THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRITY

 

The story goes thus…. A sculptor was asked to create a statue. He went about with his work. The day of inaugurating the statue soon arrived. But the sculptor was still working on the hair, making some corrections. The organizers were not ready to wait. They told the sculptor that nobody would notice it as the statue was very tall. But the work conscious sculptor said, “Even if nobody sees it, I know that the strand of hair is not in its place and I will not be happy.”

 “ Integrity is the choice between what is right and what is convenient.”

 How many of us live an uncompromising life when it comes to the quality of our work? We sometimes just focus on completing our work. How good our work is, we don’t pause to reflect. Should we not sign off anything that we do with our personality? Some of you may be saying, “Who cares! This is how everybody works.”  Leave out others, you should be able to appreciate your work. Are you proud of yourself and your values?  Then you wouldn’t be requiring anyone to monitor you. That’s the trust you build. And it is the beginning of a life of integrity.

 “What you do when nobody is watching you is your integrity.”

 When the school announces an honesty test, where there will be no invigilator, you have the choice to live up to the trust or betray the trust of the teachers. What is your choice? When the school has banned students from bringing mobile phones to school, do you sneak it in or follow the rules? When the school wants to create you as a law-abiding citizen and does not permit you to come in a powered two-wheeler, do you slyly park it a few streets away from the school so that you are not caught or avoid using it? You have the freedom to make a choice. A student who is trying to be right only in the presence of a teacher is actually cheating himself. He does not realize that none of the above acts affect the school or the teacher in any way, but what you become in the process will have a bearing on your adult life. What you repeatedly do becomes your habit, it will either create you or destroy you in the process.

 “Real integrity is doing the right thing knowing that nobody is going to know if you did it or not.”

 If I don’t exercise regularly, I will suffer. If I eat tongue conscious food I will lose my health. I need to be sincere to my body. Every morning, when I wake up at 4.30am and meditate for an hour, for the welfare of thousands of students in the school, I know that none of them will ever know that I do this for a larger Cause, and not for my personal benefit. Yet I do it without absenteeism. There is immense joy in doing something sincerely without trying to impress the world.

 Take up one aspect in which you will be true to yourself. Work on it. Be character oriented and not reputation oriented. Who you are is more important than what the world thinks of you. Never ask yourself, “Will I be caught or not.” Ask yourself, “Am I right or not.” Live to look up to yourself.

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING A PAUSE- OR BREAKS

           The painter paints a picture and every now and then steps back to view his piece of art. That is when he knows if he has to make any addition, correction or deletion. When he is with the painting he will not be able to see the flaws. So, sometimes he adds more color, sometimes he reduces the color or removes some part of the painting, till he is satisfied. A pause that is required to reflect and to improvise.

 

Similarly, every organization has a growth phase and a consolidation phase. In the growth phase we keep working endlessly.  But we need to, once in a way take a break to review our work and growth, which is called the consolidation phase, wherein, we view our own work very objectively to see where we have reached. What else, what more and what next, we have to do to scale higher. What we have been doing has brought us thus far. Now from here, where, is the question. We have to reset our axis.

 

“Take a moment once in a while, pause to reflect breathe and smile.

Think happy thoughts and look around, feel the sun on your face and feet on the ground.”

 

 “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” So, taking a break once in a way will refresh us. It will come as a breath of fresh air. It will improve the quality of our work and also increase productivity. Going out as a family on a short vacation builds relationships. Even students should practice a 50minute hour during their study time. Every 50minutes they study, they should take a 10minute healthy break. It improves focus, reduces stress, boosts your performance and creativity. If you feel overworked, take a break. Reflect on it. Who knows, it may even lead to a breakthrough. A sabbatical is a pause in someone’s career. Once in a while the battery has to be discharged for the mobile to function optimally. So also, for many of us, we need to recharge ourselves. Taking a break keeps us from living life on auto pilot.

 

Work, for me, is my hobby. It is my pep up pill. It energizes me.  For me, personally, taking a pause, is being with myself. Every morning I create time to be in Silence. Shutting my senses helps me in many ways than one, to energize, rejuvenate, reinvent & reveal me to me. Meditation is more of being than doing. So just be. That is a pause in my life. Sometimes you just need to take a pause to know the Purpose of your life.

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY

 

“At the stroke of midnight, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely, when we step from the old to the new, when an Age ends, when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.” said Jawaharlal Nehru.

Independence Day is a beautiful occasion for all the Indian citizens to pay their respect to the nation and the defence forces, who are constantly guarding the borders. As we celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of Indian Independence, and as we unfurl the national flag, I recall with great admiration the innumerable soldiers who have laid down their lives for the nation. The Army, the Navy and the Airforce are guarding the nation day and night, undergoing unimaginable challenges. Thousands of families await indefinitely to have a moment with their near and dear ones who are serving the nation. There are also those who have lost them forever.

We owe our peace and security to these brave hearts, some of whom have been honored with the Param Veer Chakra Award, for their conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy, some of whom have been given posthumously. They hold the nation above their life. The entire nation comes together not only to celebrate those who gifted us this freedom, but also to remember and cherish all those who are safeguarding the nation.

Every Indian citizen should look forward to this day with delight and gratitude. Each one of us should participate in the celebration with patriotic fervor. Our hearts should be filled with immense gratitude to those who are responsible for giving us a peaceful life. We are all born in free India. So, we do not know what it is to be enslaved. We should learn to value our freedom. If we have been instilled with the right values, we will not see Independence Day as a holiday, but a day of celebration.  We need to take pride in our country.

 “India is the cradle of human race, the birth place of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition.”

As citizens of the country all that we can do is, bring glory to our nation through our work and achievements. Parents should parent their children to be world class citizens. Teachers should realize that by being a great teacher, he/she is making an important contribution to the efforts of national development, that they are, in fact, nation builders. It is up to the youth of this country to put India on the world map. Let our mantra be;

·        I will practice Ahimsa

·        I will make my life count

·        I will make my country proud

·        I will live to look up to myself.

 

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

WHAT IS EMOTIONAL MATURITY? HOW CAN I MASTER THIS?

 

Ramayana is a brilliant epic. One of the lessons we learn from it is, “In the sway of emotions, intelligence does not work.” Every character takes a decision in a momentary impulse, in an emotional state. It begins with Manthara poisoning the mind of Kaikeyi, to her asking for three boons from Dasaratha, to him banishing Rama to the forest, to Lakshmana and Sita deciding to go with Rama to the forest, to Soorpanaka complaining to her brother, to Ravana abducting Sita and finally dying in the hands of Rama.

We invariably take decisions when we are emotional, and that could sometimes become fatal. Hence, we should refrain from taking any decision when we are emotional. Leadership is all about Emotional maturity.  A successful marriage is all about Emotional maturity. Parenting is all about Emotional maturity. Maintaining relationship is all about Emotional maturity. Lasting friendship is all about Emotional maturity.  Being an inspiring teacher is all about Emotional maturity.

I was very immature when I was young. I was affected by how the world treated me. It used to overwhelm me.  I used to react, get upset and wallow in self-pity. With time I realized that nobody cares for your feelings. That was when maturity dawned on me and I decided not to react, but respond to the world. We cannot change the world, but we can change our outlook towards the world. Today I have liberated myself from the clutches of the world. I feel so much at peace. I choose my responses now. It is a beautiful state to be in when you become the master of your emotions. But I must tell you that it comes only with awareness. Sitting in Silence every day gives rise to your inner voice, and this inner voice creates awareness in you.

Buddha says,” Anger is like grasping a hot charcoal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned,”

Emotional maturity is, expressing your emotions with restraint. How do we develop Emotional maturity? Everything is easier said than done. The restraint that we need to develop is immense and it can happen only over a period of time.

1.     Identify the trigger.

2.     Watch your emotions & feelings

3.     Be a witness to your own thought process

4.     Plan your response without being impulsive.

5.     Avoid taking permanent decisions on temporary issues

Man is an emotional being. Emotions are the drivers of our behavior. Positive emotions bring the best out of us. Life would be so beautiful if we are in control of our emotions. Become the architect of your life by becoming the Master of your emotions.

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

    

 “Those who have the ability to be grateful are the ones who have the ability to achieve greatness.”

Sachin Tendulkar is a legendary cricketer, known all over the world for his batting prowess, and yet, a man of very few words. But on the day of his retirement, all of us who are in awe of his batting capability and his records, were clean bowled by his retirement speech, which was a fairly long one.  He carried a list of names in his hand to thank each one of them for the role they played in his life. Nothing else was spoken. The entire stadium was emotional that day. More than anything else, that was a take away for all. To fill one’s heart with gratitude.

“Count on your blessings and never your troubles.”

Disappointments will come into our life without an appointment. We always feel life is being so unfair to us. How many of us can say, ”I am on top of the world,” when you are asked, “How are you? Unless we are grateful for what we have, we will not be blessed with more. People are unhappy only because the heart is not filled with gratitude. The “lack list” is very long. We only talk about what we don’t have. Are we pausing a moment to even think what all we have been blessed with in life? Many of us eat three meals a day, live a fairly decent life, when there are people who don’t enjoy even these basic things. Begin from where you can begin. Be thankful for the smallest thing in life and you will be blessed with a fulfilling life. Let us stop comparing our life with others. We must focus on what we are left with and not what has left us.

“Gratitude and disturbance cannot co-exist.”

 

I used to sulk a lot when things didn’t go my way. I even kept dwelling on it for long. The consequences I received was, more reasons to sulk. I was a miserable soul. Then came the deepest learning in my life. Not everybody gets everything in life. Gratitude must be your heartbeat. Be grateful for what you have and you will be blessed with more. I started practicing this mantra every day. My day began with gratitude and ended with gratitude, not because everything went right, but because I had decided to be grateful for whatever went right. Slowly the way my life started unfolding for me, I realized that I am a very special child of God.  My entire day is punctuated with gratitude, and the feeling it creates in me is inexplicable. I started experiencing holistic Abundance in my life.  I offer my gratitude several times a day;

On waking up

When I am in the pooja room in the morning & evening

When I come out of meditation

After meditation I write a line of gratitude

When I enter my workplace

I write a gratitude journal before I start my work.

Before every meal

Before I retire to bed

At least begin the day with gratitude. You will certainly experience a great shift in your attitude towards life. Never miss out the message.  Life will tell you once, to make it always, is your responsibility.

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting