Category: Goals

Experiencing the ‘Amazing’: A Goal Story

My attempt at goal based living and learning from the 4 year journey

Imagine how would it feel to be in control of your life, even if not completely, but in good measure. Imagine being able to progress on activities you ‘want’ to pursue, while still attending to a plethora of tasks you ‘need’ to do to pay the bills. Did you imagine that it feels amazing to be able to pay attention to yourself, your hobbies, your bucket list and to your family and friends? You are damn right! It does feel amazing and I can vouch for that. For over 1400 days now, more or less everyday, I have been taking a shot at this ‘amazing’.

2017 was the fourth year of my journey in conscious self development. That simply means: Set goals at the beginning of the year, pursue these goals and monitor progress. 2017 was also the first year of my five year plan. The idea of the five year plan is to have long term goals where each year’s efforts serve as a building block for the upcoming years. Like learning French is a long term goal as it needs continued time and effort investment and there is no defined end point. After the first year, DuoLingo says I am 40% fluent! (Numbers can lie & still make you happy). Among the short term yearly goals is reading a certain number of books (I flunked it this year). Similarly, I pursue several goals i.e. financial, professional, health, family etc. It allows me to pay attention to all those activities & people, that I ‘want’ to and being able to do that is just ‘amazing’.

Overall, 2017 was a good year. From a large list of goals I worked to achieve, I was able to achieve some very important ones. Nearly completed/narrowly missed a few others and of course, made a mess of quite a few others. Yes, I have a bulging tummy, no excuses!

This post is not a scorecard though. The purpose is to share my learning from this developmental journey. For a long time I used to think that this sort of discipline is difficult for me (I am lazy, mildly put) to ever achieve. I couldn’t have been more wrong. ‘Arranging’ my time in pursuit of goals has come to define my lifestyle now. May be even you are used to thinking, ‘ah, i want to do this too, but it is very difficult to maintain this consistency’. Well yes, it is difficult! Oh wait, did you buy it? Absolute rubbish. Actually, it’s very simple, trust me! Once I started with a little bit of determination, it just kept rolling from there. This year on year process of setting, pursuing and monitoring goals is a deeply engaging and fulfilling. You just have to start somewhere, and of course, muster that willingness first up.

I cannot over emphasise the importance of pursuing goals. The results are truly satisfying. More importantly, I want to send out a message, that if I can, you definitely can. It’s easy. Before I started my journey, I read many people’s experience and wondered ‘how’ they do it? If you too are doing that right now, you are on track. Thinking ‘goals’ is the first step. The next three steps to keep in mind are:

1) If you are ever going to start leading a goal oriented life, know that NOW is the time to do it. Not next month. Not next year. But Now!

2) You don’t have to end up on top every damn time. Keep monitoring progress monthly/quarterly. It’s absolutely okay to progress very little, just keep moving.

3) Most importantly, share your goals with your close friends, take their help and advice. May be nudge them towards their goals and get nudged in return. I have a set of friends who keep me afloat. Their contribution is invaluable.

2018 is yet another opportunity to start. I have my goals ready and damn, I am as excited as the first year, may be a little more. Thousands of other people too are taking a shot at feeling ‘amazing’ this year, may be you are too. Best of luck to you and me. Cheers!

PS: Last year i wrote in detail about how it all started for me and gradually improved from there on. You can read it here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-2016-step-forward-karan-shorey/

Celebrating a ‘Century’: Thank you for the Love and Support!

A note of Thanks for all the readers and fellow bloggers.

I wrote my first blog in the year 2008. That was when for the very first time, I got to know about Blogosphere (read Google Blogspot). I and three other friends from class got together and started a blog for our engineering batch. On debut, the blog received an overwhelming response from everyone as we all were very excited about this new digital adventure. Alas, like all good things, once the initial euphoria died down, the posts, hits and junta’s interest waned over time. Eventually, the blog died its own un-natural death. But that adventure helped me discover the joy of writing and my affinity towards that joy.

Bitten by the writing bug, I started my own blog on blogspot (http://versatilistaqua.blogspot.in/). The posts on it were far and few in between. I also found the platform a little difficult to use. After years of reluctance, indolence and inertia, I finally decided to migrate to WordPress in 2015. Looking back, I can easily mark that as a Tipping point in my blogging journey. Almost immediately, I felt so much better about my writing and the ease of use of this platform. The cherry on the cake though, was the unexpected and generous positive response from lot of hitherto ‘unknown’ fellow WordPress’ers’ spread across the world. It was great to have people appreciate my thoughts and encourage me to write more.

It’s been close to 2 years now, and this month, I have officially reached a ‘Century’ of likes on my blog. Among the giants of WordPress, it’s a small step, but it’s a huge one for me personally. This year also marks a decade of my blogging career. So a double delight!

I know I will keep blogging for many years to come and my journey here will be a bright and fulfilling. At this moment, I want to thank all of you, the folks who are reading this right now or who have read any of my posts earlier, and, all my friends who have contributed to this milestone and my writing journey on this blog and outside it. It’s the encouragement, appreciation and feedback that I have received from all of you that gives me the confidence that I’ll keep improving and play a long innings in this blogging world   ( I am a Cricket Fan!).

Once again, thank you for being generous. I wish to get continued support, love, likes and follows (:D) from all of you. Next Milestone, 500 likes! Happy Writing!

My 2016: A Step Forward!

Inspired by the legendary book ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, this article is the story of my transition from an indolent dreamer to a disciplined practitioner.

The year 2016 was a very exciting year for me. I got married. Period. Jokes apart, last year was exciting simply because I did all things that I wanted to do. It was the third successive year in which I had set goals and invested time in the execution. For most the year, I felt I was in control of my life. The foundation for this was laid in 2014 when for the first time, I pursued all my goals well beyond the initial excitement of initial few days. As is true for many others, ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, a master piece on personal effectiveness by Mr. Covey was the bedrock of this productive start.

2014 ended on a satisfactory note as 1) I had maintained the zeal till the year end (the most important) 2) developed my own format to track my weekly and monthly progress, and 3) got fairly comfortable working at Level 1 and 2 of time management. 2015 was an attempt to move to the next level. My goals guided my daily routine, tracking of progress improved, consistency kicked in and there was a move from anxious ‘Oh I have to do this that‘ to ‘I have a goal, a plan, and i need to focus on execution‘. The results at the end of the year were encouraging. I can’t say I say achieved my goals completely, but I had read more books, traveled more and got better at maintaining relationships.

2016 was sweet both in terms of both planning and execution. My goal setting had become smarter. I created a few overarching categories from where the quarterly, monthly and weekly activities were derived. A model akin to the “4 Disciplines of Execution” (A very powerful concept). I also gave myself the leverage to re-calibrate my goals at the end of 6 months to accommodate for the changes in environment, opportunities and new developments. I attempted to develop a couple of habits (Level 5 time management) by executing particular actions consistently. All of this cumulatively worked well. My execution ability has improved considerably. Many goals were achieved or exceeded, performance in incomplete targets was better than previous years. Most importantly, my confidence and belief in this approach for self development strengthened further.

2017 has already started on a good note. For each category and goal this year, I have clearly articulated an underlying ‘Why’. I have also tried a sneak peek into next 5 years of my life and have formulated a long term plan. That will be my guide post. I feel excited and upbeat for this year. If plans get executed perfectly, then my writings next year will have more than a few words of French. “Pour l’instant, Au Revoir”.

You Haven’t What

Quite simply, a list of my acts of omission which brings out most surprised and shocked reactions from the ones who learn about these!

“You haven’t watched Friends?” cried out my friend with disappointment and shock. But that was not how the conversation started. It was a usual coffee table discussion over unimportant matters that reminded him of a situation similar to some episode in the TV series FRIENDS. That’s when he figured out what I didn’t intend to share otherwise. I haven’t watched even a single episode of FRIENDS, well that’s that. This was not the first time I got such a reaction; it will not be the last either. However, it made me think about my other acts of commission and omission; which are rather uncharacteristic of a young adult in this era of digital media and internet. This post is a confession, more of an acceptance of my being. It could easily be repentance too, if not for the continued inertia. I have no incentive to lie, you have to trust me on this. The revelations that follow might shock you, if you one of ‘Those’. But if you are able to relate to me, even remotely, please give me a shout out! Here is a list of my omissions:

FRIENDS; Not even a single episode. I do know the names of the characters. Joe, Phoebe, Jennifer Aniston, and, yes, you can take it from there.

PRISON BREAK; my brother kept telling me that if I start watching this, I wouldn’t be able to stop without finishing it. That did it for me! I never got started on it.

GAME OF THRONES; I have never watched it. I still know John Snow. He was dead, he is alive now; might be dead again. He could get a clone perhaps.

SHAKTIMAN (Indian Superhero who could swirl and fly); I haven’t watched Shaktiman. I remember choosing not to watch it. I was a CAPTAIN VYOM fan, TIPU SULTAN and CHANDRAKANTA too.

HARRY POTTER; I swear to God I haven’t so far as even touched any of the Harry Potter books; I watched the first movie, the ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ as a part of a school trip when I was in grade 8th or 9th, and that was 15 years ago.

POKEMONGO; who is Pokémon? Where is it going, and why is it going anywhere at all? I used to watch Popeye the Sailor Man, if that counts.

CANDY CRUSH; I played this game for 2 hours because my mom wasn’t able to complete that level. I don’t remember if I did complete it or not. But my mom has completed well beyond 500 levels now.

Farmville; no

HayDay; no

PRISMA; I am not sure how twisted it could make me look, why take a chance?

This list is based on quantum of surprising reactions that I get when I admit my non- performance of almost ‘Must Absorb’ digital multimedia content. It could easily contain many other things; I’ll keep adding, as soon as I discover those things. Or you could ask me.

I haven’t been on the other side to nurture some vague sense of distinction. I just didn’t feel the need, or maybe indolence gets the better of me. I also understand the basis of the others’ reactions. When we feel too attached, happy, excited or intrigued after an experience, we wish that others too should experience the thrill albeit it’s not too difficult to achieve. It’s like, for the greater good of the world or something similar. It could be purely contextual as well, to each his own. Like for me, if you are an Indian and you haven’t watched the movie ‘Sholay’, I would say, “You haven’t What?!’

12 Hours is a TV Rao session: ‘The Father of Indian HRD’

This article is a brief summary of a training program facilitated by Prof. TV Rao for a group of HR Managers. Fortunately enough, the author had the privilege of participating in the session.

I wouldn’t exactly call it a dream come true, but I felt a gush of happiness when I saw Prof TV Rao. He looks just like any of us, a normal ‘human resource’ I thought. The title of the article is a give away for anyone related to the field of HR in India or abroad. But for the uninitiated, the man is TV Rao, Founder and Chairman of TVRLS, and more popularly known as, ‘The Father of Indian HRD’. Prof. TV Rao’s accomplishments, his contribution to the field of HRD and his stature is a story worth sharing. But here I’ll share my experience as a participant in a training session facilitated by him for 1.5 days i.e. approx. 12 hours. Any reader who wants to read more about Prof. Rao, click here.

Why We Hate HR?

The question he put forward to the participants, in reference to the now famous article, written by Keith H Hammonds back in 2005.  An apt beginning for a session titled “HR as an Enabler For Transforming Organization“, attended by around 40 HR managers. Step by step, Prof. Rao delayered the contemporary challenges faced by HR managers.

‘For getting the best out of your people’, he emphasized the role of OCTAPACE values. To build a strong culture and the much needed shift of organizational focus i.e. from IR to HRM to HRD (Culture, Competency). Simultaneously, Prof. Rao used indigenous examples of HR leaders in India, Mr. Santrupt Mishra and Dr. Arvind Agarwal who have made a incredible mark for themselves. As the discussion naturally progressed to identifying an individual’s managerial type, the participants were introduced to the four types of Managers i.e.

  • Type 1: Doers, those who get things done (Boss driven, Job Description driven)
  • Type 2: Achievers, those who do more than what they are supposed to (Aspirational, Career Managers)
  • Type 3: Visionaries and Leaders, those who have long term goals (Restless, Creative)
  • Type 4: Missionaries, those who are driven by a mission (Social and Community related goals)

What is the Purpose of your Life and, how do you want to make a Difference?

Although some deep questions awaited the participants after a heavy lunch. Each participant jotted down their response after careful thought and shared it with the fellow participants. Discussions ensued, some clarifications were sought and a few ‘heavy’ questions asked to Prof. Rao. Certainly, only he could have answered those questions with such ease, using simple language and relevant examples.  A sense of optimism, positivity and motivation filled the room, as if, the participants had found or rediscovered their purpose.

Further, Prof. used the concept of Jo-Hari window and Personal Effectiveness Questionnaire. This enabled us to understand ourselves better, identify our blind spots and encouraged us to broaden the Arena.

Several topics were discussed during the day:

  • The Performance Management System,
  • HR Metrics,
  • Intellectual Capital,
  • Key Role of HR Manager,
  • Time value of money and most importantly,
  • the criticality of Intangibles (employee satisfaction, trust etc.)

The focus on functional areas continued the next day with stories, anecdotes and relevant examples. 360° feedback system and its implementation, and the cost benefit aspect of a robust Induction program were highlighted. Characteristics of World Class Organizations and approach of HR managers to handle the resulting opportunities and challenges were also discussed.

A sound advice for positive intent and thinking beyond KPA/KRA(s) from the Prof. laid to rest the participants’ queries about the compulsive transactional and administrative nature of a HR manager’s job.

Summary

Before bringing the session to a close, ‘Think Ahead of your CEO’ is the challenge Prof. Rao gave to all the participants. In conclusion, these 12 hours were informative, thought provoking and inspiring. As the Prof. left amidst a big applause, I, along with many others, felt a little more enabled to transform, within, and without.

The Versatilist, is a space where you can find posts on travel, book reviews and poetry. To follow versatilistaqua on Insta, Click here to follow Versatilistaqua on Insta

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