Starting a day without sipping coffee for me is unimaginable. Starting with coffee the list of what I consume daily almost looks endless. While consumption is essential for life, I am not sure if my cup of coffee is essential or an indulgence. Further, my consumption is not just to meet physical needs, but more of it addresses my psychological needs like the You-tube subscription for ad-free music. Analyzing my consumption, I see it in four baskets of physical and …
Category: Mirror -My Reflections
Feeling good is a basic need for a happy life. Like the five fingers in our hand, I see human wellbeing too rooted in five essential elements: Irrespective of the cards we are dealt with in our life, I feel our well-being is in our own hands based on how we react. The five fingers on our hand are a constant reminder of the five elements to realize it. They say thumb is the most critical finger. Which of these …
6. Social Interactions On retirement, the common knowledge that man is a social animal became my personal realization. As the opportunity for daily interaction with people declined, I began to eagerly look forward to social occasions where I meet people. Returning from these events, in reflective mood I could see four distinct types of interaction that dominated different stages of human life. The child gradually moves from personal interactions based on love, to love supplemented by common interests, to impersonal …
Consumers to Creators Browsing the mobile has replaced our earlier habit of scanning newspaper headlines. Often some types of headlines catch our attention more than others. On reflection, we see similar items that make news every day. With social media, there is a big change: we have morphed from being a consumer to creators of news. Here is my stock-take of what makes news to helps us engage better with our audience. Criteria for newsworthiness is the same, whether …
Mortality -A Few Thoughts Post-retirement in the last two years, every month has been marked by my visits to crematorium. It made me realize the obvious fact that death is the only certainty for all born on this earth. I can add from my personal experience that growing older, we come across more deaths in our family and friends’ circles often triggering thoughts on mortality. While all deaths are painful and distressing as we lose the person we love, and …
3. My Heros -Altruists They say you admire what you are not, and I can vouch for it. For a person who has trouble giving away an old ill-fitting pant, people like Mother Theresa and Azim Premji amaze me. Their self-less behavior is inspirational and appeals to my heart as they are an exception where the norm for personal behavior is to be selfish if not self-centered. While all self-less acts appeal to me, I am intrigued and enamored by …
Our society consists of people with different belief systems. Artificial Intelligence (AI) dominating many conversations today reflect this difference. Some believe AI can usher in Utopia, while others see doom and gloom. Can our deep underlying belief about the direction of progress explain this divide? Does a conservative or a progressive belief explain this divide? The contrasting positions of the two views was historically seen in the changing role of women in society, and in more recent times it manifests …
My Constitution Countries have their own constitution, so I wonder why not have a constitution written for me. A constitution to define who I am and commit to state my core beliefs. It would spell out my values and etch out my self-imposed restraints. The “directive principles” laid out in the constitution would help me govern my conduct and identify violations as and when they arise. In addition to directive principles, a constitution would define the executive, the legislature, citizens …
Lessons That Linger Thank you all for my birthday wishes. On the occasion of my 65th birthday, I am taking stock of some lessons learnt. This is a result of my desire for lifelong learning. I am capturing some Lessons that Lingers with me. The aim is to share my learnings by articulating it for reflection and seek my well-wishers’ critical feedback. I plan to share 52 lessons that constantly lingers in my mind. Fifty-two has no other significance than …
Sporting Insights -17: Breakdance in Paris 2024 Olympics: Can An Art Become a Game? October 17, 2024
Breakdance in Paris 2024 Olympics: Can An Art Become a Game? If you are wondering how Breakdance is a part of Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, be rest assured you are not alone. This highlights the distinction between art and sports that is blurring with each passing day. Curious, I searched for a conceptual model that differentiates an art from a sport to understand how it was included in Olympics. Luckly, I found a model that separates not only art from …
Sporting Insights -16 Finding the Right Balance between Sports & Commerce What at start seems a tough art to master, but soon becomes our second nature is cycling. The art of balance is one of the key life skills that we learn at a young age. The same seems to be the case in sports too. Commercially successful sports like football, Tennis, and cricket have learnt to balance commercial interest with sporting excellence effortlessly, which for many other sports seems …
Sporting Insights -15 Tennis -Why the Second Serve? In his engaging book filled with intriguing anecdotes, Tennis: Origin and Mysteries, written by Malcolm Whitman, the US National Tennis Champion for three successive years between 1898 and 1900, the author explores the origin of all quaint practices in Tennis. After searching for evidence of the origin for second serve and not finding anything concrete, he concludes by quoting the gossip of its origin related to a King with poor serving ability, …
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