Increase Productivity through Concentration.

Concentration of the attention is one of the top secrets of supremacy and power. All achievements in the world, whether in the field of art, literature, history, science or military victories, are based on the power of attention or concentration. Concentration is that state of mind in which the entire energies of the individual, physical as well as mental, are focused upon the thing which he wants to do or is doing.

Concentration is the most important intellectual habit of people who succeed in life. It is, simply bringing all your mental forces and faculties, to bear steadily, on a given centre or an objective, without deviating, from the exact point, and to hold steadily all your power on the central thing under consideration, without a second, of wavering.

How to Concentrate

·         Do one thing at a Time

·         Be Relaxed

·         Do not get tensed  

·         Don’t be keyed up

·         Relax before a big Task

We cannot concentrate on any problem, or issue, if our mind is cluttered with hurry, worry, and fear, which are poisons and handicaps. Not only those poisons need to be thrown overboard, but also anything, or any person, troubling and disturbing your serenity and peace of mind.

We need a clean mental state, every day, to write upon, though some people have developed their mental poise so well that they can work on their problems in any condition of noise, traffic and other tumult.

Concentration Techniques



It is vital, to make condition, of our concentration, on any task or issue, as favorable as possible. Even under the best of circumstances, concentration is difficult enough. But a quite place free from all uproar, distractions, interruptions and noise is conducive to concentration.

Only a clutter free place, with a pleasing environment, is essential, not only for the beginners, but for a large majority of people, for their creative working and thinking. Highest degree of concentration is required for producing master pieces or for mastering subjects and excelling in them.

Atmospheric environment requirements differ from persons to person. But generally the best work has been done is solitude.

The best way to concentrate is to determine in advance, on what and when you should concentrate. When you start your work without a plan, chances are that you might get caught in routine and insane activities, like answering a ringing phone or picking up any magazine or newspaper lying on the table, or checking emails, or just eating snacks, even if you had a full meal.

Some people allow themselves and their minds to be pulled in several directions, because they have no goals to achieve or no important task to do. Before starting your day, you must decide your schedule for the day and what is the most important task, or task you are going to concentrate on. You must make a clear plan of action beforehand. Without an objective or an aim, you will find yourself side tracked and preoccupied by a variety of irksome and distressing diversions and feelings.

By formulating a blueprint, you can resolve, as to, where you would like to assign your mental energy, instead of allowing it to be dispersed haphazardly and aimlessly. Our daily schedule, should aid us in focusing our mind, steadily on one thing at a time and in the sequence best suited to us. This way, we can eliminate any possible confusion. A plan of working is a superb aid in keeping our mind concentrated on the things that matter most to us.



Quality Productivity is only by Concentrated Minds



The quality and quantity of our work and the final output depends not only on the hard work we put into it, but also on out ability to concentrate. No matter how hard to we try, we cannot excel in our work and productivity, unless we concentrate.

How to improve your memory?

Individuals differ in their abilities to memorize. Some have more impressionable mind than others. Therefore, the materials they learn get more easily and more effectively registered as a result of which they show better abilities for recall and recognition. Is it possible to improve one's memory? Yes, more specific aids to memory are available.

Developing your memory is not a magic it is just a technic.

By using the techniques described below, one can improve one's encoding, storage, and retrieval capacities.

Mnemonics

The word 'mnemonics' comes from the Greek word for memory and refers to specific memory improvement techniques. The 'mnemonics' consist of a following set of strategies;

1.      The use of visual imagery

2.      Method of loci

3.      Number and Letter Peg Systems

4.      Chunking

5.      Narratives.

1.      Visual Imagery

·         These are organized set of images and concepts in the long-term memory.

·         LTM images serve as reminder cues for retrieval.

·         These reminder cues are called pegs as though the to-be-remembered items are hung on these pegs.

·         The pegs act as mediators for remembering something long and complex.

2.      The Method of Loci

Its literal meaning is method of locations. The memory pegs in this system are parts of your images of a scene or places. It helps in remembering a number of terms serially. Suppose you want to remember the following five terms serially: house, man, tree, water, and book. You need to go through the following three stages:

(a) Visualize a series of places with which you are very familiar (for example, visualize five rooms in your educational institution like principal's room, staff room, classroom, laboratory, and toilet in that sequence).

(b) Create a visual image of each term you have to remember (for example, create the images of horse, man, tree, water, and book).

(c) Associate the terms one by one with the places in your imagery (for example, associate horse with principal's room thinking that the room has a big photograph of a horse, then associate staff room with man, classroom with tree and so on).

One can also use the same set of images for remembering an additional list of items. The method of loci has proven to be helpful in remembering separate terms in an order.

3.      Number and Letter Peg Systems

Here the memory pegs are numbers or letters. The to-be-remembered items are linked to the visual images formed with numbers.

For example, you may create a rhyming system for the numbers 1 to 20. Think of words that rhyme with numbers such as 1 with man, 2 with shoe, 3 with tree, 4 with door, 5 with hive and so on. Now if you want to remember a list, associate each term serially with the images of the numbers. Suppose the first few items of the list are cake, door, chair, book, and pen. You may create associations as follows: man is eating the cake, shoe is in front of the door, chair is hanging from a tree, a door is created by arranging books, and the pen is hidden in the bee hive. In each case, you associate the number image with the items to be memorized.

Using letters as pegs follows a similar method. In this case, let each letter stand for a word that starts with that letter. The images of these words are linked to the items to be remembered. These methods not only help in remembering the items serially, but also help in recalling the 9^th, 16^th or 21^st item. Any numbered item can be retrieved from memory. It is shown that more bizarre the images of the items to be remembered, the easier it becomes to store and retrieve.

4.      Chunking

Chunking refers to recoding information into a single meaningful unit. It is a powerful and oft-used mnemonics to aid memory.

Suppose you want to remember a seven-digit phone number, 2350478, it will be helpful if you break the number into two chunks such as 2350, and 478. One chunk consists of four digits, and the other consists of three digits. In fact seven units of information are reduced to two longer units called chunks. By doing this you automatically increase your working memory capacity. You can further aid your memory, if you associate the numbers 2350 and 478 with some facts firmly established in your LTM. For example, in order to remember a phone number 610365, a person told me to divide the number into two chunks, 610 and 365. He further helped me to associate the numbers with some knowledge in the following way: We are busy from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, and for all the 365 days. I have never forgotten that phone number. Similarly you have to create your memory linkages.

5.      First-Letter Technique

If you need to remember a set of concept names, you can take the first letter of each concept, and combine them to form words, though not meaningfully. When children remember the seven colors of the rainbow in the form of' VIBGYOR', they use this technique. We remember the word through their abbreviations such as ICU for Intensive Care Unit, IEC for Information, Education, and Communication, and UNICEF for United Nations Children's Emergency Fund. In this method, the order of the words or concepts is important.

6.      Narratives

In order to remember a list of unrelated words, you may create a story using these words. Suppose the items to-be-remembered are tree, water, gate, sun, and forest. The made-up story might go as follows, "A crow on a tree needing water flew over the gate under the hot sun to the forest." While recalling the items, the story would help you to retrieve the items from the LTM.

Conclusion

All the mnemonics discussed above provide useful techniques to improve one's memory. But as you know, memory is far more complex a process and these techniques have limited applications, when higher-order memory processes are involved. The contents of a college level course are far more complex.

In fact, you cannot rely on a single and simple method for improving your memory for the course. Several other additional factors and considerations are important. Ability to memorize depends on the internal characteristics of the learner, the characteristics of the items, and the methods of learning.

First of all, the person must feel the need to improve his memory, and must be highly motivated to do so. He needs to have good physical and mental health. In order to be able to store the items and recall those later, he must use efficient coding devices, pace his rate of learning, use effective methods for learning the items, rehearse the learnt material for proper storage, take rest in between learning sessions, and from time to time engage in exercises of recall to assess the status of storage. If you are motivated to improve your memory, you may consult the teachers of psychology in your college.

Life is not much complicated. Take it with a smile…

Dear All,

I have come across a beautiful article and thought it is good to share with you.

The life of human beings is full of happiness but sometimes it also lead to some troublesome situation. Life is not so complicate but the people by their activities make it so. There are so many puzzles about the life have been seen in various articles, magazine, journals   and books. They give solution also. There is a huge difference between making a life and making a living.

Everyone is busy in making their life in the world. After working whole day, there are so many things have been experienced that gives us problems and irritation. We faced many hurdles in our life. Those who are heavy set with material desire will have a lot of trouble when their things are taken away from them or lost. But the truth is life still is easy. It always will be.

The only difference is we are older, and the older we get, the more we complicate things for ourselves.  When we were young we saw the world through simple, hopeful eyes.  We knew what we wanted and we had no biases. We liked people who smiled.  We avoided people who frowned.  We ate when we were hungry, drank when we were thirsty, and slept when we were tired. As we grew older our minds became gradually destructed by negative influences.  When a new hindrance or growing pain arose, we stumbled and a fell down.  This happened several times.  Eventually we decided we did not want to fall again, but rather than solving the problem, we avoided it all together. As a result, we ate comfort food and drank alcohol to numb our wounds and to reduce our problems. We worked late nights on purpose to avoid unresolved conflicts at home.  We started complaining, playing mind games, and subtly deceiving others and ourselves to get ahead.  And when it did not work out, we lived above our means, bought things we did not need, and ate and drank some more just to make ourselves feel better again. Over the course of time, we made our lives more and more difficult, and we started losing touch with who we really are and what we really need.

So let’s get back to the basics, shall we?  Let’s make things simple again.  It’s easy.

Here are ten ways to do just that:

1. Think only about the present –

Past is unchangeable but it guides us surly. So always try to learn from past and never repeat mistakes that you have done in past.  The future is the result of today’s action. So learn from the past to do better in present so that you can success in future.

2. Attitude should be positive-

Thinking about negative things is always harmful. So start thinking positively so that you can enjoy your life because positive mind-set is essential for continue happiness and success.

3. Take the life easily- life is not strictly business’ it can be mixed with pleasure. Always try to do whatever you want to do. First decide what your perfect life consist of and begin to put the step in motion to reach that place. The most satisfying thing in the world is overcoming a challenge and reaching a goal.

4. Be honest at all time-

Lies lead to nothing but trouble. So always speak and work honestly because honesty is the best policy in the world.

5. Develop the ability to forgive-

You make mistake all of the time so why not have mercy when others do. In our life we experienced bad and good things both. So remembering those bad incidents lead us to frustration and anger and that is very dangerous to our health and mind. So always try to forgive those bad incidents because forgiveness is the virtue of saints.

6. Inculcate the habit of reading-

Reading is the basis of improving the personality and knowledge. Whenever you get frustration and felt lonely, take a good book and start reading. It will make you feel free and calm. Books are the greatest and trust worthy friend of a man. They never deceive you. So make it habit and you will see the result soon.

7. Meditation and Prayers-

The ability to quiet your mind and relax your body is an art and skill that everyone should develop. The beauty of silence is the greatest thing in the world that was felt by our great saints and personalities. So meditate every day for at least twenty minutes to feel the world beyond the reality. It will really wonderful and magnificent.

8. Always show your gratitude-

Gratitude seems very little thing but when it comes in the sense of behaviour then it became a very great and valuable thing. So always show your gratitude towards the persons who really helped you.

9. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best-

Our desire makes us crazy but sometimes when we lost something then it was very bad for us. So always remember the thing that whenever you will go to face any challenge in your life, first of all your preparation should be good and effective and have best hope in your mind after then everything is okay.

10. Love yourself and others-

If you truly want to be a master in your life, let love be in your every action. Love yourself, your family, Friends and enemies alike. Love is the only rival against the massive presence of hate, so follow this thing and immediately you will see yourself amongst the leaders.

Definitely you can make life simple not very complicated. But you have to decide now what you want....

Stand apart!!!

Ten Reasons Winners Keep Winning, Aside from Skill

Whether the game involves competing every four years in the Olympics or every day in a business, winning brings advantages that make it easier to keep winning.

To understand sustainable success, I compared perpetual winners with long-term losers in professional and amateur sports and then matched the findings to business case studies for my book Confidence. The sports were a comprehensive mix including women's soccer, men's and women's college basketball, major league baseball, U.S. football, international cricket, and North American ice hockey.

I found that winners gain ten important advantages as a result of victory — and that smart leaders can cultivate and build on these advantages to make the next success possible.

1. Good mood. Clearly everyone feels good about winning, while emotions sag at failure. Emotions affect performance. Positive moods produce physical energy and the resilience to persist after setbacks. While losers use any excuse to stop, winners sometimes play on even while injured, lifted by a kind of winners' high. Moreover, psychologists find that moods are contagious. Winners' exhilaration is infectious. Losers' gloom can be toxic.

2. Attractive situation. Whether at children's soccer games or in the office, losers go home early. Winners stick around. My studies show that there is less absenteeism or tardiness in organizations known for their successes. There is also more solidarity, because people spend more time together feeling good about what they can accomplish. More time together brings more chances for information-sharing and mentoring.

3. Learning. Losers get defensive and don't want to hear about their many failings, so they avoid feedback. Winners are more likely to voluntarily discuss mistakes and accept negative feedback, because they are comfortable that they can win. Because they are confident about the possibility of winning, they see practicing as a route to a positive outcome, not as a punishment. For athletes, practice matters. Winning is often found in mastery of the details. As a former student found in studies of swimmers who did and didn't qualify for the Olympics, excellence consists of examining and improving many small processes and routines.

4. Freedom to focus. As every golfer and tennis player knows, you must keep your eye on the ball. Losers often punish themselves in their heads. Winners have fewer distractions. Golf pro Tiger Woods won nearly every championship until hit with personal problems of his own making, which was followed by loses on the golf course.

5. Positive culture of mutual respect. For anyone who plays on a team, winning makes it easier to respect and listen to one another, because after all, if you win together, then the presumption is that everyone is a good player. Winners can maintain high aspirations and act generously toward others. Losers are more likely to blame others and disdain them as mediocre, creating a culture of finger-pointing and infighting.

6. Solid support system. Behind every high performance athlete or team is a cadre of coaches, friends, and fans that fuel motivation. Winning enlarges the circle of backers. Losing erodes support. For instance, the cheerleaders for one perpetually losing college football team used to leave the stadium at half-time. When even their cheerleaders feel they won't win, how can athletes gear up for the next try?

7. Better press. It's not just the buzz at time of victory that separates winners from losers, it's also the more favorable story about the past and future. Winning provides a halo that makes everything seem to glow. Losing causes observers and analysts to probe for reasons in a rewritten version of the past that makes continuing losses seem inevitable.

8. Invitations to the best parties. Really. Winners get invited to the White House, Buckingham Palace, key conferences or exhibitions. They gain access to networks and relationships that confer benefits that maintain winners' momentum, such as early information or better deals. Who invites the losers?

9. Self-determination. Winners have more control over their own destiny. "Why tamper with success?" we often say. Winners are left alone, getting a free pass on reviews (occasionally tragically, as at Penn State, where locker room abuse went uninvestigated). Losers get attention of the negative kind. They are encumbered with "help" — special committees, audits, reviews, frequent visitors. Enough of that, and losers spend their time in meetings instead of practicing and improving performance.

10. Continuity. Lose too often, and heads roll. New coaches, new strategies — like HP's lurching between hardware and software or Yahoo's parade of exiting CEOs. High turnover consumes time and attention. More time spent getting people on board leaves little time to fully execute any particular game plan. It's hard to start winning again until the situation stabilizes. Winners have the luxury implementing long-term strategies and planning for orderly succession.

Winning streaks eventually end because winners can get over-confident, slipping into arrogance or complacency, or because the competition gets better. But leaders can build on the advantages of winners to encourage a positive spirit, disciplined focus, mutual respect, lots of practice on the details, and lasting support systems that can make successes and comebacks more likely.

(Collection from Different Sources)

Alternative Careers

Why alternative career for me ….

Jobs are not secure any more, in an era of acquisition and mergers, Technology changes etc... People are not satisfied with job environments, disagreements or unruly bosses to report to, late / odd working hours, no security such as pension etc… No career prospects in spite of long years of service or loyalty. Most important no time freedom, No job satisfaction, and no possibility to achieve our dreams.

Self Employment initially looks simple and easy but as they progress people realize, it is not safe, and secure option , face stiff competition , Need capital , risk is involved , managing is not easy, income stops when work stops , and very insecure always .

Based on research people in conventional business 90% of small businesses fail within first 2 years.  Balance 10% that survive has to face the first 3 – 4 years with no returns working 15 – 20 hours daily at their business

Based on research out of 100 people who start working at age 20 and retire at 60

• 1% achieve personal freedom
• 4% financially self sufficient
• 5% couldn’t retire and  were forced to look for another job
• 12% were broke
• 29% died before age 60 due to stress and anxiety
• 49% required financial assistance

Hence it is imperative to look for alternative careers and earn better living.