It doesn’t matter if its the Army Navy or Airforce once in the forces you are always ready with a Salute!
You can take a man out of the army
But can not take the army out of him!
Humour in Uniform indeed!
Savvy
Sharing a fun forward that came my way!
One day a Colonel from the Army, fell into a well. The soldiers would throw a rope into the well and pull the Colonel out. The moment the Colonel would come up, the soldiers would leave the rope snap to attention and salute. The Colonel would fall back into the well. This happened many times.
Someone suggested that a Brigadier be requested for help-because HE wouldn’t have to salute the Colonel. So one Brigadier arrived. He threw the rope into the well and the Colonel grabbed it. The Brigadier began pulling the rope. As soon as the Colonel reached the top of the well, he spotted the Brigadier. He immediately left the rope and saluted. And he fell back once more, into the well.
There was total silence. Then everyone heard the desperate Colonel’s voice from down below
*”You idiots – get hold of a batch mate !!”*
MORAL OF THE STORY: Batchmates ARE important ! They can save your life!
(Dedicated to all batchmates)
Are you too empathetic for your own good?
Are you putting yourself in others shoes so much that you disregard yourself?
Are you neglecting your own self for others’ needs?
Are you having shoulder stress and general fatigue?
Are you feeling worn out often and yet get dressed and show up?
Are you feeling you are giving more than you have…in words and deeds?
Maybe you are overstretching in the giving.
Remember you need to reach out but only until you are able to keep your own self in balance.
Otherwise, you will soon feel you have nothing left to give.
Are you unable to sleep well?
You toss and turn all through the night.
Are you are so tired that you are constantly down and have chronic pain?
Are you overpressured?
You feel responsible for others’ problems.
Time to check your own state of being.
It is quite possible …
Maybe you are being over accountable.
Maybe you are over accommodating.
Many of us may identify with some of these sensations. I have also born the brunt of being in the state, with my health affected, in spite of being aware, thinking it will self heal in time.
The truth is many us may even know we are in such situations that are exhausting our reserves and yet at times may be unable to take drastic measures to prevent them. Knowing is not enough! It is necessary to take a step to change.
The trick is to understand the circumstances that we are feeling overwhelmed by and choose to target our changes realistically.
To each, the problem presents itself uniquely! For some, it may be relationships and family or careers. For others, it may be a personal affliction or tendency to multitask beyond themselves or even battling over perfectionism.
Whatever the reason the sooner you realize that it is detrimental for your health and understand you need to implement lifestyle changes the better it will be.
Often in our efforts to be the best version of ourselves, we may go into a mode of putting ourselves into more than we can handle. Our mind body and spirit also need rest and recovery from the daily stressors that life doles out to us all.
We can learn from nature
Everything is best in balance.
Savvy
Each of us may have different coping strategies to overcome the challenges but the problem is our purpose of being is so passionately driven and in the determined perseverance of what we choose to accomplish and achieve in our lifetime we often fail to recognize the state of our own lives until it feels too overwhelming.
Until the lack of sleep creates discomfort and disorders eventually leading to inflammations and diseases in the body and mind. We are guilty of undermining ourselves. We need to remember our sole responsibility as adults rest with us and we need to adhere to our health needs. After all, it is the only body we have. The importance of a healthy body and mind cannot be stressed enough.
Things every one of us can easily implement include :
Optimize food: Check your health and improve your food habits
Avoid self-victimization: Choose to not feel overtly responsible for all.
Plan your day: Prioritize tasks Schedule a personal time as often as you feel necessary. And value it.
Avoid procrastination: Recognize your symptoms and take action.
Sleep well. Remember you matter and health comes first. Only if you are healthy can you do anything else?
To all those who seek perfectionĀ in everyĀ littleĀ thing that they sometimesĀ drive themselvesĀ and others crazy…. ease in and let go for a bit,Ā see others as they are , not as you want them to be. We are all vulnerable beings. We are humans after all, let us be supportiveĀ and celebrateĀ the power ofĀ humanity to overcome challengesĀ that appear alongĀ the way. We are powerful inĀ acknowledging our respective situationĀ from where we are and working amicably towardsĀ finding resolutions. After allĀ besides every thing else,the world needs humanityĀ to overcomeĀ the challenges of being human.
A true story I came across which is worth reading…
“I boarded flight from Bangalore to Mumbai, economy class. I put my hand bag in overhead bin and took my aisle seat. There was an old person sitting next to me on the window seat.
I had a presentation in Mumbai, so took my documents and started going through them for the final time before the presentation. After 15ā20 minutes I was done with my documents, so I put them away and started looking out of the window, and suddenly I looked at the face of this person sitting next to me. I thought I have seen him somewhere.
He was old, his face, the suit was not very expensive, and he was replying to some mails or going through some documents. I exactly donāt know. I noticed his shoes, they were average quality.
Something stuck me and I asked him:
*āAre you Mr. Narayana Murthy?ā*
He looked at me, smiled and replied, *āYes, I am.ā*
I was shocked !
For one second I had no idea what to say next. I looked at him again. His shoes, his suit, his tie and his specs. Everything was average. This guy was worth $2.3 Billion and co-founded Infosys.
I always wanted to become super rich so that I can buy all the luxury and travel business class. He could buy the whole airlines and yet he was sitting next to me in economy class!
I again asked: *āWhy are you travelling in economy class and not business class?ā*
He replied:
*āDo Business class people reach early?ā*
And then introduced myself, āHello sir! My name is ***** and I am a freelance corporate trainer and I work with many MNCs PAN India.ā
He then put his phone away and started listening to me, he also asked few questions and answered the questions I asked. We both went down deep into the conversation until I asked a question which was about to change my life entirely.
I questioned:
*Sir, You are so successful and have made so many good decisions in your life. Is there something you regret?ā*
He got intense look on his face, thought for a while and answered,
*āSometimes my knee hurts, I should have taken better care of my body. When I was young I was so busy working that I never got time to take care of myself and now even if I want to work more, I canāt. My body doesnāt permit.ā*
*āYou are young. You are smart and ambitious but donāt repeat the mistake I made. Take proper care of your body and take proper rest. This is the only body you have got!ā*
That day I learned two things, one that he told me and another that he showed me!”
Being rich is not about owning things.
I had got what I needed.
What a great and down to earth human being he is, no doubt he is so successful!
The average length of a hug between two people is 3 seconds. But the researchers have discovered something fantastic. When a hug lasts 20 seconds, there is a therapeutic effect on the body and mind. The reason is that a sincere embrace produces a hormone called “oxytocin”, also known as the love hormone. This substance has many benefits in our physical and mental health, helps us, among other things, to relax, to feel safe and calm our fears and anxiety. This wonderful tranquilizer is offered free of charge every time we have a person in our arms, who cradled a child, who cherish a dog or a cat, that we are dancing with our partner, the closer we get to someone or simply hold the Shoulders of a friend.
A famous quote by psychotherapist Virginia Satir goes, āWe need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.ā
Whether those exact numbers have been scientifically proven remains to be seen, but there is a great deal of scientific evidence related to the importance of hugs and physical contact. Here are some reasons why we should hug::
1. STIMULATES OXYTOCIN
Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter that acts on the limbic system, the brainās emotional centre, promoting feelings of contentment, reducing anxiety and stress, and even making mammals monogamous. It is the hormone responsible for us all being here today. You see this little gem is released during childbirth, making our mothers forget about all of the excruciating pain they endured expelling us from their bodies and making them want to still love and spend time with us. New research from the University of California suggests that it has a similarly civilising effect on human males, making them more affectionate and better at forming relationships and social bonding. When we hug someone, oxytocin is released into our bodies by our pituitary gland, lowering both our heart rates and our cortisol levels. Cortisol is the hormone responsible for stress, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
2. CULTIVATES PATIENCE
Connections are fostered when people take the time to appreciate and acknowledge one another. A hug is one of the easiest ways to show appreciation and acknowledgement of another person. The world is a busy, hustle-bustle place and weāre constantly rushing to the next task. By slowing down and taking a moment to offer sincere hugs throughout the day, weāre benefiting ourselves, others, and cultivating better patience within ourselves.
3. PREVENTS DISEASE
Affection also has a direct response on the reduction of stress which prevents many diseases. The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine says it has carried out more than 100 studies into touch and found evidence of significant effects, including faster growth in premature babies, reduced pain, decreased autoimmune disease symptoms, lowered glucose levels in children with diabetes, and improved immune systems in people with cancer.
4. STIMULATES THYMUS GLAND
Hugs strengthen the immune system. The gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates and balances the bodyās production of white blood cells, which keep you healthy and disease free.
5. COMMUNICATION WITHOUT SAYING A WORD
Almost 70 percent of communication is nonverbal. The interpretation of body language can be based on a single gesture and hugging is an excellent method of expressing yourself nonverbally to another human being or animal. Not only can they feel the love and care in your embrace, but they can actually be receptive enough to pay it forward to others based on your initiative alone.
6. SELF-ESTEEM
Hugging boosts self-esteem, especially in children. The tactile sense is all-important in infants. A baby recognizes its parents initially by touch. From the time weāre born our familyās touch shows us that weāre loved and special. The associations of self-worth and tactile sensations from our early years are still imbedded in our nervous system as adults. The cuddles we received from our Mom and Dad while growing up remain imprinted at a cellular level, and hugs remind us at a somatic level of that. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self love.
7. STIMULATES DOPAMINE
Everything everyone does involves protecting and triggering dopamine flow. Low dopamine levels play a role in the neurodegenerative disease Parkinsonās as well as mood disorders such as depression. Dopamine is responsible for giving us that feel-good feeling, and itās also responsible for motivation! Hugs stimulate brains to release dopamine, the pleasure hormone. Dopamine sensors are the areas that many stimulating drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine target. The presence of a certain kinds of dopamine receptors are also associated with sensation-seeking.
8. STIMULATES SEROTONIN
Reaching out and hugging releases endorphins and serotonin into the blood vessels and the released endorphins and serotonin cause pleasure and negate pain and sadness and decrease the chances of getting heart problems, helps fight excess weight and prolongs life. Even the cuddling of pets has a soothing effect that reduces the stress levels. Hugging for an extended time lifts oneās serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness.
9. PARASYMPATHETIC BALANCE
Hugs balance out the nervous system. The skin contains a network of tiny, egg-shaped pressure centres called Pacinian corpuscles that can sense touch and which are in contact with the brain through the vagus nerve. The galvanic skin response of someone receiving and giving a hug shows a change in skin conductance. The effect in moisture and electricity in the skin suggests a more balanced state in the nervous system ā parasympathetic.
Quite a bit of indepth information on the healing powers in a simple hug.
Such is the magic in a warm embrace
Embrace, embrace with your heart.
When you are hugging a child, always be the last one to let go. You never know how long they need it. ~Author Unknown
Would you spare a thought
For the way your appear
Yes indeed
People spend millions
For the way they look
Beauty is big business
Image consultancy is huge now.
But would you spare a thought
On the way you make another feel
Your words
Be it in written or spoken
Have immense power
To hurt or heal
For words leave lasting impressions.
Tune in to the way you sound
Check your pitch and tone
As you speak to another
Reread the words you write
Remember words live on in eternity
Think twice and check
If what you write can make a difference
To someone somewhere
Spare a thought
As you take a step
Every step leaves a trail
That another may follow
Choose to step well.
Thoughts to action
Words to deeds
Each play a role
For all are significant
In life and living.
The greatest depths is the soul within ….a spark of the divine!
As one deepens the focus inwards in a journey of awareness, greater empathy is felt for the world outside , and when the focus is towards the outer materialistic world the focus turns towards being more self centered than self aware.
A few ways to deepen self awareness
Question your thoughts but try and be nonjudgemental.
Check your actions and deeds in mindfulness
Improve and keep inspiring the self.
Let go the holding back and allow nature to manifest its flow
Own up to a beginner’s mind and keep your sense of wonder alive!
Your intentions in your journey makes your choices along the way. All manifests as your intentions are.
“Many paths present itself.
Every path is infinite in possibilities.
The question is are we ready to walk the path?
And how we evolve, walking the path of choice?”
Savvy
Savvy Raj 