Thursday, November 6, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
Good to GREAT STEP 1: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Self-respect
is a fundamental for a great life. If we lack self-respect we will be
insecure and strive to be someone we are not. To develop self-respect
means to cultivate the self confidence to deal with whatever life throws
at us. The following are some ways we can improve our self-respect.
Remember, self-respect comes from an inner belief and not an egoistic
feeling of superiority.
1. Be True to Yourself
There is great social pressure from parents, work and society to become a certain person and to achieve certain things. It is a pressure hard to detach from. But, a real self-respect only comes from being true to our inner calling. It is important you have faith in your own values and remember what is important to you. Just because other people think you should behave in a certain way, doesn’t mean they are right. Everyone needs to follow their own path. Even if others don’t respect your decision it is important that you do. Just ask yourself whether you come into the world to please Tom, Dick and Harry or live your own life?
2. Learn to Handle Criticism
We are sensitive beings. Nobody likes criticism and when we are criticized, either directly or indirectly, we feel bad about ourself – even if the criticism is not justified. To maintain a sense of self respect, we need to learn how to deal with criticism. Don’t take criticism personally. Look at it from a detached perspective. Maybe it is false, in which case we should ignore it. If their is some truth, we can use it to develop our character. However, it is important not to take criticism too personally. Just because we are not very good at a particular task, doesn’t mean we need to lose our self respect.
3. Look After Your Appearance, Without Being a Slave to Fashion
Our appearance is important. It can give us confidence or it can make us feel awkward. Take care of our appearance; dressing smart for the right occasion gives us self confidence. At the same time, we don’t want to be the slave of fashion trends. Dress for your own benefit; don’t dress in the expectation of pleasing others and receiving complements.
4. Avoid Jealousy
Jealousy of other people’s success is a common way of losing our happiness and self respect. Jealousy is simply envy of other people’s success. We feel miserable that we cannot enjoy their success. Sometimes it can even lead us to knocking the other person. If we follow this path of jealousy we will definitely lose our sense of self respect. When we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we are saying our self respect depends on being better than others. But, the truth is, there will always be some people more successful than ourself. The trick to lasting self respect is to be happy through others success. We should never feel that other people’s success in any way diminishes our self worth.
5. Remember your Motivation, Not Results
Sometimes we work with best of motives and the best of intentions only to be disappointed by the outcome. The problem is that we equate our self respect to outer displays of wealth, success and social standing. It is the nature of life, that things will not turn out as we hoped, but, it is a mistake to link our sense of self worth to the achievement of external targets. Self respect comes when we value our attitude to life and other people. Even if things go badly don’t lose your self respect. Work with the best of intentions and gain your self respect from that.
6. Respect Others
If you have no respect for others, how can you have self-respect? Self respect means we have an inner confidence and inner assurance, but this is not a confidence built on superiority. It is the wrong approach to try and feel better by putting others down. If we look for the good qualities in other people, it is easier to remember the good qualities in ourselves.
7. Never Hate Yourself
We make mistakes, we may do the wrong thing; but we should never put ourselves down unnecessarily. If we are not careful we start bitterly regretting things and even disliking ourselves. We should never hate our self, it is very destructive. Listen to your conscience, but, don’t be too hard on yourself and feel burdened with guilt.
8. Forgive
Forgive others and forgive yourself. Don’t live in the past, but, move on from past mistakes and difficult situations. If your mind is occupied with problems from the past, you will always feel guilty and unworthy. Don’t allow your self worth to be determined by past mistakes.
9. Be Selfless
The way to self respect is not through a bloated sense of pride; this is a false type of self respect. We may think that the praise of others boosts our self respect, but, actually this praise creates a vulnerable ego. If our self respect is based on the praise of others then our self respect will be very tenuous. Self respect should not be dependent on the praise of others; it should be independent of others praise.
10. Don’t Keep up With the Joneses
You will not be able to build self respect if you are permanently striving to impress others with outer displays. People who are impressed with material wealth and social standing are probably the kind of people not worth impressing anyway. Be comfortable with what you have, not what you think will impress others.
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
Respect
is a fundamental for a great life.1. Be True to Yourself
There is great social pressure from parents, work and society to become a certain person and to achieve certain things. It is a pressure hard to detach from. But, a real self-respect only comes from being true to our inner calling. It is important you have faith in your own values and remember what is important to you. Just because other people think you should behave in a certain way, doesn’t mean they are right. Everyone needs to follow their own path. Even if others don’t respect your decision it is important that you do. Just ask yourself whether you come into the world to please Tom, Dick and Harry or live your own life?
2. Learn to Handle Criticism
We are sensitive beings. Nobody likes criticism and when we are criticized, either directly or indirectly, we feel bad about ourself – even if the criticism is not justified. To maintain a sense of self respect, we need to learn how to deal with criticism. Don’t take criticism personally. Look at it from a detached perspective. Maybe it is false, in which case we should ignore it. If their is some truth, we can use it to develop our character. However, it is important not to take criticism too personally. Just because we are not very good at a particular task, doesn’t mean we need to lose our self respect.
3. Look After Your Appearance, Without Being a Slave to Fashion
Our appearance is important. It can give us confidence or it can make us feel awkward. Take care of our appearance; dressing smart for the right occasion gives us self confidence. At the same time, we don’t want to be the slave of fashion trends. Dress for your own benefit; don’t dress in the expectation of pleasing others and receiving complements.
4. Avoid Jealousy
Jealousy of other people’s success is a common way of losing our happiness and self respect. Jealousy is simply envy of other people’s success. We feel miserable that we cannot enjoy their success. Sometimes it can even lead us to knocking the other person. If we follow this path of jealousy we will definitely lose our sense of self respect. When we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we are saying our self respect depends on being better than others. But, the truth is, there will always be some people more successful than ourself. The trick to lasting self respect is to be happy through others success. We should never feel that other people’s success in any way diminishes our self worth.
5. Remember your Motivation, Not Results
Sometimes we work with best of motives and the best of intentions only to be disappointed by the outcome. The problem is that we equate our self respect to outer displays of wealth, success and social standing. It is the nature of life, that things will not turn out as we hoped, but, it is a mistake to link our sense of self worth to the achievement of external targets. Self respect comes when we value our attitude to life and other people. Even if things go badly don’t lose your self respect. Work with the best of intentions and gain your self respect from that.
6. Respect Others
If you have no respect for others, how can you have self-respect? Self respect means we have an inner confidence and inner assurance, but this is not a confidence built on superiority. It is the wrong approach to try and feel better by putting others down. If we look for the good qualities in other people, it is easier to remember the good qualities in ourselves.
7. Never Hate Yourself
We make mistakes, we may do the wrong thing; but we should never put ourselves down unnecessarily. If we are not careful we start bitterly regretting things and even disliking ourselves. We should never hate our self, it is very destructive. Listen to your conscience, but, don’t be too hard on yourself and feel burdened with guilt.
8. Forgive
Forgive others and forgive yourself. Don’t live in the past, but, move on from past mistakes and difficult situations. If your mind is occupied with problems from the past, you will always feel guilty and unworthy. Don’t allow your self worth to be determined by past mistakes.
9. Be Selfless
The way to self respect is not through a bloated sense of pride; this is a false type of self respect. We may think that the praise of others boosts our self respect, but, actually this praise creates a vulnerable ego. If our self respect is based on the praise of others then our self respect will be very tenuous. Self respect should not be dependent on the praise of others; it should be independent of others praise.
10. Don’t Keep up With the Joneses
You will not be able to build self respect if you are permanently striving to impress others with outer displays. People who are impressed with material wealth and social standing are probably the kind of people not worth impressing anyway. Be comfortable with what you have, not what you think will impress others.
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
A lot of us have heard about the Aretha Franklin song, R-E-S-P-E-C-T and it is pretty clear that she sounds like she could have been talking about the plight of modern women who are being asked to bear a brunt of the burden of childcare and domestic responsibilities while continuing to work a great deal outside of their homes. In fact, I remember growing up and waiting at home for my Mom to come back from work saying "Mummy, jolli jeevi", which - in my native language, essentially means "Mom + work = Life". I don't think I was the only child who was so possessive of his Mom, in fact, the slogan 'Family First' sounds trite, but I think that most of us generally have a soft spot for our Family members and there must be some kind of reason for this to be the case. At least I was blessed to be in a family with a Mother and Father who both did and still continue to sacrifice so much for their children, family members, and everyone they care about.
Who should we respect?
This brings me to my second song, albeit a bit lesser known one (so I'm including the lyrics) -it's called Risin' Above the Pack, by Andrew Mason the former music major from Northwestern who went on to become a bit of a developer and then started Groupon. I'm spending my 25th birthday writing this blog post and I am still working at Groupon so clearly there are some differences between myself and the man who 'managed over 12,000 people; most under the age of 25,' but my second boss actually started out in Sales as well and he started a similar company called HomePages (rivaling Yellow Pages) and my first boss started out flying up a corporate ladder and is now managing a huge online publication and my third boss started a non-profit as he was about to graduate college a few years ago and for all practical purposes is now retired. Where was I? Oh, the lyrics from Andrew Mason's song:
Now as you nurse that raging
Ambition
Don't make the mistake of believing
That management is the only road to the top of the company
Great individual contributors
Are every bit as valuable....
The next lyric reminds me of something that one of my favorite cousins told me:
You just gotta know yourself
There are all sorts of ladders here in this world and I'm not saying that climbing any kind of a ladder is a bad thing. Ladders that can allow us to acquire fame and prestige (climbing a hierarchy [corporate, military, religious, non-profit, academic]). I'm also not saying that we always have to love our work. I was just reading an article in a journal for academics that essentially opposed that idea which many PhD students tend to get married to. However, we all do need to find work that we like doing and isn't just something that can, so to speak, pay the bills. While we all know that all sorts of ladders exist here in the world we live in, I have felt like most of us also know what we value and whether there are right or wrong things to value and how to allocate our time and energy between those pursuits. Wait, where was I going? Oh yeah! Who should we respect? Even the previous lyrics that I included up here did not answer that question so I think that I will include some more lyrics from the gospel of Andrew Mason (since he has only written one album).
And his first song, Look no Further:
If you’re seeking business wisdom
You don’t need no MBA
Look no further than the beauty
That surrounds us every day
You don’t need no MBA
Look no further than the beauty
That surrounds us every day
Sometimes I feel that I am uncomfortable with my natural state so I try to compensate by doing something else. Maybe this blog is one of those things. How do you, dear reader, feel about this?
I actually think that each of the unique opportunities that I have been so fortunate to have (many of which I started out inadequate for) were all thrust into my lap by some kinda divine intervention. Even the job at Groupon that I now have - I was interning at one of the biggest dinner cruise company's corporate headquarters in Sales and Customer Service when one of my neighbors, who also happened to work with me invited me to a Fun concert and I invited one of my buddies from college who also served on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. While we were listening to the song We are Young, my friend from college was telling me about someone he knew that worked at Groupon and I remembered that I actually applied to Yelp (among a slew of other jobs, which I single-mindedly believed that I could acquire because of how strongly I believed that everything can be intentionally learned and developed). That being said, this whole time, I knew what I should have done and I know what is expected of me but I did not pay enough attention to myself. As one of my most stand up cousin's once told me, the most important things in life are to be present and listen.
Which reminds me about one of my friend, Morgan's blogposts: "The Now", in my mind, refers the the present moment: your current life. So many (myself included) live in and for the future, rather than experiencing their life as it is. The danger of this is missing the beauty and joy of TODAY by living for tomorrow. I don't want to look back in 20 years and wish I'd embraced and enjoyed my 20s simply because I longed for marriage and children. This is one of the fundamental points of the Not Alone Series, but Life in the Gap emphasises more on this. You should check them out! I was profiled by them back in...December? Not sure.'
I read this quote from Mark Twain on this blog-post that reminded me about this:
Self-respect is a fundamental for a great life. If we lack self-respect we will be insecure and strive to be someone we are not. To develop self-respect means to cultivate the self confidence to deal with whatever life throws at us. The following are some ways we can improve our self-respect. Remember, self-respect comes from an inner belief and not an egoistic feeling of superiority.
To answer the question that I originally posed - who should I respect? I am just going to preach Matthew 7:12 since it's Holy Week, but this more popularly known in the secular world as the Golden Rule:
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12
“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” ~ Mark Twain
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” ~ Mark TwainRead more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” ~ Mark Twain
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
Self-respect is a fundamental for a great life. If we lack self-respect we will be insecure and strive to be someone we are not. To develop self-respect means to cultivate the self confidence to deal with whatever life throws at us. The following are some ways we can improve our self-respect. Remember, self-respect comes from an inner belief and not an egoistic feeling of superiority.
To answer the question that I originally posed - who should I respect? I am just going to preach Matthew 7:12 since it's Holy Week, but this more popularly known in the secular world as the Golden Rule:
1. Be True to Yourself
There is great social pressure from parents, work and society to become a certain person and to achieve certain things. It is a pressure hard to detach from. But, a real self-respect only comes from being true to our inner calling. It is important you have faith in your own values and remember what is important to you. Just because other people think you should behave in a certain way, doesn’t mean they are right. Everyone needs to follow their own path. Even if others don’t respect your decision it is important that you do. Just ask yourself whether you come into the world to please Tom, Dick and Harry or live your own life?
2. Learn to Handle Criticism
We are sensitive beings. Nobody likes criticism and when we are criticized, either directly or indirectly, we feel bad about ourself – even if the criticism is not justified. To maintain a sense of self respect, we need to learn how to deal with criticism. Don’t take criticism personally. Look at it from a detached perspective. Maybe it is false, in which case we should ignore it. If their is some truth, we can use it to develop our character. However, it is important not to take criticism too personally. Just because we are not very good at a particular task, doesn’t mean we need to lose our self respect.
3. Look After Your Appearance, Without Being a Slave to Fashion
Our appearance is important. It can give us confidence or it can make us feel awkward. Take care of our appearance; dressing smart for the right occasion gives us self confidence. At the same time, we don’t want to be the slave of fashion trends. Dress for your own benefit; don’t dress in the expectation of pleasing others and receiving complements.
4. Avoid Jealousy
Jealousy of other people’s success is a common way of losing our happiness and self respect. Jealousy is simply envy of other people’s success. We feel miserable that we cannot enjoy their success. Sometimes it can even lead us to knocking the other person. If we follow this path of jealousy we will definitely lose our sense of self respect. When we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we are saying our self respect depends on being better than others. But, the truth is, there will always be some people more successful than ourself. The trick to lasting self respect is to be happy through others success. We should never feel that other people’s success in any way diminishes our self worth.
5. Remember your Motivation, Not Results
Sometimes we work with best of motives and the best of intentions only to be disappointed by the outcome. The problem is that we equate our self respect to outer displays of wealth, success and social standing. It is the nature of life, that things will not turn out as we hoped, but, it is a mistake to link our sense of self worth to the achievement of external targets. Self respect comes when we value our attitude to life and other people. Even if things go badly don’t lose your self respect. Work with the best of intentions and gain your self respect from that.
6. Respect Others
If you have no respect for others, how can you have self-respect? Self respect means we have an inner confidence and inner assurance, but this is not a confidence built on superiority. It is the wrong approach to try and feel better by putting others down. If we look for the good qualities in other people, it is easier to remember the good qualities in ourselves.
7. Never Hate Yourself
We make mistakes, we may do the wrong thing; but we should never put ourselves down unnecessarily. If we are not careful we start bitterly regretting things and even disliking ourselves. We should never hate our self, it is very destructive. Listen to your conscience, but, don’t be too hard on yourself and feel burdened with guilt.
8. Forgive
Forgive others and forgive yourself. Don’t live in the past, but, move on from past mistakes and difficult situations. If your mind is occupied with problems from the past, you will always feel guilty and unworthy. Don’t allow your self worth to be determined by past mistakes.
9. Be Selfless
The way to self respect is not through a bloated sense of pride; this is a false type of self respect. We may think that the praise of others boosts our self respect, but, actually this praise creates a vulnerable ego. If our self respect is based on the praise of others then our self respect will be very tenuous. Self respect should not be dependent on the praise of others; it should be independent of others praise.
10. Don’t Keep up With the Joneses
You will not be able to build self respect if you are permanently striving to impress others with outer displays. People who are impressed with material wealth and social standing are probably the kind of people not worth impressing anyway. Be comfortable with what you have, not what you think will impress others.
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
There is great social pressure from parents, work and society to become a certain person and to achieve certain things. It is a pressure hard to detach from. But, a real self-respect only comes from being true to our inner calling. It is important you have faith in your own values and remember what is important to you. Just because other people think you should behave in a certain way, doesn’t mean they are right. Everyone needs to follow their own path. Even if others don’t respect your decision it is important that you do. Just ask yourself whether you come into the world to please Tom, Dick and Harry or live your own life?
2. Learn to Handle Criticism
We are sensitive beings. Nobody likes criticism and when we are criticized, either directly or indirectly, we feel bad about ourself – even if the criticism is not justified. To maintain a sense of self respect, we need to learn how to deal with criticism. Don’t take criticism personally. Look at it from a detached perspective. Maybe it is false, in which case we should ignore it. If their is some truth, we can use it to develop our character. However, it is important not to take criticism too personally. Just because we are not very good at a particular task, doesn’t mean we need to lose our self respect.
3. Look After Your Appearance, Without Being a Slave to Fashion
Our appearance is important. It can give us confidence or it can make us feel awkward. Take care of our appearance; dressing smart for the right occasion gives us self confidence. At the same time, we don’t want to be the slave of fashion trends. Dress for your own benefit; don’t dress in the expectation of pleasing others and receiving complements.
4. Avoid Jealousy
Jealousy of other people’s success is a common way of losing our happiness and self respect. Jealousy is simply envy of other people’s success. We feel miserable that we cannot enjoy their success. Sometimes it can even lead us to knocking the other person. If we follow this path of jealousy we will definitely lose our sense of self respect. When we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we are saying our self respect depends on being better than others. But, the truth is, there will always be some people more successful than ourself. The trick to lasting self respect is to be happy through others success. We should never feel that other people’s success in any way diminishes our self worth.
5. Remember your Motivation, Not Results
Sometimes we work with best of motives and the best of intentions only to be disappointed by the outcome. The problem is that we equate our self respect to outer displays of wealth, success and social standing. It is the nature of life, that things will not turn out as we hoped, but, it is a mistake to link our sense of self worth to the achievement of external targets. Self respect comes when we value our attitude to life and other people. Even if things go badly don’t lose your self respect. Work with the best of intentions and gain your self respect from that.
6. Respect Others
If you have no respect for others, how can you have self-respect? Self respect means we have an inner confidence and inner assurance, but this is not a confidence built on superiority. It is the wrong approach to try and feel better by putting others down. If we look for the good qualities in other people, it is easier to remember the good qualities in ourselves.
7. Never Hate Yourself
We make mistakes, we may do the wrong thing; but we should never put ourselves down unnecessarily. If we are not careful we start bitterly regretting things and even disliking ourselves. We should never hate our self, it is very destructive. Listen to your conscience, but, don’t be too hard on yourself and feel burdened with guilt.
8. Forgive
Forgive others and forgive yourself. Don’t live in the past, but, move on from past mistakes and difficult situations. If your mind is occupied with problems from the past, you will always feel guilty and unworthy. Don’t allow your self worth to be determined by past mistakes.
9. Be Selfless
The way to self respect is not through a bloated sense of pride; this is a false type of self respect. We may think that the praise of others boosts our self respect, but, actually this praise creates a vulnerable ego. If our self respect is based on the praise of others then our self respect will be very tenuous. Self respect should not be dependent on the praise of others; it should be independent of others praise.
10. Don’t Keep up With the Joneses
You will not be able to build self respect if you are permanently striving to impress others with outer displays. People who are impressed with material wealth and social standing are probably the kind of people not worth impressing anyway. Be comfortable with what you have, not what you think will impress others.
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12
1. Be True to Yourself
There is great social pressure from parents, work and society to become a certain person and to achieve certain things. It is a pressure hard to detach from. But, a real self-respect only comes from being true to our inner calling. It is important you have faith in your own values and remember what is important to you. Just because other people think you should behave in a certain way, doesn’t mean they are right. Everyone needs to follow their own path. Even if others don’t respect your decision it is important that you do. Just ask yourself whether you come into the world to please Tom, Dick and Harry or live your own life?
2. Learn to Handle Criticism
We are sensitive beings. Nobody likes criticism and when we are criticized, either directly or indirectly, we feel bad about ourself – even if the criticism is not justified. To maintain a sense of self respect, we need to learn how to deal with criticism. Don’t take criticism personally. Look at it from a detached perspective. Maybe it is false, in which case we should ignore it. If their is some truth, we can use it to develop our character. However, it is important not to take criticism too personally. Just because we are not very good at a particular task, doesn’t mean we need to lose our self respect.
3. Look After Your Appearance, Without Being a Slave to Fashion
Our appearance is important. It can give us confidence or it can make us feel awkward. Take care of our appearance; dressing smart for the right occasion gives us self confidence. At the same time, we don’t want to be the slave of fashion trends. Dress for your own benefit; don’t dress in the expectation of pleasing others and receiving complements.
4. Avoid Jealousy
Jealousy of other people’s success is a common way of losing our happiness and self respect. Jealousy is simply envy of other people’s success. We feel miserable that we cannot enjoy their success. Sometimes it can even lead us to knocking the other person. If we follow this path of jealousy we will definitely lose our sense of self respect. When we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we are saying our self respect depends on being better than others. But, the truth is, there will always be some people more successful than ourself. The trick to lasting self respect is to be happy through others success. We should never feel that other people’s success in any way diminishes our self worth.
5. Remember your Motivation, Not Results
Sometimes we work with best of motives and the best of intentions only to be disappointed by the outcome. The problem is that we equate our self respect to outer displays of wealth, success and social standing. It is the nature of life, that things will not turn out as we hoped, but, it is a mistake to link our sense of self worth to the achievement of external targets. Self respect comes when we value our attitude to life and other people. Even if things go badly don’t lose your self respect. Work with the best of intentions and gain your self respect from that.
6. Respect Others
If you have no respect for others, how can you have self-respect? Self respect means we have an inner confidence and inner assurance, but this is not a confidence built on superiority. It is the wrong approach to try and feel better by putting others down. If we look for the good qualities in other people, it is easier to remember the good qualities in ourselves.
7. Never Hate Yourself
We make mistakes, we may do the wrong thing; but we should never put ourselves down unnecessarily. If we are not careful we start bitterly regretting things and even disliking ourselves. We should never hate our self, it is very destructive. Listen to your conscience, but, don’t be too hard on yourself and feel burdened with guilt.
8. Forgive
Forgive others and forgive yourself. Don’t live in the past, but, move on from past mistakes and difficult situations. If your mind is occupied with problems from the past, you will always feel guilty and unworthy. Don’t allow your self worth to be determined by past mistakes.
9. Be Selfless
The way to self respect is not through a bloated sense of pride; this is a false type of self respect. We may think that the praise of others boosts our self respect, but, actually this praise creates a vulnerable ego. If our self respect is based on the praise of others then our self respect will be very tenuous. Self respect should not be dependent on the praise of others; it should be independent of others praise.
10. Don’t Keep up With the Joneses
You will not be able to build self respect if you are permanently striving to impress others with outer displays. People who are impressed with material wealth and social standing are probably the kind of people not worth impressing anyway. Be comfortable with what you have, not what you think will impress others.
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
There is great social pressure from parents, work and society to become a certain person and to achieve certain things. It is a pressure hard to detach from. But, a real self-respect only comes from being true to our inner calling. It is important you have faith in your own values and remember what is important to you. Just because other people think you should behave in a certain way, doesn’t mean they are right. Everyone needs to follow their own path. Even if others don’t respect your decision it is important that you do. Just ask yourself whether you come into the world to please Tom, Dick and Harry or live your own life?
2. Learn to Handle Criticism
We are sensitive beings. Nobody likes criticism and when we are criticized, either directly or indirectly, we feel bad about ourself – even if the criticism is not justified. To maintain a sense of self respect, we need to learn how to deal with criticism. Don’t take criticism personally. Look at it from a detached perspective. Maybe it is false, in which case we should ignore it. If their is some truth, we can use it to develop our character. However, it is important not to take criticism too personally. Just because we are not very good at a particular task, doesn’t mean we need to lose our self respect.
3. Look After Your Appearance, Without Being a Slave to Fashion
Our appearance is important. It can give us confidence or it can make us feel awkward. Take care of our appearance; dressing smart for the right occasion gives us self confidence. At the same time, we don’t want to be the slave of fashion trends. Dress for your own benefit; don’t dress in the expectation of pleasing others and receiving complements.
4. Avoid Jealousy
Jealousy of other people’s success is a common way of losing our happiness and self respect. Jealousy is simply envy of other people’s success. We feel miserable that we cannot enjoy their success. Sometimes it can even lead us to knocking the other person. If we follow this path of jealousy we will definitely lose our sense of self respect. When we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we are saying our self respect depends on being better than others. But, the truth is, there will always be some people more successful than ourself. The trick to lasting self respect is to be happy through others success. We should never feel that other people’s success in any way diminishes our self worth.
5. Remember your Motivation, Not Results
Sometimes we work with best of motives and the best of intentions only to be disappointed by the outcome. The problem is that we equate our self respect to outer displays of wealth, success and social standing. It is the nature of life, that things will not turn out as we hoped, but, it is a mistake to link our sense of self worth to the achievement of external targets. Self respect comes when we value our attitude to life and other people. Even if things go badly don’t lose your self respect. Work with the best of intentions and gain your self respect from that.
6. Respect Others
If you have no respect for others, how can you have self-respect? Self respect means we have an inner confidence and inner assurance, but this is not a confidence built on superiority. It is the wrong approach to try and feel better by putting others down. If we look for the good qualities in other people, it is easier to remember the good qualities in ourselves.
7. Never Hate Yourself
We make mistakes, we may do the wrong thing; but we should never put ourselves down unnecessarily. If we are not careful we start bitterly regretting things and even disliking ourselves. We should never hate our self, it is very destructive. Listen to your conscience, but, don’t be too hard on yourself and feel burdened with guilt.
8. Forgive
Forgive others and forgive yourself. Don’t live in the past, but, move on from past mistakes and difficult situations. If your mind is occupied with problems from the past, you will always feel guilty and unworthy. Don’t allow your self worth to be determined by past mistakes.
9. Be Selfless
The way to self respect is not through a bloated sense of pride; this is a false type of self respect. We may think that the praise of others boosts our self respect, but, actually this praise creates a vulnerable ego. If our self respect is based on the praise of others then our self respect will be very tenuous. Self respect should not be dependent on the praise of others; it should be independent of others praise.
10. Don’t Keep up With the Joneses
You will not be able to build self respect if you are permanently striving to impress others with outer displays. People who are impressed with material wealth and social standing are probably the kind of people not worth impressing anyway. Be comfortable with what you have, not what you think will impress others.
Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/self-respect/#xQe5Gwc1bgkUAmzM.99
Saturday, March 29, 2014
How my blog was named
In all honesty, the title of this blog was a bit of an accident. I was attending a pro-life banquet in downtown Chicago and saw a group of angry protestors waving picket signs and shouting inflammatory comments about some of the attendees, such as Joe Schiedler- the founder of the pro-life action league. One of my friends was interested in capturing some of their extremist viewpoints on tape and including some of their hateful and seemingly irrational comments in a YouTube video that he was making about the event but he couldn't go out and interview people because he was in a position of leadership in a statewide organization so I told him that I wouldn't mind interviewing people and when people asked me who I'm with I told them that I'm actually with a personal blog called IndianManInAmerica.BlogSpot.com without even knowing whether this url had been taken.
Recently, I googled the name of this blog and a number of pages about how indian nationals perceive life in America but I noticed that it had not been taken so I jumped on it!
Recently, I googled the name of this blog and a number of pages about how indian nationals perceive life in America but I noticed that it had not been taken so I jumped on it!
My 4 Minute Life Story aka My Life Without A Swimming Pool
One of my earliest memories was struggling with algebra in sixth grade. In elementary school, Illinois state test results always put me in the highest percentile and I had always performed pretty well in school without much effort. I was surprised that I was going to have to start exerting myself and wasn't really sure what to do. I asked my dad for some help with my math homework but he didn't really know what to say. Having grown up idolizing my father as one of the the strongest and most successful people I knew, I was blown away by that. I started to wonder how someone like my dad could be so good at everything he did without knowing algebra.
For whatever reason, after this, my behavior in school had started to worsen and I started to care more about how my peers saw me than anything else relating to my academic or extra-curricular performance. I was really starting to annoy my family and my teachers and I began to get a string of in school suspensions and a variety of other punishments for inappropriate behavior. My parents took me to see a therapist who diagnosed me with ADD/ADHD but I stopped taking the Ritalin because I didn't think it did anything and he proceeded to diagnose and re-diagnose me with a couple other disorders that I don't really remember right now. My parents noticed that I was starting to hang out with people they weren't really keen on and I was getting to be a handful so they decided to send me to a military school in southeastern Wisconsin. I really disliked the rigid atmosphere and, though I was successfully placed into classes far above what I was used to, I decided to just try my best to get out of there. At that point, the easiest way I saw was to tell the warden that I wanted to kill myself. They immediately took me to a local mental hospital and made me stay there until my parents came up to discuss my future with them. My parents came up a couple days later and gave me an ultimatum without even considering what could have been a devastating mental situation. I was either going to stay in Military School or go to school in India. I told them I'd go to school in India just to get out of there but I thought I'd come up with something before school in India started...
Fast-forward a few months, my parents made me miss one of my favorite cousin's wedding and brought me to Bangalore under the guise of going to school there. Unbeknownst to me, they had set me up for inpatient treatment to deal with anger management and whatever else was wrong with me at the prestigious St. John's hospital. Soon after, I was transferred to NIMHANS (the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuroscience) and my dad took a few months off from work and stayed at their inpatient ward with me. After about half a year and realizing that significant changes were not being made regarding their diagnosis or treatment, he started taking me to visit some of the 'best International Schools in the city'. These schools were ridiculously luxurious, with golf courses and servants being standard. But I was being stubborn about not wanting to go to school in India and I threatened to not physically wake up or not actually learn even if they did force me to be in the classroom. Never one for excessive pressure, my dad said okay, went back to America, and left me with my grandfather in Kerala. I started learning to read and write malayalam there much better than I ever had before merely because I was forced to go to mass everyday and used the malayalam liturgies to stay on track. I went on to read the bibles and all the other books they had at home and in the local library but ended up getting bored and annoying my grandpa and my other cousin who had come to stay at his place and study. So I went to Bangalore and stayed with one of my aunts for a few months. During that time I also read a lot of books and watched a bunch of movies but I guess I was growing tired of not being in school. I had a great-uncle from Manimala whose son went to a boarding school in Kerala, he told me that it was a really good school and that he'd bring me there to check it out.
My dad thought this would be the breaking point and flew back over to get me enrolled in that school. Towards the end of the interview, I asked the director of the school and tour guide if they had a swimming pool and he said no - but they were planning on building one in the next couple years. I ended up telling my dad that I didn't wanna go to school there because they didn't have a swimming pool and he ended up going back to America. I'm not sure if it's my inner kuttanadan or what, but for some reason, access to a swimming people was a huge concern of mine and I feel justified in my decision because I noticed that a few years later that school did not end up having a pool constructed and was widely considered to be a money laundering scheme where a lot of the Kerala bourgeoisie sent their children. A few weeks later, one of my dad's relatives who is known for being an authoritarian came over to my mom's family house and said that I am going to school whether I like it or not. He had it with the coddling my dad had allowed me to enjoy and that I will go to the school that his son attended - even though it didn't have a swimming pool. After a great deal of reluctance and even a minor fight, I succumbed to his insistence.
My dad thought this would be the breaking point and flew back over to get me enrolled in that school. Towards the end of the interview, I asked the director of the school and tour guide if they had a swimming pool and he said no - but they were planning on building one in the next couple years. I ended up telling my dad that I didn't wanna go to school there because they didn't have a swimming pool and he ended up going back to America. I'm not sure if it's my inner kuttanadan or what, but for some reason, access to a swimming people was a huge concern of mine and I feel justified in my decision because I noticed that a few years later that school did not end up having a pool constructed and was widely considered to be a money laundering scheme where a lot of the Kerala bourgeoisie sent their children. A few weeks later, one of my dad's relatives who is known for being an authoritarian came over to my mom's family house and said that I am going to school whether I like it or not. He had it with the coddling my dad had allowed me to enjoy and that I will go to the school that his son attended - even though it didn't have a swimming pool. After a great deal of reluctance and even a minor fight, I succumbed to his insistence.
I took the entrance exams and managed to do well in all the subjects except for Hindi and Math, both of which I had not studied for over a year and scored less than 10% in. One of my relatives was the vice principal of the school and on her recommendation, I was placed into 8th grade. Initially I tried my best to get out of school and told some family members and my dad that there were some pretty unethical things happening there and that they needed to get me out if they cared about my future but they didn't budge so I relented. However, I continued to be pretty apathetic about school and try to coast along focusing more on my social image and popularity, which was already enhanced since I was 'the American'. This went on until my aunt who was the Vice Principal pulled me aside one day and said that it was not just my reputation but hers that was on the line and that she didn't want to be seen as someone who lets her relatives get in to the school if they are actually unworthy of admission so I needed to shape up.
I was starting to make minor improvements to try and make it seem like I cared; it wasn't until I had a conversation with my dad that things really started to change for the better. To be honest, I'm not sure if he even remembers this anymore but I can never forget the day that I was on the phone with him in the side window behind the Vidya Jyoti Boarding House Rector's office. I was still on the: 'why do I have to work hard at school and do well in subjects like algebra if I can be successful without it' bandwagon and my dad finally told me something like 'You can't just wake up one day and decide to be successful. The only thing you have control over is the present and if you want to be successful in the future you have to start by changing today'. Those words of his stuck with me. I started to take an active interest in changing my situation. I began waking up eagerly and starting the day with the mass that they asked us to attend and incorporating more of my religious beliefs, which had been pretty latent if that, into my lifestyle. I signed up to get regular help from Hindi and Math tutors and worked really hard at it. I ended up doing so well that I didn't need any extra help with math after 1 year and I got the second best grade in our little state of Kerala (which also happens to be the most literate) for the SSLC (10th grade) Board exams.
I started with focusing on my academics but once I got in a good groove with things, they became a lot easier for me and I was able to start building my friendships and spend more time playing sports. My best friend in boarding school was Philistine Joseph. He was the other American guy and we initially weren't that close because he seemed to think I was lame or something. We never really talked until I started demonstrating myself as a good student and one of the first conversations I remember having with him is that I told him I wanted to be a librarian because I enjoy reading and I thought I'd like to work with books. He said that was the dumbest idea he had ever heard and that if his dad heard that he would lose a lot of respect for me and he'd say that it is a waste of talent.
In this I sometimes wish I'd been more headstrong, I caved on that dream pretty much right after that conversation and decided the best thing for me to do would be to become a doctor. I really started thinking this would be a good idea especially since my mom had always wanted to be a doctor but couldn't afford medical school so I began focusing all my energy in biology and related subjects but I still wanted to go to one of the other schools with swimming pools like those I was looking at right when I got to India.
I found some schools in some parts of India that had swimming pools as well as a ton of new age mantras aimed at recruiting emotionally vulnerable people like me and Jiddu Krishnamurthi who are both people who happen to believe that any kind of change can happen in an individual and then in society as long as they allow their psyche to change as well as some schools in Northern India that bragged about being the place where the Gandhi's were brought up but my local guardian had different plans and he said that if I want to change schools I should go to St. Anthony's Public School in Anakkal and live in a Benedictine Hostel which, at the time, had the highest percentage of students admitted into IIT's, IIM's and the best medical schools in the country and also happened to be in a diocese where his brother in law was the auditor....
My whole life has been an attempt to oppose a rigid structure that I disagree with or become too lazy to adhere to by showing myself and the world that there is another path. Laziness has insidiously crept into my life far too often in the past; I need to be more vigilant about opposing this. In the eyes of most people, my path has not been very strategic and it has seemed like I have been flying by the seat of my pants but only I know the method to my madness, whenever I have one, so I wonder - is it necessary to have a method for everything?
I was starting to make minor improvements to try and make it seem like I cared; it wasn't until I had a conversation with my dad that things really started to change for the better. To be honest, I'm not sure if he even remembers this anymore but I can never forget the day that I was on the phone with him in the side window behind the Vidya Jyoti Boarding House Rector's office. I was still on the: 'why do I have to work hard at school and do well in subjects like algebra if I can be successful without it' bandwagon and my dad finally told me something like 'You can't just wake up one day and decide to be successful. The only thing you have control over is the present and if you want to be successful in the future you have to start by changing today'. Those words of his stuck with me. I started to take an active interest in changing my situation. I began waking up eagerly and starting the day with the mass that they asked us to attend and incorporating more of my religious beliefs, which had been pretty latent if that, into my lifestyle. I signed up to get regular help from Hindi and Math tutors and worked really hard at it. I ended up doing so well that I didn't need any extra help with math after 1 year and I got the second best grade in our little state of Kerala (which also happens to be the most literate) for the SSLC (10th grade) Board exams.
I started with focusing on my academics but once I got in a good groove with things, they became a lot easier for me and I was able to start building my friendships and spend more time playing sports. My best friend in boarding school was Philistine Joseph. He was the other American guy and we initially weren't that close because he seemed to think I was lame or something. We never really talked until I started demonstrating myself as a good student and one of the first conversations I remember having with him is that I told him I wanted to be a librarian because I enjoy reading and I thought I'd like to work with books. He said that was the dumbest idea he had ever heard and that if his dad heard that he would lose a lot of respect for me and he'd say that it is a waste of talent.
In this I sometimes wish I'd been more headstrong, I caved on that dream pretty much right after that conversation and decided the best thing for me to do would be to become a doctor. I really started thinking this would be a good idea especially since my mom had always wanted to be a doctor but couldn't afford medical school so I began focusing all my energy in biology and related subjects but I still wanted to go to one of the other schools with swimming pools like those I was looking at right when I got to India.
I found some schools in some parts of India that had swimming pools as well as a ton of new age mantras aimed at recruiting emotionally vulnerable people like me and Jiddu Krishnamurthi who are both people who happen to believe that any kind of change can happen in an individual and then in society as long as they allow their psyche to change as well as some schools in Northern India that bragged about being the place where the Gandhi's were brought up but my local guardian had different plans and he said that if I want to change schools I should go to St. Anthony's Public School in Anakkal and live in a Benedictine Hostel which, at the time, had the highest percentage of students admitted into IIT's, IIM's and the best medical schools in the country and also happened to be in a diocese where his brother in law was the auditor....
My whole life has been an attempt to oppose a rigid structure that I disagree with or become too lazy to adhere to by showing myself and the world that there is another path. Laziness has insidiously crept into my life far too often in the past; I need to be more vigilant about opposing this. In the eyes of most people, my path has not been very strategic and it has seemed like I have been flying by the seat of my pants but only I know the method to my madness, whenever I have one, so I wonder - is it necessary to have a method for everything?
Response to my friend and my cousin (from the first post): When do you not strive to improve or do good?
One of the friends I made during my Alternative Spring Break trip I went on let me know about a dilemma that he was facing: If one recognizes that it is "good" to volunteer at a food pantry, why not volunteer more? Why not devote every amount of energy towards doing this "good"? I feel that people are constantly compromising beliefs and principles (myself included). It then becomes difficult to justify any type of relaxation. We may try to reach an "optimal efficiency" state, but no one can fully know what that is, ignoring the fact that physical or mental limitations may make such a peak vastly different among people. This is why I have difficulty adhering to a consistent set of philosophical tenets. If a person truly believed them, they would act on these principles with every action. For me, the only ones that come to mind are to always treat people with respect (which I admit I fail at every now and then) and to seek truth.
Personally, I feel that in addition to treating each person we encounter with respect, there are a number of other beliefs that should guide our lives. I am in the process of typing up a response but generally I would say that these include being grateful to the people who have supported us and helped us get where we are, loving others and ourselves, and working within the systems where we find ourselves to be the best we can be but I am also drawing from the advice of many successful coaches such as Stephen Covey and potentially also Fr. Thomas Kalam who recommend creating a personal missions.
- Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life. Create a mission statement.
- Habit 3: Put First Things First
Prioritize, plan, and execute your week's tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes exercise for physical renewal, prayer (meditation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to society for spiritual renewal.
[edit]
Praxeology, the logic of human action, is a relatively new science that isn't often taught in the mainstream school system. I'm basically just transcribing the following youtube video here in case you don't have 'time' to see it but if you do, I'd recommend watching it instead of reading this: The concept of time is crucial to understanding the universal laws of action. Time is the concept which seperates praxeology from all other schools of thought, that deal with human action. Without time, the treatment of human action would be the same as mathematics. Because we know about time, we know that one thing must follow another and things must be understood in terms of cause and effect. A man acts to satisfy some desire, to seek change. Action is always directed towards the future. It is based on the desire to end some uneasiness that would continue if the man did not act. From the moment we start acting, we have to start economizing time- just like we economize other scarce resources.
The study of praxeology can help us understand the limits of human planning and it actually reminds me of the Heinz Dilemma which I originally heard from Fr. Alex Praikalam but was recently reminded about by a story told to me by Fr. Kalam - there was an Indian man who was on a very turbulent flight to London to complete his PhD dissertation. The pilot was in great distress and the crew chief announced that the plane was about to go into a nosedive and that everyone should think about those they most cared about and pray to their Gods. The Indian man thought about the fiance he had left in India and the life of teaching in the best Indian colleges that was waiting for him there and told God that he would give it all up if he was allowed to give his dissertation. Soon after, the turbulence ceased and he was able to get his DPhil cum laude. Should he give it all up and become a missionary in Africa?
Here's the Heinz Dilemma answer to this conundrum:
Here's the Heinz Dilemma answer to this conundrum:
- Stage one (obedience): Heinz should not steal the medicine because he will consequently be put in prison which will mean he is a bad person.
- Or: Heinz should steal the medicine because it is only worth $200 and not how much the druggist wanted for it; Heinz had even offered to pay for it and was not stealing anything else.
- Stage two (self-interest): Heinz should steal the medicine because he will be much happier if he saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a prison sentence.
- Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because prison is an awful place, and he would more likely languish in a jail cell than over his wife's death.
- Stage three (conformity): Heinz should steal the medicine because his wife expects it; he wants to be a good husband.
- Or: Heinz should not steal the drug because stealing is bad and he is not a criminal; he has tried to do everything he can without breaking the law, you cannot blame him.
- Stage four (law-and-order): Heinz should not steal the medicine because the law prohibits stealing, making it illegal.
- Or: actions have consequences.
- Stage five (human rights): Heinz should steal the medicine because everyone has a right to choose life, regardless of the law.
- Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because the scientist has a right to fair compensation. Even if his wife is sick, it does not make his actions right.
- Stage six (universal human ethics): Heinz should steal the medicine, because saving a human life is a more fundamental value than the property rights of another person.
- Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine, because others may need the medicine just as badly, and their lives are equally significant.
However, Fr. Kalam told me that the most interesting answer to this conundrum he actually heard came from a Muslim who told him that he would give his wife to the druggist as long as he saves her.
Here is a praxeological take on this conundrum: Scale of Values
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Time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcjEn-u8s80&list=SPEE9A33593A261433
Uncertainty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_i3WOeqqzQ&list=SPEE9A33593A261433
[edit]
My Parents: My Best Cheerleaders or wait - is it really myself?
I've gone through a couple different phases in my life.
When I was a child, my academics were great but I was not too keen on other things that are important components of a well-balanced personality like having an active interest in music and sports or even more generally in building and maintaining good friendships. My early schooling took place in a society where popular people were those who were good at sports and generally presented themselves well. After this, I moved to India where family, friends, and academics were the most important things to master. Of these three things, as you can see from one of my previous blog posts, I was shown that academics was the most important to master and I slowly got to work mastering it in the Kristu Jyoti state syllabus school (ICSE, CBSE, and State syllabi being the prominent options for what syllabus we could choose arranged in higher to lower ranking)
When I was a high achiever, people often asked me about what motivates me.
I think that people are all relatively similar, so I'd like to paraphrase the words of a famous columnist, Mary Schmich, where she gives advice about How Not to Write in a 2003 column that I am presently reading in her book Even The Terrible Things Seem Beautiful To Me Now:
1. Do not try to write like Ernest Hemingway. Absolutely never try to write like Dave Barry. What works for them is apt to make you look foolish. On the other hand, feel free to do what one famous writer did early in her career, which is to type out pages of her favorite writer's writing to get a feeling for how he structured sentences. Or keep good writing handy - I particularly like poems for this purpose - and when your brain is locked, read for a while. Feeling other writers' words and rhythms can loosen up your own.
2. Do not wait for inspiration. You don't need inspiration to write. You need a deadline. If you write only when you're inspired, you'll have dust-free floors, a gleaming toilet, mounds of clean underwear - and a blank computer screen.
Oh, to be a high achiever again. Guess all I'll need to do is start doing me and setting deadlines for myself.
When I was a child, my academics were great but I was not too keen on other things that are important components of a well-balanced personality like having an active interest in music and sports or even more generally in building and maintaining good friendships. My early schooling took place in a society where popular people were those who were good at sports and generally presented themselves well. After this, I moved to India where family, friends, and academics were the most important things to master. Of these three things, as you can see from one of my previous blog posts, I was shown that academics was the most important to master and I slowly got to work mastering it in the Kristu Jyoti state syllabus school (ICSE, CBSE, and State syllabi being the prominent options for what syllabus we could choose arranged in higher to lower ranking)
When I was a high achiever, people often asked me about what motivates me.
I think that people are all relatively similar, so I'd like to paraphrase the words of a famous columnist, Mary Schmich, where she gives advice about How Not to Write in a 2003 column that I am presently reading in her book Even The Terrible Things Seem Beautiful To Me Now:
1. Do not try to write like Ernest Hemingway. Absolutely never try to write like Dave Barry. What works for them is apt to make you look foolish. On the other hand, feel free to do what one famous writer did early in her career, which is to type out pages of her favorite writer's writing to get a feeling for how he structured sentences. Or keep good writing handy - I particularly like poems for this purpose - and when your brain is locked, read for a while. Feeling other writers' words and rhythms can loosen up your own.
2. Do not wait for inspiration. You don't need inspiration to write. You need a deadline. If you write only when you're inspired, you'll have dust-free floors, a gleaming toilet, mounds of clean underwear - and a blank computer screen.
Oh, to be a high achiever again. Guess all I'll need to do is start doing me and setting deadlines for myself.
Most likely to transfer if the ARC pool closes
After I got back from my quick trip to Chicago for the memorial, I went to Athens, Ohio to do some good work with 13 strangers. I went on an organized 'Alternative Spring Break' trip that held weekly orientations so I had met all of the people before but I hadn't really gotten to know anyone until we left.
During the week I got to do so many amazing things- from having meals with those who were struggling with homelessness or poverty and other crises situations; to powerwashing decks, varnishing wood, tilling fields, drywalling, cleaning up an old lady's home, and shoveling manure- I feel like I did everything! These were all really awesome experiences and the gratitude shown by the people we helped (along with frosted lemon poppy seed muffins!) improved my sense of accomplishment.
The highlight of my week however, was the people I went with (we ended up calling ourselves Team Warrior Clan) and the relationships we got to build. By the time we had gotten to Athens on Sunday evening, 13 strangers were starting to become friends. The roadtrip was great. We discussed key concerns common to humanity, sang along to all kinds of different songs, and heard a great solo- which was to become the TWC group song: Africa by Toto. The only other group of people that I have interacted with so quickly and became so close with was group 34 of Teach and Learn with Georgia during our weeklong orientation in Tbilisi and we were all planning on living in that country for the next few months. Everything about this trip went perfectly so I've got to give major props to our trip facilitators, Sana Singh and Sharon Singh for picking great bonding activities and perfectly organizing every aspect of our trip. I can't imagine how they could have facilitated a better experience for everyone involved. We all got really lucky with the other participants who got to join our trip. Every single person was so fascinating, unique, and had so much to contribute. I have never even heard of a group of people where everything took place so seamlessly and everyone cooperated and went out of their way to make sure that each one of us had a great trip.
One of the things that the TF's did to make this trip so successful was have our mid-week reflection be 4 minute life stories.
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