Realizing your dreams

While I was growing up and during the time I was doing my engineering, I used to be enamored by the space shuttle. I used and still marvel at the amazing piece of human engineering to take people into space and get them back.

While there have been engineering lapses, which led to accidents and the program had to be stopped eventually, you cannot doubt the conceptualization of this whole program.

I used to wonder if I will ever be able to see a space shuttle up and close. It was a dream for me.

In 2019, I had the opportunity to visit Washington DC. We landed at the Dulles International Airport . Very close to the airport there’s a museum where they have now housed the retired space shuttle Discovery.

When I used to see the launch, I would think that the shuttle would be a massive structure. But when I saw it from so close, it didn’t appear to be so huge. Which makes the reusability an even bigger feat.

When I had planned my trip to DC I had not envisaged that I would get an opportunity to see the space shuttle. While researching the Smithsonian and other museums in the DC area, I came to know about this museum which was a little distance from Dulles.

Since we were coming from an international flight, I was wondering where we could place our luggage. That’s when one of my friend and her husband pitched in. They picked us up from the airport, dropped us at the museum and took our luggage in the car to do their work and came and picked us up after two hours.

The point is that if you dream and take action then the universe also conspires to help you achieve a lot of your dreams. Never stop dreaming….you never know what all you may achieve.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Time flies

Affirmative action, Decisions, life

Due to the way the pandemic is playing out one never knows when the next lockdown will take place. I have started looking at time more like Before Covid (B.C) and After Covid (A.C).

These days I become nostalgic quite often (maybe it has to do with my age or maybe with restrictions in place I don’t get time to spend) and tend to keep going back to the journeys we took as a family because now taking national or international vacations has become almost impossible due to new variants of Covid coming up all the time.

While I had visited the US many times, I took my family for the first time to the US exactly two years back. We entered the US at Washington DC and had the opportunity to see the lovely celebrations and decorations around the White House with the Christmas tree and the toy trains criss-crossing each other on the lawns between White House and the Obelix. We also visited Capitol Hill and took the tour, which was an eye opener.

I wonder if I had delayed taking my family during that trip, given the Covid situation, I may not have been able to go, till I don’t know when.

The critical thing here is time – it waits for no one – and there’s never an “opportune” time. Time is what it is. You need to grab whatever comes your way and put your best foot forward.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Your brain could be holding you from succeeding

Affirmative action, Fear, Human Brain, Thinking, Worry

I have this terrific ability to overthink. Over the years I have tried to get better by realising that my brain is going into rumination and bring it back into the present.

Actually because our brain is designed for survival as its basic function, it wants to conserve energy. Since it tries to conserve energy it gives you resistance to anything where it believes that it will need to do work.

So I used to and even now, many a times, create scenarios in my brain. I get an insight, a new idea….then my brain thinks “work” and it starts showing me all the different consequences. How it can fail, how I will not get any more such work etc. My brain also reminds me of all the previous experiments where things didn’t go as per plan so that I don’t go ahead with my idea and it does not have to perform work. It tries to install fear.

Have you also faced this kind of a situation with your brain throwing up various scenarios and getting you tense or worked-up.

So what I have started doing everyday, is identifying one activity which is giving me resistance. Once I identify it, I then go out and take one action step. Once I have taken this affirmative action, I get real world feedback. Somethings work out and some don’t. When things don’t, I try to figure out the possible course correction.

If things work out then my brain gets relaxed that there’s no danger and it starts supporting my next steps.Nobody knows the future. We only have the NOW. If there’s nothing else that you have clear about the problem you are facing, start with the first step in trying to solve the problem and then see how things work out.

I would love to hear your comments – if your brain also plays games with you and shows you all these dangerous scenarios.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Alerts….how I am trying to break free

Affirmative action, Distractions, Focus

On 7th Nov I had written a post on how alerts on various devices were disturbing me. I had not realized the amount of time they were taking away from me.

The alerts are short, but once you read the alerts and if there’s even something remotely interesting then my mind starts going in different direction….into the past…or into the future. The thoughts which your brain can generate are amazing. The worse thing is that because of the thoughts, feelings also change and I would sometimes also end up, feeling agitated. Once you you lose focus, getting it back takes an enormous amount of time.

So it was not the alert per se that was the issue, it were the actions afterwards which were problematic. Initially, after switching off the alerts , I actually had the feeling of a void and I was also anxious that I would miss out….the typical FOMO syndrome.

Soon however I got used to it. Now I just go and check my messages 3 times a day. If I need to get any update, I physically use the specific “app” to check, and then switch off the “app”.

By not letting the “apps” control my emotions, I am more alert to the things that I am working on.

Have I reached a stage of nirvana. No way. There are other distractions which keep occurring from time to time. Since I have such a strong tendency to get distracted I am always on the look out for ways to improve my concentration.

Let me know in the comments below if you have some ideas that you have used and got great results.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!