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Attitude!

This one was written for some writing test

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
~Winston Churchill

I so believe in the above line. This is one thing; I have given lot of importance in my life. In my opinion, attitude is the basic foundation for success. It applies to every sphere of our lives including our personal and professional.

What do we mean by attitude? And why do we give so much importance to it?

An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for an item. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event. (Source: Wikipedia)

Each of us has our own perception in analyzing things, which could be positive or negative. It’s all in our mind. For a positive thinker, attitude can be a stepping stone. At the same time, for a negative thinker that could be a stumbling stone. Every problem comes with an equal or greater opportunity. It’s the way we look at it. Should we consider that as a problem or should we consider that as an opportunity.

It is very important to possess a right attitude to be a successful person.
People recognize and give more value for someone who has a positive attitude in life.

If you are given a task and asked to do it, there are three ways you would respond to it

1. I will do it
2. I can’t do it
3. I don’t want to do it

If you are saying, I can’t do it which means you don’t know how to do it or probably you don’t have any resources to do it. But if you are saying that you don’t want to do it, which means you know how to do it but you are not willing to do it.

Not all of us born with the perfect attitudes, we all learn as we grow and we develop them as we mature.

Experts say that attitude has an influence from our environment, experience and education. If we have a negative outlook towards everything, probably the place we are living or the people we are interacting have negative influence on us. We should be in a position to understand and analyze which is good and bad.

Have you noticed, our behavior changes according to our experiences
If we have a positive experience with a person, our attitude towards that person is likely to be positive. Same time, if we have a negative experience our attitude is negative.

Life is a roller coaster ride. We face lot of obstacles every day. Our biggest obstacle is negative attitude. People with negative attitude have a hard time keeping up friendship, relationships, jobs, marriages etc. It can be very stressful and creates an unpleasant environment. If our attitude is negative our lives are restricted and success is limited. People with negative gets so accustomed with their attitude, they just do not change. Even, if they know that the change is for a good reason, they do not accept it. They always blame the whole world for their failures and look for fault in everything and everyone.

Can we change our attitude? Yes, we definitely can and we should try to improve on what we are lacking. If you think you are a person who gets influenced with a negative thought, try to work on it. You need to focus on the positive things. Instead of looking at what is bad, look for what is good. You just need to make a conscious effort to practice it. Be as strong as possible, that nothing disturbs you. Appreciate good qualities in your friends and make them feel good. Forget everything happened in the past and start living in the present. If you have the willingness to change, nothing can stop you. You need to stay focused and work towards it.

The benefits of a positive attitude:

• Inspires others around you
• Helps to build relationships
• Improves personal satisfaction
• Reduces stress

Be positive and success will follow in every aspect of your life.

Stay healthy and live longer

This post was written long ago sitting in my draft thought I will share it.

Who doesn’t want to be slim and trim? Isn’t that every girl’s dream to fit into the clothes they used to fit in their teenage days?

I never discarded any of my old clothes hoping one day I will lose weight and fit into it. However, that day never came; instead my closet was clogged with clothes. So this time alone I made some serious plans on getting rid of my excess baggage in a different way. All this while, my obsession was always about losing weight but never about healthy living. This was the reason that I never succeeded in my mission.

My mission began with the concept, not just to lose weight but to stay fit and healthy. I tried all the shortcuts in the past starting from extreme diets/crash diets to foolish weight loss pills, nothing really worked. I often got fooled and I failed miserably. The truth is weight loss can only be achieved through hard way. The key to lose and maintain weight is to exercise regularly and follow a healthy and balanced diet. Physical fitness is not something which you can achieve over night; it has to be through regular practice. Fitness is something that what you can do with your body, not how you look (whether you are fat or thin).

I did my research to find a good gym in the neighborhood and enrolled. On my first day, the instructor asked me, what is more important, weight loss or inch loss? I was clueless; I did not know the difference between weight loss and inch loss. I felt weight loss was more important. But the truth is inch loss is more important than the weight loss. If you are overweight, which means you have excess deposits of fat in your body. Fat is like cotton, though it takes up more space, it doesn’t add that much to the weight. Basically two people with the same body size and height can weigh differently. A muscular person of the same size will weigh more than the one who is flabby. If you are on a weight loss program, the first thing you need to keep a track is the inch loss; your weight loss will automatically follow you.

I read it somewhere, that the human body contains up to 30 billion fat cells. If you want to get rid off the fat, you have to shrink your fat cells. The only way you can shrink it is by using the energy stored in them. This can be achieved with a cardio workout. Cardio-respiratory workout refers to a combinational workout for heart and lungs. In simple words any workouts that make you sweat. You can include running, climbing stairs, jumping, hiking, dancing and swimming. For an effective cardio workout, ensure your heart rate goes up and stays high for about 20 minutes. During this 20 minute time, the body will work only with its stored energy. After that it turns to its fat deposits. All of your exercise above 20 minutes will pull from the stored fat. This means that you are burning the fat, which leads to inch loss.

It sounds really strange; however it’s true that you can get thinner without losing weight. Once you start burning fat you will see your body shrinking. You will have to first strengthen your muscles. Muscle strength is about the maximum work a muscle group can do at once. For example, the maximum weight that you can lift at once. If your muscles are strong, you will feel very fit to do any work.

Generally, workouts are classified under these categories. If you incorporate this in your regular exercise, I can bet you can see the results in no time.

Activity for flexibility:

To maintain flexibility in your muscles you should stretch everyday. Stretching is vital.
It prevents you from hurting yourself. This helps you in various ways. You will feel better, have less pain and also be at less risk for injury.

Activity for strength:

Maintaining strength in your muscles will allow you to do more with less effort and pain. You will be able to perform activities with safer techniques.

Activity for endurance:

Endurance will allow you to maintain activities for longer periods. You can build endurance for any activity whether it is walking, gardening, or standing for a longer time.

Activity for aerobic fitness:

Aerobic fitness is accomplished by engaging in activities that moderately raise your heart rate. The activities include walking, swimming, jumping, and dancing. By doing this you can improve the functioning of your heart, lungs and your overall health.

Tips for a healthy living:

• Exercise regularly
• Eat a healthy and balanced diet
• Drink 3 to 4 liters of water everyday
• Ensure fruits and vegetables are part of your regular diet
• Eat small, and frequent meals throughout the day
• Do not fast and feast

An open letter to Sharukh Khan

I was an ardent fan of you in the past. I spent all my pocket money buying your posters. I even stuck them all over the walls in my room. I fought with my dad for not pulling it off when they were painting our house. I even stood hours in front of your house (Mannat) to get a glimpse of you. I liked you from the television days (Fauji) and followed you until recently sometime. Now, with a deep regret, I am telling you this that I can’t stand you anymore.

We agree that we called you Badshah of Bollywood/King Khan. That was then, its history now. We all loved you for your killer (innocent) looks. If you think you will remain young forever, then you are wrong. You should know that you are ageing and you should retire from doing happy-go-lucky-college boy- stretching –your-arms-to-embrace-the –girls-kind of roles. I always thought you’re an intellectual man and would make a wise choice in selecting your movies. I am disappointed with the kind of movies that you are doing now. I was even traumatized watching your latest movie RA.One. What did you think while making that movie? The movie failed in spite of the colossal marketing that you did. The little money that the movie made was through your constant pleading.

What I am irked is with your attitude to put down people, stale-cheap jokes, fake modesty and arrogance.

Dude, you are already one of the richest actor in Bollywood, how much more money you want to make? Every other channel that I surf you are there in it. You endorse every single product that is available in the market starting from toothpaste, home decor, automobiles, suiting to watches. You perform in every award function and dance in every top-notch weddings. We appreciate your talent but what we can’t tolerate is your snobbish behaviour. If you say what you speak when you host a show is not entirely yours and it’s scripted, it looks genuine and straight from the heart. We all know about your tiff with Salman, stop pretending that nothing has happened at all.

I still look up to you for being a single-woman man in Bollywood with no link ups and also a doting father for your kids. I respect you for following Bhagavad gita and Quran in your household. I know that you were not born with a silver spoon and did everything on your own. You are a visionary guy, use it in the right direction.Stop chasing money. Take a break and introspect your life once. We will remember you for movies like Swades and Chak De.

Snippets of conversations:

Me: I read an anonymous blog today. The owner has identified herself as Pepper and very sweetly calls her husband as Mint, together they are PepperMint! Isn't it cool?

N: Why don’t they disclose their names?

Me: May be they don’t want to divulge their identities.

N: I think you should also be anonymous on your blog.

Me: Okie, then what will be my anonymous name?

N: You can call it as KaliMirch!

Me: But why KaliMirch?

N: That’s because you are dark and I am hot.

Me: What do I say? Grrrr

Random

I am back! Just a little caught up with work and didn’t have much to write. The weekend was spent well with friends (ART). My BFF came home for the first time after I moved into my home. She was pretty surprised to see the changes in me (knowing very well about my laziness). The house was unusually spick and span. I cooked a lot of scrumptious food (yes, I can take the credit and it’s proven that I can cook well). It’s such a nice feeling to be complemented by someone who knows you very well. She was happy to see me pulling off my responsibility as a home-maker.

I got my library subscription to JustBooks! I really missed it when I moved out of my previous office. I am glad that I found it close to my home. The last few months I bought a lot of books from Flipkart but was looking forward for a library. It’s time to explore some new authors. I am so excited to clear off my impending list

Incredible story!

I stumbled upon an extremely attention grabbing website (www.whiteindianhousewife.com-Dairy of a white Indian housewife). The title caught my interest immediately; the front page displayed a picture of a foreigner girl who was dressed up in Indian attire. I snooped into the ‘About me’ section to know more. After reading the initial few posts, I thought she is yet another blogger who is sharing her travel experiences in India. I really liked her style of writing and decided to look through the archives. What I got to know is that she is an Australian, married to an Indian and living in Mumbai for the past six years. She came to India (Kolkatta) for some volunteer work, meets a man who was a DJ in a local club. There was an instant spark between them, the love grew stronger and decides to get married. It was not a cake walk with a inter race marriage. The families eventually agreed with all the differences. There is nothing new about inter-cultural-community-continental-race marriages. We have heard quite a few celebrity (Liz Hurley with Arun Nayar) weddings in the past, right? How different is their story?

These are few facts why this lady stood out and left impressions in me

Adaptability: India is a melting pot of cultures. It’s very difficult for anyone to adapt to so many different regions, languages and ethnicity. When we have our own discriminations between North Indian and South Indian, being an Australian she has very well adapted to Indian culture. She has not only married to an Indian but has accepted his entire family. She shares a good bonding with her husband’s family in spite of cultural/language differences. She has even gone that extra mile to learn the language to be one amongst them.

Custom: We being Indians, how many of us religiously follow our traditions and customs? Not many, right? She wears saree for every Indian festival and weddings. She knows the significance of Ganapathi festival and Holi. She dresses up in Salwar- Kameez, Kurtis and accessories. She listens to Bajans and even cooks Indian food. She has also learnt to eat food with her hands by sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Awareness: She is aware of Indian politics and talks about how things can be changed. She also volunteers for some community work. While most of the outsiders write ill about India, she showcases the good things being here. Like every other Indian she too hates corruption and supports Anna Hazare campaign.

Comfort: Being an only child to her parents, having lived in a lavish home in Australia with a high-profiled job, she made a choice to move away from her comfort zone. It takes a lot of courage to leave behind everything and settle in India. She lived in a single-bed room apartment, where her privacy was invaded constantly by the neighbors. She adjusted to a life where she had to travel in auto-rickshaws and local trains in Mumbai. She was always treated differently for being a foreigner though she tried hard to inculcate Indianism in her. The only thing that has put her off is the constant staring from people and to validate her marriage with a proof all the time. In spite of all the hindrances she is still firmly rooted in India.

Relationships: When most of the Indian women struggle to resolve issues with Mother-in-laws. This lady strikes a perfect balance with her mother-in-law. She has a good rapport with all the family members. She has completely changed her lifestyle to match with Indian culture.

I am totally in awe with this lady. There is so much to learn for all of us from her life. There are small little things we get upset about in our day to day life and we give up things so easily. When I look at her I feel so different. It only takes a little in all of us to be strong, have faith and give space to each other to keep our relationships stronger. We always fail to do so. When an outsider can do things at such an ease, I think all of us can do much better being here. We need to be content and appreciate small things in life. There’s nothing which is impossible, just needs a little push.

Hats off to the lady who inspired me to look things in a different perspective!