Why do we do the things we do?

On our way back from office me and Ovais were discussing...

Why do we do the things we do?
Or For that matter....
Why does any one does what he does?

So the Initial answers were like for Survival..for food..for a better life etc etc.
Then we discussed a bit more deeply and came to the following result...

Each one of us enjoys being different.

Earlier people used to stay in villages and do farming..feed cattle..raise children.
Everyone did the same thing.
At that time if someone got a job in the city...he was considered kind of special.
Now the guy who got a job did something different from what his brothers were doing
and this way he got himself to be felt special.

Now this trend continued and almost all the families now had a child in the city doing a job.
This continued for few decades ...then a person got bored of that lifestyle also.

Everyone is in city doing the same damn coding job .So he decided to pack his bags and go back to the village.
Now this person did something different and was considered special by his brethren.
People staying in the cities...now felt like they should also lead a life style like that.

So in this discussion we found out that we always look to do something different and ....
more the uniqueness of that thing,
the more we enjoy doing it.

A person always looks to have some uniqueness about him...which sets him apart from the people
he knows or has some connection with them.

Now a person can look different with two different mindsets..

We'll take an example
A Person may leave his comfortable car and become a cyclist because of two reasons...
1)Reason one is there are a very few cyclists around and a lot of car owners...being a cyclist will set him apart.
2)Second reason is curiosity...he would want to challenge his comfort zone and see how his body reacts on a cycle?

In the first reason if all the people around him start riding a cycle the person may opt for a car.
Because the point is not enjoying the cycle..but the point is being different.

In the second reason the person won't give a thought to what the people in his closest promoxity are driving...
He'll ride a cyle just for the sake of riding it.

In both cases you look different....just that in one you are indifferent.

At this point of discussion i immediately started relating things with myself...and the people around me...
A few questions that came to my mind...

Would i keep on enjoying playing Flute if i don't put those videos on facebook?
The very fact that i put them on facebook is that i want people to notice that i am different and see how well i can play the Flute.

I want people to appreciate the videos..what if nobody likes them?  Will i stop playing ?...

Am i different out of curiosity or out of a need to look different.
If a lot of people learn flute...will i try and learn a new instrument?
 or...
Will i learn a new instrument when i feel that ...Flute is done now and what next?

I was confused and i am still confused as to why do i do the things that i do.

Infact why did i write this blog....

I wrote this blog out of curiosty and by the sheer enthusiasm and the excitement of the thought that came to my mind...
but the very point that i am going to share it on my blogspot right now ..and hoping for a few likes.....feeds my apetite .....

...as i think i have thought something different that people in my closest reference haven't thought of.

Living - By Default or by Design

Recently i read a small Article on Lance Armstrong(The cycling guru).
...Infact not just the cycling Guru but there is a lot more to learn from him.
He is a champion while on cycle and a bigger champion for the cancer fighting cause.

In this article he had mentioned the way he would want to die...
He Quoted

"When i am 100 years old.....
I want to come screaming down an Alpine descent on my bicycle at 75 miles per hour. 
I want to cross one last finish line as my wife and my ten children applaud, 
and then I want to lie down in a field of those famous French sunflowers and gracefully expire."

This line struck somewhere...i read it again...and again and again.

Just think of it...a person is excited about his death...he is planning the way he is going to die.
I mean come on...there are days i am not even excited about the way i live..

I know Lance is a kind of person who doesn't take things as they come but the things come as he wants them to come.
That's how effective people live .....they don't live by default.....they live by design.

....but this was something different ...Lance not only lives by design...he wants to design the way he dies too.

Death will not happen to him...
he will die in a way that ensures he has lived till the very last moment.




Jai Guru Dev :)

Match Fixing

Mr Gupta just retired as the Chief Engineer from State Electricity Board after a service of 36 years.
His son Utsav has just completed his engineering and has a job offer with him...it is with the same organisation that his father served(HPSEB).
Everyone in the family is so happy for the son as life seems well settled for him.

Following is one trivial  dialogue between them .
Mr Gupta and Utsav are having dinner.

Son "Papa most of my friends are joining the Private companies..some are becoming full time painters,musicians. i also like dancing but i am not sure of the future. How far will i go? I have a fear of the unknown. what do you suggest? "

Father "Beta there is no comparison of Govt jobs with all these manias..or whatever you call them...Here you have your future secured..even after retirement you will be enjoying pension. You need not worry about your house..car,servants anything. after all you have to live a life that is free of tension."

Son "...but papa.."

Father "Listen ...you have got to make a choice..
you have entered as a SDO,
in 3 years you'll be promoted to Executive engineer(X.en)...
in another 5 years you will be Senior executive engineer...
and by the time you'll retire you'll be secretary To CM for electricity Board...
at worst you will be chief engineer."

During this conversation ..news channel started with a news alleging some senior cricket player of Match fixing.
Being a serious cricket enthusiast Mr Gupta was flabbergasted at this match fixing thing.

Mr Gupta "This is really sad how these cricketers do injustice to so many genuine cricket followers across the country.This is a crime. What fun is it to see a cricket match where you know the outcome already. To enjoy a cricket match the outcome should be unknown..it should be full of excitement and suspense.I think these cricketers don't believe there abilities and fix matches just to have a safe and settled life. They are commiting a sin to themselves and to the nation. Cricket will lose all it's craze if it is played this way."


Utsav was sad at the fixing thing but a stunning analogy dawned on him.
Match fixing was considered bad but there was something very similar he was about to do with his life.
He didn't contradict his father but he got his answer.

What fun it would be to live a life where at 23 you know what you would be doing at 58.

He understood that the
"Fear of the Unknown"
is a just an imposter and can easily be replaced by
"The Thrill of the Unexplored".

That day and this conversation...Utsav has not looked back.
He has danced..sang...travelled..painted...wrote poems...

moreover he has "lived".

He has lived a life that was not fixed.

Transcend

Sachin has just completed his 100 th century and this is the interview that follows.

Harsha  - "Sachin that is some achievement...the first person in the history to score 100 100s.How do you feel.?"

Sachin " It seems like the first one...believe me the feeling is similar."

Harsha "Great...How do the other guys in the dresssing room feel. Gambhir also scored a 100 this match..but it's you who gets all the limelight, and this has happened for the last 21 years. How do the other guys react to it?"

Sachin "It's not about me alone..it's always been about the team...If We would have lost today....i think i would not have been this happier for my achievement. I couldn't have made it in these 21 years without my teammates."

Harsha "That's  really humble of you. It has been 21 years in international crciket. When are you planning to retire ..A lot of  teams would sigh a breath of relief.  You have really tortured them for long now.."

Sachin "(Laughs)  No it has never been that way...I have always enjoyed healthy competition . See the game of Cricket is above all ...all the players are its students. All of us are serving the game."

Harsha " Sachin i am seeing a pattern in all your answers...however i'll not discuss that right now . WE'll go on with the interview ."

Harsha "Sachin a lot of players like ...Baichung Bhutia....Saina Nehwal...Sania Mirza... have told about how they take inspiration from you. How do you feel when people from different sports tell you that?"

Sachin "See the basic ingredient for success in any sport is the same. You should be able to handle pressure..you should be able to handle the success humbly and you should be ok with your failures. Thiese values are the core for any game...and this DNA transcends all games. You got to be a fighter and if you understand this ...you'll do well in any sport .   "

Harsha "Infact we can extrapolate  this to crores of non - sportsperson who derive a lot of inspiration from you. They also like to emulate your work ethics....
Thanks for all these 25 years."

Thanks Harsha I feel it was all possible because of the  GOD up there...he has been really kind to me.

Sachin thanks for the lovely interview....i would like to share the pattern that i recognized in your answers.

When i tried to discuss the personal aspect of your achievement and compare it with the other team members you transcended your individuality and gave credit to the Team.

When i tried to compare the various international teams ...you transcended the various teams and gave all credit to Cricket as a sport.

When i tried juxtaposing Cricket with other games ...you transcended Cricket and took it to a higher abstraction of Sports.

When i tried comparing sportsmen with other profession people. I knew your integrity and profesionalism has transcended that boundary as well.

Sachin i think whatever you are doing is exceptional and you have transcended as  a human.

Thanks for taking birth at a time...when we could experience the phenomenon.

A Champion Performer

In that awe inspiring speech from Harsha he made a very profound point about how champions behave.

If you are a champion your performance is not at all proportional to the troubles/obstacles you face in your way.

A champion batsman will never say that I play well only on the Ahmedabad wicket but I’ll go 9 down against Australia at Gabba.

A champion bowler can never say that he is only good at the Indian pitches…because if a player says  so ..its not the player that’s good.

 It’s the conditions that were favorable.

I tried testing myself on this tenet of Harsha…and I found that I usually cycle my way to office almost twice a week…and this makes me feel like a champion. Riding 60 kms on a single day…and that too in the traffic of NH-58(Ghaziabad-Badrinath Highway) gives you a lot of confidence .

But there are times when I have pressure on me…work load is too much..and these are the days I give cycling a skip.

The excuse that I provide myself is that you need to have a peaceful mind to ride in that traffic….and as the work load is too much you might be thinking too much about the work and hence putting yourself in a trouble in that traffic.

But that’s not how champions do it. They play Bangladesh and Australia with the same tenacity.  They keep a peaceful mind in the toughest of situations….in either case I am not going to lessen the workload while I am reaching office..so the excuse stands null and void.

Thanks Harsha for the beautiful lesson…Work load or no work load…I’ll perform.

PS: Cycling can be replaced with any activity that you feel like extrapolating this tenet to.

Score - 140/6

Last Friday was awesome...Make my trip had its semi annual Town hall meeting...i met Harsha Bhogle...and yes i made a Debut on acting front.( Link to nautanki).

Harsha was as usual brilliant...just wanted to share a part of his speech.

"There are two types of teams...
1) The teams that are playing not to lose.
2)The teams that are playing to win.

At first i thought it's the same thing...in either case you win.
but than he delved a bit deeper into the concept.

Being in the first frame of mind can be disastrous for the team/individual/company.

Following is the example that Harsha gave to make this point...

Australia Vs Bangladesh Test match was going on.

Bangladesh was asked to bat first and they surprised everyone by making 350/4 on the first day.
Scoring at almost 4 runs an over and losing just 4 wickets would have been an amazing achievement
for the best of the teams.

At the end of the day Mohammad Ashraful was congratulated by the media for the team's performance.

One of the interviewers asks Asharful
"You are in a really good position...What is your strategy from here on?"

Asharful "Another 100 runs tomorrow and we are safe."

I mean when you are not in the habit of winning..you just don't believe that you can win.
Even after being in such a good position he wanted to be safe...he just didn't believe that his team could win.

Next day they were bowled out for 427.
and Australia was 140-6 at the end of the day.

Gilchrist came for a similar press conference.
Bagladesh 427 in first inning and The super power australia 140 /6.

"Gilli what do you have to say for that kind of performance?"

Gilli "Yeah mate we have dug ourselves a pretty deep hole. it's going to take some effort to win it from here."

This is what champions do...they play to Win...
They are not playing for not losing but to win.

Next time whenever i find myself in a soup...i would surely remind me of the scoreline 140/6 and ask myself this question...

"Comeon mate how do you win it from here."


Gilchrist scored a 144 in that inning.
Australia won that match. by three wickets.
that's the match http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/238171.html





"

ये उड़ान जारी रहेगी...

संभल के चलो
गिरने से डरो
रास्ता चुनो वही....
...जिस पे मंज़िल
किसी ने तो हो देखी |

हारना बुरा है
उड़ना बुरा है

देखना वो.... ,
जो किसी ने ना देखा...
...पाप है|

ऐसे जियोगे तो दुनिया क्या कहेगी..
-----------

उड़ना रोज़ है मुझे
देखनी हैं मंज़िलें नयी

चलना संभल के बुरा नहीं..
...पर रास्ता क्यूँ हो वही ?

खुश हूँ मैं
हारकर ,गिरकर
शर्त बस इतनी है..की सड़कें हों नयी|

जीना ऐसे...
की एक मिसाल बन के रहेगी..

लाख रोको मुझे ज़मीन पे..
ये उड़ान जारी रहेगी...