49 weeks to Nirvana!

I have decided to incorporate a new habit/attitude every week for the next 49 weeks. Every week, I will try to add on/inculcate a new habit or attitude. All these 49 may not be for you. Do pick up the ones that resonate with you and add some of your own too!

I will of course keep updating my progress. So can you.

1. Exercise

Everyone knows regular exercise can do wonders for your body and mind! Start small, keep it simple and keep going!

2. Learn to reframe any situation

A reframe is a different way of looking at things. Being able to reframe experiences and situations is a very powerful skill which can help to generate ideas from a different perspective. Read this article – Reframing a situation for creative ideas.

3. Figure out what time to get up

People fret so much about what is the best time to get up in the morning. Getting up early seems to work for a lot of people, but it is not for everyone. The only way to find out the hours when you are most productive is to experiment. So try getting up early for a few days and try moving to a different pattern every few days. Stick to the one that feels most natural and productive. For me, getting up early has never worked, so I work late and get up late.

4. Remove blame from your relationships

Stopping the blame game will remove negative energy and pay rich dividends. Check out these articles – On living life and building relationships without blame, Mars and Venus as each other’s teachers.

5. Patience is bliss

I admire people who do not lose their patience. I am what a lot of people would call a very patient guy, but I see a lot of benefits in developing this habit even more. The good thing is that patience is a skill that can be cultivated. “It’s in my genes” is not a good excuse.

6. Empathize

There is a very old American Indian saying that we should not judge a man till we have walked for a mile in his shoes.

When we look at any situation from our point of view, we are looking for options, ideas and solutions from one point of view. However if we try and look at any situation from another person’s point of view, the options, solutions and ideas that we will get will change and most of the time for the better! If we can make it a habit to look at each situation from multiple points of view, the options, ideas and solutions available to us will also multiply. This is particularly so in situations related to personal relationships. When we have a sense of empathy, there are greater chances that our solutions will be WIN-WIN rather than WIN-LOSE.

7. Passion rocks

Everything seems to fall in place if YOU have figured out what drives you. If you have lost your passion (or never had any) for your work or relationships, figure out a way to get it back. (Changing jobs is 112 times easier than doing the same to your relationships though!) Check out this article – Passion is your real wealth!

8. Eat healthy

Again, a no brainer but so important. Your body (including your brain) is made up of the food you eat. What do you want it to be made up of?

9. Cut down one recurring task every week

It could be putting your bills on auto pilot, some money automatically getting deposited into your savings account, creating rules for your email to get deposited into different folders, electronic payments instead of depositing cheques, delegating responsibility and authority, or outsourcing.

10. Make friends with failure

Failure has such negative connotations, and yet failure is what brings us closer to success every time. Many times failure is essential for us to move on to the next level. Find more in this article – I love to fail.

11. Get comfortable with ambiguous situations

Generally we are uncomfortable with uncertainty. When we are in this state, we feel irritable. We try and resolve the uncertainty in order to be comfortable again quickly. We feel compelled to appear more certain, confident and decisive than we really are at that time. So we would rather leap to a conclusion and then focus our energies in defending it. This, most of the time is the sub optimal solution.

12. Be curious

A curious mind enables you to see what most people generally miss. By keeping your curiosity and a sense of wonder alive, you spur your mind to create new channels of thought. You find new connections and become more creative. Check out this article – Is curiosity a cousin of creativity?

13. Live with a purpose

Have a ‘big goal’ in life. Life without a big goal is dull, meaningless and boring. After you have determined your ‘big goal’, make sure that every day takes you closer to the big goal.

14. Have fun on the way

It is important to work towards big goals and even more important to have fun on the way. The goals are a means to have fun on the way!

15. Have a soulmate

To live is to relate. When you have a relationship of deep affinity, empathy and mutual trust with someone, you have a sense of completion and life suddenly starts feeling rich and bright.

16. Take on debt

Yes, you read that right! Very few people have grown very rich without leveraging. So, be cautious but take on healthy debt. Just make sure your returns are more than the cost of money though!

17. Enjoy the simple pleasures

The simple pleasures are more satisfying, longer lasting and often free! So try sleeping in late, lie down in the grass, stomp in a puddle, call in sick and go for a movie, help someone anonymously. A good idea is to make a list of 25 of these and make sure you do tick off a few every day!

18. Learn to say No

Being able to say NO is perhaps the most useful productivity tool out there. Check out this article for more on this subject – Say NO and feel great!

19. Peace-of-mind fund

Again, something basic but very useful if you have not already worked on it. Having an emergency cash fund that will last you 6 months will give you an extra punch in your next discussion with your boss!

20. Cut down on the news

Watching or reading most news is useless and depressing. A lot of it is an attempt to influence your mind anyway. Give yourself a break. Stop watching or reading news. If something is worth knowing, you will get to know!

21. Create family time

Just do it. You know in your guts that it is the most important thing. Go with your gut feel. Do not allow your conscious mind to win on this one.

22. Be yourself

Don’t waste your energy in wearing masks. Paradoxically, no transformation is possible without self-acceptance.

23. Learn to lose!

Losing an argument (and not feeling bad) is absolutely wonderful for relationships. You’ve got to try it and see for yourself. But remember, the key is losing an argument and not carrying any negative feelings forward.

24. Get out

A lot of us have forgotten the great outdoors! When we are not in our cubicle, we are probably watching TV or surfing the net. The same is true for kids. Spending time in a park or near a lake is therapeutic!

25. Delegate

It’s better for both of you! Find out more here – Dare to delegate.

26. Boost your self-worth

You are what you think. Stop comparing. You are one in six billion with unique strengths. Take some time to appreciate yourself for all your wonderful qualities. It may be worth it to check out what qualities all your friends see in you! Also, keep it in mind that you are never too small to make an impact!

27. Do not fear rejection

The fear of rejection is worse than the rejection itself! Check out Dealing with rejection in your job, you are approved! Certified, signed and stamped by YOU! and Fear of rejection

28. Use email efficiently

It is not uncommon to save many hours a week by being more efficient with your emails. Check out - I save 1 hour every day by using simple email tricks!

29. Hang around young people once in a while

Apart from making you feel energetic, this will trigger off a lot of ideas and probably open up your mind to what is the next big thing.

30. Learn how to present better

Presentation skills are very important. The good thing is that most of us have lousy presentation skills and so it is easy to stand out! Take a look at my first attempts at standing out – Avoiding death by Power Point.

31. If you smoke, quit!

I do not need to read any more. Read this if you are not convinced. – Kick the butt. Get a Life!

32. Brand yourself

In the world that we live in, it is important to treat yourself as a brand. Read this article – Success through Personal Branding!

33. Learn mind mapping

Mind maps are helpful in generating tons of ideas quickly. Read – My journey with Mind Maps.

34. Be more creative

“The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.” – George Lois.

Creativity can solve almost any problem. Read these popular articles. Why be creative?, 16 habits of highly creative people and 15 elephant tethers that stop you from being creative!

35. Be good at saying sorry

When you say sorry something magical happens and the world conspires to make you win! Look people in the eye when you say sorry.

36. Be fantastic at saying thank you

Repeat.

37. Keep learning something

Never stop challenging yourself. You could learn a new language, build a website, start a blog, or write a book.

38. Imagine

Some people call it day dreaming! It just works wonders as relaxant and of course it helps in boosting your creativity. Imagination is visualizing something that is not there. It is seeing something with your mind’s eye. It is the bridge between ‘what is’ and ‘what can be’! Check out – Is imagination another cousin of creativity?

39. Stay Positive in negative situations

“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

40. Be aware that you are procrastinating

Procrastination itself may not be bad. It may simply be your mind telling you to go slow or maybe your subconscious mind does not agree with a rational decision that the conscious mind has made. Just be aware so that it may not become a bad habit. This might help – Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination

41. Review your day

A very useful habit that helps to keep the focus and helps to plan the next day. Just 2 minutes before going off to sleep may be enough.

42. Do not bust other people’s ideas

Even the ability to come up with ideas of your own does not give you the right to bust other people’s ideas. Read this useful article. – Idea Busters at the work place!

43. Keeping in touch with old friends

This is something that I am very bad at. My plan is to make one phone call to a forgotten friend every week.

44. Don’t keep doing ‘something’

Being busy sometimes becomes a habit. We feel uncomfortable when we are doing ‘nothing’. Don’t let that happen to you. It is simply wonderful not to be doing anything (sometimes!).

45. Smile

Something so basic and yet so powerful!

46. Assume the other person genuinely likes you

You will be surprised at the remarkable change in your relationship.

47. Break your regular patterns

Don’t let your brain get too comfortable! Shake it up every now and then. Take a different route home, cook something no one has ever cooked before, go for a movie during lunch time.

48. Get to the root

Every problem usually has 2 solutions. A temporary fix and a permanent solution. A permanent solution may require more time and effort initially but it is in almost all situations, the better choice.

49. Learn to unlearn

Sometimes it seems that the whole world is trying to teach us something. It is overwhelming and can get you into a rut. It is important to do a regular clean up exercise. Check this out – The power of unlearning

See you in Shangri La!