Abhishek's Musings

  STRICTLY MY OPINIONS   What I love about fish and chips is it caresses my taste palate What I hate about cats is their selfishness What I love about winters is curling up indoors with a good book What I hate about my country is its burgeoning population What I love about my country is the warmth of its people What I love about my city is its vibrant, throbbing, constantly on-the-move nature What I hate about my city is its polluted air What I hate is venturing outdoors on holidays because of endless traffic snarls What I love about my brother is his cool quotient What I hate in some is their ability to create endless drama What I hate about love is that it hurts What I love about forgiveness is that it is liberating What I love about music is that it is food for the soul What I hate about gossiping is its ability to spread slander What I love about poetry is its power to capture fleeting thoughts into a smooth poem What I hate is waking up at the crack of dawn on a cold, fog...

  SOUND LIKE THAT VOICE ON THE RADIO     A clear confident baritone free from any impediments flowing naturally is a joy to listen to. The tone, word emphasis, speed, and volume all come together in a complete package. Now, what if I tell you that you can speak like that voice on the radio? Well, here we will see three ways in which you can accomplish that. So here goes.     # 1. LISTEN:  How does a baby learn to speak? By listening right? Let me tell you that the English language is not spoken the way it is written. This is not the case with a language like Hindi which is spoken exactly the way it is written. The English language vocabulary is so rich with around 170,000 words currently in usage. So, it is not humanely possible to know the correct pronunciation of each of these words. But your task will become so much easier if you listen more. So, now the question arises: What do I listen to? Well for starters listen to good English native speakers. You c...

    THINGS I LEARNED DURING MY STUDENT DAYS   How to live like a King as well as a pauper. How to scout bookstores and where to find the best deals. How to sip endless cups of tea and still be ready for the next cup. When to make myself a Hollow Man during boring meetings. How to dream endlessly and not want those dreams to end. How to guzzle that occasional can of beer and walk around with that tipsy feeling. How to go on a marathon movie watching binge and still looking forward to more.   When to agree to disagree and make adjustments for other’s viewpoints. How to not take myself too seriously and laugh at myself. When to slip on my shorts and go window shopping. How to still lie in bed long after daylight breaks in. When to heed a friend’s advice and wonder whether it made any sense. How to survive on minimum pocket money and blow it all away. When to go on sleep mode when not enjoying something. When to laugh at a friend’s stupid jokes. How to sail through a bor...

  3 THINGS DAVID GOGGINS TEACHES   Growing up he was raised by a single mother, he battled racism, bullying, ill-health, poverty, and the unending struggle with obesity. He turned his life around to become an icon of the US Armed Forces. What can this ex-US Navy Seal, an ultra-marathon cyclist, and runner, a public speaker, an author of two memoirs, a Guinness World Record holder: nicknamed “the toughest man alive” or the “World’s toughest Man”, who fell in love with suffering teach you? Well, plenty but here let’s look at three valuable lessons he teaches.   Imagine having a learning disability and repeatedly failing in your exams. When learning can be the most difficult and dreaded thing in the world? Well, in his book “Can’t Hurt Me” Goggins talks about how his mother when she realized he was serious about the Air Force, hired a tutor for him to help him figure out a system that he could use to learn. Well, the tutor after assessing him told him in jest that the only w...

  ACE YOUR PLANNING   When confronted with a mission, how do we go about it? There are two ways to do it. Plunging headways into it is one way. But what if we could break down the task and work at it systematically? Well, in other words, we have a plan of action.   Some people are meticulous planners while others just go with the flow. Love it or hate it, one thing is clear: planning scores over not planning any time. Well, here are four ways to plan our work.   #1. DETERMINE OUR GOALS  For any undertaking, we first of all should have a goal in mind. The goal should be of two types: the short-term goal and the long-term goal. Once we are sure about these two types of goals, we should immediately take a pen and paper and write them down. This reinforces our goals. It is much easier when we have our objectives on paper. We should then sit down and write down all possible roadblocks that we might encounter, and only then should we create a plan of action. Once the ...

  SOME FOLKS   Some folks know what it is like To be called a stutterer in front of the world To have a speech defect To be short of the bus fare To be short for the funds To be short of proper resources To live in cramped spaces To be called challenged To wait in government hospitals waiting rooms full of sick people To lose a friend To be in the hospital unconscious after a drinking spell To land up at the police station To have a learning difficulty To fail in the exams To wait for years to get an ailment looked at To be food poisoned To be operated urgently for a perforation in the intestines To wait another few years to be operated on the second time for hernia To be bullied and abused by a group of psychopaths for years To wait endlessly for help to come To talk to the pillow to dull the pain To talk to a recording device To be in the wilderness and out of employment   To be out of cash To be out of favor To be out of the latest fashion trends To be out of pals To b...

BE A VALUABLE TEAM PLAYER   An invaluable team player is an asset to any team. Teams win or lose by the contributions of their members. How teams communicate, behave, perform, and their attitude: all of these can make or break teams. How to identify a dream player or better still how to be one? Well, read on.               PUT IN THE HARD WORK: Never shirk work! Always perform what’s expected of you to the best of your abilities. Work sincerely and honestly and with good intentions. Give it all you have got. Do more than what is expected of you. Speak less, put your head down, and do more. If you do your share of hard work and always deliver more than expected you will be indispensable. There is no substitute for hard work, the faster you realize it the better.     ALWAYS STAY HUMBLE: Always remember that what goes up has to come down. So at all times stay humble. Never let success get to your head. If you are good to people on your way ...