Thanks to a recommendation given in one of the panel discussions at IIMB, I managed to read "Our iceberg is melting" today. It's a simple and thoughtful fable narrating the process of change and the steps involved in influencing change. The characters - Louis, Alice, Fred, Buddy, NoNo and many such penguins in this story are not new to us. They exist in different forms at our workplace and society. Change is inevitable and it is the only constant in life's equation. Yet many of us dread even a minor change in our day-to-day routines, let alone the bigger impact ones.
The 8 step change process suggested in this story seems to be very useful and I plan to refer to it as often as needed. I admire the approach used by the author to discuss the important concept of change management using a simple fable. I highly recommend this book and one can finish reading it in a couple of hours.
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Jan 18, 2009
Jan 5, 2009
Happiness
I've enrolled in a very interesting and thought provoking elective this academic quarter called "Reinventing through intrapreneurial/entrepreneurial leadership" by Prof.DVR Seshadri. With six sessions having gone past, this elective has been feeding lot of food for thought, exploring many facets of life. I'm currently pondering over life's biggest and toughest questions which we safely keep aside due to fear of facing uncomfortable questions from our subconscious mind. As part of the course requirements, we have been asked to view a set of videos depicting the views of different philosophers on happiness, hardship, love, self esteem etc. One such interesting video is about Epicurus views on happiness. I found his ideas to be simple and yet very much profound that everyone can easily relate to.
Many of our daily ambitions are linked to being happy. But we don't really set a plan to accomplish this goal on a daily basis. We search for happiness in worldly possessions and perceptions in the viewpoint of others. They could provide momentary happiness but they don't seem to last forever.
Epicurus suggests that happiness is directly linked to freedom, friends and an analyzed life. When I look back at times when I was unhappy, the moments can easily be traced to either lack of freedom, friends or an analyzed life. It is startling to me with this discovery. When our Professor asked us about what makes us happy, we gave a bunch of answers which he was able to fit within these three parameters. All of them are equally important and therefore our quest should address achieving all of them in certain proportions.
Though I haven't read much of philosophy, this course seems to give a glimpse of many ideas and thoughts which will provide guiding directions in my life's journey.
Many of our daily ambitions are linked to being happy. But we don't really set a plan to accomplish this goal on a daily basis. We search for happiness in worldly possessions and perceptions in the viewpoint of others. They could provide momentary happiness but they don't seem to last forever.
Epicurus suggests that happiness is directly linked to freedom, friends and an analyzed life. When I look back at times when I was unhappy, the moments can easily be traced to either lack of freedom, friends or an analyzed life. It is startling to me with this discovery. When our Professor asked us about what makes us happy, we gave a bunch of answers which he was able to fit within these three parameters. All of them are equally important and therefore our quest should address achieving all of them in certain proportions.
Though I haven't read much of philosophy, this course seems to give a glimpse of many ideas and thoughts which will provide guiding directions in my life's journey.
Jan 4, 2009
A dream or reality?
My contribution to Cafe Writing - 2008 Holiday Project (Option two)
I lay on the soft sand, admiring the distant stars and the crescent moon. It is a beautiful night accompanied by the roaring waves singing a lullaby and the salty breeze sweeping my rambling thoughts. I wonder whether I would be visible from the twinkling bright star at the horizon. I'm at peace hearing the clinging of the wind chimes hung from the tender branches of the coconut tree. The magical feeling of special someone caressing my forehead puts me into deep slumber. My dreams kindle my imagination at a steadfast pace. Riding the canoe, I reach for the deep ocean, with the waves pushing me forward. It's getting darker and the voice of the seas slowly taper down.
The land is no longer visible but the bright star seems to appear closer, just an arm's stretch from the earth. I jump, hoping to catch the star in my tiny palms and carry it back to light up my land. Playing hide and seek with the clouds, it twinkles happily and makes my ambition more alluring. The majestic waves looking at my plight push me higher and closer. "It's reachable and I can do it", I assure myself. With no care about the time, I keep trying hard. The distant sun sets ablaze at dawn, letting the bright star go to sleep and waking me up from my purposeful dream.
I lay on the soft sand, admiring the distant stars and the crescent moon. It is a beautiful night accompanied by the roaring waves singing a lullaby and the salty breeze sweeping my rambling thoughts. I wonder whether I would be visible from the twinkling bright star at the horizon. I'm at peace hearing the clinging of the wind chimes hung from the tender branches of the coconut tree. The magical feeling of special someone caressing my forehead puts me into deep slumber. My dreams kindle my imagination at a steadfast pace. Riding the canoe, I reach for the deep ocean, with the waves pushing me forward. It's getting darker and the voice of the seas slowly taper down.
The land is no longer visible but the bright star seems to appear closer, just an arm's stretch from the earth. I jump, hoping to catch the star in my tiny palms and carry it back to light up my land. Playing hide and seek with the clouds, it twinkles happily and makes my ambition more alluring. The majestic waves looking at my plight push me higher and closer. "It's reachable and I can do it", I assure myself. With no care about the time, I keep trying hard. The distant sun sets ablaze at dawn, letting the bright star go to sleep and waking me up from my purposeful dream.