Monday, March 23, 2009

On Performance: (II)

Unsuccessful ending is a failure. I know it’s mundane having known some people run 50, 100 & 200 KM… When I started on the 10K, the structure was having a break after every 2KM; to run the full 10K, finally it was all merged. Though I was reluctant initially, after a bit of pondering, I expend about 30 mins on my strength training daily to see if I can improve on my running. Moreover, I am loving the results. Proper break ups in every orbit, considering long term is the maven’s ability to rebound. Even at desk the key is the short intermissions with right outlook, what exactly is required to be completed at the end of the day? Let’s have an elaborate look …

Settle on long run:

The magic is punctiliously plan the small, little goals so that the performance will peak at major events. You know?! Olympic participants are trained for four years just for one single event. In 1988, Moorhouse and his trainer calculated 62 seconds for 100 meters, four years in advance, thinking that should be fine to win the Gold medal, then they just had to focus on doing better then this. He must have carefully worked upon specific goals in several areas like –strength training, nutrition, mental hardiness, techniques etc., to check if it effect his goal or he can improve on the existing timings – or to make sure, if he can achieve his ultimate goal.

I know a friend of mine a big shot in giant company; when he joined the organization, he says that he had actually planned for this. I have seen the spreadsheets to rise up in the office, he made as a fresher, each field with precise position and a year spent. In the comments section he had identified the areas in which he was lacking the proficiency and worked on to improve upon. As he grew up on the ladder the comment were changed to ‘Increase the reputation’, ‘Influence the executives of other departments’, ‘manage complex initiatives and bring it to end successfully.’ He must have placed minor goals in this regard, to accomplish the major one. What a diligent work he must have put in persevering this! . It paid up…now he rules about 1000 people and an impressive unit.

They have a complete system built for to watch the tiny steps towards their target.

Well, this was a second release ‘On Performance’.

Close up:
‘I have never let my schooling interfere with my education’.
~Mark Twain


Wednesday, March 18, 2009

I will meet you there...

Looks like Spring has captured me, I am in poetic mood all of a sudden. Here is the one more :)

Where the rays educe,
And the moon hides,

Where the color is created,

and beauty is experienced,

From where the melodies emerge,

and smiles dissolve,

Where the sleep fells,

and dreams are spawned,

Where the time travels,

And new little leaves sprout,

I know, there is a realm,

With no laws of love,

I will meet you there…

Monday, March 16, 2009

New Rain.

Saltates my heart, with the scent of the soil,
Clouds are stormed, swashing their thunder,

After a long wait, It rained today.
Plants swayed and birds tremble,
It rained after a wait.
The cold collyrium on my eyes,
Blue joy spread over my face and dribbled from finger tips.
Some one is there in the green garment, in the reeds ! Oh, it's the wind.
Woods vibrated and leaves are soaked.
Come along, to swing on the branches of the oaks.
Longing, distractedly....It rained after all.


Saturday, March 14, 2009

On Performance: (I)

Never in my life have I taken my running this seriously & my work either. I am pushing my limits as much as I can in both the arenas. There is kindda similarity in Work and Workouts.

Once upon a time, as per the doctors, a mile in a four minute can be deadly, until Bannister broke that in 3 min 59.4 sec; though later, he said, “I figured I was dead, when I got up from collapsing at the finish line.” J In the work, too ‘the impossible’ is a self-limiting mindset. Ace performers are not born but made. The actual key is not the ability to swim faster or to execute the algorithm quickly in your head; instead, it is the mental toughness. My trainer stands so very next to me, and I feel pressured, its called thriving in pressure. We severalize when the heat is on.

Enjoy the pressure:

One has to be cool in the stressful situation. It’s an ability of the elite performers and said to be inborn, as most of the time, I disagree. In my opinion, we think, what we want to think, we understand, what we what want to understand. So make a choice, decide to enjoy the pressure, the best will come out of you. Dealing with the pressure is much easier when you focus on your on excel lance. On the verge of breaking down during my runs, I keep on uttering in my mind ‘Relax-Power-Glide’ continuously. This helps to control the go and forget everything.

Likewise, the high flyers in the offices are also inner focused. There was an executive, he was passionate about wrestling. An offer from Harvard, to attend less prominent under graduate school that had a better-ranked wrestling team, was declined by him. After he earned his MBA, he was recruited by investment-Banking firm, he rose to the level of CEO, Even then he was not driven by any of the need to impress others, As he said “Don’t think for a minute I am doing this for the status. I am doing for myself; this is the stuff I think about in the shower, I would do it even if I didn’t earn a penny. ” When the motivation is of this depth, we don’t need self- flagellation. Top players and executives are indeed hard on them selves, else they wouldn’t have achieved all that, but when things go awry, they dust off and move on.

These guys never let anything sidetrack them, its called command over compartmentalization. They have the ability to switch their endeavors on and off. Having a secondary passion helps in doing this. Dr. Homi Bhabha had a deep love for classical music, dance and sculpture. This keen interest made him worship art throughout his life. It also influenced the pattern of his life. There was a one lady Rower, who always set time aside to practice the piano, despite her arduous athlete-training schedule. She was a 2004 Olympic medal winner and fine pianist by time being.

People laugh at me, 'Why do you need work outs?' & I can't tell that I need a adrenalin rush. I can’t sleep in the night If I have missed my exertion, I think people who earned big titles in office also be feeling the same adictive adrenalin rush. They all unavoidably run the risk of burning out. Passion enables us enjoy this pressure.

Looking back, I acknowledge that of my choices were of passion, governed neither by logic nor by common sense. Many of these were good choices, though not all of them, but taking stock of my life I wish I had been more passionate…I would have gone much far then.

(SO much to write yet – released in portion) J Have Fun !!!

Close up:
‘The heart has its reason that reason cannot know’.
~Blaise Pascal.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

My first Car Crash.

Why did I leave early from work? Now I know …To dent my beloved car…
It was an untouched beauty until today 4.30 PM and whizzed along first 7 Km. The traffic light made me stop and I was as usual sitting preoccupied & quiet. On the spur of the moment it was aloud blow “Baaaaaaangggggg!!!!” No tickets and no dashes… Voila…perfectly clean driving record breaks.

Naturally, I'm sOooO happy it wasn't my fault. :-) That Idiot Autofella bumped into my car’s trunk. I was pushed ahead on my seat with the solid hit and immediately jumped out to see the damage. Luckly the Policeman at the traffic signal saw all the action and rushed on the spot. The real drama starts now, I was pulling my vehicle over, after the Auto guy, since the policeman asked us to, But hey! This Auto man swiftly fleeted, the policeman got into the car and asked me to follow the Auto, It was like a movie scene. The most funny part is few of the by watchers followed us too :-). Chase included First Auto man, then me with a policeman in my car then some 3-4 two wheelers into interior roads for about 5 to 7 mins. Unknown of this trail Auto man was caught asking for the passenger on the nook of the street, The policeman furiously leapt out to beat that Auto fella black and blue. The crowed had already been coming after from the accident venue.

We all are taken to traffic police station. I was angry. Very angry. The Auto guy was pleading me, literally holding my feet, to not to file a case. To add the beauty in the entire episode, my sandal broke off, due to that either I was limping or holding the sandals in my hands. I called up my brother, the car Insurance and the vehicle showroom to know the procedure and to get the more information on how to handle this in best my benefits. Police assured me to provide all the papers to claim the insurance. I am surprised, though I am not interested in FIR; why police did not give me the acknowledgement then and there? BRIBE??? :-( Whatever, I will Follow up the litigates and get the things done. Auto man was there until I left the police station. May be he would have been let off after some warnings.

Lesson learnt:
- When you are hit at back only the opposite person at fault, So Chill.
- To deal in the situation when I am alone, not at fault, with traffic police, with Auto man and the vehicle insurance stuff too.
- Now that is called the adventure and fun ‘The chasing part & next day the story telling part’.
- Still I think I am not a professional driver, unless I become the opposite party (God forbids) :-)



Close up:
"What ‘state’ do you live in?"
"Denial."
- Miss Wormwood & Calvin

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Feed my clothes.

One day the Mullah Nasrudin went to a rich merchant's house for a feast. As he was wearing a laborer's clothe he was shown to the servant's entrance and given a few scraps.
Next week he was invited to the same place and he dressed in his best attire looking as good as any prince. He was welcomed at the front door and given the place of the honor next to the host. He ate a morsel of bread and then started putting all the rich food offered to him into his sleeves.
His host asked him, "What are doing my good man?" "I'm feeding my clothes," the Mullah replied, "It deserves the good food since my worth was established last week."

Close up:
‘I have to do for what I feel in my heart to be right - for I'll be criticized anyway.
I'll be damned if I do, and damned if I don't. Who cares…!’
~ Unknown

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Have you fought for …

I met a girl on Sunday, She told me 'I want to be like you'...I was amused and astonished. I was still staring at her, & my close friend took the charge to elaborate me to her. After that girl departed, my friend told me her scrambling living..., which made me think the STRUGGLE.

I feel, little less lucky are those, who do not have to fight for anything (one thing at least) in life.

There are people who go through the unconvincing hardship, unequaled difficulties in life. Beyond the imagination of a common man, who peacefully goes to school, then college, then office, then after a wife/husband, then after money and at last dies off in dust. But some people are chosen by life, to reveal the numerous obscure lessons by injecting the stimulating struggles. Isn’t it surprising for the way some lives are tempered to understand the countless matters. As I say, “We must get understanding from all our gettings.”

Think of the child character in movie ‘Slumdog millionaire’, the inspector asked him “No damn Doctor, engineer or any intellectual have gone beyond 15 questions, How come a slum dog is winning millions?” & then the shuddery journey starts into child’s past that has made him prevail the entire so-called sophisticated social rational.

We have to understand the whole of the story (Life) not just little ‘Goody-Goody-Spotless-Fancy-Part’, which says life is a bed of roses. We should Read, look at the Skies, Sing, and Dance, Write poems and Suffer, Get lost, Cry, Loose hope and Get depressed too for all that is life. The marks on the skin should say how we have lived. Lets not forget, lower you fall higher you fly. (If you remember all the lessons given by life, like Jamal Malik.)

Close up:
‘A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same’
~ Unknown.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Me ?

There was a book in which author relates a word with the city e.g., New York –‘Achieve’, Rome – ‘Sex’, Mumbai – ‘Dreams’ and I learnt to relate the one word to each person like Father – ‘Security’, Mother – ‘Care’, Friend – ‘Relax’….What word would I associate with myself then? Yeah…that one word bundles me up totally. ‘Freedom’…?! Or ‘Self Respect’!?

Ok I will go with the later one *Me - Tremendous amount of Self-esteem*.

Close up:
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”
~ Ayn Rand