I nodded my head all they way through and thoroughly enjoyed such a well expressed view.  Hop over there for a refreshing take on gender equality.

Keeping my feet firmly on the ground in light of my recent fall in front of my house, I gingerly made my way into the office. I couldn’t help feeling awed by nature. Growing up, all I knew was the hot summer, the milder months not counted as summer and the monsoons. Coimbatore did boast an Autumn of sorts when the badam/almond tree leaves in our home would change colors and drop all through the day as did the Neem tree. Snow impressed me when I first settled into the northeast US. Ice is a different creature altogether. It clings to the roads and trees and is visually captivating and equally dangerous.

Who would have thought a decade back that I would actually get to experience so much wonder just around my house? Changing seasons? Check. Snow? Check. Ice? Check. Spring showers? Check. Fog and winding roads? Check. A hill station view from my backyard? Check. You get where I am going with this right? I am just in one happy mood and everything seems beautiful right now.

Have a lovely day!

I am yet to order one textbook and I shop around looking for the best deal on it. Going back to class brings with it a certain newness, a fresh expectation and the feeling I am well and truly on my way to becoming a manager. 

I have always been fascinated by the history and culture of our country and this promises to be a very educational and well made documentary. So, thought I would share it here.

I have never been one to take personal jokes lightly or deal with situations where I am mocked, gracefully. I come off high strung and quick to take offense. A good night’s sleep later, I feel stupid for feeling so angry. While I can let go of yesterday’s incident, I still wonder what prompts people to mock or imitate personal traits. Is it a degree of familiarity or a deep seated contempt that expresses itself occasionally?

I can’t remember making fun of people that way. If any, I am always worried I would do/say something to offend people. How does one learn to take it when the joke is on them? Is it something inborn or can a thick skin be acquired? I wonder why because I don’t remember saying anything reminiscent of tambram lingo or anything to spur that comment.

Anyways, hopefully this new year will help me morph into someone who can take it when the joke is on me. Gracefully.

WINNING AT WORKING … By Nan S. Russell  (www.winningatworking.com) –

Assessing Your Progress

I’m not a big fan of New Years resolutions. Sure I’ve made dozens of them, all with good intentions and a bit of magical thinking, believing this time the resolution will stick. Maybe a few have, but generally these wishful self-promises end up broken. And when that happens my self-esteem suffers.

You see, every time you break a self-promise, your self-trust is weakened. Every time you give up on your commitments your self-confidence takes a hit. And every time you look back on broken resolutions, your self-assessment hurts, not helps, your performance future.

By contrast, I am a huge fan of goals or dreams or aspirations or targeted focus. Call it what you like. Mine come in a variety of forms, anything from a life-to-do-list to aspirational dreams. But their achievement hinges on the same element - incremental action. I learned in twenty years of management the power behind small steps.

One baby step, then another and another eventually leads to achievement. Most of us are unlikely to hit home-run equivalents with our work or life goals. But by incrementally nibbling at them, we can accomplish most anything, actualizing life dreams and winning at working. Like the Chinese proverb reminds us, “The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

So, instead of New Years resolutions, I suggest you try an alternative this year. First, assess your progress. Second, align your direction.

Start by writing down your accomplishments for the last twelve months, asking yourself, what’s different today from a year ago. These don’t have to be big or work-only achievements, but note incremental progress in any part of your life. If I can do more sit-ups this year than last, that goes on my list. If I’ve read thirty books, I put that down. If I have a better relationship with a client, it’s there.

Now, take a few minutes to savor your list, breathing in the powerful feeling of personal progress. It’s amazing how good it feels to see what you’re accomplished. Whenever I observe a tangible list of what I’ve achieved in just twelve months, it fuels my energy for what I can do in the next twelve. And that leads me to the second part of the experience: seeing where I’m headed. Like a compass, the list helps me align my focus and build incremental goals in the direction I want to be traveling.

You see, people who are winning at working leverage the power of incremental progress to build their performance, reach their goals, actualize their dreams and impact their results. In the process they build their self-esteem, self-trust and self-confidence. They know accomplishment breeds accomplishment; success produces success; and progress multiplies progress. Want to be winning at working? Start fueling your progress with incremental action.

(c) 2008 Nan S. Russell.  All Rights Reserved.
__________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Author of Hitting Your Stride: Your Work, Your Way (Capital Books; January 2008). Host of “Work Matters with Nan Russell” weekly on webtalkradio.net. Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan. She is the founder and president of MountainWorks Communications, as well as an author, speaker and consultant.

This year for me will be the one in which my niece Vidhula was born, the one in which I got my Master’s degree, the birth and death of Thoughtful Thursdays, moving my blog to its own server, celebrating my niece Sruthi’s first birthday, starting my MBA, planting my kitchen garden, driving up to Lake George, trip to the west coast visiting friends and family, study sessions with my class mates, the feeling of stepping out of my comfort zone, being part of a historic election, the horror of the Mumbai terror, enjoying the spirit of the Christmas season. In the midst of all this, I am a whole year older, been married a year longer and still clueless about a whole lot of things.

Reading Usha’s post today, much of her thoughts resonated with me. The magic of New Year’s seems a little dimmer with each passing year. I no longer look forward to the countdown at mid night. I don’t wake up on New Year day thinking my life is somehow different than when I went to sleep. Yet, to me it is a time for reflection and introspection. Of where I am from and where I am headed. A day to take a break from the auto pilot mode and take in the surroundings physically and mentally and prepare myself for the road ahead.

Happy New Year to all of you!!! May the year ahead bring happiness and prosperity into your lives.

Growing up in a time and place where six grade meant you moved from skirt and shirt to a salwar at school with neatly pinned dupattas and walking home from school after six PM meant there was safety in groups, my friends and I had our own experiences with road side romeos and unpleasant experiences that were hardly shared let alone discussed.

I distinctly remember being very careful when entering and exiting crowded buses. Using my bag or a file as shield to protect myself from groping. Learning to stamp or shove people who made unwelcome moves when standing in a tightly packed bus. Getting into an auto making it a point to remember the licence plate number and sitting on edge at the very corner in readiness to jump off should the auto driver take unfamiliar roads. The feeling of paranoia is to this date very familiar.

Reading that essay however far removed from the culture I grew up in still brought back the same feelings of fear and distaste. I was lucky in that I did not experience anything that could have scarred me for life but I shudder to think of the countless kids/teenagers experiencing things they cannot protect themselves from and facing a lifetime of trauma and internalized guilt simply because they cannot talk about it. Or even if they did to be blamed for being the victim.

It is one of those things that affect me deeply. The unnamed fear and the nature of the crime.

Updated to add the link to Blank Noise Project. Seems like a great initiative happening to bring awareness about eve teasing and harrassment. Hats off to them! Thanks Manchus for the tip.

Yesterday however, witnessed a fall of epic proportions. Having invited friends over for dinner and having amma to help, I did what I usually do. Order my underlings about and insist on making things myself. I hesitate to delegate and enjoy the idea of whipping up something that everybody enjoys.

Calling K in the midst of his work to point out how something must be done correctly, I felt deliciously evil. The horns on my head were growing. Setting out the food on the kitchen island later that evening, when people asked me who made xyz, I swelled with pride and said “I did.”

Plate in hand, I served myself decent portions and sat amidst a group of friends and chatted away. Food in my mouth I realized what a fall I had set myself up for. I looked around in horror realizing when people asked me “Who made this?” it was not in praise. The food was half cooked, dry and patently inedible. The rest of the evening went past in a blur of activity and I wrapped myself up in clearing the kitchen.

The feeling of shame in my mind however is as vivid as yesterday. I learned first hand why wise folks said “Pride goes before a fall.”

Boy! what a fall.

All through the day, I found notes left for me in random places putting a smile on my face. My mom made a fabulous lunch and my niece kept me happy inside out. We capped the day with a visit to the temple.

In all a nice, quiet, perfect way to turn a whole year older. Hope all of you had a good holiday.