Tag Archives: MondayMorningWakeUpCall

3 steps to making learning super easy

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Use Fogg to beat the fog that stands in your way #MondayMorningWakeUpCall

B.J. Fogg, a psychologist who’s studied human behaviour for the last 20 years, mostly at Stanford University, has created a new model of human behaviour change. His lab has been investigating how technology (mobile and computers) can motivate and persuade people. The study is also the genesis of the Fogg Behavioural Model that he has developed which states that 3 things need to come together at the same time for a behaviour to occur:

  1. Motivation
  2. Ability
  3. Trigger

Here’s a more elaborate thesis of the model – http://bjfogg.com/fbm_files/page4_1.pdf and a summary – http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/FoggBehaviorModel_5185510a3a528_w1500.jpg

I believe this is also a really good surrogate for learning a new skill because to learn anything new also usually requires you to undergo a behaviour change to make the necessary adjustments in your life and mind to study, absorb and acquire it.

Here goes my interpretation and adaptation of how you can use Fogg to clear any fog that stands in the way of you becoming a ‘zot’ (master) at anything you want to learn –

  1. Motivation: You can be motivated to learn a new skill by –
    1. Pleasure (Enjoyment)/Pain (By force)
    2. Hope (Reward/Betterment)/Fear (Failure)
    3. Social Acceptance (Recognition)/Rejection (Being left behind)
    4. Curiosity
  2. Ability: Make the skill easy to do/learn by breaking it into small steps or components. This is what Foggs calls ‘Tiny Skills’. Example, if you want to learn the piano or a new language then start with practicing for only 10 minutes a day 5 days a week instead of one hour once a week or worse, trying to chalk out half hour every day.

You are more likely to meet a more achievable practice goal that doesn’t turn your old routine upside down. In due course, once you get hooked to your new routine, start enjoying the skill, you’ll increase the time you spend on this activity on your own accord.

Note: Motivation and Ability can trade off. If you’re very highly motivated to learn something new, then even if your natural ability for the skill is low, you will still make good progress.

  1. Trigger:
    1. Reminder: To perform the activity
    2. Facilitator: A good facilitator/teacher. The facilitator/teacher can be instrumental in helping –
      1. Those low on motivation (to inspire) and
      2. Those low on ability (to break down the complex skills into ‘Tiny’ easily learnable components)

The probability of you learning (or teaching) a new skill will significantly go up when you add all the 3 components together at the same time.

Ready to do the MAT(h)?

Survival of the fittest is a myth

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“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin #MondayMorningWakeUpCall

Responsive to change

  • IBM – From selling calculators, massive mainframes and personal computers to now selling software, consulting services, IT services
  • Apple – From selling personal computers to making your phone your personal computer
  • Google – Is relentlessly adapting its search algorithm to make it so personal that it probably (and eerily) knows more about you than you do

The examples are many more, but I guess you get the idea.

Most of the truly great companies of the last 100 years (and of the recent 20 years of the internet era) – from IBM to Apple, from Proctor & Gamble to Unilever, from Google to Facebook, trace their roots (and greatness) back to multiple generations and behaviours of change, be it from personal computers to mobile, from television to youtube or from internet to internet of things. They’ve adapted before and emerged great. The best ones will adapt again.

Hint: This also applies to your personal lives.

Try Everything

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Try Everything #MondayMorningWakeUpCall

  • Think you can’t learn to dance to the beat cos you’ve got 3 left feet. Try.
  • Think your friend won’t forgive you even if beg for her forgiveness you do. Try.
  • Think you can’t take out time for that mountain to climb. Try.
  • Think your business idea has no ding, even after drinking Red Bull you give it many a wing. Try.
  • Think the girl who doesn’t know you exist won’t go out with you if you persist. Try.
  • Think it’ll be your death knell if you quit your job, travel the world without your heartthrob. Try.
  • Think your boss will reject your promotion plea, that your value she’ll refuse to see. Try.
  • Think you aren’t smart enough to learn algebra, even though you’re smart enough to blindly unhook a buxom bra. Try.
  • Think you can’t stand on your head, decree your brainwashed beliefs doubly dead. Try.
  • Think you’ll be alone for the rest of your life, if you decide to end this relationship so full of strife. Try.
  • Think you can’t write that story or screenplay, because you’re afraid of judgement day. Try.
  • Think you can’t forget the past, blank out the future and stay in the present, the only way to prevent constant imaginary torment. Try.


Try everything before you lie, sigh and cry about life being so darn difficult that you’d rather die. 


Cos chances are, the demons in our head make it look more difficult than they actually are. And the surest way to silence them is to try. Try everything that scares you and you’ll scare the demons away.


Hint: “Try not. Do-or do not. There is no try.” Which is Master Yoda’s way of saying don’t try half-heartedly by making a lame-assed feeble attempt as you would do to save your enemy.


Give it your best shot else do not.


And if you prefer a lighter and ‘funner’ version to spur you on to ‘Try Everything’ then Shakira’s version in a loop should do the job.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-NTFFTDrNs

					

		
		
	


	

				

			
						

				Be Optimistix
			

										

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“For myself I am an optimist – it does not seem to be much use to be anything else.”

― Winston S. Churchill #MondayMorningWakeUpCall


Optimism - Glass Half Full
Glass Half Full


Came across this post from a blog I follow that resonates what Churchill says. I can’t say it any better so sharing it verbatim


Pascal’s Wager is a famous argument using logic to prove one should have a belief in God. Here is my somewhat similar, not quite as scientific, argument in favor of optimism:



It seems like a pretty clear choice to me…


– See more at: http://gapingvoid.com/blog/2016/03/10/optimism/


My 2.5 bits: In case you’re sometimes having trouble seeing the rainbow amidst the rain, you could try reaching out to my good friends Jack & Daniel who have quite often helped brighten up many a gloomy day. Even NY Times best-selling author Darynda Jones vouches for them saying “I like to see the glass as half full, hopefully of jack daniels.”

					

		
		
	


	

				

			
						

				Be Selfish
			

										

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“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself” – Rumi #MondayMorningWakeUpCall


Be selfish
You are the universe!                                                                       Image: Courtesy  Getty Images
 

If only everyone thought like Rumi, then the weight of the world wouldn’t rest on the fragile shoulders of just ‘A Few Good Men’


Nevertheless, a pretty apt wake up call for me. And I suspect, also for a lot of the many delusional entrepreneurs, start up professionals and crazy people, who think they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, wanting to ‘change the world’

					

		
		
	


	

				

			
						

				The secret to chasing away the dark in you
			

										

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“If we all light up we can scare away the dark” – Passenger #MondayMorningWakeUpCall


Light up to scare away the dark
Let there be light


There are colours of dark in everyone. From not so secretly fantasizing punching your boss to fleeting moments of yearning to slaughter spouse to extended ‘daymares’ of hatred, jealousy, greed and self-doubt.


The colours of the dark may vary, with the blackest rendering many an animal blind. But fighting the dark isn’t the answer to peace on earth and within. The more you fight the dark the more it enshrouds you in black.


One short-term solution: Sing along with Passenger to” Scare Away The Dark”




Well, sing, sing at the top of your voice,
Love without fear in your heart.
Feel, feel like you still have a choice
If we all light up we can scare away the dark

We wish our weekdays away
Spend our weekends in bed
Drink ourselves stupid
And work ourselves dead
And all just because that's what mom and dad said we should do

We should run through the forest
We should swim in the streams
We should laugh, we should cry,
We should love, we should dream
We should stare at the stars and not just the screens
You should hear what I'm saying and know what it means

To sing, sing at the top of your voice,
Love without fear in your heart.
Feel, feel like you still have a choice
If we all light up we can scare away the dark

Well, we wish we were happier, thinner and fitter,
We wish we weren't losers and liars and quitters
We want something more not just nasty and bitter
We want something real not just hash tags and Twitter

It's the meaning of life and it's streamed live on YouTube
But I bet Gangnam Style will still get more views
We're scared of drowning, flying and shooters
But we're all slowly dying in front of fucking computers

So sing, sing at the top of your voice,
Oh, love without fear in your heart.
Can you feel, feel like you still have a choice
If we all light up we can scare away the dark




The question however remains… how do you light up?


 

					

		
		
	


	

				

			
						

				20 movies that weren’t invited by Mr. Oscar for the 2016 Oscar ceremony
			

										

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“Wake up, wake up, it’s the Oscars” #MondayMorningWakeUpCall


A day when imagination and make-believe is celebrated. When awards are given to those who best blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Let’s celebrate it… after all, movies have been one of my greatest sources of learnings about life, love and laughter, if one chooses to learn from it.


It’s also a day when many memorable movies get lost into oblivion simply because they couldn’t make it to the guest list, let alone get an opportunity to prepare a forgettable speech (well how many dad/moms/dogs who were thanked can we remember).


But we can’t really blame Mr. Oscar for not inviting the many more debatably deserving ones. He does have a limited seating arrangement. And he is known to be snooty. You may not agree with his guest list, but then, it is his party.


So, thought I’d put out an extended list for an extended party. Inviting those who have been snubbed by Mr. Oscar (no Oscar nominations) but they have either entertained me, inspired me or made me humanely richer, if not all three.


Here’s my extended list of the 20 movies that I think deserve a party as much as any of the nominees along with a tweet description of the imprint it left with me.


    

  1. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – It’s impossible not to love Ethan Hunt’s 5th impossible mission incarnation #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. Ant Man – Thank God I didn’t judge a super hero by size #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. Avengers: Age of Ultron – Avenger or not, it’s an ultron fun age to be in #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. Kingsman: The Secret Service – There’s no way this kind of service should be kept a secret #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. Pawn Sacrifice – Tobey (The Grandmaster) plays chess better than Tobey (The Spidey) can spin a web #moviesilike
    2. 





    

  1. The Walk – Now this is how one should ‘walk the talk’ #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. Entourage – Always fun to hang out with the boys #moviesilike (Warning: The bigger the fan the greater the fun)
    2. 





    

  1. The Gift – It’s not the gift, but the movie behind the gift that matters. Dark & disturbing, chilling & nail biting story telling #moviesilike
    2. 





    

  1. Minions – A minion minions. Each 1 in a minion & I can watch them a minion times. Verdict: A minion stars #moviesilike (Disclaimer: I’m biased)
    2. 





    

  1. Spy – She’s no Bond or Bourne. But she will crack up criminals (and you), if not through her moves, then definitely through her laughs #moviesilike
    2. 





    

  1. The Visit – After a long time a Manoj N. Shyamalal movie worth paying a visit #moviesilike
    2. 





    

  1. Furious 7 – While the chases are 7 times more daring than the original, what stays with this one is that it has 7 times more heart. An ode to Paul Walker #moviesilike
    2. 





Warning: The following are the arty kind that I thought wasn’t farty but still might not be everybody’s bowl of breakfast. Recommended for the eclectic movie buffs.


    

  1. Anomolisa – I’m cheating a bit out here. Charlie Kaufman’s (one of my favourite film makers) stop-motion picture has been nominated for best animated feature. I loved this deeply moving existential tale so much that I’m giving it a double shout out so that I do my bit to make sure it doesn’t go unnoticed #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. What We Do In The Shadows – Who knew vampires could be so hilarious #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. Lobster – To many I suspect this might taste a bit bizarre. But for those who have an appetite for offbeat story-telling packaged with the dark, the amusing, the poignant, the deep, might just find that the after-taste pleasantly lingers on for quite a while #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – And in it is hidden a gem of a pearl #moviesilove
    2. 





    

  1. The Tribe – A bold and intriguing film that left me speechless #moviesilike
    2. 





    

  1. Clouds of Sils Maria – The understated and layered emotions of holding on to the past, change and youth vs maturity tend to hide behind the clouds. If you can see past the clouds then maybe you’ll spot a silver lining #moviesilike
    2. 





    

  1. Diary of A Teenage Girl – Maybe this is why it’s bad manners to read someone else’s diary. Not an easy consumption but then diaries rarely are #moviesilike
    2. 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYb0WRr1eww


    

  1. Tangerine – Makes the list mostly cos it’s an illustration of a movie shot ONLY on iPhone. That it’s high energy story telling that gives a reality take into the lives of transgenders is a bonus #moviesilike
    2. 





And a special shout out to 2 of my favourites from the year (and possibly this decade so far)… Mad Max: Fury Road and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.


Here’s 20 more from last year in case you’re playing catch up or just movie binging.


Which ones were your favourites that got snubbed by Mr. Oscar?


 

					

		
		
	


	

				

			
						

				Great Expectations!
			

										

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“There are two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations” – Jodi Picoult #MondayMorningWakeUpCall




Better still, do both!


The Frsutration management Formula
The ‘Frustration Management Formula’ = ‘Happiness Formula’


Sharing 3 parables that have given me some insight into how to navigate world of agitations caused by great expectations which might give you some direction to reduce the frustration from these misguided imaginations.


Parable 1: 


A young disciple of Socrates approached him as he sat by the beach. The young disciple told Socrates that he wanted to be as wise as his master. Socrates looked at him for a moment and then led him by the hand into the sea till they were almost neck deep in water. Socrates then asked him what the young disciple wanted. He replied “wisdom”. Socrates dunked his young disciple’s head under the water.


After a bit of struggle Socrates let him resurface and once again asked him what he wanted. The confused young disciple, thinking it was some test, once again responded “wisdom”.


Socrates once again pushed his head down under and held it longer. When he pulled the disciple up he once again asked him the same question and the disciple once again responded with the same answer.


Socrates pushed his head down a third time, holding it even longer till the disciple had to wrestle for his fledgling life and was gasping for breath on resurfacing. This time when Socrates asked him what he wanted he just about managed to whisper “air”.


Socrates smiled and responded “when you want wisdom as much as you want to breathe the air, you shall get it and you won’t even need me”


My take away: Don’t just wish for something. If you really want something then take action. 


Parable 2:


A Zen student asks her Master: “If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen?”


The Master replies “10 years”


The student asks, if I work twice as hard and diligently then how long will it take?”


The Master replies “20 years”


The confused student asks, if I work thrice as hard and diligently then how long will it take?”


The Master replies “30 years”


My take away: Work towards your goal but don’t crave for it. The Universe then just loves teasing you. The more you crave for it the more the Universe makes it a point to pull it just a wee bit out of your reach.


Parable 3:


Two monks have been meditating in a forest for an equal number of years. Monk #1 has been extremely dedicated and diligent about his meditations and Monk #2 has been a bit naughty, occasionally letting his mind wander, peeping and even whistling at pretty passer’s by.


The fable goes that Buddha was passing by the forest. He crossed Monk #1 and blessed him. Buddha told him that he had been very sincere in his practice and he would get enlightened in 14 years if he kept up his practice with all honesty. Monk #1 was absolutely dejected on hearing that he would have to ‘crap’ in the forest for another 14 years.


Buddha then passed by Monk #2. To him Buddha said that he had been an ill-disciplined monk and it would take him another 14 lifetimes to get enlightened. On hearing this Monk #2 was ecstatic to the point that he started doing cart-wheels. Buddha asked him why was he so happy to which Monk #2 responded by saying how could he not be jubilant when he was definitely going to get enlightened.


Guess who got enlightened 1st?


My take away: Like Bill Waterson says “I find my life is a lot easier (and happier) the lower I keep my expectations”


Each of these 3 parables in isolation could end up being misinterpreted. But when woven together (like Pulp Fiction) has worked as my google map when it comes to the navigating the vicissitudes of great expectations.


    

  1. Wishing for something ain’t enough. When you truly deeply madly want something, you will know it in your bones and you will then willingly and happily work towards it, you will take action and go after it with a single minded purpose – improve your reality.
    2. 

  2. However, if you start craving for the goal, chances are it’s going to bring you more misery then happiness. So you’ve got to be passionate yet detached – don’t get attached.
    3. 

  3. And if you can work towards your goal without expecting any fruits in return, then you’ll be the happiest cos you are bound to get more than you wanted – lower your expectations.
    4. 



Yup, easier said than done. But what’s the alternative?

					

		
		
	


	

				

			
						

				Badass, smartass, greatass or Buridon’s ass?
			

										

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Don’t wait. Decide your own fate #MondayMorningWakeUpCall


Buridon's ass
Don’t be an ass


The story goes that Buridon’s ass is halfway between a pile of hay and a pail of water. He is extremely hungry and equally thirsty. He keeps looking left and right, trying to decide whether to satiate his hunger or quench his thirst first. Unable to decide, eventually he collapses and dies of hunger and thirst.


This paradox in philosophy, named after French philosopher Jean Buridan, quite nicely metaphorically portrays the decision paralysis that plagues many.


The plague exists for a variety of reasons. 4 reasons that come to mind are:


    

  1. FOMO – Fear of missing out
    2. 

  2. Analysis paralysis – Over thinking
    3. 

  3. Greed – Wanting it all
    4. 

  4. Not thinking long term – Being myopic about the fact that you can first drink the water and then eat the hay. Duh!
    5. 



Hint: The 1st step is to be aware of the cause of indecisiveness. Awareness is a great antidote to irrational fears.


So, do you want to be a badass, smartass, greatass… or Buridon’s ass?


Take a decision!