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3 Lessons from Lord Ganesha

Lord Ganesha’s festival is here. Our beautiful city, Mumbai shines brighter with lights and colors. The vibe is festive, streets are energetic and people are all smiles. Mumbai is His city and He brings along unadulterated joy. Communities prepare for the 10 days with enthusiasm. People keep their commitments on hold, they forget their schedules and be around the deity.

I feel motivated to pay my tribute to Lord Ganesha. Here is an article that narrates 3 important things that he symbolizes, he teaches, he depicts.

Beauty is within. It is not in your body shape or structure; it is your deeds and soul that matters. An ancient story says that when Gods went to attend Lord Vishnu’s wedding, they did not take Lord Ganesha along because he looked odd and ate too much. When Ganesha came to know about the reason he told his confidante, the little mouse to dig the mud on the entire route which the procession was going to take. The wheels of the wedding chariot got stuck in the mud. When they called a local farmer to help, he said, “Oh Lord Ganesha, please help!!!” All the Gods felt small and ugly because of their thoughts. They apologized to Him and requested him to accompany them.

Let there be playfulness in life. Lord Ganesha reminds us of cheerfulness. Even when he reached adulthood, he retained his happy go luckiness. One story aptly narrates that how even while taking up important tasks we can be playful. Ganesha was known to be a good scribe and Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa approached Him to pen the epic of Mahabharata for him. He agreed but with a condition that Vyasa must recite all the verses without a pause. Vyasa knew that Ganesha wrote at a good speed and he understood the trickery. He put a reverse condition where he said that Ganesha would write the verse only after he fully understood the meaning. The duo – Ganesha and Vyasa took over three years to complete the epic with over 100,000 verses.  

Forgiveness is a mark of wisdom. Lord Ganesha was known for forgiving easily. Once Matsaryasur, a dangerous demon managed to please Lord Shiva and took from him a boon of immortality. He was blessed and Shiva said he will not be destroyed by any human, God or demon. Lost in his power he started committing atrocities on the innocent beings of the three worlds. Ganesha took the form of Vakratunda, fought ferociously and captured him. However, when Matsaryasur asked for forgiveness, he set him free and upheld peace over vengeance. We hold grudges against our near and dear ones. Petty issues keep us from rising to higher levels of love and friendliness. It is time to give a thought – Is all the bitterness worth your time?

In India we celebrate numerous festivals. We should spend some time learning about the relevance of the same. Lord Ganesha is always regarded as a friend who helps in time of trouble. Easily approachable, it is even easier to please him with simple acts of love and kindness.

This Ganesh Chaturthi let us resolve to imbibe the above values in our life. If you know about others, please share in the comments section.

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Read and Listen – Give wings to your mind

Since a long time, I wanted to explore and write on the topic – ‘The Joy of Reading/Listening.’ Have you ever thought about the transformation that occurs when you are reading through the pages of a book or listening to your favorite podcast, or when you get involved in the myriad voices of blogs and social media?

I am a freelance content developer and reading/listening serves as a precursor to idea generation. I am not associated with any organization and don’t have a team so this habit becomes my window to the world and its developments. What is noticeable is that reading builds your confidence and earns you respect. You will always have this one person in your life whom you consider as knowledgeable because he/she is well read.

An immersive reading/listening experience has the power to transform the reader, depending on the type of content consumed.

Reading/listening to self- help books, a reader transcends from the stage of acquiring knowledge to applying it. The knowledge gets stored in the subconscious which you can recollect to handle specific situations. In the famous book – ‘The Monk who Sold is Ferrari,’ Robin Sharma says that mind should be nurtured like a garden. Often when I find my mind clouded with judgements, his words resonate with me and I start clearing the clutter.

When you read an editorial in a newspaper, you get rich information on an issue with multiple perspectives. It helps you take an informed stand on the topic. For instance, after continuous reading on the topic – ‘Sustainable Economic Development’, I concluded that dedicated investment in building a sustainable production cycle by the corporates across sectors is the only way to a green economy.

Fiction reading/listening, carries you to a different world. You become a part of the book and you sense every emotion that each character feels. You get attached to certain characters while you detest some, just like you do in your day-to-day life. I am currently reading ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott, and every chapter reminds me of the beauty of a simple life where you work hard and expect less.

Spiritual reading/listening enlightens you and pushes you to see the bigger picture. You develop the ability to keep your calm in adverse situations. I am a regular listener of a podcast on Spotify– ‘Gita for the Young and Restless’, by Jaya Rao. This podcast decodes the intricate Bhagavad Gita lessons. A recent episode on overthinking, made me take a pause to do away with the matters on which I was overthinking unknowingly.

Blogs and social media posts are instrumental in bridging divides. It is easy information available to one and all irrespective of their social or financial status. It also reduces the generation gap when two people of different ages, vibe with the same trend. I remember, my mother was amazed when she heard my daughter who is 12 years sing one of her favorite retro tracks ‘Mere Sapnon ki Rani’, from the 1969 film Aradhna, which the younger one had heard online in a reel.

Requesting you all to identify, what are you gaining from your habits.

Please engage and contribute because Reading/Listening is a promising gateway to a newer better world.

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5 Effective Ways to Let Go of the Habit of Procrastination

“I will definitely start from tomorrow.” And tomorrow never comes. Do you feel weak because of your habit of letting things lie till they become urgent or irrelevant? Do you often end the day with a mental burden of procrastinating yet again? Then it’s time you adopt some methods to break the cycle of procrastination.

Procrastination feeds on itself, because every time you postpone, work starts getting piled up leaving you with more and more to do. The quantum becomes so discouraging that you end up deferring again. The loop never ends.

If procrastination is your constant enemy, stop assuming that it is a part of your personality. Treat it like any other bad habit that you wish to work upon like rising early or cutting on smoking or clubbing. This is the starting point of dealing with procrastination. Other effective ways are –

Smaller Manageable Steps

A proven method to beat procrastination is breaking the bigger target into smaller doable steps. You should ensure that the difficulty level is just enough to keep you motivated. Doing these steps for a few days will put you on track for the macro goal.

Prior Task Detailing

Second is pre-deciding the what, where, when of the task. Be specific in stating the activity even if you are telling it to yourself with minute details like the place and time of doing it. This leads to lesser mental fatigue in planning what to do, on the day itself.

Zero Excuse Days

An important part in the process of developing consistency is owning up your incompetence and lethargy. You should not blame external circumstances for not being able to work on your goals. 0 excuse days help you find alternate means to handle situations and people such that your work does not suffer.

NOW is the Best Time

Be OK in starting at any time of the day, any day of the week. Many a times you will find yourself saying ‘tomorrow’ because you want to start in the morning or ‘next week’ because you wish to start on a Monday. But trust me even a Wednesday evening is good to start!

Use Technology

Use tools to cut on distractions. Digital wellbeing and scheduling apps can help you be focused while you are working. Modern technology can be both the source and the end of distraction, depending upon how skillfully you use it. 

Procrastination is self -created and self -nurtured, which means it can be self-destroyed as well. The power lies with you. Start with any one habit, gradually make it 2, then 3 and so on. Often eliminating procrastination from one dimension (physical, professional, social) inspires similar action in other areas as well.

Take that loved idea from the memory box of your mind and start working on it. You never know, it could be a breakthrough that can reshape your personality like never before.

I am a wellbeing and motivational content developer. My posts are a result of deep research, fueled by my passion for enabling the readers to rise above their habits and thought patterns.

Follow, connect and engage on the post. If you love it, don’t mind reposting.

More power to consistency!!!