How I lost 17.5 pounds in two months?!

Leaving behind the hustle and bustle of city life to start an ordinary life in a simple, unique and beautiful country like Oman has been nothing short of bliss in many ways, especially if you perceive life not based on how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away. Yes, I had a second chance to live life to the fullest in Oman four years back with the hope that the desires close to my heart will no longer be dreams. The first year kicked off with a great sense of gratitude, thanks to the accomplishments in family-aspects, healthy lifestyle, peace, tranquillity, long distance running, swimming, blogging, toastmasters etc. Notably, the health aspect was amazing during the first two years so much that I was fit enough to run half marathon, swim for 1km non-stop, felt good about my body, but even during these two years of good times, something vital had been missing in me which I did not realize then: an unbalanced mind & spirit. Although it was missing during the first two years of good times, it did not affect my pursuit to better health and fitness, as the environment around me was ordinary and uneventful. But with the advent of the third year, my life transformed from “ordinary and uneventful” to “insane levels of stress and frustration” at work as I was thrust- with a responsibility of a major Oracle ERP implementation. This adverse transformation took a toll on my health and this is when the vital factor (unbalanced mind & spirit) became conspicuous.

The fairy tale, “two years of bliss” spun out of balance during the third year and, as a result, I became fatter by 23 pounds in just 12 months. My “empty” over-confidence in health and fitness shaped me to be a hypocrite that made me to believe that I was not overweight.

Then the reality struck!! I was overweight!! I was dumbfounded when I realized that I couldn’t even reduce 1 pound. I couldn’t believe it!! From 163 pounds to 185 pounds in one year!!  Something was terribly amiss.

My guilt-trodden mind engaged in intensive introspection on what went wrong and provoked waves of deep thoughts, but still the ultimate truth and answer never dawned on me. Feeling so lost in a maze, forces of nature introduced me to something that gave all the right answers for my fragile, unbalanced “mind & spirit”:

Yoga!!

I was still oblivious to the fact that this vital aspect was missing and this missing piece of the puzzle was the Achilles’ heel that made my fragile state vulnerable to the undue stress imposed by the change in the work environment.

The priceless lesson learnt was that no matter how fit we are physically with rigorous exercises, if the spirit is not in the right balanced state with the body and mind, even a slight change in the external factors will spin the delicate balance out of control resulting in the ups and downs of body weight and mental state.

The Core Foundation

This is exactly what Yoga is all about. Yoga means to be in perfect tune; your body, mind and spirit are in absolute harmony with existence. When you fine-tune yourself to a level that everything functions beautifully within you, the best of your abilities will naturally flow out of you. Have you noticed that when you are happy you have endless energy? Even if you skip your food or sleep, you will have so much energy to just go on. Just a little happiness liberates you from your normal limitations of energy and capability. Yoga is the science of activating your inner energies in such a way that your body, mind and emotions function at their highest peak. Ultimately, Yoga strengthens that balance so much that no external factors in real life can spin your balance out of control.

Typically, we jump-start with a rigorous exercise routine to shed excess weight but the biggest problem that most of us have is the consistency factor. We start the exercise with great enthusiasm and passion for a couple of weeks and then lose the steam for months which reflects in the ups and downs in the body weight as well.

The Workout

Yoga is the core, but a bit of variety worked for me. For me, combination of Yoga, circuit training at the gym and running, really did the wonder by shedding 17.5 pounds in just two months.

-        Day 1     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 2     Circuit Training at Gym + 15 minutes cardio + 10 minutes of Yoga/Pranayama

-        Day 3     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 4     Circuit Training at Gym + 15 minutes cardio + 10 minutes of Yoga/Pranayama

-        Day 5     Running – 1 hour

-        Day 6     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 7     Relax or Yoga Meditation

Diet

Now, comes the tricky part: DIET. Each of us have our naturally ways of venting out when we are stressed and mine is to eat, eat and eat. When I get stressed out, I eat bars of snickers, packets of M & Ms, a variety of Indian sweets, chicken tikka masala with white rice at 11pm etc. This was a perfect recipe to be obese in no time. For the kind of reckless diet that I engaged myself in, I should be thankful that I put on only 23 pounds in 12 months.

Tips on diet restrictions that helped me greatly:

1.       Start off with a complete medical check-up to ensure that you do not have any major health issues.

2.       Sleep

a.       Do not sleep late. Go to bed by 10pm

b.      Wake up by 5pm

c.       Sleep is fundamental to many aspects in life

d.      If your mind is disturbed before going to bed, meditate to clear your mind.

e.      If you are not getting good sleep or waking up in the middle of night and cannot continue your sleep, something is wrong with your balance for which meditation techniques can help greatly.

f.        Do not drink too much water before going to bed and you may have to wake up in the middle of the night to drain your bladder.

3.       Never be hungry.

a.       No long breaks between meals.

b.      Have fruits or nuts or milk between meals.

c.       Healthy snacks will not make you super-hungry which will help avoid overeating.

4.       Water

a.       Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

b.      Many a times, we feel tired and the reason is that we forget to drink water. Keep your body hydrated all the time.

5.       Water Therapy

a.       Drink one litre of warm water mixed with one spoon of pure honey.

b.      This helps is avoiding over 20 diseases.

6.       STOP sweets. A major factor. If you cannot stop, at least moderate.

7.       Rice

a.       No white rice.

b.      Switch to broken brown rice.

c.       No rice at night, even broken brown rice.

8.       Whole Wheat: in all foods

9.       Drink low fat milk

10.   Vegetables: Have plenty of vegetables, preferably with all meals or snacks

11.   Fruits

a.       Always eat fruit in an empty stomach.

b.      Eating the fruit is healthier than fruit juice.

c.       Have a fruit before any meal.

12.   Finish dinner by 7 to 8 pm. A cup of low-fat milk before bed is fine.

Daily Routine:

-        Wake up by 5am à waking up early triggers a wave of positive thoughts and energy.

-        Water therapy at 5am à Drink 1 litre of warm water mixed with 1 tease spoon of pure honey.

-        8 am Breakfast

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à papaya or banana or apple or orange

o   2 dates

o   Breakfast Options

1.       Museli with skimmed milk

2.       Whole wheat bread with egg whites

3.       Whole wheat dosa with sambar / puthina chutney / tomato chutney (no coconut chutney)

4.       idli

-        11am Snack

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   One cup of skimmed milk

o   One slice whole wheat bread with fat free cheese spread

-        1 pm Lunch

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   Lunch Options

1.       Broken brown rice 1 cup, with any vegetable and/or chicken, dhal & salad

2.       Whole wheat spaghetti with vegetables and/or chicken & salad

3.       If you have the luxury of having lunch at home (like me… hee hee)

·         Broken brown rice with

o   Fish curry / chicken curry / veg curry varieties

o   Two vegetables

-        4 pm Snack

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit

-        6 pm Snack if hungry

o   Marie biscuits or buttermilk

-        7 pm Dinner

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   Dinner Options

1.       Veg salad with avocado à if you feel that you have had too much food during day time.

2.       Whole wheat chappathi and veg dish

3.       NO non-veg for dinner

-        9 pm

o   Banana

o   1 cup of skimmed Milk

Tips for strengthening your balance on a daily basis:

1.       Meditate early morning and before going to bed à Just close your eyes and:

a.       Pray

b.      Feel gratified àThink through the list of blessings that you have.

c.       Prepare your mind & spirit

                                                               i.      Early Morning

1.       Think of all the positive aspects that you need to have in order to have a successful day.

2.       Never to get angry

3.       Be a leader with extraordinary patience

4.       Be calm, cool and pleasant all the time

5.       Do not react impulsively even if people are mean to you and, in case you do, you have already lowered yourself.

6.       Be alert to proactively sense danger or potential issues in the environment which is very essential for project management or any work activities or personal activities.

7.       If you do this right, you will feel elated and you will be ready to face all the problems that life is waiting to throw at you.

                                                             ii.      Before going to bed at night

1.       Think of all the positive aspects (as mentioned above) that have been able to accomplish during the day and pat yourself on your back.

2.       Think of all the blessings you have and feel gratified.

3.       If you do this right, you will have a very peaceful, restful sleep at night.

At first, the points above might look herculean, but trust me; your life will be so fulfilled and happy that you will engage in a constant pursuit of further betterment. It is nothing but a “snowball” effect that will you help to ensure that the lost weight is lost for ever.

Long story short:

-        Yoga is core to ensure that your body, mind and spirit are harmony with existence in order help you face any problem that life throws at you.

-        Physical exercises that you like: gym, running, walking, swimming, outdoor games etc.

The joy that I am experiencing with the right balance is priceless and it really pains to see so many with so many problems for which there are remedies all around us, within our control, but we are always in a constant pursuit of quick “tablet” solutions from doctors which in turn creates more problems.

I wish and hope that this blog will influence a couple of souls to not only get fit but also pursue true, meaningfu

Hoping for Courage and trying for Honor

Getting away from the daily-grind-of-11-months to a quiet place on an annual vacation does a world of good to your spirit and, amazingly, inspires you in many ways. On my recent annual vacation to my native village where I grew up, I was flooded with inspirational thoughts and I witnessed the “real purpose of life” in simple people, living (in my native village), so happily which is rare. It turned out to be an amazing trip especially in terms of mind and body food. (The “body” took a back seat as the overload of fresh-organic-festive-food had completely thrown the body out of balance. But,it was worth the pain.)

In a crazily busy environment, we would not have the time or the calm-frame-of-mind to examine our spirit to ask ourselves, “Am I am doing what I like to do?” Man, it is a fast life and there is no time to think!! People are easily sucked into the daily grind of mortgages, EMIs, fast food, pills, suitcase-life (travelling) and no-social-life. It is sad to watch people struggle in the fast paced life (A friend of mine travels 25 days a month!!). Oh, they make good money and their career is enviably rocking. It is not that they are desperate for money. It is just that they get sucked into it. One needs a lot of mettle to take the big step of “I quit. I don’t care if the whole world is running after something that is not making any sense.” It is easier said than done. Don’t get me wrong. Money is important, but am I jumping out of my bed in joy every morning to face the world in all aspects of life: God, Health, Family, Passion, Work etc? Whenever I end up having such a conversation with my friends, most of them tell me with a furious face, “What’s wrong with you, man? Are you not happy to see me go on with my life trying so hard not to open my “Pandora’s box”?” Well, I am not an exception, as I am still not out of the woods yet.

Over the past several years, I have been asking myself, “How would I define success in my life?” I had come up with answers many times but, in retrospect, those answers were biased (subconsciously) with worldly priorities and the answers did not survive the throbbing conscience. After having matured through the ups and downs of life (and still much, much more to learn in life), now, I think I seemed to have found the Holy Grail: The ability to be independent from the worldly forces (work, finance) and the capacity to take critical decisions to follow your passions. Well, this idea of independence is not something new to me either. It is a Holy Grail for many too, but thanks to the forces of nature, many of us deviate from the Holy Grail and get sucked into the daily grind. So, what is different and new this time? The conviction has strengthened and the vacation has made a profound impact on how to pursue the Holy Grail.

St. Thomas Church in my native village










And, the other question is “Why do we strive to achieve?” I got a reasonable answer from an unusual source. In the movie, The Blind Side, Michael Oher writes in his article (one of my favorites):

“Courage is a hard thing to figure. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or a mistake, but you are not supposed to question adults or your coach or your teacher. Because they make the rules. Maybe they know the best or maybe they don't. It all depends on who you are and where they come from. Didn’t at least one of the six hundred guys think of giving up and joining with the other side? I mean The Valley of Death! That's pretty salty stuff. That's why courage is tricky; should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you do something. I mean any fool can have courage. But honor, that's the real reason you do something or you don't. It’s who you are and maybe who you want to be. If you die trying for something important then you have both honor and courage and that's pretty good. I think that's what the writer was saying, that you should hope for courage and try for honor and maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some too. “

Yes, don’t we all strive for honor? Well, so far, it has been just text book knowledge to me, as I am not out of the woods yet and I am still trying. Here I go…………..hoping for courage and trying for honor.

No more "Hail Mary"

A "Hail Mary pass" or "Hail Mary play" in American football refers to any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half.

Some people get an easy ride in life and fail to realize the worthiness of what they have. Such peole with a cushy job and a flashy life style may not appreciate what they have that others strive and slog for. I am not being judgemental here. I am talking from personal experience. Talking about people with "no gratitude in life" and "no pain, a lot of gain", I am happy for them, but I do not envy them. For starters, why talk about others, try me 10 years back in Boston. I clearly qualified in this category 10 years back. Been there....done that....nothing much to be proud of. I remember throwing "Hail Mary" all the time and it worked all the time!! It is just that I did not know that I was throwing "Hail Mary" as I had been a Happy-Go-Lucky guy. My critics never had the last word, unfortunately. I wish Tom Brady had a success rate like that......Go Patriots!!

But, this good fortune has to stop someday, right? And, when it stops, the world comes crashing down. And the pain?? It is a terrible jolt that will leave a permanent imprint in your mind that will haunt you for ever.

What's next? What do you do now? I guess that is what defines our character and, ultimately, our lives. Yes, you fell down hard. You just get back on your feet and run again. Your body is not fit enough to match the burning sensation of resilience in your mind. You had not upgraded your skills in your Happy-Go-Lucky life for a long time. You took the foot off the gas pedal. But, now, it is time to endure the pain and get used to fear. The transformation process is so amazing and painful.

Perhaps, it is easy to lie to your friends or lie to your family, as you believe that they will forgive you. But, if you lie to yourself, you will never forgive yourself. I guess, this is the most difficult part of the transformation that will haunt you for the rest of your life. And, the transformation costs dearly in both tangible and intangible ways!!

Ultimately, you ignite the transformation process and, hopefully, the evolution of this newly-hard-earned attitude will cease to gyrate only on the day when we depart for the better world. If not, then we still have not learnt our lesson. As the saying goes....perhaps, it is okay to lose, but when you lose don't lose the lesson.

Having worked in different cultures/continents, the other side of the grass is no longer green to me. I know what I want (to a greater extent). Now, having worked in the Middle East for sometime, I am a bit shocked to see the expats living a very lethargic life, oblivious to the rulthless capitalistic world out there. These folks (blessed, in a way) seldom had to throw "Hail Mary" for over 20 or 30 years. Yes, they have had their share of problems, especially in the health front, but they have had such a peaceful, pleasant and enjoyable family life that is still a dream-come-true for many expats living in the Western world. Trust me, I know it is true!! But, frankly, having learnt my lesson, I will not dare to venture into another Happy-Go-Lucky phase.

Perhaps, my transformation is put to test in an environment where there is hardly any motivation or inspiration. (Please bear with my boasting. It is truly a sense of joy.) Talking about test results, I have made tremendous progress: My weekly 10km runs, my recent 17km run, my 1km swimming, blogging, my target of doing a half marathon this year, I am VP-Public Relations at my Toastmasters Club, my weekly write-up for the Toastmasters Club (http://morisonmuscat.freetoasthost.biz/), progress in the certification/professional front, great progress in the family/personal/relationship front (perhaps, the best of all).

One of the most important lessons that I have learnt in my transformation process is "Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.”

In today's world, most of us will need to throw a "Hail Mary" soon, as the world is bracing for the impact of the world-economic-tsunami that the world has never seen before and, even worse, there are no solutions even from the gurus yet. As Thomas Friedman blogs: the European Union is cracking up. The Arab world is cracking up. China’s growth model is under pressure and America’s credit-driven capitalist model has suffered a warning heart attack and needs a total rethink. Recasting any one of these alone would be huge. Doing all four at once — when the world has never been more interconnected — is mind-boggling. We are again “present at the creation” — but of what?

Let us not stop working and remember to enjoy the journey. Meanwhile, let us prepare ourselves for the "Hail Mary", if required, but at the same time be grateful and enjoy every precious moment of our lives with passion.

Live with passion

The traditional custom of ‘Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ was broken when the 2011 World Championship of Public Speaking was webcast live (for the first time ever) from Las Vegas, across the earth. One of the contestants, Kwong Yue Yang of China (Second Place Winner), struck a chord in me with his speech, “Fortune Cookie”, in which he talked about discovering our passions by ourselves rather than aping successful people. Kwong, having received millions of free advice from many, got the best advice ever from a fortune cookie: a piece of paper with nothing written on it. The theme being: one has to discover oneself and not ape someone. The movie, Kungfu Panda revolves around the same theme. And, last but not the least, my favorite movie, “3 idiots” conveys just that.

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. – Oprah Winfrey

Well said. It is something that gives you a high and keeps you ticking. Even until a few years back, I remember moments in my life when I had felt empty with no excitement although it was weekend or I had nothing to worry about. The moment deserved excitement, but it was empty. Then, I never understood that emptiness and I had always wondered why. Thanks to one of my best friends who turned my life around by helping me discover my passions (blogging, marathon) and my life has never been the same again since then. No matter how bad the circumstance is, I know exactly which string to be pulled to get my spirits high. I travel to my world of passions to experience the “high” that fills the emptiness and the excitement emits so much energy that you become restless which lands me in another dilemma: from emptiness to excitement, you want to do so many things but wonder where to start.

On my recent trip to my native village in India, I came across a few enchanting people who have escaped the corporate rat race, have been blessed with flexible work times, don’t have to commute in a bumper-to-bumper traffic every day and lead an organic lifestyle (pretty much). The best part of it all is that they do not work rather they do what excites them the most: their passions. These fascinating people who have chosen their passions as their professions - Sea farers, teachers, businessmen, businesswomen, musicians, social workers, and teachers – lead an envious life and the excitement is written all over their faces anytime you meet them. One thing that they all have in common is their unshakeable conviction and positive attitude towards life.

It’s incredible!!

In the movie, “Serendipity”, John Cussack’s buddy says to him, "The Greeks didn’t write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: Did he have passion?" True or not, it is a powerful statement that intrigues anyone.

Turning 40!!

Turning 40!! Getting naughty!! Well, many of my friends and relatives teased me on my 40th birthday. And, I wondered why?! A lot has changed since I looked (young) the way I felt (young). It all seems like yesterday, but 2 decades of adult life has gone past in just a flash. All of a sudden in life, you feel a pause as if it was destined to happen to awaken you from the dream. Man, it is a rude awakening!! Friends of my age, who used to goof around all the time get philosophical over a drink. You start receiving wedding invitations from babies that you used to carry around several years back. Your own kids start talking about their plans for their teen life!! And, that does it. The last big bang of the bell reverberates through your ears so much that you start looking exactly (old) the way you feel (old). Welcome to the 40s!!

A sense of wisdom seeps in your life and you feel a bit serene. At times you start questioning your own convictions on "life" based on which you had taken many critical decisions in your life. You feel that you have not achieved anything although you have not done all that bad. You muster courage to face all the mistakes in life and let go most of the timid false-beliefs or empty-pride. When your kids are old enough to reason over an argument with you, they help you confront your own deepest secrets or weaknesses. Unlocking those gates of darkness gives a sense of comfort and freedom that makes you feel enlightened. Ultimately, you loosen up a lot!!

A very close friend of mine who is a quintessential person of the Catholic Faith (even during the school days), used to intrigue me with his unquestioned, unconditional faith. I never understood his convictions of faith very much many years back, but now I could relate to what he was talking about and it has made an amazing impact in my life. I feel completely free and no fear (almost). The altitude and the horizon of your comprehensive capabilities on the bigger aspects of life gets higher and wider that you start drawing parallels between this blind faith and the ideas that you come across everyday. One of my favorite attitudes (parallel drawn) from the movie, 3 idiots, is the "Aal iz well". Incredibly simple, yet amazing!! It guarantees to get rid of fear in your mind, like the blind faith. And, I wish I had had this faith 20 years back when my close friend used to shower me with plethora of faith related information with an earnest intention of saving another soul (mine).

Although I wanted to be an Engineer even as a kid, I wonder why I wanted to become an Engineer. I wish I had explored other areas of interest rather than to have just followed the crowd (in a way). The movie, 3 idiots, has been an eye opener for many youngsters and "Aamir Khan" is more of a cult these days. Glad to see a cult-trend for something good. It has definitely been an eye openner for me!! The movie does not portray something that is new or revolutionary, but it is just that we have never dared to digress from our conventions. I just loved the last phrase of the entire movie that sums up all: If you chase excellence, success will chase you with its pants down.

Especially, on the "woman" front, you wonder: Oh man, only if I had known so much about women 20 years back!! I am sure a lot of guys my age can relate to it.

For many years until I hit 40, I looked (young) the way I felt (young) and, at 40, after the wisdom has suddently dawned on me during the fateful pause-in-life, I definitely look (old) the way I feel (old). But, hey, it does not matter. In a nutshell, as long the spirit is young we never age. And, to feel young one needs to set challenges every single day to feel alive every moment and raise the bar for the next day. I pat myself on my back to cheer myself for having attained the right attitude at 40 for attitude and not aptitude will determine our altitude.

My Second Speech......Have a blessed, garbage-free life!

I thought of sharing my second speech at Toasmasters. Hope you like it....Here it goes....

OPENING
Wife: Darling today is our anniversary, what should we do?
Husband: Sure darling, let us stand in silence for 2 minutes.

Toastmaster of the day, fellow toastmasters, distinguished guests…..Good evening….

BODY
That may perhaps sound like a joke but in sad reality it reflects the state of the institution of marriage today. Divorce statistics from around the world reveal that divorce is on the rise. And, India is no exception. A few years back, a divorce court in India looked like a haunted building. Now, it is one of the busiest buildings in any Indian city. Thanks to our modern India for having become the Outsourcing Hub of the world. There has been tremendous pressure on marriages in past few decades due to globalization that has induced foreign ideas across conservative cultures. Exposure to western culture triggers the human desire to explore the materialistic world. This leads to deterioration of value systems and cultures that were followed for thousands of years. And, then, the problem starts. In a nutshell, the environment that we live in creates those pressures and we gladly carry those bad energies with us home.

So, what do we do in such situations? Have we taken a moment to think about corrective steps when we lose our temper at home? Fellow Toastmasters, I would like to share a story with you today that made a radical impact on my perception of this troubled world. The name of the story is “The Law of the Garbage Truck”.

One day a man hopped in a taxi to get to the airport. The driver was driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of the taxi. The taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the black car whipped his head around and started yelling at the taxi driver. The man was infuriated. But the taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And, I mean, he was really friendly. The man was perplexed and asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when the taxi driver taught him a valuable lesson, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

CONCLUSION
Fellow Toastmasters, today, people start the day by pointing a majestic finger….using the French vocabulary ….honking as an act of road rage…..ignoring you as you wave at them bombarding you with venomous email or morphed mms ….

If that sounds like a morning routine around the world, how much of a culprit are we in this? Actually, most of us are no less competitive. Even if it is our own fault, we have our own set of defensive-vocabulary-kits and tactics to pay such punks back. We would find an excuse for the day to be grumpy and generously share the irritation to anyone who dares to come in our way. And, nothing makes us happier than seeing those punks getting annoyed. And when we get married, we allow this to percolate into our married lives.

MESSAGE
Fellow Toastmasters, let us change……let us be like the TAXI DRIVER….let us be wise and say, “No”, to garbage. Let us not be like the Garbage truck and make sure that we don’t carry garbage and spread it to other people because successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
So ... Love the people who treat you right.
Pray for the ones who don't.
Life is ten percent “what you make it” and ninety percent “how you take it! “

Fearless

111 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl XLV and saw the Green Bay Packers lift the Super Bowl. Thanks to the Packer's defense and Andy Rodgers, of course. Most of the teams build their strong foundation with the defense.

"A strong defense and an aggressive offense is the key."

As a child I have seen my dad trying to get this phrase into the soccer players' heads when I used to tag along with him during soccer training sessions.

I have come to really comprehend and appreciate the phrase, as I started facing the world as a man. In essence, the defense is to have your fundamentals clearly understood and have an aggressive attitude in pursuing unexplored areas.

In the movie, 3 Idiots, Amir Khan has artistically and beautifully infiltrated the minds of the young with one of the secrets of SUCCESS: "All iz well." Amazing!! When a person is paranoid, the mind becomes too defensive and it is a disaster waiting to happen. Even worse is that people get used to a reactive lifestyle of "Procrastination".

From Super Bowl to My dad's soccer tips to Amir Khan, the concept is simple: No fear. How to achieve that? That too, in the Corporate world?!! At times, we hang to roles at Organizations hoping for that promotion and, as a result, end up as a frustrated whiner.

One of my close friends encapsulated the concept of "No Fear" in one word: RELEVANCE

Are you relating yourself to your Organization?

Or

Are you relating yourself to the Industry?

In a nutshell, are you a "Frog in a well"? This limits our horizon, perception and, as a result, opportunities. When we relate ourselves to a greater and bigger world, it motivates us to get better and this strengthens our desire to rediscover ourselves, redefine priorities and, most importantly, take control of our lives. In the end, you are not at the mercy of your boss. It is the other way round.

People might get carried away and confuse fearlessness with recklessness. For sure, I have done this mistake once. I think it is not just about telling your mind to be fearless. Rather, you prepare yourself fundamentally and relate yourself with a greater and wider horizon. Rest assured, you will be in the FEARLESS zone.

Having entered the FEARLESS zone, sky is the limit.

The good old lifestyle for better health.

Cough!

You will be served milk with turmeric and pepper!!

Body heat!!

You will be given the option of selecting the least torturous option: oil massage or fenugreek!!

To fight cancer, you will be stuffed with one-tomato-a-day as a precautionary measure!!

We wondered! Where the heavens did this grandma come from?! We dreaded those times of misery and would do anything to get away. We were subdued by sheer physical power to dump that organic medicine into our body. Most of the time, physical force is not required. I am sure we all remember the infamous look by our parents or grandma that would have wilted a starched collar or a stare that would have humbled Clint East Wood.

In retrospect, we all have our fond memories of someone who took care of us in an organic lifestyle. Now, having become parents we long for those days and feel sad that those organic lifestyles are almost extinct.

Invariably, in every household, there is a cupboard dedicated for organizing the pills-of-the-family. Thanks to the fast paced lifestyle of one-pill-solution for everything. What about after effects?! Who cares?! If I can get through today, I am fine.

Having grown up in a village for 18 years, we had Organic food and we were not aware of inorganic food. On the contrary, fancy tinned food was a luxury and we used to look at it with such admiration.

Like many others, I have spent a significant part of my weekend life in buying groceries - during my 10 years in the US and Canada - at supermarkets. Every single time I walk into a supermarket there is one very small - but expensive - aisle that makes me smirk to myself. It is the Organic section. This is the pinnacle of hypocrisy: We humans have evolved and advanced so much especially in Health and Medicine and, yet, there is hardly any food item that is without preservatives and artificial flavors.

India was immune to this human weakness. Not anymore. On my recent visit to India, I was shocked to see the pride of people in demonstrating their Coke and Pepsi, trying so hard to get accepted in a certain social class. Thanks to the power of advertising!!

About a decade back, I too was blinded by the euphoria of fanciful preserved food. But, I have turned the corner and have realized the values of good old healthy habits. Since then I have hardly gone to the doctor or had a pill. But, it took me so many years to cultivate certain habits. Over the years, I have practiced certain good habits which have made me a better person. I thought of sharing some of them...

• Drink 1 litre of water first thing in the morning to cleanse your bowel.
• Milk with oat bran for breakfast. Add some honey for sweetness. Do not add honey when the oats is hot.
• Have a sandwich around 11 am.
• Have salads for lunch or dinner. Salad can have Iceberg Lettuce, Baby Carrots, One Tomato, Sunflower seeds. You can be creative in selecting the vegetable as per your taste. For salad dressings, I like Thousand Island.
• Have a snack around 3pm: Almonds or Digestive biscuits
• For dinner, I love to have healthy Chinese stir-fry preferably using Olive oil. Typically, I have my dinner at 6pm and then a cup of milk at 9pm.
• After every meal, I have a cup of green tea (after one hour from the meal time).

Yes, it might sound crazy, but you will get used to it, especially if you are physically active in terms of running or swimming or walking. Exercise is an important part of the lifestyle and it can prove to be a great motivator to restrict you to healthy food.

Hey, I heard that.

I am not a sick minded nut to follow such a routine. In fact, I surprise most of my friends with my junk-food habits. I do take breaks from this routine. I pat myself on my back by treating myself with a juicy, deep-fried, high cholestrol burger from KFC, occasionally. I have never missed a week without a double toasted Sesame Bagel with two layers of herb & garlic cream cheese. I used to have a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts at a time. I don’t miss a chance to have that roadside pani puri. I try not to notice where the vendor is scratching with his fingers before dipping his hands into the the pani-pot. (Yikes, at times, I am disgusting!) But, the point is that I do enjoy life.

I think we are constantly looking for solutions - in the shelves of the supermarkets – to fix our health problems. A bit of reflection into our own once-upon-a-time forgotten simple and healthy lifestyle will pave the way for a healthy future.

So you want to enjoy life? Stock up your immune system with plenty of greens and anti-oxidants. You can have guilt-free Krispy Kreme donuts and plenty of quarter-pounders at McDonalds.

Good luck. Have A HEALTHY AND A HAPPY 2011.