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Work-life balance in my own backyard
Among so many articles about work-life balance, this one in HBR, the Imperfect balance between work and life caught my attention today. The main idea is 1. Pick a few things that really need your focus 2. Delegate or let go of others, and 3. Most importantly, embrace imperfection. The author found that one major hurdle for achieving work-life balance is artificial images of perfection. She also points to the fact that sometimes what is assumed to constitute perfection can be counter-productive. For example, keeping babies always in a sterile environment would make them less adaptable to the real world or delaying a product release would risk losing the market…
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Overnight Success – How Realistic is that Assumption?
I sometimes wished one fine morning I will get the results I always wanted; I will get the solution to my problems. But alas it never happened that easily! My grandma used to say, our luck is buried under a rock, and it requires lots of effort to get it out; whereas “others” have it under a leaf, a wind blows and they find their fortune! For many years I felt less fortunate as nothing came easy for me. As I grew older and learned a thing or two, I realized many of the cases of those “fortunate others” actually took plenty of failures, sacrifices, and extra efforts to get to where they are…
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Career Change – 4 Things Helped Me Make the Move
Last week I saw two relevant posts on this topic, one in the Forbes magazine and the other in the TEDx talk. I have been wondering where these article/talks were a few years back when I was in this dilemma! I am sure there were many, only that those somehow didn’t come into my radar. I had to do it the harder way. What helped me to make the decision were these few basic points. 1. When I was convinced, I deserve to have more fulfillment It took me a while to realize, I am not here to “do” a lot of things, and I am not here to be a “superwoman” either.…
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There is always more than one solution!
We are having a record amount of snowfall here in Seattle. My little girl is having the fun of her lifetime, snowball fight, making snowman, sledding, you name it! Though I was a little lazy initially, now I am enjoying it too. Even shoveling seems to be fun. This afternoon when I was trying to clean up the driveway my daughter wanted to do it too. With having only one shovel, taking turns seemed to be the only choice we had. But I was getting a little impatient as it would be hard to finish the work before evening. At first, I thought I will just be the parent and…
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Empowering Language – Change the Word to Change the Outcome
Language is power. When we speak, we exercise the power of language to transform reality. —Julia PenelopeWhat, we say and how we say it impacts our own experience and the experience we have of other people in our life. Our communication has an impact not only on a conscious, mental level but also on many subtle levels. Words convey underlying messages to our subconscious mind, evoking physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual meaning for others and us. Some words and phrases are less empowering (or useful) than others. For example, say the following words to yourself: “I have to stop at the bank on my way home”. Pay particular attention to…
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Where IS my passion?
Too often I hear, “I know I hate my job, but I don’t know either what else I would do- I don’t know where my passion is”. I don’t find it surprising at all! As a matter of fact, I have had the same question a while ago; it took me months and years to find out where my passion is. According to Wikipedia, Passion can be expressed as a feeling of unusual excitement, enthusiasm or compelling emotion towards a subject, idea, person, or object. A person is said to have a passion for something when they have a strong positive affinity for it. In my personal definition passion is…
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How I Decided On Career Change- Software Engineer to a Coach
In 2009 I made this big leap. I left a high paying software job to find what really brings the best in people – started pursuing coaching as a career. My family, friends, and ex-coworkers were surprised if not shocked. They asked me so many questions – “How did you decide that you wanted to be a coach?” Someone even asked, “So how did it happen, one fine morning, you just decided on this?” Some commented, “I wish I knew what my passion is”. My short answer, “it took me a few years of dissatisfaction and trying out different activities, and finally one year of rigorous thinking to find out…
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Everyday Creativity: Find your next best answer
The more I learn about coaching, it boils down to how to make life more satisfying from inside-out, from a higher level of human development. I see Life as our biggest creative pursuit – only if we focus on it with the right attitude, it is on us how we design it. Coaching can empower the client to focus and to design it in his/her own way. Photojournalist Dewitt Jones has described it as how we can discover extraordinary things from apparently ordinary things when we have the right attitude. His Everyday Creativity teaches a surprising truth about creativity: that it’s not a magical, mysterious occurrence, but a ready tool that enables you to look at the…
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Are you living from outside-in?
“In all of my experience, I’ve never seen lasting solutions to problems, lasting happiness and success that came from the outside in.” —Stephen Covey, Author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“ Attempting to live from the outside is similar to following the wish of others instead of trusting the answers from within you. If you are consistently accommodating yourself to do what others want or expect, you are living from the outside in. Living life from the outside-in takes more effort and energy because it calls for being someone you’re not. Change from the inside-out is more energizing and fun. You begin to experience more ease. As you…
