, to get entertained, to be informed, to be validated or to be satisfied - in other words to get high! Everyone wants to get high. Each person's way is different.

Cryptokitties are digital collectible i.e digital works of art. It got me thinking about whether there is any difference between digital art and physical art. And also about why is art useful. I think it is because it inspires us, lifts us  and gives us a story. It inspires us because of the genius and also the effort put in by the people who made it.

I used to think that taking a picture of a scenery is same as/better than an art but realized it is not so - art can exaggerate and show us the best. May be nature might get us the best if we wait enough.
But with art there are more ways of expression- not just what is available in reality.
Art is a way of expression and if what the artist expresses, if that story impresses us or connects with us it is valuable in that it provides a high by sparking emotion in us.

The principle of true art is not to portray, but to evoke - Jerzy Kozinski

So art is anything that impresses us, makes us emotional. It can be used to improve us or diminish us. 

It is up to the artist to make his/her art empowering. It causes connection between the artist and the user of the art. Art is valued because it is scarce, it is difficult to make something that connects.

So it is a hits based thing where something that connects will be valued a lot compared to others. 

The opposite of an art is a commodity. Similar to others, easily replaceable, not having a story to it and no connection. It is also the secret to great marketing -  tell great stories about things we are selling and bringing that connection with the users. Of course it has to inspire them, help them to get their things done. 

We each influence others who we come into contact with. Instead of being a commodity without any story, we can make art to inspire and to really connect with people and create something of lasting value! 

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. - Rabindranath Tagore

Breaking the addiction... part 2

Last week I wrote about how passive entertainment addicts you and a better way to get entertained is the active entertainment through hobbies, games and playing.

Even with all those things, I was not really able to overcome the addiction and this week too. The funny thing is that I watched more Netflix over the weekend than I studied over the whole week!

But as we know breaking the addiction is not just based on the decision. 

In reality we can only break a habit with something else. It is a habit and it gives some rewards for doing that thing. 

A habit has three things - a cue, a routine and a reward. 

For e.g the cue is feeling bored or wanting relaxation. And the routine is watching Netflix. The reward is the sense of satisfaction, thrill and other stuff released with the emotional highs created by the movie or tv show. 

So the way to break this cycle is to change the routine. We will still get a cue of feeling bored or wanting relaxation. We have to do something else which will give us the thrills. Play can replace it to certain extent but realize that it cannot really replace it fully. Here is where we need the environment to encourage it - with no TVs, phones or tablets nearby. Also have a decided game or hobby material ready so that we can dive right into it and overcome the laziness to set it up. And next whenever you fail to do so, try again till you get habituated to the new routine. 

So onward I go towards overcoming that addiction and replacing it with a better one...  

Did you waste the day, or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber do you think that God would say,
You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?
-Edgar Guest

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/have-you-earned-your-tomorrow-by-edgar-albert-guest

Break the addiction to passive entertainment

When I was a child, there was just one channel Doordarshan. And I'm not even sure what they would broadcast most of the time. But every sunday 9:00 AM, we used to sit infront of the TV eagerly waiting for Jungle book. That was the first TV show that I remember watching with rapt attention.

Of course new channels came and with it came an explosion of entertainment. So our expectation of entertainment has changed. We started expecting to be entertained at any time. With youtube and netflix, now we have any time entertainment with our preferred things. It was never so easy to get entertained. And this thing is addicting. But why is this so addicting ?

Multiple reasons - With its fast cuts and engaging story, it grabs our attention with the question - what happens next?

The human body responds in a unique way to signals of danger. The brain readies the body for fleeing or fighting. And it does so by a sudden release of neuro-chemicals, including the hormone cortisol and both adrenaline and noradrenaline. These chemicals not only ready us for action, they also cause us to believe that we can overcome opposition. Confidence in threatening situations provides an evolutionary advantage, as long as it leave the door open to a rapid exit of the odds are too heavily stacked against us.  Fear, danger and violence all provide us with a natural high that makes us feel more powerful, more positive and more confident. Also, dopamine, the fuel of our reward center, is released as we encounter novel situations. These chemicals, acting together, create a feeling of satisfaction for us. 

          Source: https://outofmygord.com/2010/02/09/the-psychology-of-entertainment-why-were-hooked-on-violent-action-thrillers/

This I feel is the main reason to get addicted to TV. This need for stimulation is called sensation seeking. And the more you love seeking these sensations, the more addicted you will be.
Because of mirror neurons, we also start feeling the emotions the characters on TV are feeling. All these things setup to cause addiction to watching the shows.

Now think about where we are getting time for watching this TV -- at the cost of other things especially being social with friends and spending time with family. If there was no TV we would have spent time talking with friends and family and playing games. So this passive entertainment is hitting and taking away at what really gives us the happy moments of life. Well will you regret not watching a TV show or will you regret not spending time with friends and family ? With kids at the age where they learn from us directly ? In the small window of time we have before they leave for their own lives ?

I certainly feel I will regret if I don't make good use of this time. So how to overcome this addiction and reclaim this time ? First become aware and accept that we might not get that much stimulation from anything else and get comfortable being bored.

Next think about active things you can do with your friends and family
Sing
Dance
Play cards and other games
Paint
Read
Debate
Organize
Do art
Write
... The possibilities are endless. Each of these things have their own way of giving a high to us and also we might become more close with our loved ones.

Why do we need inspiration ?

There are times when we feel we can be so much more than what we are. We all long to overcome our limitations and reach for the stars. And that longing is awakened when we are inspired. Inspiration pushes us to look for possibility and completely changes the way we look at our capabilities. We feel as if we are ready to make a dent in the universe. It reminds us that we are much more than where we are at currently and propels us to take action to reach where we want to be.

When we hear the stories of people overcoming impossible odds to achieve what they want, we feel encouraged ourselves to take on the mountains stopping us. It makes us go from thinking we can do it to believing we will do it. When we hear a quote from an accomplished person, we get reminded of all the great challenges that person has overcome in their life and that again triggers possibility in our life. This what inspiration does to us. It gives us the encouragement to act in the face of limitations and doubt.

And when it strikes, you have to lock in that fleeting moment of inspiration. The way to lock in the inspiration is to act, act swiftly and daily to keep the momentum. Momentum begets more momentum and it keeps us inspired.

It also happens that our daily life will bring situations where we feel down and uninspired and then we need some encouragement to fill out and strengthen our mind to start again. But where do we get inspiration from? 

There are multiple ways - One of them is to read a few pages from the biography or autobiography of people who you find inspiring or listen to inspiring talks. There you find people like us who faced the same daily grind of life, but have done something to tell their tale to the world. But if you don't have that much time now - there is another way. You can read or listen to a quote from an inspiring person and then consider and think about that quote for a minute. Listen to a few - I'm sure you will have filled up with possibility to ready to take on the world again. 

Better yet, why not make it a daily practice so that we don't really wait till we go completely down to get inspired? 

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily. --Zig Ziglar

Life is short ... and long enough!

The popular actress Sridevi died yesterday suddenly at the age of 54. She seemed to be healthy with no prior complications or issues. Everyone is shocked and sad that one person who seems to be hale and hearty can drop dead in a second. That is the shortness and fragility of life. We never know what might happen tomorrow. And all the things which we thought twice about, all the non sense we tolerate doesn't really make sense when seen through the fragility lens of life.

It is a stark reminder to live simply and life fully so that we are ready to leave any moment. That means living life as we want to do, without regrets. That means really doing what we want to do and saying what we want to say.  It means pushing ourselves and loved ones to reject hedonism and towards service. 

Counter intuitively life is also long enough for most of us... If we are reasonably healthy and take care of the basics ( good food, exercise, water, sleep ) , we also have enough time left. It is only that most of it goes into pockets which we can claim or use. If we are focused and resourceful, there is really very good chance that we can do anything we want.

So think about what you're doing, do it with complete focus. If you do things you have to do when you have to do it, you will get a chance to do things you want to do when you want to do it. Once you have reached a level of proficiency in your work, you can design your life around your values and goals. Be so good that they can't ignore you. I'm reminded of all the things that have inspired me and this might be a regurgitation of all that...

All the things you see and use are developed by people like us. All external expectations, the fear of embarrassment or failure, fall away in the face of death, leaving only the truly important. Remembering that life is short is a way to avoid the trap that you have something to lose. You're already naked there is no reason not to follow your heart. Stay hungry and stay foolish - Steve Jobs 

... I remember telling him I was excited to connect the Harvard community, but one day someone would connect the whole world.
The thing is, it never even occurred to me that someone might be us. We were just college kids. We didn’t know anything about that. There were all these big technology companies with resources. I just assumed one of them would do it. But this idea was so clear to us — that all people want to connect. So we just kept moving forward, day by day.
I know a lot of you will have your own stories just like this. A change in the world that seems so clear you’re sure someone else will do it. But they won’t. You will. - Mark Zuckerberg 

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people. - Randy Pausch 

So get inpsired, and keep grinding away at the dent you want to make in the world. 

Journal Daily

We all get somewhat lost in our daily grind. So we all need time everyday to catch our breath and decide what this is all about.

We all decide to do something but during the course of a busy day forget what we wanted to do. We need to remind our minds to keep the things we want to do on top of the head.

We have some thought which keep going round and round. We would like to calm in down and find some resolution.

We have some rough idea about something we want to do. We want to build it out.


The answer to all these is to write a journal. Previously I used to keep a diary on and off about I the things I did yesterday but I would always fall out of habit of that as that didn't feel much useful.
But I found a better method which not only helps me keep my cadence but also makes writing my journal extremely useful. I decided to journal about how to spend my day ahead. As I have written above, it is a place to catch my breath on why I am doing what I'm doing. It is a place to keep reminding myself of things I ought to do. A place to write down and calm all the circular thoughts in my mind. It is a place elaborate the tiny sparks of ideas I have. It is a place to mentally create what I want to do during the day so that our subconscious can keep that in mind and act accordingly.

It is also a keystone habit that can alter the course of the day and make the day smoother. Try it. 

Happy Valentine's day dear

Today is Valentine's day a special day to express your love to your special people. I understand that people feel that there need not be a special day for that and that we should do that every day. I don't disagree with that and you can do both. Love is short and nobody knows what can happen tomorrow, so never leave a chance to express how much your loved ones mean to you. So even if you need a special day to do that then do be it and today is your chance. 

I want to thank my dear wife for her infinite love and support, for taking extremely good care of our family. Thanks for being my biggest cheerleader and also being a gentle critic when needed . I wish her all the happiness and success. . Happy Valentine's day.