Ghurbat

Ghurbat maal o dolat se mehroom honay ka naam nahin hai, ghurbat bhari dunya main tanha honay ka naam hai. 

Poverty is not when you have no money, poverty is when in the whole wide world, you're all alone. 

— Dr Amjad Saqib, Akhuwat Foundation 

Prayer for son

https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/06/archives/macarthur-leaves-a-spiritual-legacy-prayer-for-his-son.html

WASHINGTON, April 5 (AP) —General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is leaving a spiritual legacy to his son, Arthur —a father's prayer that he wrote in the Philippines during the desperate early days of the Pacific war.

According to the General's biographer and confidant, Maj. Gen. Courtney Whitney, the family repeated this MacArthur prayer many times during early morning devotions:

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

“Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee—and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

“Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

“Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men, one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

“And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity or true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.

“Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, ‘I have not lived in vain.’”

Site Information Navigation

 

Staying Motivated in Fitness

 First, get the reasons for losing motivation out of the day. 

1. Not seeing results. 

Maybe you're not sticking to it, stick to it for 1-3 months. You will get results. 

Trying things and realizing something's not for you, it's part of the journeey. 

2. How much you care about fitness?

Decide for yourself, how much you care about it. 

Overweight happy people. They say they're gonna die somehow, so why not with disease. 

How fit do you want ot be?

How much do you care about fitness? If not much. Think about some fun things. playing Tennis? Badminton? Walking? Hiking? Take a look into VR sports. 

3. Lifestyle and Diet

Is your sleep and food in check? 

If you're sleep deprived and exhausted, how can you feel like exercising? Your body is telling you to rest, because that's what you need. 

If your nutrition if out of balance, you don't have enough nutrients to work out. Your body is telling you you're famished. 

A 30-second exercise to 3X your follow through by Steven Kotler

In the early 2000s at the University of Bath, a team of researchers led by Sarah Milne conducted a simple experiment with the goal of promoting exercise participation.

Two-hundred-forty-eight adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups:

Group one was instructed to read a few paragraphs from a random novel before working out.

Group two a pamphlet on the heart benefits of exercise.

But the third group received a different set of instructions.

In addition to reading the pamphlet, they were told to use the following sentence to formulate an exact workout plan:

"During the next week, I will partake in at least twenty minutes of vigorous exercise on [DAY] at [TIME] OF DAY in [PLACE]."

The results?

• 38% of participants in the first group exercised at least once per week
• 35% of participants in the second group exercised at least once per week
• 91% of participants in the third group exercised at least once a week

That wasn’t a typo.

Writing a single sentence nearly tripled the likelihood of participants following through on the goals they set.

Although more research is required to establish the true efficacy of implementation intentions––the scientific name for this process––the implications are profound.

By engaging in this 30-60 second exercise, we can increase our capacity to follow through on our big goals––and the daily action steps required to achieve them––by orders of magnitude.

For example:

• If you’re struggling to wake up without hitting snooze, you can use this tool during your end of day planning or bedtime journaling
  
  
• If you want to stay focused on an important project, you can take a few moments to write out your implementation intentions before beginning a deep work block
  
  
• If you want to be more present with your family, you can stack this into your end of day review before you leave the office

The point here is simple.

Tiny hinges swing big doors. 

Procrastination

Procrastination can be a difficult habit to break, but there are several strategies you can use to overcome it:

1. Break tasks into smaller chunks: Large, overwhelming tasks can be daunting, which can lead to procrastination. To combat this, break the task down into smaller, more manageable chunks. This can make it feel less overwhelming and more manageable.
2. Set specific deadlines: Give yourself a deadline for when you want to have a task completed. This can help you to stay focused and motivated to complete the task on time.
3. Prioritize your tasks: Make a list of everything you need to do and prioritize them based on importance and urgency. This can help you to stay focused on what needs to be done and avoid getting bogged down in less important tasks.
4. Use the Pomodoro Technique: This is a time management method that suggests breaking work into 25-minute intervals with short breaks in between. It can help keep you focused and prevent procrastination by creating a sense of urgency.
5. Eliminate distractions: Identify and eliminate distractions that might be keeping you from getting your work done. This could include turning off your phone, closing unnecessary tabs on your computer, or working in a quiet space.
6. Hold yourself accountable: Share your goals and deadlines with a friend or family member, or even a colleague at work. This can help to create a sense of accountability and make it less likely that you will procrastinate.
7. Reward yourself: Once you have completed a task, give yourself a reward. This can be something simple like a cup of tea, or something more substantial like a longer break or a movie night with friends.
8. Address the underlying issues: if you find that you procrastinate frequently, it may be useful to examine if the underlying reason is anxiety, lack of motivation, or some other mental health issues, If that's the case, you might want to consider seeking help from therapist or counselor, they can help you to overcome the issues and help you to develop some coping strategies.

It is important to keep in mind that progress takes time and effort, and that it may be difficult to overcome procrastination in a short period of time. Be kind and patient with yourself.

How to Find Happiness at Work in 6 Steps by James Clear

This article was published here originally. I copied it here for posterity. 

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” ~Dalai Lama

A few years back, I worked in a medical practice.

I’d always been fascinated with medicine, and the position allowed me virtually free reign within the practice. I was able to sit in at the operating room during procedures, learn about the medical billing process, chat with patients in the physical therapy unit, and much more.

Basically, the position was a great fit for me, but I still wasn’t happy at work.

Even though I had exposure to many areas, I was rarely given the responsibility I thought I deserved. My opinions seemed to count for very little, and I only had a few friends within the practice—if you could call them that.

Even though I was in a good job in the field that I loved, I still left each day feeling a little less happy with my decision to work there. I didn’t hate my job, but was this really what I was hoping for? I would think things like, “Is this as good as it’s going to get for me?” Or “Is this job going to make me happy, or am I going to be stuck in neutral forever?”

It’s easy to fall into this trap of mediocrity. In the beginning, you might be excited to start something new. But pretty soon you fall into a routine, and then one day you wake up and feel like you’re sleep walking through each work day.

The good news is that life doesn’t have to be perfect for you to find happiness at work. Here are six ways that I turned the sadness ship around and found joy at my job.

1. Develop a social circle.

One of the key indicators of happiness is having a strong social network.

It’s easy to hate your job when you don’t know your co-workers. And it’s even easier to keep hating it if you continue to avoid them. The situation isn’t going to change if your actions stay the same.

In my case, when I came in, I was training with one person for the first week. They were nice, but they didn’t introduce me to anyone else. After that week, everyone was used to seeing me walking the halls, but they were also used to not talking with me. Before I knew it, I had been there two months and barely knew anyone.

When I finally broke the silence, I found out that many of my co-workers were great.

Don’t let another day go by without learning about your co-workers. Friends don’t just fall into people’s laps. You have to make an effort and get to know them. Reach out to your co-workers and be curious about their lives. Two people have never become friends without one of them starting the conversation.

2. Look for opportunities for growth instead of failure.

So often, we worry about protecting ourselves at work. We look at situations not as opportunities to grow but as a chance to fail. We view new ideas with skepticism. The thought that is always in the back of our minds is, “Will this make me look bad?”

The result is that we seldom take advantage of the opportunities before us.

If you feel like you’re always on the defensive on your job, then take a deep breath and look for an opportunity instead. Take joy in the fact that there is always a new project to start in the workplace. It doesn’t matter what you do or where you work, there is always something new that could be done.

Instead of punching the clock and settling in to the same routine, take some time to search for new opportunities. Constantly defending yourself is draining for everyone involved. You’ll find it much easier—and pleasant—to look for opportunities to grow instead of trying to protect yourself.

3. Help someone solve a problem.

When you’re feeling down, there are few actions that can help lift your spirits as much as helping someone else.

When I felt stuck, I reached out to a doctor in the practice who was working on some exciting new research. His study was interesting, but he was too busy (and thought he was too important) to do some of the grunt work.

I offered to do it for him. As a result, I worked on groundbreaking research and helped the doctor move forward with his project. After that, he became one of my biggest advocates.

Help someone else solve a problem and you just might solve some of your own.

4. Take on additional responsibility.

Becoming a more important piece of the puzzle is a sure fire way to improve your attitude at work.

It’s easier to feel excited when you know that your opinion counts. Taking on additional responsibilities will make you feel more respected and valued in the workplace.

If you don’t know where to start, ask your supervisor for suggestions on projects where you can help out.

5. Have enough courage to ask.

If you hate something about your job, then have the courage to ask if you can change it.

If you sit around and expect someone else to change your situation, then you’re going to be sitting for a long time. People are too busy with their own jobs to worry about whether or not you’re satisfied with your role.

Want to get away from a co-worker who annoys you? Ask if you can move to a different department. Want to work on a different project? Ask if you can help out with something new. Want a promotion? Ask your boss what you can do to start working towards it. Want a raise? Ask if you can take on more responsibility and prove that you’re worth more.

You can’t be overbearing or nagging, of course, but you’ll be surprised by how easily you can get what you want if you start asking for it.

6. Take actions that increase good will.

Most of us are happy when people say good things about us. When you do good things for other people, you create happiness for them and set the stage to receive it in return.

For example, compliments are so simple that we often forget about them, but they are so powerful that we should never take them for granted.

If you want to gain the respect of your co-worker, then send them a note about the great presentation they gave last week. If you want to receive the praise of your boss, then praise him first. If you want to catch the eye of the new CEO, then compliment her on the job she has done so far.

You can take this strategy a step further by not being as picky as well. For example, if you’re giving a presentation and your co-worker gets their part 80% right, then don’t worry about correcting them. In the vast majority of situations, it’s far more important to remain a united team than it is to correct every detail.

Try spending a day giving out compliments instead of criticizing people. Gaining respect and happiness in the workplace is easy when good will is abundant.

Finding happiness is as much about the decisions and actions you take as it is about having good things happen to you. And remember, if you don’t enjoy your life, change it! Doing the same thing today will create the same results tomorrow. Try some of these strategies and put yourself in a position for happiness.

A bunch of quotes

“In the midst of repeat failure, some self-delusion about your abilities ... comes in handy.” Bill Watterson

"The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or a hostile universe."  Albert Einstein


"It's OK to slip into advocacy now and then, so long as you do it tastefully. If it sounds high- or heavy-handed — or anything like nagging — you're doing it wrong. Just explain why you care about a particular value. The goal isn't to change individual behavior (at least not directly), but rather to cultivate a network effect. And who doesn't like a network effect?
...

Perhaps a metaphor will help. Delivering a sermon, I think, is a bit like planting a flag and setting up camp. It's an invitation to others: come, join me, it's safe and friendly around here. One strategy is to settle in with a big camp that will accommodate hundreds (or hundreds of millions) of people. Or maybe you'd prefer to huddle around a small campfire with a few close friends. That's nice too, as long as there's reason to gather.

Where do you want to hang your hat and lay your head? Is it good for others to join you? There's your sermon; let them hear it."
—Kevin Simler