Rishabh Soni

417 Words | 1 Min 40 Sec Reading Time

We are much better at giving advice to other people than giving it to ourselves. But why is that so?

Sometime ago, working on one of my assignments and I was mired with the different instances it carried. I was new and unwittingly, I made some mistake and fortunately the senior management helped me to undo that.
While doing so, one of my mentors suggested me to disengage myself whenever I get too occupied with my undertakings. Because, involuntary we become myopic with the scope, and consequently, the ability to mark the inconsistencies diminishes. Following the same, I implemented this in my next assignment. Surprisingly, unfastening and putting myself in others perspective helped me to alleviate these mistakes.

This reminded me of an old story.

In the Bible, there was a King Solomon. He was recognized as one of the wised King out there than all the men of the East and all the sages of the Egypt. He was wise and respected, the greatest to give the best advice to all problems others have. Despite that, he himself ended up losing his own reign. But why in the first place he failed, even with having the greatest ability to inspire and motivate others?

A psychologist, Igor Grossmann, while studying the nature of human wisdom, he discovered within his research that, “People reason more wisely about other people’s social problems than about their own.” Conclusively, self-distancing allows people to overcome a pervasive asymmetry that characterizes wise reasoning. And apparently, Grossmann coined the term “Solomon’s Paradox”.

Looks a bit perplexing!! Please allow me to explain it in a different way.

Let’s have two different kinds of perspectives from two different people.

One, having a bird’s eye view of the whole maze (Having an overview of the problem). Another, standing in the middle of the Labyrinth (Directly facing the problem).

In the first case, the person is the King Solomon himself, whereas the latter one is the person who is looking for an advice. Having a comprehensive vision to the problem of that person standing in the middle of the maze, King was able to analyse and give the wisest advice to the person. While, when the king found himself in the same situation as the person was, his ability to mark the inconsistencies in his rein diminished. Consequently he failed to advice himself reasonably as he was able to counsel other people.

Conclusion:

Dis-engaging and distancing ourselves sometimes helps to gain a wider perspective of the situation and hence enables us to make a better decision.

543 Words | 1 Min 57 Sec Reading Time

Each year of schooling logically leads to the purpose of the next phase of life with a refreshed perspective of things we perceive to achieve. So a path shall be clearly set and well defined with boundless freedom and limitless potential to steer our lives. So has to be yesterday, so shall be today and so shall be each day to the rest of our lives. The decisions we make steers our life, and this never ceases to be true.

Decisions we make may fill us with either commend or contempt. The act that will always be commendable is to swerve every decision towards the path garnered with new learnings and wisdom to excel oneself.

Source: Anastase Maragos

Coming to the Indian School of Business was no less than a decision to commend myself and my fellow batch mates. Today, it is easy to look back and benchmark how long I have come. Indeed with a new perspective, new insights, and knowledge in the infrastructure industry, has changed me not only as a well-nurtured professional but also as a person. Today, if I look around towards the path I have traveled, I see a culmination of excellent academics and a wonderful relationship with my peers. Apart from the accrual of wonderful insights and knowledge shared by professors, ISB provided us with an absolutely wonderful raft of leadership from peers of different verticals, age group, and geographic regions. However, one thing became common to all of us that we learned to excel, we learned the value of what we have and how we can use it for ourselves, family colleagues and certainly for nation-building. Indeed it was very well quoted by Prof. Rajendra Shrivastava – “In this trying times, we have to be future-ready because there is no known solution to the future. After all, the future itself is unknown today. And, while tough times may come and go, tough people do not.”

Receiving a graduation certificate through an e Graduation ceremony has been nothing less than a proud and fortunate moment for all of us. While I witnessed the first-ever in the history of humankind, the so-called “E-Graduation Ceremony,” I got stuck with a thought. We all know how this pandemic has hit everyone in an unprecedented manner. So, I believe that people who have access to education in these trying times are equally fortunate to have access to online classes, online portals, e-libraries, and proper gadgets to surf out through this billowing wave to follow our dreams.

Source: The Indian Wire

However, at the same time, some students and people do not have the pleasure of any of this. Even in the good old days with insufficient resources, they had inadequate resources to fulfill their aspirations. So, today as a fresh graduate, we not only need to create new and more evolved normal but also to help bring upliftment to the issues which were not normal even before this pandemic. This is the moment to use our education and make this world a better place. Nonetheless, there are many more significant issues. However, today I would like to address only the educational reach to the poor. And I will always do more than what I can serve to help the ones who don’t have access to such divine upliftment.

Source: Pixabay

883 Words | 3 Min 31 Sec Reading Time

Amid this one of the greatest pandemics we are witnessing right now (hopefully the last), the whole world has been put on halt, and it has ceased everything in this incessant world. Most of us are locked down in our homes, and some of us are even trying to figure out what we can do apart from eat, sleep, peep (through the window), and repeat.

The world is standing still right now, and we all are waiting to recommence ourselves into the tussle. Right, that this intermission has brought great distress in our lives. However, surreptitiously, it has something more to offer. The enormous potential of carrying several opportunities with it. This recess will never come in our school of life. Let’s explore some of the new ways to take a leap forward in the midst of this event with the doors of 7 Os.

1.      Opportunity to Know Your Family  

Photo by – Kevin Delvecchio

We all live in a relentless world, where we barely get time to sit and talk to our family members without getting swayed away. The lock-down has evidently fastened us inside our homes. However, the emancipation from the daily stampede has given us the only opportunity in the history of mankind to only stay inside with your family for days. If you miss the opportunity, you will board again to the journey of pursuit of your goals, and your soul will always be dispersed.

We are going to witness so many surprising anecdotes and make some. Like, in this unsettling reversal of childhood years, where we are yelling at our parents not to go out.

Here, I have discussed what we are going to lose during the pursuit of our goals. And I am sure we all agree that we will never get such an opportunity to know better one another.

2.      Opportunity to Acquire A New Habit

Photo by – My Life Journal

Staying inside has given us only a few options to work with. The hustle is waiting for us to again get on to the plane of life after the dust settles down. In the interim period, why not we incorporate something new in our routine. This lockdown has given us the opportunity to do whatever we want. Instead of musing about the habits we have but is far away from us, why not we incorporate some which will elevate the way we pursue life? Like transforming yourself from inside while we wait for the gym doors to open. Explore and find yourself a new habit to acquire because research suggests that you only need 21 days to form a new habit.

3.      Opportunity to Learn A New Skill

Photo by – Bench Accounting

Many of the time, we ponder about incorporating a new skill or polishing an existing one. But being occupied from everywhere, we tend to leave it behind and move on. This lockdown has given us the opportunity to make yourself open to learning while the whole world is sitting around. Make use of online learning platforms such as Udemy, LinkedIn Learning. Move a few steps ahead of the crowd and gain some relative distance. But don’t forget to have a social distance. Because you will never be to unbounded in your life to work on anything you want unless your parent comes and ask you to clean your room.

4.      Opportunity to De-Clutter

Photo by – Deborah Cortelazzi

Let me first ask you something. Walking in or out of the room, always, how many of us knowingly ignore the fact that something is not in place or even everything? We all know it’s there, not only in the physical form but also mentally. This intermission has given us an auspicious opportunity to De-Clutter. Go through your wardrobe and storage spaces. And, even a detoxed mind to work with by incorporating some techniques to mindfulness. Give yourself a new space to live.

5.      Opportunity to Organize Your Computer

Photo by – Thomas Q

Yes, my friend, that felicitous day has arrived. Well-chosen to clean up and organize your computer folders. You won’t get this opportunity later in the midst of already struggling life to organize other things. This lockdown, not only revitalize yourself, but also give your computer some space to breathe.

6.      Opportunity to Bounce Back

Photo by – Pixabay

Unprecedented event, which has tormented the whole humankind. From migrant workers to the world economy. According to the IMF, the world has entered recession as bad or worse than in Subprime Mortgage Crisis – The Great Recession 2009. These events are somewhat inevitable, but the opportunity to brace yourself will never knock the door like it is right now. Prepare yourself, and let’s just let the dust settle down. And wait for the opportunity to bounce back, like a lion crouches for his prey.

7.      Opportunity to Make A Vision Board

Photo by – Andrea Piacquadio

Sometimes we need to step back and evaluate our life. But running around all the chaos we see, we generally tend to prioritize this later. And unfortunately for many of us, that priority never comes. This respite from all the running around has given the opportunity to evaluate all the significant areas of your life. What’s good and bad? What is that thing you want to keep and change in your life? An opportunity to make an action plan for that and make a vision board to really see that plan come together.

Summary

I would really like to know what are your thoughts on this. Please comment below, or you can message me here. 

     Despite having the most advanced brain on this planet, without having any reservation or doubt, we have been moved ahead and conquered the universe as “Homo Sapiens” or the “Wise Man” (Even if it does not count woman in words, I do). Most significant events that helped and shaped our humankind like the origin of agriculture, communication, mathematics, hitting a man with apple, and many more. We always sailed forth, achieving the greatest heights, from the Social Age to the Big Data Age. However, one thing that we all acknowledged yet ignored is how restive and miserable we all have become in this quest of becoming the best.

NASA

We all know what may and is happening within or around us. We all know one day or the other, we are going to face this. Let me share some of the statistics regarding this:

• 89 percent of India’s population suffering from stress compared to the global average of 86%, by livemint.
• WHO Says $1 Trillion Is Lost Annually To Workplace Depression and Anxiety Disorders
• nearly half the employees in India suffers from some kind of stress. According to a survey conducted among 800,000 employees in 70 large companies with a minimum workforce of 4,500, by Optum and shared by economic times.

Pim Chu

And there are several researches and studies which are going on shows how oblivious we have become, or we pretend to become one.

Work, money, and family can be some of the most significant causes of this behavior. Every minute more than 30 people are migrating to urban cities from other areas for better livelihood and lifestyle or may have any other reason. However, are they working for their own self anymore? The majority of them are working in an alien land to pay back the rent and the loans they are carrying over their heads. 

I agree we are evolving at a much faster rate than ever before. I do agree that you shall look beautiful, sound beautiful, or the aura surrounding you must also be beautiful, but it will be more significant to ask whether you feel the same from inside too?

Insideout Movie Poster (An animated  movie, in which five emotions,  L-R – Anger, Sadness, Joy, Disgust and Fear, controls a girl named Riley, vis a Control Console and struggles to cope with her new life.)

Let me ask you one thing, and record the answer in your mind, “How are you?” The most involuntarily reply must be, “Hi Rishabh, I am good, how are you?” now from my side also it would be “Great, thanks.” But at the very end, in this frantic world, sometimes, neither of us has the time to actually share what exactly I and you want to share or listen. Its the one most profound question we wear all day, yet we answer the same. Obviously, many of the times, you don’t want to ruin your most important meeting by answering, “You know what, I am feel being contempt. I really need a pay increase, I have been working all day, and you are paying me in pennies.” or “Not good, please I need a day off. I am feeling so alienated and miserable.” But why in the first place are you getting this thought? Why you sometimes feel the way you don’t want to be? Why can you not just make things the way you wish to? Why not, you know how to reach the moon, build computers, many things in this world is driven by you, you are the most advanced or the wisest man on earth – The Homo Sapien, yet you cannot push yourself out of this disconnection for yourselves?

Its until you learn about yourselves. Imagine you purchased a brand-new car, and you don’t know properly how to drive, but still, your inner perfectionist wished, and you started driving. After some crashes and smashes, you blamed yourself for not knowing how to drive. And then you learn from your mistakes and then not only you become a driver, you become a pilot on the road. Similarly, you drive your life. See how unaware and oblivious we are about the things which are incessantly hitting on us, and we keep on crashing and smashing here and there, and we blame our life. The very life then becomes rude and unfair to us.

Ashley Bean

Bring out the new perspective to see and realize, that it is not the life, which is disdaining you. It is not the life which is hitting you continually. You are the one who must be held responsible for not realizing the actual cause. You have the car, you have the opportunity to get schooled, then why not? Here comes the need to learn meditation. First, let me give you a straightforward definition – Meditation is a practice, which helps you to become aware of your surroundings and then help you organize the flow of thoughts and give a new and nourishing perspective. It helps you to concentrate on things which you are supposed to. Now let me help you clear some of the most common misconceptions many hold with themselves – No, you will not become Buddha after this. You won’t come out as a completely different person after this. And you are not supposed to chant Om or anything else. You cannot stop the thoughts you are bombarded with; the flow of thoughts is just like a flowing river, which you cannot stop. (Building dams is another thing.)

Okan Caliskan

Conclusion:

1. We shall not be driven by our brain; simply, we are not supposed to.
2. Don’t blame life for not treating you well; instead, learn to drive. (Not car, yourself.)
3. Meditation schools you to balance both hemispheres.
4. Meditation helps you develop a new perspective, and lets you meet the inner you.

So, meditation is just the right way to take control of your mind, and there is plenty of evidence that shows how beneficial, fruitful, and rewarding this practice is.

I would really like to know what your thoughts are on this. Please comment below, or you can message me here.