Ravi Pratap Singh

What's On Your "NOT-TO-DO" List?

India just trounced Australia 4-0 in the recently concluded Tests... in the bargain, they handed the Aussies their most comprehensive series defeat in nearly half a century!

The architects of the Indian team's victory were its young guns - Ravichandran Ashwin, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindar Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Virat Kohli - each of whom came up with spectacular performances. Among these names, the one player who took me most by surprise with his showing was Murali Vijay.

Now there's never been a doubt about Murali Vijay's stroke-making capabilities and his sound technique. But he has always been a "dasher", supposedly more suitable for the shorter versions of the game - ODIs and T20s - rather than test matches. So seeing him bat for long periods of time in the five-day games and also emerging as the highest run-getter in the series was both praiseworthy as well as inspirational. So what did Murali Vijay possibly do that brought about this sea change in his batting style?

Well, batsmen who have a wide range of strokes invariably get out trying to play one shot too many. Therefore, the key to their success in the longer version of the game primarily lies in their ability to cut out the risky shots from their arsenal. So more than having a "to-do list", these players need to chalk out a "not-to-do list" to succeed - like, not to try and score a boundary off every ball, not to loft the ball in the air early in the innings, not to chase balls wide outside off-stump, etc. Obvioulsy, Murali Vijay got his "not-to-do list" right. And the results show!

Infact, this is true for all of us.

What "NOT-TO-DO" is as important as what "TO-DO".

Personally, I maintain a "not-to-do list" as passionately as a "to-do list". This includes stuff like trying NOT TO jump in and solve issues even when I know that I could do it faster than a team member. By doing so (or rather, not doing so), I give an opporunity to the team member to learn and become independent faster.

Do you have a NOT-TO-DO list? If not, what would you like to put on it???

Protect Your Dream!

Recently I caught up with "The Pursuit of Happyness" on television. Starring Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith, this 2006 film is a biopic based on Chris Gardner's struggle with homelessness while raising his toddler son.

In one scene, Gardner (Smith) manages to find some time before work to play basketball with his son. The kid is really excited and declares that he wants to go Pro. Gardner discourages the boy saying that since he himself was never good at basketball, it was unlikely that his son would excel in the game either. Therefore, he shouldn't be wasting too much time chasing something that he's never ever going to achieve.

And then realising that he has upset his son and shattered his dream, Gardner says:

"Hey, don't ever let somebody tell you, you can't do something. Not even me. Alright? You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. You want something, go get it. Period."

What a powerful life lesson!!!

Watch the video.

 

 

Light of Dawn

Just before dawn is always the darkest hour,
So don't lose hope and let dreams turn sour.

Want the strength of steel? And a diamond's sparkle?
Then walk through the furnace and face cuts with a chuckle.

Darkness is temporary, so keep trudging on,
A few more steps, and you'll see the light of dawn.

 

Raze The Old To Raise The New

New beginnings are almost always traumatic... be it with regards to our lifestyle, career or relationships. So most of us prefer suffering with the known rather than risk starting anew.

This is because the human mind loves the "status quo". It is comfortable with the "routine". And addicted to the "familiar".

While on the other hand, the mind fears the "unknown". It is suspicious of the "unseen". And wary of the "unaccustomed".

Simply put, the human mind is mortally scared of CHANGE!

As a result, even when stuck in the most hopelessly unreasonable position, we seek the safety net of a "compromise" rather than risk failure due to "change". We refuse to see reality even when it stares us in the face. We continue to mend a situation even when we know that things are well beyond repair. We hang on to the rope long after we have crashed to the ground.

Why? Because the mind does not want us to venture into unchartered territory. It makes us believe that a known devil is any day better than an unknown angel. What's worse, it trains us to become comfortable with our uncomfortable situation!

In reality, the cave we most fear to enter may actually hold the treasure we have been looking for all along. Therefore, all we need to get our life back on track is to summon the COURAGE to step out of our "comfortably uncomfortable" present and take up the challenge of building a better (though uncertain) future from scratch.

To achieve this goal, we need to RAZE THE OLD TO RAISE THE NEW. Because every ending heralds a new beginning.

As Lao Tzu said, "What the caterpillar calls the end, the world calls the butterfly."

 

Your Associations Determine Your Destiny

Here is a wonderful post from Seth Godin.

Taking this thought a step further, it can be safely argued that it is not only the people that we are associated with that determines our future. Some of our other associations too play key roles in what we eventually become... like Dave Johnson said, “Where you will be five years from now will depend on the books you read, what you listen to and the people you associate with.”

Words worth delving upon!

Visual Goal Setting

I am a visual person. Which basically means that I am most comfortable when concepts, ideas, knowledge, information and data are presented to me (or, by me) visually.

To give you an example, when I get an idea for a new blog post, the first thing I do is to actually select/purchase a suitable image for the post. And ONLY THEN do I write my first word!

Not surprising, therefore, that even the goals I've been setting for myself over the years have always been put together in some kind of a visual format (charts, diagrams, scrapbooks, vision boards, powerpoint presentations, etc).

I will write another post some day on the virtues of "Visual Goal Setting". Today I'd like to introduce you to a Visual Goal Management Software that I accidentally chanced upon last night - Goalscape.

I downloaded a trial version of the tool to play around with, and must confess, that I am completely hooked. The features are cool; the benefits are immense; and the price is attractive. What more could one ask for?

So all you people out there who would like to set and chase down your goals "visually"... do give Goalscape a try. You could be as impressed as I am.

Keep A "Beginner's Mind"

The "Beginner's Mind" or "Shoshin" is a concept in Zen Buddhism that refers to "having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would."

Let me explain this in simple words. When you are a beginner in any activity, you focus all your energy and enthusiasm into accomplishing that activity. Your mind is devoid of unnecessary clutter and your concentration is solely on achieving the task at hand.

Remember the time when you were learning to ride a bicycle as a kid? While seated on the bike, were you not single-mindedly consumed with the process of conquering your dream vehicle... manouvering the handlebar, pushing the pedal, applying the brakes, et al? Your mind didn't wander even for a fraction of a second to think about what happened at school that morning or what mom was cooking for dinner. You were singularly aware and absorbed in the process of what you were doing at that particular moment. You were in your highest state of consciousness. You were operating at your peak performance levels!

In his bestseller "The Practicing Mind", Thomas M. Sterner calls this the "process-oriented, present minded state". He writes, "Video games offer a natural environment for pulling us into a state of focused present-moment awareness. If you watch people playing a computer game, you will observe how totally focused they are on what they are doing in that moment. Even though the best score possible is the ultimate goal, the participants are only superficially aware of it. The process of playing the game requires all their attention. If you talk to people playing a computer game, they may not even answer you because they are absorbed in the process of the game."

This is exactly how one needs to approach every task. One needs to be in the present moment and focus all attention exclusively on the process... while keeping the mind uncluttered and free of all pressures pertaining to the end result.

To achieve optimum results consistently, one needs to keep a "Beginner's Mind".

Slaying The Demons Within

Today is Dussehra (a.k.a. Vijayadashami), one of the most important Hindu festivals. Devotees celebrate the day to mark the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana, and also the slaying of the demon Mahishasura by Goddess Durga.

Guess I can't find a better day to conquer a couple of demons within myself... the demons of Impatience and Anger. These two keep popping up in my head every now and then despite my best efforts to keep them on a tight leash. And needless to say, they wreak havoc!

I woke up this morning to the realisation as to why I haven't yet succeeded in my pitched battles against these monsters. The secret, as I have finally unraveled, is simple - demons need to be "slayed" and not "kept on a leash".

I now set out to take on these demons with the most potent weapon avaiable to mankind - a determined mind. And I am confident of vanquishing them this time around.

I am glad I found my Ravana and Mahishasura this Dussehra. What about you?

Happy Dussehra!!!

No Player Is Bigger Than The Team!

The third and final test match between England and South Africa is currently underway at Lord's. Having lost the first test of the series and drawn the second one, England have to win this game to avoid abdicating their number one test ranking to the South Africans.

Given this background, it would be normal for any team to come out with all guns blazing and ensure that they select their best players for this must-win game. But the eleven England players that walked onto the park at the beginning of the match yesterday did not include the charismatic Kevin Pietersen, their premier batsman by a long margin!

The reason?

Well, he was DROPPED!!!

And that too, after he had scored a breathtaking century less than a fortnight ago in the second test of the current series!

During that game, Kevin Pietersen had allegedly sent some derogatory text messages about his captain and team members to players from the opposing camp. Since this was not the first time that Kevin had got into disciplinary issues, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to axe him irrespective of the fact that dropping him at this stage of the series could cost England their numero uno throne!

Hats off to the England selectors and captain for their brave decision. For no matter how big a player is, he can never ever be bigger than the team!

 

Let's Be The Change We Want To See

To MY INDIAN FRIENDS: 

On this our 66th Independence Day,
Let’s all pledge, promise and pray…

To keep our roads and cities clean,
And our environment and forests green…

To obey rules and follow guidelines,
And curb our instinct to beat the lines…

To respect historic and archaeological treasures,
And not deface them for juvenile pleasures…

To honour our servicemen and sportsmen,
And not sell our souls to wily godmen…

To refuse to accept or offer bribe,
And make the corrupt an extinct tribe…

To not discriminate on caste and creed,
And elect those without personal greed…

To set our country truly free… 
Let's be the change we want to see!