Whenever I think of the most powerful and empowered woman, Goddess Durga comes to my mind. She was aggressive when needed and calming and loving when required. The nine nights of Navratri are not merely about dancing to the tunes of garba, it is about invoking the Supreme power. I feel powerful these 9 days, I feel connected. My fasting is also a way of paying tribute to the Goddess. My Goddess is my only refuge, no matter what the distress may be.
I dance like crazy all the 9 nights. My garba is also my way of becoming one with Her. When I perform garba, I feel I exude my true dedication to the Supreme and that is the time when true happiness manifests within, I forget all my worries and just sway to the tunes. This 9-day period is like a sought after period for me every year. I feel positive, rejuvenated, connected to Her as well as closer to myself.
Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. – John Muir
Life is really demanding sometimes. Or should we say, we have made it like that. Social media, gadgets, internet – there’s really a lot that’s going around. Can we stop it? May be not. But can we disconnect for a while and reconnect? May be, yes.
The nature’s lap is warm and overwhelming we don’t need a ticket to. Getting connected with self is needed. Take a hike, spend some moments with yourself and listen to your heart beating. Follow the rhythm of your heart, there is no other sound that is so authentic and engrossing.
Turn off your music and listen to the gushing water, the birds’ twitter, the moving breeze. That is where true beauty lies. Reach out to your soul and breathe in freshness and soon you’ll realise how incredibly powerful it is to connect with yourself and nature.
Meditation is the best investment that can ever be. You don’t need music, you don’t need aroma, you don’t need candles, all you need is You. It’s when you feel your lungs expanding and your heart beating. You might choose to listen to your mental chatter while you meditate or to guard off all thoughts and just be silent.
Breathing, being present, disconnecting and meditating are some of the Zen habits that we can adopt. After a mindful retreat we all need to get back to the endless piles of work, but only this time you feel more connected to your work and enjoy it more.
As leaders and managers, we often become so blind after our goals that we forget the human factor. We forget that it is our team that will lead to accomplishment of our goals. In the midst of a changing environment and a dynamic workplace, the best a manager can offer is stability to the team. It s essential to understand the behaviour that is expected from people and then to promote that.
This style of management comes in handy when we are moving towards a change. Change never comes easy to anyone. We need to first inculcate changes in our own behaviour and then we need to start developing that as a culture. Empathy is an important factor to consider if we wish to establish trust and oneness in opinions and acts.
Martin Luther King had said, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” As leaders, we need to empathise, grow and connect, understand and listen. There are times people fail to work together because they fear each other. This fear springs from lack of communication. Here’s where the role of an effective manager comes into play. The manager needs to promote cross communication, sharing of opinions and also needs to create platforms where people can get together and heart out.
Change can only be driven when people behave collectively. Culture isn’t one person’s job. Every single member needs to breathe evolution and that’s when change really happens. We all need a leadership that is motivated, inspired and purposefully driven.
Looking stylish is not that big a deal if you are mindful of it. Who doesn’t want to be noticed. Looking attractive isn’t about what you wear, it is about how you wear it. Here are some simple tricks to follow:
Love what you wear and wear what you love – Never be doubtful of what you are wearing. Make your choice wisely. When you’re in doubt about your outfit, your lack of confidence and comfort shows.
Know your personal style – Do not follow trends blindly. Know what suits you and what your heart goes out for. Dressing as per your personal styles gives immense confidence and amps you up.
Fit and fabulous – Knowing the right fit for yourself is important. The right fit of clothes flatter your body like nothing else. The comfort fit helps you to remain at ease for long as compared to a tight one. Make your choice.
Accessorise – Accessories including jewellery, purses, footwear, sunglasses accentuate your look. Try adorning yourself with the right accessories to give the finished look.
Layering – Adding a third layer isn’t restricted to formal clothing. A layer could be in the form of a necklace, a jacket, a stole or even a shrug. It adds more definition to the outfit and even takes you up the style scale when needed.
Basics over trends – What’s in trend is not here to stay. Limit the percentage of trendy clothes in your wardrobe to ensure higher wearability of clothes.
A neatly organised wardrobe – Sometimes we feel we don’t have much to wear only because we do not have a neatly organised wardrobe where each piece of clothing and accessory is visible. Invest time in managing space and visibility in your wardrobe.
Play with colours – Choose the colours in trend and flaunt. Colours ad the necessary spice. Be careful of the proportion of each colour being used in your outfit, it must match your personal style.
Ensure the message you give – Stylish, trendy or elegant – your clothes must speak your mind. Every time yo pick an outfit for an occasion, ask yourself what is the message you wish to give through your clothes.
Mix patterns and textures – Most people shy away from wearing patterns and textures imply because they don’t know how to mix them. If you can do that, you are sure to sand out in a crowd.
Most of the times, we use coaching and mentoring interchangeably. Philosophically the two terms are the same. Both have an inherent focus on development of an individual. At the base, it is about relationship between two people, the methods to guide or train may differ.
Talking of organisations, a mentor is someone who is a senior colleague or a team member who is a buddy and guides, supports and advises you on products, processes and even conduct. A mentor helps in understanding your challenges, problems and issues and gives you guidance accordingly. It is natural to feel motivated and inspired in the company of a mentor. Mentorship is often encouraged in companies at different levels. It not only helps to guide newcomers and fishers but also helps to create bonds that cultivate a better culture, leading to a holistic organisational development.
Coaching on the other hand is a long drawn process. A coach can be someone within or outside the organisation. A coach attempts to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the coaches and then creates a development plan. The aim of the the development plan is to help the individual realise his true potential. Coaching is more of a consultative process with full participation from both the ends.
Mentorship and coaching both are ideal for an organisational set up. The company management must be adept at deciding the levels of the two processes.
