Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Are we consumers or creators?

"Do you have something to share today?"
"Have you created something which you can share on WhatsApp status or on Facebook timeline?"

If one has to ask himself/ herself, how much did (s)he consumed and how much did (s)he created in a day with respect to knowledge we consumed on that particular day then it would be a debatable answer. In today's world we (all of us) love to sit idle and consume content from our cellphone, tablet or computers.
The tools for human productivity is now converting to a tool for distraction.

What we do in a day is either browse through Facebook or watch some videos on Youtube, or read news to increase our knowledge on current affairs or something exciting to compensate our exhaustive day. But the most important question to ask is - whether all these browsing and knowledge consumption is helping to move forward towards your goal?

Oh wait, did I just mentioned 'your goal!'
How did I assumed that you have a goal.

Well there is a purpose for which we all live our day the way we live our day, isn't it?
So, here is the question: Does each day of your life taking you closer to your goal? Think!

Don't worry, if you are getting a mixed response from your head, it's fine, there are people who don't set their goals even and live through their life, happily :-) [no sarcasm]

Now, here is another question: How does one set their goal or more importantly how does one realise that this is my goal?
The true answer is - No One.

Yes, no one who set their goal, are very clear about their goal, but they get a direction through their decided goal and start walking towards it. Practically, all of us at some point of time, very dedicatedly - Set a Goal, then we walk towards it focused and determined. Afterwards, we get distracted. Why!
There are millions of unstructured but highly interesting content which will lure your attention and consume your time and energy. We all fall trap into the addictive algorithms written by Facebook or YouTube to keep our attention hooked into their infinite timeline scroll or the best possible video suggestions respectively, and then we feel guilty afterwards.

Don't fall in the trap of passive entertainment (i.e. doing anything which is fun but does not involves you intellectually or creatively). Here is a short para from an article on passive entertainment:
Look at the passive voice we use when we talk about entertainment nowadays. We are entertained, we like being entertained; we do not entertain ourselves or do exciting, hilarious things that also entertain us. We are largely passive participants in entertainment, while “entertainers” are an elite, select group of professionals who make good money entertaining us, and “entertainment” has come to signify the various mediums through which we consume entertainment – TV, Internet, video games, etc. Entertainment is very much about things being done to and for us, while we lay back and take it all in.
Finally, do your research on this topic and find how you are getting distracted everyday (if you are), choose what you want to ignore, list down what is not adding value to your life or helping you grow, put them on your blacklist and review it once every week. I use Google Keep for that.
If you don't take care of your focus, where you are choosing to put your attention, then that means you are consciously opting to become a victim to this attractive digital world.
"Don't be a consumer only, create something as well, craft out something from your imagination & share with your world". Next time share on WhatsApp's status or on Facebook's timeline, what you created rather than someone else's creation.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

[Story] The boy who had a brave heart, but made a wrong decision.

This story is about a boy who is about to turn 18, from the chaos of the city and honks of the horns, one day he decides to take a path less traveled.. which was into the mountains. He was determined, he wanted to cross those mountains. Without telling anyone, he packed his bag and one morning left towards his destiny.

By the time it was dark, he was lost, he was afraid, he was stumbling and regretting. He thought whether he ran away from the chaos or did he ran into the chaos. All his thoughts were arguing with him for the decision he took. When he reached to the tip of the mountain, he had a look. He found nothing, it was a dump and dark everywhere, he lost the track, he lost the direction, now he was nowhere. Suddenly he slipped and fell a long way down.

When he stood up, he was already in shock.
He was forgetting who he was!
At that very moment, he sang a poem, which came out of his heart. This was his far cry:

I felt lost,
I feel the chaos.
Am I understanding the composition of reality?
Or is it just a mere basked dish cooked by time itself! which I am consuming or made to consume.

Why this noise in head?
Resonating through this darkness and loneliness.

Am I drifting?
or Am I falling!

Destination has shifted or scratched from my timeline.
Floating through the time, I am moving ahead towards a pointless turn.

Will I fall or be stamped by the events of my life?
Is this a long path or I can't see anyone in this dark!

Am I going to find myself or have to create one...

...BROKEN PIECES LOST


(to be continued)

Goals - long term vs short term rewards

 I guess it has started to be clear now that it's the goal which drives a person or else he or she may fall in the grip of the activitie...