It doesnt matter

if someone things you are a <negative characteristic> as long as you are absolutely convinced that you are not.

When you disturb order,

make sure you restore it.

Ad hoc work never helps.

Try to make a conscious long term change rather than a quick fix to solve the immediate problem. It will come back and haunt you. You have seen this being said so often in recent times.. and experienced it as well! Time to learn from it.

When you do something, do it well or dont do it! Even if you do a temporary patch in exceptional circumstances, keep a conscious note to come back and fix it! :)

Build effective feedback mechanisms..

.. and be willing to accept whatever feedback they provide.  

Life..

.. has this uncanny habit every once in a while of grabbing you firmly by the shoulders and giving you a good hard shake. And the message (in Batman style) is always the same. "Why so serious??" :)

Dont take life too seriously. Dont worry too much about the future. Dont brood over the past. Experience the current moment and enjoy it. The one thing to be carful about is to make sure the enjoyment is deep and not superficial! :)

Grow Up. :|

You cant get everything in life..

If you want home food, you have to come on time for lunch.

You are not the only entity around which the world revolves. Be sensitive to the needs of those around you :)

It is always better..

to promise less and deliver it rather than promise more and not deliver it.

DO NOT prmoise someone something to get rid of them for the moment. Better talk it out and sound stupid than give false hopes when you arent sure you can deliver. And always underestimate yourself. Yes, there are times when you stretch yourself.. but make that promise to yourself and try to beat it.

False promises are definitely worse than no promises.

When things are not going through...

STOP! Remember Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - DO NOT PANIC. And DO NOT try to stuff things through.. Frustration never helps.. It hasnt worked, isnt working, and wont work. And you know it. Calm down, take a deep breath and re-analyse. SLOW AND STEADY.

Do your breathing properly.. it helps. A couple of deep breaths at those crucial moments will help clear your mind. When you rush things, they create a much bigger problem. This is not a likelihood, its a certainty. The facts speak for themselves. And you know this.

So, when you just want to get something through, when that sense of frustration creeps in.. during that moment of weakness.. when your brain says, "AAARGH! JUST STUFF IT IN".. STOP. CLOSE YOUR EYES. AND TAKE A COUPLE OF DEEEEEP BREATHS. It will take 30 seconds at the max. And its worth it. :)

Consciously note down everytime you fail to do so. And consciously avoid failing to do so. It will save enormous amount of pain.

You cant get everything in life..

If you want fresh food, you have to come on time for lunch.

And remember that you are not the only entity around which the world revolves. Be sensitive to the needs of those around you. If you arent, well it will hit back at you. :)

When the best people screw up..

.. they take the learning and suggest or execute ways to fix it.

The rest say "sorry". (Taking a optimistic view of the world :) )

BEFORE you sit down to make a potion,

make sure you have all the ingredients. (It is supposed to be a very obvious thing btw)

Values are super important!

Look at Satyam! One selfish move to transfer personal liabilities to the company*, people lose faith. Values are fundamental principles. They must ALWAYS hold. Even a single exception will void it. Cultivate good values and uphold them with sanctity.

*In reference to the attempt of Satyam (an publicly listed IT company) CEO Rama Raju to let Satyam buy Maytas (an infrastructure company owned partially by his son). They reversed the deal after strong objection from the public

When something goes right..

.. Point outside the window.

When something goes wrong, look at the mirror :)

When things get heated up..

.. it is time to cool down. Yes it does seem pretty obvious when put that way, but many a times, we tend to inflame it further in the heat of the situation. Just like fire spreads. :)

So when things start getting hot, cool down. Consciously. Because a fire does not stop itself.

Saying the right things is one skill, saying the right things at the right time is quite another.

If you like something..

.. be sure to enjoy it to the fullest. If you don't like something, change it! Or change yourself. But NEVER complain.

It takes a great level of sophistication..

.. to be in control and yet not show power.

Meet new people..

.. get new perspectives. You will learn to appreciate the fact that everything is relative. Nothing is absolute. :)

The aim is to Explore..

..life! :)

You truly understand something..

.. when you can explain its essence to someone who has no clue what it is.

EINSTEIN was asked by his hostess at a social gathering to explain his theory of relativity. Said the great mathematician,
"Madam, I was once walking in the country on a hot day with a blind friend, and said that I would like a drink of milk."
"Milk?" said my friend, "Drink I know; but what is milk?"
"A white liquid," I replied.
"Liquid I know; but what is white?"
"The colour of a swan's feathers."
"Feathers I know; what is a swan?"
"A bird with a crooked neck."
"Neck I know; but what is this crooked?"
"Thereupon I lost patience. I seized his arm and straightened it. "That's straight," I said; and then I bent it at the elbow. "That's crooked."
"Ah!" said the blind man, "Now I know what you mean by milk!"

:) Pure Genius.

One thing at a time.

What is the next level of doing one thing at a time? Thinking one thing a time! First structure what you do. Then structure your mind.

As Sherlock Holmes says,
"I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."

While I feel it is not possible to maintain such an attic simply because you are not sure of the tools you would be using, his emphasis on structure is very relevant.

When you do something right..

COPY the damn thing when you do it again! Technology exists to make life simpler. Use it!

The easiest way to break the ice..

.. is to ask for help. The best way probably is to offer help.

Whenever you are angry..

.. look out for the learning. There is always one. :)

There is little use..

in attaching significance to what the other person thinks of you. Different people have different views and it is impossible to please all of them. Happiness is a state of mind and it comes from within (yes it can be influenced by external factors but that is not lasting). So there is no point mulling over what the other person thinks of you and trying to change it. The opinions keep changing anyways. And there is no right or wrong.

What is much more important is that you are proud of who you are. Now, that perception counts. And only you can change it. :)

The most wonderful things in the world..

.. are natural. And they are free. :)

If someone asks for advice..

Ask them to do something first :-)

The key to getting work done..

is having incentives. And disincentives. The toughest part is in finding the right incentives.

Sleep well..

:-) Its as important as anything else.