A teacher gave a balloon to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it in the hallway. The teacher then mixed all the balloons. The students were then given 5 minutes to find their own balloon. Despite a hectic search, no one found their balloon. At that point, the teacher told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes, everyone had their own balloon. The teacher said to the students: “These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people’s happiness, we’ll find ours too.” May your day be filled with happiness. ❤️
Mentoring can be beneficial to both the Mentor and the mentee.
While helping in some realistic goal setting it puts things in perspective, A mentor offers emotional support in challenging situations for the mentees so they can begin to identify the root of the problems and come up with solutions. Mentors aid them through coping strategies as well when things don’t happen on time.
Good mentors will help develop resilience and trust in one another thus enabling the bouncing back in difficult situations. And most of all bringing clarity on importance of balancing work and other parts of life and relationships helps unload the feeling of overwhelm that many mentees may be experiencing.
But it is also equally important for Mentors to take care of their wellbeing. so that they can create a positive experience through the process for themselves as much as their mentees.
As a Freelancer or a Self Employed Individual inspite of the independence and freedom to manage what you choose to do, there are often many challenges that test you on your journey.
Here are a few mindful ways to destress through your challenges using reflection for your personal growth.
Breath: Start the day by find time for your health. You can simply start by observing your breath. Witness it, moving in and out of the body. Sense your own breath. Check the speed and patterns in your breath. Are you breathing fast or slow? Are you able to hear the sounds of your breath? Our breathing sends many signals to us about our health, if we only care to observe.
Meditation. Reflect on your life as you go into a deeper state of being.You can choose your kind of meditation from the many practices of meditation options. Be it breath awareness through deep breathing, or mindful walking meditation or sound meditation. Be fully present in the Now.
Movement : Reflect on the positive ways you can use your body to reset and recharge your self. Choose to take a mindful and conscious walk. Sense everything in and around as you move with self awareness Reflect on your day and observe your thoughts. Many thoughts will vye for your attention. Let them come and go as you witness their unfolding. You will find much inspiration as you go. You will note your state of mind. You will have clarity of your emotional and mental health. You will sense the truths of your life.
Journalling.: Writing your thoughts is a good reflection tool that helps process and synthesise new information and life experiences. In fact it increases creative thinking and problem solving. As you reflect on your reactions and responses you will find greater clarity on your path.
Reading : A beautiful practice for any time that you can be inspired is by inculcating a habit of reading regularly. Choose a good book take time to read. You will find yourself charged with many inspirations to kickstart your day. It can be a contemplative practice for some deep thinking and self introspection and improvement.
Feedback : An opinion of another about you is their assimilated perception that they may voice out to you with or without your asking. Seeking honest feedback from trusted sources can help you course correct yourself. It is how you take the feedbacks you receive and what and how you focus on it that makes all the difference. Be aware that feedback is a valuable tool for self reflection and personal growth.
There are many tools for reflection like the above. However even acknowledging ones feelings and emotions helps in understanding more and managing stressful situations better.
Reflection practices can be inclusive and expansive. Besides silent contemplation and introspection while learning from mistakes, participating in a conversation, be it Group discussions, workshops can be an engaging practice for Self awareness.. They are also opportunities for self growth.
Whoever made the movie “Avatar” knew this. The mycelium or mychrysis is a fungus that spreads underground, creating a communication network between all types of plants, a kind of internet that allows them not only to communicate, but also to take care of themselves, protect themselves, eat, to stock up on the water. And when a tree is cut down from the forest, the mycelium informs a huge number of trees in the forest that one of them is dying, and all the other trees, through the mycelium, start tending to the remaining trunk to try to save that life. They feed it with water, they protect it, because this dying log is part of the forest family. Everything has a language. It is a universal language. We learn to reconnect with this non-verbal language, realizing that we are all part of one. We are neither above nor below. We are like children who still have a lot to learn from our older brothers, from the trees and forests and most of all from our Mother Earth… It’s just amazing!!! Respect to our Nature Respect to our Mother Earth
Are you listening to your body and what it is telling you?
Do you find time to invest in yourself?
Are you on your priority list?
Do you have a habit of putting others happiness and health ahead of yours?
Do you accommodate for everything and are perhaps less assertive and over tolerant?
The truth is you can never give from an empty vessel. Creating a beautiful life that you love is as important as for others. If there are gaps in your vessel of life,what will you share from?
Creating your own well-being in life is a responsiblity to yourself.
Ultimately it’s all about finding time to find yourself your way!
Your emotions are your friends. Sometimes you find them at war with each other. They need your understanding. They are your supportive vents of expression to take the pressure off and make you sense the pleasure of life.
Create a beautiful life by improving your emotional health. And develop your emotional intelligence. It helps you identify where your strengths are and where you need to work on.
Emotional intelligence gives you a headstart in managing not just your emotions but also an ability to understand and to even influence anothers emotions.
In leadership roles this gives you an edge in managing people and teams
So how can you begin to improve your Emotional Intelligence?
Start by cultivating empathy for life. See things from anothers perspective. It will increase your understanding and help build strong relationships.
Work on your communication skills by practice of listening actively and respectfully. It can positively impact the way you are perceived.
Practice self awareness to become more mindful of how you feel and how your own emotions affect your thoughts and actions.
Acknowledge stress and balance it well by being active by regularly walking or picking a sport, or even dancing.
Think positively about life by inculcating a positive attitude.
At the same time allow your self to seek feedback to understand where you are doing fine and how to improve further.
Emotions are part of being human. Working on your emotional health and developing your emotional intelligence can be a game changing skill in life.
If we are able to understand the reason for life is to be…
As it is meant to be We will be more tolerant and inclusive We will think before we speak We will choose to see the good and nurture the good. What we choose to notice life presents itself in many ways As the way we choose to see the world The world mirrors itself to us.
See the world with wonder and awe Choose to respect and be responsible Cultivate a sense of respect gratitude. For the infinite abundance called life!
When words propose in a flow That is persuading and all pervading No matter the rhyme or form It becomes poetry Creating a zen like feeling That makes you want to be In that state of awareness Inspite of knowing Everything moves on…
Have you ever been enticed by the eloquence of words?
Personally I have many favorites
But these profound words by Gibran deeply impacted me… Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
Infact all the lines that follow are equally poignant as well as profound.
So much wisdom in those words for life and living.
Which is your favorite piece of poetry? Do your remember those verses vividly ?
If milk gets bad, it becomes yoghurt. Yoghurt is more valuable than milk. If it gets even worse, it turns to cheese. Cheese is more valuable than both yoghurt and milk.
And if grape juice turns sour, it transforms into wine, which is even more expensive than grape juice.
You are not bad because you made mistakes. Mistakes are the experiences that make you more valuable as a person.
Christopher Columbus made a navigational error that made him discover America.
Alexander Fleming’s mistake led him to invent Penicillin.
Don’t let your mistakes get you down. It is not practice that makes perfect. It is mistakes we learn from that makes perfect!
Loved this forward I received this morning, just had to share… So motivational. Our attitude turns circumstances around…
It’s balmy weather It’s early morning The sun is moving In and out of the trees Traveling with me As I am walking… The chirping birds Awakening the world With hope fulness The wind is resting Perhaps still to awaken The clouds are clearing Heralding the light In the mighty tree A few yards from me I see a beautiful vision… Cont’d
Three trees in a forest were talking about their dreams.
First tree said, I want to become a beautiful chest & lots of precious treasures should be stored in me.
Second tree said, i want to become a magnificent ship to carry great kings & queens safely across the ocean, even in storms.
Third one told I want to become the tallest tree in this forest. My height should reach the sky that I should think I am near God.
After some time people came to the forest to cut the trees.
They came near the first tree and said this seems like a strong tree. We will sell this to a carpenter who will make boxes. The tree became happy that its wish is getting fulfilled.
Second tree they decided that it would be suitable to build a ship. The tree was happy that it would finally become a ship.
They saw the third tree and didn’t think of any great use . So it was made to logs n stored.
The carpenter made a box out of the first tree to store hay in a shed. Second one was made into a small fishing boat. The third tree was lying as log n stored. Thus all their dreams were shattered.
Time went by. The trees had forgotten their dreams.
One day a man n woman came to the shed. The lady delivered a baby.They put the baby on the hay in the box made of the first tree.. Immediately the tree realised that it is carrying the greatest treasure on earth.
Few years wentby. Some people were voyaging on the small boat made from the second tree. A big storm started n the tree was worried that it could not save the people it was carrying. At that time one man in the boat said to the sea, be calm. The sea became calm. The tree realised that it is carrying the king of all kings.
After some days a man was carrying the logs from the third tree & walked the street. The people on the way were ridiculing him . They reached a small hill top & the man was nailed on the log & made it stand . After three days the tree realised it was very near God as the man was Jesus Christ.
The dreams of the trees were fulfilled, but not in the way they wanted .
Similarly all our dreams will be fulfilled. May be not in the way or time we planned. But it will happen.
Savvy Raj 
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