Before I begin, here is some food for thought —

“When things go wrong, we become our own worst enemy because we focus on things we don’t control.

It’s one thing to read about these things. It’s another thing to actually put it in practice. Because when things go uterly wrong, messy and uncontrollable, it’s natural to panic.

Instead of thinking, take a step back, and focus on what lies within your control.

What do you control? Essentially, we only control our own actions and mindset.

We determine our:

• Desire
• Attitude
• Judgments
• Determination

That’s about it. Anything else, we have no control over. So it makes no sense to worry about things that are not on that list.

What counts is that we do the right thing because that is all we can do. We don’t control outcomes. Do you see?

1. Made a mistake? Correct it.
2. Something goes wrong? Find a solution.

Also, never be surprised when bad things happen. But rather expect them to happen. In that way, you will never be caught off guard.

Similarly, when you’re struck with bad luck, don’t complain and say stuff like, “why me!?”

Instead, accept it, and then focus your energy on finding a solution. Always keep a positive mindset.

Why this exercise improves productivity, you ask?

I’m often asked, “what does philosophy have to do with productivity?”

Well, if you want to be productive, the most important thing is consistency.

If you want to achieve things in your life, it’s about aiming for daily progress.

Instead, I want to progress at 0.1% every day of the year. That may seem like a really teeny-tiny number but practicing it everyday sure is a difficult task. Make it a habit. It’s worth it. And that’s a very realistic goal.“

I hope you liked it as much as I loved writing it for you. These short messages come straight from my heart into your inbox (have you subscribed to my mailing list yet?)

If you loved reading the above excerpt, I highly encourage you to subscribe to my mailing list! The subscribers who have access to my “email-only blog” receive my ‘love-letter’ -aka- a chic dose of my self-love reminder!

If you liked the above message, I highly encourage you to subscribe to the mailing list. I’ll provide the link below —–

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Now, let’s get back to our topic. I’ve been sharing a 5-part blog about some things I learned during my absenteeism last month. Being shared so much so far, I feel relieved all over again. So, let’s go ——

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Impermanence, the only Permanence!

We resist facing this one unpalatable, yet unchangeable truth — that impermanence is the only permanence.

“I have decided to cut out people with negative vibes from my life,” declared my friend in November, dramatically at the beginning of a book launch event. As we walked out at the end of the event, another friend called out, “Hey Aisha, we must catch up over that promised lunch. Life is just about a few close friends and one must keep in touch.”

Later that night I received a sad message about a friend I admired and was very fond of. Thoray, (for privacy, I’ve changed the name) the lovely, warm-hearted wife of former Ambassador of NCJ, had died in a freak accident when she fell off the stairs at their home in Iceland. Just a fortnight earlier, friend and colleague, Keanu (again, changing name for privacy) left office never to return.

That’s life. You could have a long innings, or a short one — one never knows. As such one can only hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. We all seek the comfort of permanence, but the only reliable truth is that of impermanence. Nobody ever managed to beat that! We surround ourselves with the illusions of permanence – a solid house we call home, people we love who love us back, friends, annual events, plans for the future, books to be read, movies to be watched, and so on. And yet, all slips away from us.

Insecure, once again we struggle to look for things that give us a sense of permanence – the company of young people; shopping for clothes we plan to wear on happy occasions, food to fill our fridge with, and books to line our racks with. We resist facing this one unpalatable, yet unchangeable truth — that impermanence is the only permanence.

Such denial ensures that we all live in a fool’s paradise. The comfort of childhood when all seems secure and permanent lulls us into a security that we seek through our lives. Very few amongst us actively seek change, rather allowing ourselves to be seduced into grooves that provide a false sense of permanence and security. Large chunks of life are spent doing the same things over and over, which makes it seem like nothing will ever change. And yet it does. Sense lies in anticipating change and trying to give it a desired direction so that we can flow with it rather than get left behind. For, that is about the only impact we can have on change – influence its direction in some way.

Once we accept the reality of impermanence, we begin to appreciate the time we have on hand. We start sifting wheat from the chaff – spend time with those who add meaning to us and our lives, indulge in activities that make us feel useful, read books and watch movies that we really wish to. A very important part of this is to do things that you wish to do and not be coerced by a mistaken sense of duty or arm twisted by a stronger personality into wasting time on things you really do not wish to be caught up in.

If we know our time on earth is limited, we must make the most of it. Consider, if you were alive for a purpose, what would that purpose be? And since this would vary from person to person, how would you like to go about that purpose? Should we not live that purpose right now, right here?

Focus on your inner self and on those closest to you. You will find your purpose there. It need not be an earth-shifting task; it could be something relevant to just you and the group of people closest to you.

So take those chances staring you in the face, go for the relationships you are keen to improve or initiate, and take the decisions you have already waited too long to take! For in the end, these are the only regrets you may be left with…

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Feel free to ask any follow-up questions or share your ideas in the comment section below. Alternately, I’d really appreciate for you to share this content on your social media platform if you found it useful so that others can benefit from it too. If you have any doubts or want a personal clarification, send me an email on eclipsedwords@gmail.com. For more inspiration, fun, and smiles, follow me on Instagram

Happy Blogging! ♥♥♥

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Thank you for reading. Love you for that! ♥

—–Have Hope. Keep Faith—–

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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ECLIPSEDWORDS BY AISHWARYA SHAH | MAY’2019 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©