AGILE - A Human Perspective !!!

(Picture courtesy - www.lynnecazaly.com)

I have just finished studying Agile and am an Agile Certified Professional(PMI-ACP) today ! 😎

After having tucked the kids in bed the brain went agile and this is the result of that. So don't blame me if you think I am getting carried away with the Agility. 😀

I think like all other product/software development methodologies, Agile could be applied to our lives as well. It will make our actions nimble and focussed consequently helping us continuously deliver value to ourselves and at work as well. 

We could directly apply the values and methodologies of Agile in our daily lives and continuously deliver the one product that we all endeavour for all our lives.

ONESELF !!!

I will present more on this thought in this context in upcoming blog posts. Need some time to structure them properly so that they make sense.

Are you in your senses ?

Today, my six-year-old asked me a question which led me to talk to her and make new sense of life and living in general. The question was "Why do Bubbles and Buttercup not get along?". Needless to say but yet, she watches Powerpuff Girls regularly.

I decided, I shall answer the question.

The question was about not getting along.

And so I asked myself why do I not get along with the people that I do not get along with?

The answer was simple. I did not like them !

But why? What was it about them that I did not like?

They did or behaved something or things in a way that was not acceptable to me or my brain or my heart.

Was what they did so bad or so wrong?

Well, in certain cases it was really bad or wrong but more often than not it wasn't anything wrong or bad. It just did not appeal my "sensibility".

That was like a thunderbolt. It did not appeal to "my" sensibility. And this led me to believe that in most scenarios it is us who are creating a wall of "sensibility" around us.

But really, Are we in our senses?

The answer lies therein. What we need is to be sensitive to people and their reactions and behaviors. This will give us insight into why they do what they do, what are their triggers their ideologies or notions that drive them. But that's not where the story ends, we also need to be sensible about how we need to or must react in these situations. I believe a little common sense can make all the difference. We will end up being a tad bit happier than what we were before.

So, simple sensible sensitization is what will make us get along with people more than we do today.

And then I asked myself... Do I really get along with myself?

Getting to say "My glass is half full..."

Looking at the cup as half-empty depicts the existence of negativity or helplessness in your outlook. The negativity or helplessness often translates into depression and a general state of being unwell. This is one of the root cause of negativity at the workplace and even in personal life. Following are some generic identifiers and the possible solutions to protect or wean yourself away from the sources of negativity.

Remove or Minimize the negative people around you – One of the principal causes of unhappiness and negativity is that you are surrounded by people who are negative. In some cases, it could even be one single person (like your boss). The best approach would be to simply stop being around this person. If it is unavoidable (like if it is your boss) then be a little more patient, I shall be posting an article on that soon.

Find like-minded positive people for friends – Generally, our friends rub off on us and therefore as important it is to remove negative people from our lives, it is equally important to have positive people in. Friends are not hard to find. Just take up a hobby course and be sure to find a bunch of like-minded folks out there who you enjoy hanging out with.

Practice Positive Auto-Suggestion– Positive auto-suggestion is the induction of positive thoughts by continuously repeating them to yourself. Much like inducing a magnetic field in a metal by using magnetic induction. Stick positive thought provoking quotations or proverbs or any sentence that you think will generate a positive thought in you and drive away your negativity. I remember one of my colleague pin-up a print out on the board in front of his desk directly in his line of sight which simply said: “You are CAPABLE!”

Practice Yoga or Meditation or take up a sport– Meditation and yoga can help us relax and clear our minds, bringing in new energy and positive vibes. On the other hand, working out can help us burn off the anxiety, anger, and negativity that has formed a layer of toxic fat inside us. Go for a run, walk, ride a bike, play tennis, swim – just do some physical activity to help reduce the negativity.

Pursue a hobby –We all have hobbies and in the kind of world we live in it is very easy to stop following them at some point in time. Hold on to your hobby and you will notice how it helps you massage your mind and soul to bring out an individual in you who sees things in a new light. You can take up a course in photography and go on a click frenzy with the cool gadget that transforms into a smartphone when you are not clicking pictures.

There are myriad ways to fill your half-empty cup and make it half-full. A handful of them are listed above. Find your own way of getting to your inner peace and happiness and you will find that your cup will be full to the tipping-point.

Happy Now!

I don't know if I am shy or scared of making friends or talking to people. I always look for some support in initiation unless I have some work with the other person. I think I should change in that I should assume that making friends is also some kind if work.
But, is it?

Maybe the initiation is not as scary as the follow through. I think the thought of what will I speak after the "Hello" causes uneasiness. Will we be able to hit common ground and if not the awkwardness of looking at each other and just smiling is even more scary. Could anyone teach smalltalk? Or maybe chat sense? Is it inborn talent? Or can it be developed? Or is it due to some psychological complex?

I dare not dwell on those questions, from the fear of going crazy. Let me try to dwell on something less maddening...

The fact that in a gathering of about 200 people no one has yet approached me to break ice means that all of them out here are that way. Unless what happened now...  There is group event where we are supposed to form groups of people with a similarity.What am I doing??? Blogging?? 
This is an opportunity...
Let me try..

Lo and behold! I know all the 10 ppl in our team and we have started talking if nothing about the activity that we are involved in.

I guess it is only the initiation...  Small talk comes naturally. It has nothing to do with talent and need not be acquired and for god's sake it does not mean I am a psycho...

Happy now!!!

P.S.: Sometimes you just walk up to someone...  And start talking...  It's not difficult! Just tried it.
:-)

Thinking “Out of the Box”

This is a story I received as a Group Chat forward. I liked it instantly and decided to share it on this blog.

Here goes...

Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant’s beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant’s debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag.If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender’s wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchant’s garden. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.

What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.” Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY

Most complex problems do have a solution, sometimes we have to think about them in a different way.

Find Today...

Find beauty... Amid the chores,

Find a window... Behind the doors.

Find a smile... In all the worries,

Find joy... Despite the scurries.

Find laughter... To wipe the tears,

Find a "Darling"... In all the "Dears".

Find a friend... Within the crowd,

Find yourself... Do not shroud.

Find happiness... Behind your sorrows,

Find Today ... In all tomorrows !!! 

- Anurag Sharma.

Leen(a)

Leena oh Leena, Leena Leena...
Dil tune cheena, cheena cheena...

It's very easy to guess that I'm married to Leena and have become absolutely Leen(a) in her. Leena is this one person who has the ability to motivate as much as to understand.
She infuses speed, alertness and ambition without any effort(on her part, of course). She is the reason behind a newfound happiness in life.
She is the air that has filled the vacuum in my life.
She is the cause of all the effects(special ones too) in my life.
She is the constructor of my life's class.
She is the garbage collector of my life's framework.
She is the "On Error...Resume Next" statement in my life.
She is the Quartz crystal in my life's CPU.
She is me outside of me.

I Love her. And, all I remember now is....
"Main tere pyar mein kya kya na banaa Leeena,
Kabhi banaa Kutta, kabhi Kameena..."

On My Mood Swings....

Being the Cancerian that I am, "MOOD SWINGS" are a part of daily living. It's just that many Cancerians are able to cope with it most of the times while there are these sometimes they throw them in this infinite loop(it's more like a "Mobius strip"). Now, that's what I dread the most(in fact most Cancerians will agree with me). While it may not be all correct to attribute these mood swings to my being a cancerian, it may simply be due to the fact that I think more from the heart than from the head. Nevertheless, I attribute it to "Cancerianism"(the skeptic that I am).
Now, what is commonly said about Cancerian moods is that they are dominated by the Moon and its own moods. Therefore the best way to get away with a mood swing is to "Blame it on the Moon". And, the best excuse is(in my freind's words) "Aaj Full Moon hai...Aaj new Moon hai...Aaj Moon ka yeh Phase hai...Aaj Moon ka woh Phase hai"(LOL). Now, that's pretty convenient isn't it.
Thanks to the Moon I don't have to come up with excuses that are easily understood to be stupid(not that this one is super intelligent, but its one which is difficult for anyone to counter). And all Cancerians would be in unison with me when I say that(I swear) many of our mood swings cannot be explained by Cause-and-effect theory. No need for a Cause to have an Effect. The Effect is independent of worldliness and the vagaries of Life.
So, when you meet a Cancerian and he/she says that he/she is in a good or a bad mood, please don't ask "Why???" just start talking about something else like Food, Places, movies, songs or whatever crap that comes to your mind and attribute the change to the MOON.

ज़ख्म ...

ज़िंदगी ये बढ़ रही है,
मुश्किलों से लड़ रही है,
मैं भी जिए जा रहा हूँ,
ज़ख्म सहे जा रहा हूँ।

ये ज़ख्म बड़े अजीब हैं,
कहने को तो रकीब हैं,
मगर काँटों भरी राहों में,
ये अपनों से ज़्यादा करीब हैं।

कहते हैं ये ज़ख्म सिल जाते हैं,
समय की अंधी दौड़ में धूमिल जाते हैं,
मगर मेरे ज़ख्म कभी नहीं सिलेंगे,
ये मेरी कब्र पर फूल बनकर खिलेंगे।

The Lone Crusader...

An interesting thing I saw today.
It was worth taking a picture of so, that's what I did.
Whether you find it interesting or no is your perspective.
But, I do.
The whole idea of being "The Lone Crusader" or "The First One" enthralls me. It just goes on to show that you don't need a worldfull of people to achieve your goal. All you need is "YOU".

Friends are angels...

This is probably something you must've read as a chain mail. I don't believe in forwards but, I think the story is so true to life. I guess we all have met such a person in our lives...


One day, when I was a freshman in high school,I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.His name was Kyle.It looked like he was carrying all of his books.I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?He must really be a nerd."I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyesMy heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. "They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"There was a big smile on his face.It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.He said he had gone to private school before now.I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friendsHe said yes.We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.When we were seniors we began to think about college.Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class.I teased him all the time about being a nerd.He had to prepare a speech for graduation.I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speakGraduation day, I saw Kyle.He looked great.He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.Boy, sometimes I was jealous!Today was one of those days.I could see that he was nervous about his speech.So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled." Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.I am going to tell you a story."I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile."Thankfully, I was saved.My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.Never underestimate the power of your actions.With one small gesture you can change a person's life.For better or for worse.God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.Look for God in others.

"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

जीने की चाह !!!

I wrote this day before.

जिगर के चाक को सीता चल,
अपने आसुओं को तू पीता चल,
ये ज़ख्म तो ज़िंदगी की शान हैं,
जीने की चाह में तू जीता चल।

दर्द ना मिला तुझे तो क्या जिया,
ख़ुशी में न खिल सका तो क्या जिया,
सुख-दुःख तो जीवन के साथी हैं,
इन संग न रह सका तो क्या जीया।

तेरा जीवन तेरी चाह है,
हर दर्द की मरहम तेरी आह है,
अपनी मर्जी का तू मालिक बन,
तेरी मंजिलों को तेरा इंतज़ार है।

:-)

I want to live Life...

This is reminiscence time !!!
I was just breezing through my books when I found this book in which I had written a few very first of my experiences(must've been about 16 -17 years old back then). I read this one poem which I couldn't believe I wrote. I want to share it with all.

Caught in the storm of Life,
Full of sadness, sacrifice and strife.
It's a very sticky web of desires,
where a person burns on many pyres.
What is he? Dust, after all,
from where he rose, thereupon he has to fall.
Then why these miseries he does create for himself,
These customs, rites, reservations... this self.
But it's difficult to give up desires and wants,
For society, such meaningless goals haunt.

I want to live life like an endless dream,
where thoughts, desires and wants flow like a stream.
Where man does not narrow down to selfish desire,
where society is a way of living, not a satire.
Life, as such, is an invaluable gift,
why to spend it on one's own self, the entire of it,
Life has its meaning, if it is lived for others,
If not so, it becomes a ship without rudders.

The Goal - II

Something that I have learnt in life is that -
We are all sent to this earth with a purpose or a mission. The process of life should therefore involve finding out what we have been meant to do and then of course, doing it.

Now how does one realize what is his/her mission.

I guess the first thing one could turn to could be one's likes and dislikes.
Likes and dislikes are preliminary indicators to one's Goal. While these may lead us to the right track but could be as misleading too. In my opinion one should carefully analyze these and find out which ones conspire Inspiration and convert to Interests.

Then come our Interests.
Interests articulate our latent talents. These interests are more often than not extremely visible in our childhood and are best discovered and nurtured by our parents, guardians, teachers or maybe even friends. These are important people in our lives and should be treasured. They are our signposts in life.

And lastly I feel that everyone has his/her inner calling, our inclination or urge that is the ultimate beckoning to our Goal.

The world lives on beliefs. Belief is the single most powerful thing that drives people to do whatever they do. So, believe in yourself and "Score your Goal"

The Goal

It is strange how life swings and sways with the winds of circumstances and events.

An event as simple as making a phone call or writing an email or maybe reading a book can make a world of difference in the flow of Life. It could go either way you'd be lighter and happier or heavier and sad all the same. But, nevertheless at the end of it all it's worth the effort.

There are a lot of things that I have learnt in the past week(incidentally one of the most happening weeks) of my life. I could relate a few of them to you now and save some for later(after all i need stuff to write about the next time around)

For a first, living our lives is a process of achieving goals. Goals are the motivators that make us perform actions suitable to achieve them. Although as much as this issue is open to debate, but I believe that all of us do also have a singular Goal in our live that we have to fulfill. It is for us to discover it and work towards it. I guess this can be termed as a passion of our lives. Moreover everyday life does present us with situations and circumstances which create goals for us. These are the short-term or so to say immediate goals that we need to achieve. One of my very dear friends always tells me that "it's all conspired" and as much as I don't want to but i do think that all these small immediate goals are conspiracy leading us to the One Singular Goal of each of our lives. I don't want to sound too mystical but I have not yet been able to reason this fact out for myself. I have been lucky that I have already discovered (or more appropriately rediscovered)my Goal. Let's see what more lessons i have to learn from here on.

For those who know this is not at all a direct consequence of reading the book "THE GOAL" by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox, but yes i do agree that reading the book was the trigger to these thoughts which i probably had stored in the confines of my brain and forgotten about.

I have realised in the little experience of life that i have, that its all about loving and living.
I say so because, we live because we love.

We love ... doing the work that we do so we live in it.
We love ... cooking the food that we cook so we live in it.
We love ... our body for the way it is(or the way we are always trying to get it to) so we live in it.
We love ... some or all of the people around us so we live in them.
We love ... those tiny little nuances that we(or the one's we love) have so we live in them.
We love ... so many things(sometimes inexplicable) and so we live in them.

People may argue otherwise and they may be right. I don't contradict them but On contrary I believe that this is what it bolis down to even after "loving for living".

Love is the greatest(if not the only) source of Passion for life.

Please note : If you are unable to read the Hindi script or you find that there are errors in it, please view the page using Internet Explorer rather than any other browser as it renders the script correctly.

PASSION FOR LIFE

I am a great fan of Jagjit Singh. I think he is a Maestro in Ghazal singing.

I remember one of the Ghazals "Kaun Aayega Yahaan" that he has recorded in an Album called "Rishton Mein Daraar Aayee" the lyricist is Kaif Bhopali.

In this Ghazal in the second stanza the poet (Kaif Bhopali) has reflected the passion for life very beautifully, aptly and remarkably.

The lines go like this...

" गुल से लिपटी हुई तितली को गिराकर देखो,
आँधियों तुमने दरख्तों को गिराया होगा । "


The intensity of the passion for life is most visible in the tiniest of things and cannot be moved or unnerved by the mightiest of happenings.

SALUTE TO THE PASSION FOR LIFE !!!

तीन पंक्तियाँ

Three most inspirational lines ...

यह महान दृश्य है, चल रहा मनुष्य है ,
अश्रु, स्वेद, रक्त से लथपथ, लथपथ, लथपथ !
अग्निपथ ! अग्निपथ !! अग्निपथ !!!

HarivanshRai ji has summed up the entire gist of one's life in these lines. Whenever i am down and out i just recite these to myself and they infuse new energy in me.

Thanks to great men like HarivanshRai ji that we get to learn how to live life.

The Passion called LIFE !!!

This blog is about LIFE and LIVING IT !!!!

KUDOS to all those who are living it...

BUCK UP to those who have to start yet !!!