How often do you meet yourself? Yes, you meeting you! Does
that sound absurd? Well, maybe but think again, how often do we meet our true
inner self? That inner voice, gut feeling, basic instinct, the thoughts and
dreams that are buried somewhere within us.
Often people say, meditation helps in clearing out the
clutter and reaching out to our inner self. I say, meditation can be of various
forms. To begin with, me writing this piece is kind of a meditation too. Off
late I have been reading some inspirational books, the most recent being Robin
Sharma’s- Mastery manual. I would say reading this book was like meditation for
me. I say this because, the book makes you go through some introspection,
incremental activities to self-discovery. More than self-discovery, it is about
connecting with yourself, spending time with yourself. This I feel is the key
missing factor in our lives today! In this fast paced world, we rarely sit back, retrospect or
introspect or spend moments in silence. I have picked up some action points
from Robin’s book and some of my personal insights. As I explore and experiment
in meeting my inner self, I will keep on sharing these insights. I assure you
am testing these first before posting :-)
1. Journaling
Remember, ‘Dear Diary’? Some of you may remember this from
your school days, well the adult version is called ‘Journaling’ :) A little
black notebook or diary that you commit to maintain where you note down your
thoughts at the beginning or end of day.
Why is this required? Well, often we hear ourselves or our
folks saying- "Don’t have the time", "Just didn’t get the time". I am one of
them! A journal essentially addresses this daily excuse of ours….
At the
beginning of the day, if you devote peaceful 5minutes in listing down the key short
tasks for the day it really helps in planning one’s day. Try it! Remember, not an overwhelming, exhaustive
list that scares you instead of bringing piece ;) , instead limit yourself to key small
goals for the day. By the end of the day, fulfilling most of these goals and
atleast attempting the rest, is a big accomplishment!
The second reason or objective of journaling is to capture
your eureka moments! No, these are not groundbreaking earth shattering ideas,
but they are ‘Your’ ideas and thoughts which makes it all the more special. These can
come at anytime, its best to note them down the very moment it comes knocking
your way….
The more you write, the more you de-clutter and vent, it has
an extremely positive effect and also kills lethargy. It gives a sense of
alertness and calms you down during the many stressful moments in your day.
2. Live in the moment
With the advent of smart phones and a hyper connected world,
buzzing with notifications of all kinds from all kinds of media, this is a
tough proposition! Imagine, the times we live in, am actually recommending you
and motivating you for something so obvious but long forgotten!
* Have meals at the dining table, not in front of the TV
* Have meals at the dining table, not in front of the TV
* Do not check messages during your family time. Also, when on
an outing with friends, refrain from checking your smartphones. Its like a
disease that we have, a creepy reflex action, we are more alert to our
smartphone beeps than we are to the emotions of the person we are hanging out
with!
Whatever you are doing- whether you are working, in a
meeting, on a date, just be in that moment :-)
Respect the time of others, value the presence of your near
and dear ones. Taking loved ones for granted is natural, we all do it unconsciously,
but from now on try avoiding it consciously. Embrace the little joys and
moments of life and count your blessings when you feel low.
Small steps, less sermonisation, more self-realisation will
be my mantra for my upcoming blog posts....