Developing Love for Our Future Self

Developing Love for Our Future Self
Developing Love for Our Future Self

I’ve been trying to cultivate a practice of love for my future self.

It’s in part delaying instant gratification and avoiding procrastination but it’s more. It’s also making sure that the future self is happier because of what I do now. 

A Personal Example:

When I was leaving for my home town from my base, I spent the morning cleaning up the room, covering the bed, cleaning the kitchen stand, the bathroom and the toilet. I also washed all clothes and put them to dry inside on cloth stand.

The point was: most likely I’d come back in the evening and would be tired. Would likely have office from next day. So by doing chores now, when I come back 2-3 weeks later, I could have things sorted. At best, it’d need a quick sweep only.

Instead I came in nearly 2 months. When I came back, it was unexpected. The windows opened in a dust storm and everything was covered in layers of dust, including all clothes that I’d washed. Plus insects had creeped up in kitchen cabinet, spoiling bunch of food, even packed. I’d tried to make it easy for my future self but it didn’t work out this time.

I had come on Saturday evening. A part of me thought that tomorrow is Sunday, I could cleanup the bed now and do the rest tomorrow. But I’d to go early for a doctor appointment on Sunday and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do the chores later. I again thought I should make it easier for my future self.

So I spent 3-4 hours till 10.30 PM cleaning up & washing up everything and then took a shower. By now I was exhausted and crashed into the bed after some time.

But next day, waking up to a clean room, clean desk, everything cleanly sorted and arranged made me much happier. Only needed to handover the trash. It also relaxed my schedule and I could focus on other things after the appointment.

Such a behavior of cultivating love for future self is also an antidote to procrastination and instant gratification.

Develop a Love for Your Future Self

Consider for a minute. If you develop love for your future self:

  • You complete your work way before deadline, so that your future self doesn’t suffer stress and anxiety.
  • You don’t binge eat junk food. Your future self would have to work extra hard to burn it off. Or it would be overweight and unhealthy.
  • You don’t binge watch some series till 3 AM, because your future self would wake up with lack of sleep, headache and stress.
  • Basically, you make choices that make your future self healthier, happier and closer to the person you want to be.


The key is to balance the present self & the future self. Your present self also needs to be rewarded & pampered, so do it. But not at the cost of your future self.

On good days, do it when the present self has earned it. On bad days, do it anyway.

Being loving compassionate to our self is the key. After all, we are going to live with us till the end, we might as well develop a loving relationship 🙂

Till the next time, keep trailing on your Untrailed Path.



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2022 Reading List – Books to Reread and Some New Books to Read

With September already nearly over, this is the latest I’ve made a reading list post in any year.

But I kind of felt like I need to reread a few books and may be read a few new books before I enter into 2023. So I thought let’s revive the reading list 🙂

Book Rereads – Books I’ve Already Read This Year or Would Read:

  1. War of Art – Steven Pressfield
  2. The Road Less Traveled – M. Scott Peck
  3. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant – Compiled by Eric Jorgenson
  4. Practice of Brahmacharya – Swami Shivanand
  5. Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker
  6. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
  7. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
  8. Book of Five Rings – Miyamoto Musashi
  9. Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl
  10. How to Talk to Anyone – Leil Lowndes
  11. Sorry I’m Late, I didn’t Want to Be Here – Jessica Pan
  12. Reasons to Stay Alive – Matt Haig

New Books to Read:

  1. Chop Wood, Carry Water – Joshua Medcalf (Currently Reading)
  2. Mastery – Robert Greene
  3. The Decision Book – Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler
  4. Do the Hard Things First – Scott Allan
  5. The Prince – Niccolò Machiavelli
  6. Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel
  7. Money Wise – Sharath Komarraju

Technical Books I’ve Read or Reading

  1. Cracking the Coding Interview – Gayle Laakmann McDowell
  2. Designing Data Intensive Applications – Martin Kleppmann
  3. Elements of Programming Interviews (Python Edition) – Adnan Aziz, Amit Prakash, and Tsung-Hsien Lee
  4. Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual – John Z. Sonmez

New Manga I’ve Already Read

  1. Solo Leveling (read 3 times, my favorite from this year) – Chugong and Jang Sung-Rak (aka Dubu)
  2. Dragon Ball – Akira Toriyama
  3. Dragon Ball Z – Akira Toriyama
  4. Black Clover –  Yūki Tabata
  5. Jujutsu Kaisen – Gege Akutami

Older Manga’s New Chapter I Read Every Week / Month:

  1. One Piece – Eiichiro Oda
  2. One Punch Man – ONE, Yusuke Murata
  3. Black Clover (from this year onwards) – Yūki Tabata

____

Till the next time, do the hard things, start small, aim big, take good care of yourself and keep trailing on your untrailed path.

____

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Man of Wisdom 2019 Reading List – 250 Books

Some books fom 2019 Reading List I could put together quickly

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” ― Harper Lee.

And this quote sums up how I felt in the clutches of death and the impermanence of everything. Everything put aside, if I were going to die I wanted to read more books. Being bed bound for months, I chose the highest I thought I could aim.

For me 2018 was a terrible year for reading particularly due to the health crisis which taught me more than books could so I’m not complaining. I could barely finish half of the books of the 75 books of my 2018 Reading List.

For 2019 I wanted to focus on writing more and I’d thought of reducing my reading count from 100 books of my 2017 Reading List and 75 of 2018 to an easily manageable aim of 24 books, 2 books for each month. But then one of the final books in 2018 I’d read was Stephen King’s On Writing, and it changed my view completely. He summarized it as follows:

“Read, read, read and if you get time – write. If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” ― Stephen King

When I was ill and doctors were consistently recommending various surgeries and hinting about how few months I’ve left to live, I started writing my novel. If I were to die, I at least wanted it to be published. I didn’t know how many months I’d spend in hospitals and how able I’d be to write it. Thankfully, I turned out to be mostly ok. But I saw my weaknesses as I continued with the novel.

My torment of 4 months had profound impact on me. It also was an inspiration of selection of multiple books.

After that I’ve decided to read even more books than ever. Especially fiction. In 2017 Reading List there were no fiction books. In 2018, I’d added 10. And for 2019 I’ve added 130 fiction books and 120 nonfiction books.

Why more fiction?

I’m writing a novel and I hope to finish if not publish it by 2020. From fiction I get to learn a lot about narration, creating a consistent plot, developing characters, proper dialogues, world building and twists. I’ve learnt from both good and bad books.

I’ve also added a lot of varied fiction consisting of dozen plus genre like fantasy, drama, horror, thriller, sci-fi, adventure, philosophy, dystopia, young adult, classics and romance. And in multiple forms: novels, novella, graphic novels, manga series, comic books, collection of short stories and large works.

Isn’t the goal huge?

Yes I’ve never even achieved the full 100 books target. But that was because I almost exclusively read non-fiction books. And I didn’t count the comicbooks and manga in the total number I read, which would even then put the number beyond hundred.

Also I feel fiction is much easier to read and takes much less time. When I read non-fiction I make notes and sometimes extensive notes stretching into dozens of pages for a single book. In fiction I generally write down words the meaning of which is not clear to me, beautiful phrases. Sometimes I also write key allegories and ideas but that’s rare and very less.

This is the peak and I would not push further than this

250 books – This is going to be the peak, I admit. I’ll never attempt to read this many books ever. From 2020 onwards, after getting insights into writing and enough understanding of some of the issues I care about, I’d read more new topics but read less books. Perhaps somewhere between 50 – 100 books. Depending on what I want to learn about and which writers I want to read.

Book Categorization and Labelling:

By Type and Topic – The main categorization is by type – whether the books are fictional or non-fictional. After that I roughly tried to categorize them under some topic I found relevant. Though most books belong to more than one topic.

By Length and Labelling – I wanted to categorize books on how large they are, so I’ve added a label and length. Each book is categorized from Very Small to Medium to Very Large to Ultra Large and is followed by number of pages:
(VS: < 100, S: < 200, M: < 350, L: < 500, VL: > 500, UL >=1000)
I’ve added the page length too so others can pick up the book they want.

Being Accountable – My Personal Goodreads To Track All Progress and Book Reviews

I’ve decided to review most of the books and rate all of the books I read on Goodreads this year.

You can follow my whole progress, reviews on my personal Goodreads this year here. I’ve never given out my personal account. I was thinking of starting a separate account and copying all my reviews. But it would be tedious. I’d rather read books than do that. Changing the name would not be fair to my existing Goodreads friends, so I’m going ahead with this. Also I thought transparency is better. Though I’d still like my privacy to be respected. Feel free to discuss anything about the books there.

I’ve also linked my reviews of the books that I’ve already read.

May has started, so where do I stand?

All of my already read books for this year are here on Goodreads. I’ve read 63 books so far and nearly 14000 pages. So I’ve to read nearly 190 more books! I’m a bit behind but I’ll catch up soon hopefully 🙂

Let’s begin the list without further ado!

Part I. Non Fiction (120 Books)

Writing (6)

  • Beginnings, Middle and End – Nancy Kress (S, 149p)
  • Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life – Anne Lamott (M, 237p)
  • Poetics – Aristotle (S, 138p)
  • Zen in the Art of Writing – Ray Bradbury (S, 158p)
  • On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction – William Zinsser (M, 336p)
  • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print – Renni Browne, Dave King (M, 288p)
Psychology (6)

  • The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You – Elaine Aron (M, 251p)
  • Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy – David D Burns (VL, 736p)
  • Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life – Martin E.P. Seligman (M, 319p)
  • The Hero with a Thousand Faces – Joseph Campbell (L, 416p)
  • The Road Less Traveled – M Scott Peck (M, 316p)
  • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times – Pema Chödrön (S, 160p)
Communication, Confidence and Public Speaking (7)
  • What Every Body is Saying – Joe Navarro (M, 250p)
  • How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships – Leil Lowndes (M, 334p)
  • Influence: The Psychology of Persuation – Robert B. Cialdini (M, 320p)
  • Six Pillars of Self-Esteem – Nathaniel Branden (M, 341p) (Reading)
  • Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences – Nancy Duarte (M, 248p)
  • TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking – Chris J. Anderson (M, 288p)
Personal development (5)

  • Mini Habits – Stephen Guise (S, 127p)
  • The Now Habit – Neil A Fiore (M, 206p)
  • The 4 Hour Workweek – Tim Ferris (M, 308p)
  • Gifts of Imperfection – Brene Brown (S, 138p)
  • Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You – Lin-Manuel Miranda (Author), Jonny Sun (Illustrator) (M, 224p) Review
Death and Dying (2)
  • Mortality – Christopher Hitchens (S, 104p) Review
  • The Death of Ivan Ilych – Leo Tolstoy, Aylmer Maude (Translator) (Fiction) (VS, 86p)
Meditations and Mindfulness (3)
  • How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind by Pema Chödrön (S, 175p)
  • Radical Acceptance – Tara Brach (M, 333p)
  • The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditationby Thich Nhat Hanh,Mobi Ho (Translator) (S, 140p)
Applied Ethics and Morality (3)

  • Just Mercy: A Story of Justice & Redemption – Bryan Stevenson (M, 336p)
  • Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do? – Michael J. Sandel (M, 308p)
  • Eating Animals (M, 341p)
Tuberculosis (2)
  • Catching Breath: The Making and Unmaking of Tuberculosis by Kathryn Lougheed Read (M, 288p) Review
  • Spitting Blood – Helen Bynum (M, 320p)

Activism/Awareness  – Environmental (1)

  • Silent Spring – Rachael Carson (L, 378p)
History (1)
  • The Discoverers: A History of Man’s Search to Know His World and Himself – Daniel J Boorstin (VL, 745p)
Anxiety, Depression and Suicide (3)
  • Notes on a Nervous Planet – Matt Haig (M, 288p)
  •  The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression – Andrew Solomon (VL, 576p)
  •  Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide – Kay Redfield Jamison (L, 432p)

Cancer (2)

  •  The Death of Cancer – Vincent T. DeVita Jr. – (M, 336p)
  •  Malignant: How Cancer Becomes Us – S. Lochlann Jain (M, 304p)
Philosophy General (7)

  • Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy – Simon Blackburn (M, 296p)
  • Republic – Plato (L, 416p)
  •  The Nicomachean Ethics – Aristotle (M, 329p)
  •  The Myth of Sisyphus – Albert Camus (S, 192p)
  • Existentialism is a Humanism – Jean-Paul Sartre (S, 108p)
  • Problems of Philosophy – Bertrand Russell (S, 116p)
  • The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher – Julian Baggini (Listening) (M, 306p)
Stoicism (4)
  • A Guide to Good Life – William B. Irvine (M, 326p)
  • Of Human Freedom – Epictetus (VS, 91p) Review (Favorite!)
  • The Discourses – Epictetus (L, 384p)
  • Letters from a Stoic – Seneca (M, 256p)
Epicureanism (4)

  • Principal Doctrines – Epicurus (VS, <10p) Review
  • Letter to Menoceus – Epicurus (VS, < 10p) Review (Favorite!)
  • Fragments – Epicurus (VS, < 10p)
  • On the Nature of Things – Lucretius (VL, 672p)

Challenging – To Challenge My Long Held Perspectives & Beliefs (6)

  • Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland – Christopher R. Browning (M, 271p)
  • Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence – David Benatar (M, 237p)
  •  An Essay on the Principle of Population – Thomas Robert Malthus (M, 208p)
  • No More Mr. Nice Guy – Robert A. Glover (M, 208p)
  • The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability – Lierre Keith (M, 320p)
  •  The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief -Francis S. Collins (M, 320p)

Biography/Autobiography/Memoir (4)

  • The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State – Nadia Murad (M, 320p)
  • Twelve Against the Gods – (M, 316p)
  • Leonardo da Vinci – Walter Isaacson (VL, 600p)
  • Can’t Hurt Me – David Goggins (M, 290p)
Technology (1)
  • Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies – Nick Bostrom (M, 328p)
Holocaust, Genocide and Concentration Camps (3)
  • Night – Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel (Trans.) (S, 120p)
  • We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families – Philip Gourevtich (L, 356p)
  • The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (L, 472p)
Slavery in America (2)
  • Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl – Harriet Ann Jacobs (S, 176p)
  • Twelve Years a Slave – Solomon Northup (L, 363p)
Poetry (5)
  • Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám – Omar Khayyám, (T) Edward FitzGerald (S, 176p) Read
  • The Complete Collected Poems –  Maya Angelou (M, 273p)
  • The Essential Rumi – Rumi, trans. (L, 416p) (Reading)
  • Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair – Pablo Neruda (VS, 70p) Review
  • The Rose That Grew from Concrete – Tupac Shakur (S, 176p)
Social Sciences and Anthropology (4)
  • Factfulness – Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund (Reading) (L, 372p)
  • The Better Angels of Our Nature – Steven Pinker (VL, 1000+p)
  • Epic Measures: One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients.by Jeremy N. Smith – (L, 352p)
  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Yuval Noah Harari (L, 442p)

Science General (5)

  • I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us & a Grander View of Life – Ed Yong (L, 368p)
  • Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warmingby Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway (L, 357p)
  • How to Lie With Statistics – Darrell Huff, Irving Geis (Ill.) (S, 142p)
  • 1001 Inventions That Changed The World Since 2,600,000 BCE – Jack Challoner (UL, 1200p)
  • A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson (VL, 544p)
  • The Gene – Siddhartha Mukherjee (VL, 594p)

Music, Song Writing and Rapping (6)

  • How Music Works – David Byrne (M, 344p)
  • Piano Guide
  • Writing Better Lyrics – Pat Pattison (M, 200+p)
  • Perrine’s Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry (L, 434p)
  • How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC – Paul Edwards (L, 352p)
  • How to Rap 2: Advanced Flow and Delivery Techniques – Paul Edwards (M, 272p)

Fashion and Dating (3)

  • Dressing the Man/ Dress Like a Man / Style for Men
  •  The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man – Brett McKay (M, 288p)
  •  The Way of the Superior Man – David Deida (M, 202p)

Love, Heartbreak, Relationship and Sex (7)

  • A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments – Roland Barthes (M, 234p)
  • The Chemistry Between Us: Love, Sex, and the Science of Attraction by Larry Young, Brian Alexander (M, 320p)
  • Cure for Love – Ovid (S, 100+p)
  • This is Me Letting You Go – Heidi Priebe (S, 135p)
  • Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love – Amir Levine, Rachel Heller (M, 304p)
  • Sex For Dummies – Ruth Westheimer (S, 128p)
  • She Comes First: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pleasuring a Woman by Ian Kerner (M, 228p)

Finance, Economics and Management (4)

  • Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert T. Kiyosaki (S, 195p)
  • Money Wise – Sharath Komarraju (M, 240p)
  • From Rat Race to Financial Freedom – Manoj Arora (M, 308p)
  • The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business – Josh Kaufman (L, 416p)
Computer Science, Data Science and Programming (3)
  • Data Structures and Algorithms Made Easy – Narasimha Karumanchi (L, 400+p)
  •  Programming Pearls – Jon L. Bentley,Patrick Chan (M, 239p)
  • Statistics / Statistical inference for data science
Epidemic Studies and Immune System (3)

  • On Immunity: An Inoculation – Eula Biss (M, 205p)
  • How the Immune System Works – Lauren M. Sompayrac (S, 129p)
  • Vaccinated: One Man’s Quest to Defeat the World’s Deadliest Diseases – Paul A. Offit (M, 279p)

Feminism (3)

  • A Room of One’s Own – Virginia Woolf (S, 112p)
  • Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science and the World – Rachel Swaby (M, 288p)
  • We Should All Be Feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (VS, 52p) Review

Health, Fitness and Running (5)

  • Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams – Matthew Walker (L, 368p)
  • Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy – Bret Contreras (M, 212p)
  • Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance – Kelly Starret (L, 400p)
  • The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman – Timothy Ferriss (VL, 571p)
  • Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen – Christopher McDougall (M, 287p)
120 books till here
Part II. Fiction (80 Different Books, 150 if count individual volumes)
~80 Different Books, 150+ counting volumes of series too
Manga (7  individual, 60 if counting each volume as book)
  • Monster Complete (Vol 1 – Vol 18) – Naoki Urasawa (18) (3000+ pages) Review
  • One Piece (Vol 27 – Vol 45) – Eichiro Oda (18) (3000+ pages)
  • Berserk Vol 1 – Vol 14 (14) (2000+ pages) Review
  • Uzumaki Complete (3 Vol) – Junji Ito (VL, 500+p)
  • Attack on Titan (Vol 27 – Vol 29/ TBP) (3) – Hajime Isayama (VL, ~600p)
  • A Girl on the Shore (2 Vol) – Inio Asano (L, 408p) Review
  • All You Need is Kill (2 Vol) – Hiroshi Sakurazaka (M, 200+p)
Graphic Novels (7, 16 if counting each volume as book)
  • The Complete Maus (2 Vol) (nonfiction) – Art Spiegelman (M, 296p)
  • The Complete Persepolis (2 Vol) – Marjane Satrapi (M, 341p)
  • Complete Sandman – Neil Gaiman (10 Vol) (2000+p) Vol 1 Review
  • Sarah’s Scribbles – Sarah Andersen (3 Vol) (M, 300+p)
  • Nimona – Noelle Stevenson (M, 272p) Review
  • Blankets – Craig Thompson (VL, 592p) Review
  • Arrival – Shaun Tan (S, 132)
Comicbooks (7, 9 if counting each volume as book )
  • Batman Knightfall (#1 -#3) – Chuck Dixon (VL, 600+p)
  • Superman Red Son – Mark Millar (S, 160p)
  •  X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills – Chris Claremont,Brent Anderson (Illustrator) (VS, 64p)
  • Daredevil: The Man Without Fear – Frank Miller (S, 160p)
  • Batman Year One – Frank Miller (Reread) (S, 144p)
  • Green Lantern/ DC Event: Blackest Night (whole storyline, counting as one only) – Geoff Johns (VL, 500+p)
  • Spider-Man: Blue – Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale (S, 168p)
Epics and Poetry (3)

  • The Odyssey – Homer, Robert Fagles (Translator) (VL, 541p)
  • The Epic of Gilgamesh – Anonymous (S, 120p)
  • Sonnets – William Shakespeare (L, 488p)

Shakespeare (4)

  • Hamlet (M, 289p)
  • Julius Caesar (S, 128p)
  • Othello (M, 314p)
  • Merchant of Venice (M, 237p)

Classics and Literature Fiction (7)

  • Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë (VL, 507p)
  • Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck (S, 112p)
  • Lord of the Flies – William Golding (s, 182p)
  • The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (S, 149p) Review
  • To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee (M, 324p)
  • Call of the Wild – Jack London (S, 172p)
  • To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf (M, 209p)

Feminism (3)

  • The Color Purple – Alice Walker (M, 295p)
  • The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories – Charlotte Perkins Gilman (VS, 70p)
  • The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath (M, 294p)
Philosophy (Lot of Albert Camus) (7)

  • The Fall – Albert Camus, Justin O’Brien (Translator) (S, 147p)
  • The Stranger – Albert Camus, Matthew Ward (Translator) (S, 123p)
  • The Plague – Albert Camus (M, 308p)
  • The Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka (M, 201p)
  • The Prophet – Khalil Gibran (S, 127p)
  • Candide – Voltaire (S, 129p)
  • Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse (S, 152p)

Sci-fi Books (7)

  • Foundation #1 – Isaac Asimov (M, 244)
  • Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut (M, 275)
  •  Fahrenheit 451 –  Ray Bradbury (S, 194p)
  • Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy #1 – Douglas Adams (S, 193p)
  • Frankenstein – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (S, 288p)
  • Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes (M, 216p)
  • The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood (M, 344p) Review
Large Fiction Works (2)
  • The Egyptian – Mika Waltari (VL, 700+)
  • Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (UL, 1000+p)

Romance (2)

  • Wait for It – Mariana Zapata (VL, 693p) Review (Favorite!)
  • The Princess Bride – William Goldman (L, 398p)

Young Adult (1)

  • Holes – Louis Sachar (M, 233p)

Dystopia (2)

  • Animal Farm – George Orwell (S, 144p)
  • Blindness – José Saramago, Giovanni Pontiero (Translator) (M, 349p)
Historical Fiction (3)
  • Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini (L, 371p)
  • All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque (M, 296p)
  • The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro (M, 258p)

Children’s (6)

  • Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak (VS, 37p)
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle (VS, 26p)
  • The Giving Tree – Shel Silverstein (VS, 64p) Review
  • Charlotte’s Web – E. B. White (S, 184p) Review
  • Polyanna – Eleanor H. Porter (S, 157p)
  • Smile (graphic novel) – Raina Telgemeier (M, 224p)

Cultural (3)

  • Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri (S, 198p)
  • Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi (M, 320p)
  • Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin (T) (M, 296p)

Collections – Short Stories / Letters (2)

  • Selected Stories – Anton Chekhov (L, 467p)
  • Letters to a Young Poet – Rainer Maria Rilke (VS, 80p)

Fantasy (Mostly Queen’s Thief Series) (4)

  • The Thief – Megan Whalen Turner (M, 280p) Review
  • Queen of Attolia – Megan Whalen Turner (L, 362p) Review
  • King of Attolia – Megan Whalen Turner (L, 387p) Review
  • The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman (M, 307p)

Thriller/ Mystery/ Suspense (1)

  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson  (L, 465p)

Horror (2)

  • The Shining – Stephen King (L, 447p)
  • I have no mouth and I must scream – Harlan Ellison (S, 134p)

Humor (2)

  • The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (VS, 76p)
  • The Rosie Project – Graeme Simsion (M, 297p)

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”  – Dr. Seuss
What are your favorite books? What are the books you’re reading this year? Tell us!

I’d love to help you choose the books to read. Feel free to ask 🙂

New blog posts every Thursday and Sunday. Connect with Man of Wisdom on  FacebookInstagram and Twitter. Mail us at admin[at]manofwisdom.net

Till the next time, keep improving yourself, stay positive, see the joy around you, radiate happiness, stay emotionally resilient and keep trailing on your Untrailed Path.

Take care. I wish you happiness, health, healing and peace <3

Introducing Wisdom Bites® and Man of Wisdom’s YouTube Channel

Dated 1st of April, 2019

We live in a time where a world of instant indulgence is only a click away. So now it’s easier than ever to procrastinate on important work and indulge in frivolous pursuits.

This is why so many of us are involved in things that do not help us in any way but instead destroy our time, energy, peace of mind and add to our ever increasing anxiety and stress when we reach close to our deadlines.

And if you somehow master yourself and get down to work then still you’re likely to be invaded by distractions.

There seems to be a magnitude of ploys manufactured with the sole aim of grabbing every bit of our attention. Tailored feeds of infinite scrolling, ceaseless buzzing of notifications, tagging into random posts, three dozen tabs, 2 dozen applications and constant context switching.

Focused, monomaniac work seems to have become obsolete. It’s difficult to recall a time where most of our time was spent on focused, deep work with full attention and passion without any interruption.

This is why we at Man of Wisdom have come up with a perfect way to counter this, with what we’re calling Wisdom Bites.

What are Wisdom Bites?
Wisdom Bites are perfect recipe of avoiding distractions. Anytime, you feel like like indulging into something you shouldn’t be doing, you pick a wisdom bite (some people call them clothespins) and get a bite from it. Thus distracting you from the distraction and getting you to attend what needs your attention.

We call them Wisdom Bites and not "clothespins".We call them Wisdom Bites and not “clothespins”.

The name was inspired from the old adage, “Truth hurts”, then I concluded, that wisdom, then, must bite. And clothespins were the closest object I found that bites and hurts but doesn’t injure. Thus clothespins became Wisdom Bites.

But the obvious question you may ask is, “What if I don’t get a bite from the Wisdom Bite and get to my distraction just like before”. That’s bad manners and condemnable in harshest terms. You must get a bite and get to work, that’s what they were designed for.

We even made a video example of it. Which gets me to…

Introducing Man of Wisdom’s YouTube Channel
1st of April is a day when great journeys begin. A journey to wisdom must begin on the Fool’s Day. So we’ve started our YouTube channel too.

We’d really appreciate if you subscribe to our channel here: Man of Wisdom on YouTube.

We’d be beginning with our first podcasts series in April. And we’d be exploring more on story telling on YouTube. But we’d try to keep it in such a way that either they’re short or the longer ones have no or minimal text/video so you can listen to them while doing some other work.

And of course our first video is about Wisdom Bites:

Please like and subscribe. Do not forget to get your Wisdom Bite.


Follow Man of Wisdom on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. We strive to make the use of social media more useful and not at all wasteful. Though it’s a bit ironic to say this at the end of this post 🙂
 

Next post next Sunday. Take care!

I Hope Someday Cancer will just be a Zodiac Sign – Poem on World Cancer Day

Image Courtesy- Hope Against Cancer, Hope for Cancer Research Charity, Leicestershire & Rutland’s local Cancer Research Charity

Each year 4th of February is celebrated as “World Cancer Day” to increase the awareness about Cancers, one of the world’s deadliest group of diseases.

I’d written this poem about 7 years ago. Each stanza in the poem describes the difficulties a cancer patient faces. The first stanza describes the pain & hopelessness of diagnosis, the second describes treatment & its effects and the last one deals with defeating the cancer and being positive. The main message in chorus urges everyone to join hands and eradicate Cancer from Earth. If we all stand together, it’s possible:

“When darkness falls onto your door;
Would you even see the light of another day? You’re not sure.
Though great memories & caring people provide an armor,
But the hope has gone, leaving days & nights of painful horror.
The suffering grows each day, you think you don’t want to live anymore;
Because you think it’s the end of your world, what’s there to live for?

Though I don’t feel your pain, the way you do;
But I’ll do whatever it takes to help you make it through.
If we all unite, together it is possible;
Because we humans have always triumphed over the darkest maligns.
I hope someday cancer will just be a zodiac sign;
And till we see that day, we’ll keep on trying.

When you feel like that beast has taken your beauty away,
And you think, if you go in the crowd, you’ll lose your way.
Don’t listen to people, let them say whatever they may;
Trust me, you’re more Beautiful with your every new birthday.
Each day the Sun will give new hope with its blazing rays;
And just take those medicines without any delay & soon everything will be okay.

Though I don’t feel your pain, the way you do;
But I’ll do whatever it takes to help you make it through.
If we all unite, together it is possible;
Because we humans have always triumphed over the darkest maligns.
I hope someday cancer will just be a zodiac sign;
And till we see that day, we’ll keep on trying.

Welcome! Here you come like a soldier back from the war;
With that victorious smile & a few proud scars.
Now you’re at home & those bitter memories are far,
And no more hospital’s empty-whiteness, everything’s the way you like, it’s familiar.
My life would have been shattered without you, you’re its strong pillar;
And now when darkness comes in my life, you’re always there like a bright guiding star.

Though I don’t feel your pain, the way you do;
But I’ll do whatever it takes to help you make it through.
If we all unite, together it is possible;
Because we humans have always triumphed over the darkest maligns.
I hope someday cancer will just be a zodiac sign;
And till we see that day, we’ll keep on trying.
We’ll keep on trying…”


Following is a list of few Cancer resources:

While we tried to put links from authentic sources and Government sites; if you have any possible cancer symptom, it’s best not to rely on internet info and visit multiple doctors to be really sure.

Almost all of the cancers are treatable and in earlier stages, most of them are even curable.


Connect with Man of Wisdom on  FacebookInstagram and Twitter. New blog posts every Thursday and Sunday.

Till the next time, keep improving yourself, stay positive, see the joy around you, radiate happiness, stay emotionally resilient, take care and keep trailing on your Untrailed Path. 🙂

35 Days left – Why you should start now to make 2018 your best year yet and 10 ways to get started

“Now is the time to start living the life you’ve always imagined for yourself.”

We’re in the last quarter of 2017 and 26 days of November have already passed. A lot of people get up on the 1st of January with the enthusiasm that they’ll start new good habits or break old bad habits, start something, change themselves: The New Year’s Resolutions.

Sadly though, for a lot of people the enthusiasm soon wears off. They don’t follow through on their goals and give up too early. By the middle of the year, most people don’t even remember their New Year’s Resolutions let alone progressing on them.

Part I: Why you should start now?

1. Enough time to choose and plan:

Lot of people have in their back of the head some ideas on which they want to work on. Like to lose/gain weight, to have a skill, be better in relationships, start a habit and break another one. In the last week of this year they’ll make a choice and formalize it buy buying gym membership, web hosting, camera, a rose, some guide book or whatever is appropriate for their task. And then start on 1st January. And then fail, because of lack of proper, step by step planning, not thinking of obstacles or later on realizing the task to not be so important.

Some of these situations may occur even with well thought choices and detailed plans. But the chances are really reduced.

Choose and plan now: Right now, you have sufficient time to look back over the year, find out the areas where you really need to change yourself, prioritize them, plan on how to work towards achieving them, step by step, think of possible odds and their solutions. So when you really get down to do it, potential obstacles don’t deter you.

2. Enough time to get started now:

It takes more than 60 days to create a habit. This may seem straightforward but we should keep in mind we may not be consistent. In anything new, after the initial excitement wears off we are faced with the challenges that truly test our commitment. We feel the “dredge” as we slowly shift out of our comfort zone into war zone where most people give up.

One should give themselves at least 75 days for a habit they really want to instill. And though we don’t have 65 days, we’ve 35 days. When you get up on the 1st of January, you’d already be experienced and accustomed in that habit by 1 month. You’d less likely to give up and more likely to follow through.

Part II: 10 Ways to Get Started

1. Look back at the year so far, reflect and list out what you want to change/improve/add in your life. what could be improved?

You’ve 11 months (and a whole lifetime actually) to look back on what worked and what didn’t this year (and so far in your life).
Here are some helpful questions, think and make a note of the answers: What are the areas where you lack and where you can improve? What are your bad habits and behavior patterns that have hold you off from being your best and achieving your goals? What have been your lifelong ambitions? What’s the number one thing that if you achieved would have the greatest impact on your life?

2 (a) Based on #1, write down your 5 most important 2018 goals
These goals are the mot important goal that you think would take from few months to a year to achieve but would essentially improve your life significantly.
If you can’t come up with 5, come up with as many as you can. More than 5 is also fine but don’t exceed 10, otherwise they become too much to properly focus.  You can make another list of goals less important than these top 5, as secondary priority. And don’t worry, we’ll be refining them throughout this post and the next two posts on Thursday and next Sunday.

2 (b) Do not forget to include the most important aspects of your life in your 2018 goals
Our Health, Relationships, Self-Improvement and Career are 4 aspects we should work on every year. So include goals and habits around these 4 area. If you set out only four habits, one related to each of the four areas, in a year you’ll get 3 months to work solely on a single habit. Which is more than enough time to develop a habit. And by the end of the year you’d have 4 good habits that improve your health, relationships, your career and yourself too. Similarly you can have one goal for each month.

3. Break your yearly goals into quarterly and monthly goals
“The gym is more crowded on first of January than it is on first of June. ”

The reason being most people are hardly still following through their yearly goals and resolutions. Most people’s goals are vague and too big and never broken into smaller steps.
Ideally, if something’s so important to you that you’d include in list of things that would change your life then you should definitely work on it every week or at least every month if not everyday.

How?

I’ll take the example of reducing weight since it’s easily measurable and thus easy to divide. e.g. if your current weight is 90 kg and your goal weight is 75 kg with muscular build then you’ve to reduce 15-20 kg and gain 5kg equivalent of muscles.
If you’ve never worked out, you should spend first 3 months developing the habit of working out daily [see 2 (b) above], starting out in smallest step possible [point 5 below]. So first month, say 3 push ups, or 100 meter jog. As well as mindfully reducing junk in diet and incorporating healthy foods. Then gradually increasing and including more exercises. In the second quarter, as you’re regular in workout, you’d want to reduce 3-5 kg weight, and update yourself more on nutritious foods and better exercises. The third quarter as you should become very regular in workout and restraint in workout, you should aim the highest here, say 7 kg weight loss and very less to no junk food with harder workouts. In last quarter you’d want to focus more on muscle gain and attain your goal weight.

4. Start acting now, in November itself, on the most impactful goal among all goals
Start now. Start where you are. Start with fear. Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking. Start with voice trembling, but start.”

This is the most important point this post is trying to make. Don’t wait till January 1st, start now, right now. Regardless of how your past year has been, how your life has been. ACT! Taking action and getting into habit is the single most important thing to attain your big goals. And it doesn’t have a perfect time or the right time or the right feeling and it will never come. Life is short. Start now.

5. Start with the smallest steps, get over the initial bump
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” -Confucius.

Dream big but start small, very small. Start so small that you can’t procrastinate or make excuses. If the goal is to be in prime health, start with 1 push up for 1 week. If it’s to wake up at 5 AM when you wake at 11 AM, than start with goal of waking 5 minutes earlier for a week. If it’s to buy a house, then start with putting away 5 cents everyday for a week. If it’s to run a marathon, begin with 10 meter jogs for a week.

Set such ridiculously small goals that your comfort seeking, fear mongering, self sabotaging mind can simply not convince you to not do that.

Then, when you’re comfortable with it, increase. 1 to 3 pushups, 5 to 15 minutes, 5 cents to 50 cents, 10 meter to 50 meter. Week by week, keep improving.

6. Build consistency by creating a system or habit around your goal
“We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” – Frederick Langbridge

In the really good book, The Power of Habit, the author Charles Duhigg describes each habit is made up of 3 parts: 1. Cue (Trigger) 2. Routine and 3. Reward. i.e. There is a trigger or cue which gets us into the routine or action and afterwards we get some reward. Depending on how positive or negative it is, we’re more or less likely to do it again.

We can utilize this information to form our habits around our goal. For trigger, we can utilize existing daily habits like waking up, bathing, brushing teeth, having lunch etc. So e.g. if you are finding hard to find time for your 1 push up, do it daily after brushing your teeth, this is the routine or action part of the habit. Bind your new habits to existing habits. Workout after brushing teeth, go for a jog after waking up, make three call after dinner etc. This is good when starting, slowly you want to build a system around this habit itself that ensures and helps you to finish this task.

So keep your running shoes and clothes on bedside to go just after you run. Add a “Do X pushups” on your bathroom mirror. Your phone on the kitchen marble to call once done with dinner. And reward yourself. See below.

7. Reward yourself

I wanted to cover the reward part separately. Each time we do something pleasurous, the brain as a response releases certain neurotransmitters like dopamine, seretonin and a few others and a circuit in our brain, called the reward circuit, gets activated. The more we do that task and reward ourselves, the more neurotransmitters are released, the more reward circuit is activated, the more it’s activated the more likely, easily and intuitively we are to do it next time. In laymen terms, reward circuit is also responsible for drug addiction but we can use it here to our advantage, we’ve discussed dilemma of good and pleasant earlier.

So after you’re done with the action (routine) part of your habit, do something that makes you feel good, something pleasurous, reward yourself this way. Overtime your brain would begin to associate that reward with the activity and you’d feel less resistance in doing it. But don’t give self defeating rewards. A cupcake after workout is wasteful.

8. Rely on discipline rather than motivation
Discipline is doing what needs to be done, even if you don’t want to do it.

Despite being so detailed, despite remaking on importance of your goals, despite breaking them into ridiculously small steps, despite setting up habits and utilizing rewards for your goals, there would be days you’d still not do that little task and you’d fail in taking any action.

That’s where discipline comes in. We’ve talked about how to be more self-disciplined earlier.  Overtime, you’d want to mentally rely on your self-discipline developed around your habit. So that you go do your task even when you don’t feel like it, or are in a bad mood, or ‘tired’, over all these excuses you finish your work. That said, be mindful of progression and your health and don’t push yourself mindlessly. Begin small and slowly progress. Be disciplined in small steps.

9. Create a list of books to read
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison

Learning is essential for our growth and reading is one of the simplest ways to do that. Each year on should create a list of books to read. It doesn’t matter how many. 6 books for reading once every 2 months to 12 books for monthly read or 52 books for each week. Decided on some great books. Read books that help you grow. This was our 2017 reading list.

10. Do the sign ups and shopping for your goals now

This may not apply to everyone and to all goals. But some of your goals may have some pre-requisites. So if it’s gym membership, or website sign up, or domain buying, or books to buy, or shoes to buy or enrollment in the coaching. Do it now. Not in the last week of December, not in the first week of January. Do it now and get started.


All the best for your 2018 goals. Get started and keep going.

In the next two posts I’ll be sharing how I use 5 free apps to keep a track of my yearly goals down to hourly progress and 2018’s public goals to give an idea of how to set these goals.


If this post was helpful, please share it. Please tell us how do you set and achieve your your yearly goals?

You can also connect with Man of Wisdom on faccebook  and twitter. New blog posts every Thursday and Sunday.

Till the next time, keep improving yourself, stay positive, stay emotionally resilient, take care and keep trailing on your Untrailed Path.

On A Slow Suicidal Track- An Inspiring poem for quitting Smoking on World No Tobacco Day

World No Tobacco Day

Hiding from my wife and children, I secretly walk out of the house;
I can’t resist the feeling that this smoking arouses.
I light up the cigarette every 20 minutes without a break;

Though I’d love to live long, but I know I’m walking on a Slow Suicidal Track.

 

Though I love her a lot, but still we often fight;
The never ending discussion of what is wrong and what is right?
I’d love to somehow fill our relation’s ever occurring cracks;

Though I want to live a happy life, but with smoking, I know I’m walking on a Slow Suicidal Track.

 

In the price of my expensive cigarette, a hungry soul could have a meal;
In the time I finish one, 50 children would have lost their lives, it’s true but seems so unreal.
I never knew with my one cigarette so much was at stake;

Though I’d like to save their lives but with smoking I find myself on a Slow Suicidal Track.

 

My kids don’t come close to me, my breath repels them;
My wife won’t love, my parents won’t talk, my life, it is mayhem!
They all in one voice say, if I don’t quit smoking, there won’t be many candles on my birthday cake;

I know they’re right, but still I haven’t quit, I’m still walking on this Slow Suicidal Track

 

Though I’m pretty young but I can’t walk long, don’t feel strong, I feel very old;
“This Cigarette is a medicine my friend”, Oh! It all began with this lie that so called “friend” sold!
The blood, the cough, the cancer and tar have filled up to my mouth and my neck;
And I being an idiot still walked on the Slow Suicidal Track.

 

I don’t want to suffer it all just to light the fire and to give in to my pity desire;
If I don’t quit I’d lose it all, now to quit it forever is what I aspire.
I suffered a lot, I had enough, this misery has to end and now there’s no turning back!
I Stop, I Quit, I know I have walked enough on this Slow Suicidal track.

 

Please listen my friend, if you use tobacco or smoke it too,
Don’t give in, the quitting is hard just in the first month or two.|
Now since you’ve begun don’t fallback, attack! there’s nothing you lack,
There’s no use on walking on this, let’s smack! this dirty Suicidal Track!”

On this
World No Tobacco Day

Quit Smoking!

 

            Choose life over death, Choose happiness over misery!
End the suffering, begin living!
1216 people quit smoking everyday, by dying!
Please don’t be part of this statistics.
If you agree with the message of the poem and you know someone who smokes, then share, pass it on and spread the words, so more people can live!

We Human, can always, have always and will always triumph over the darkest maligns! And this is just a pity desire. Throw the cigarettes into the trash. This time let this misery be smoke and disappear into air, while you breath in fresh air.

Of all deaths, one out of six die because of smoking. To put this into context, in the US alone, tobacco kills the equivalent of three jumbo jets full of people crashing every day, with no survivors. On a worldwide basis, this equates to a single jumbo jet every hour. (Source- Health Effects of Smoking).

Lot of people consider only Cancer as the harmful effect of Smoking, they’re completely wrong. Here are effects of smoking, ignoring 12 types of cancer it causes: What are the effects of smoking if we ignore Cancer?

If you smoke you’re a danger not only to your self but to people around you, people you love, the whole society and the whole Humanity! There is a chance that 33% people around you will get the cancer and die due to Passive Smoking.

This poem and Man of Wisdom is part of a collective project to make the World a Better Place, called The Project for A Better World Without Diseases, Disaster and Despair.

 

Part 2 of Characters and Virtues of Self Caring series on Developing Character and Building Moral Code would be published tomorrow, on Thursday 1st June. Last post on essential virtues and how to build them is here.

Did you like the post? Where can we improve? Please give your valuable feedback. Thanks a lot for reading!

Connect with Man of Wisdom on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more frequent updates. New blog posts every Thursday and Sunday.

Be kind. Stay positive. Radiate happiness. Goodbye. Take care. Keep Trailing on your Untrailed Path. 🙂

Tears of the Sky – An Inspiring Poem for Earth Day

Has this thought ever came into your mind?
When you looked up in the Night?
The falling rain as the tears of the sky?
The loud thunders as its loud cries?

What do you think why do you cry?
When you’re hurt or someone has blown dirt in your eyes?
This is what happens with that beautiful sky,
When it rains without season as the sky cries.

‘Cause you pollute, put smoke and dirt in the eyes of the sky,
The toxins from industries rising up and high.
 Daily the trees are cut and the rivers are getting dry,
Most species you’ve exterminated as the living ones sigh.

Why do you always hurt your mother?
The mother who suffered pain but still gave you birth?
Though you may not agree but there’s still another,
The Mother who nurtures and sustains, the one you call Earth!

And my selfish friend what would you say to your children?
When they’ll live and die below the hot sun.
Without water, food, trees or greenery, with just hunger, thirst and a barren land.
From yourself you run now, from your children then would you run?

Blossoming fields, blessing greenery and a happy Earth, if you want to see,
Save water, plant more trees and don’t waste the energy.
Don’t throw what you can eat and save electricity;
We don’t mean don’t use, but please use efficiently.

Don’t cry, don’t make excuses, don’t be sad or get mad;
There’s still time for us if together all of us try.
On this Earth Day see the Better World that we can have ahead,
Now let’s wipe clean the tears of the Earth and tears of the beautiful sky.


“Happy Earth Day”
Share and Spread. Let’s work for a Better Planet, a Brighter World and a Happy Tomorrow 🙂

Here are 50 simple ways in which you can save our Planet Earth.

For more, Connect with Man of Wisdom on Facebook or follow Man of Wisdom on Twitter.

You can mail your queries and suggestions to Man of Wisdom at UntrailedPath[at]gmail.com.

Till the next time, Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish, Keep Smiling and most importantly,

Keep Trailing on your Untrailed Path.

In Praise of Empty Space – A Rapid Poem for World Poetry Day

Image result for empty outer space

I was inspired to write this not serious, rapid poem (took about 20 minutes) after seeing the true map of solar system. I highly recommend you to go and see it and consider how vast our own Solar System is and how it’s mostly empty space. Then consider how small the solar system is, there are stars bigger than our whole solar system!

The Universe is unimaginably big, beyond comprehension. Consider how small are our problems, complaints, mindless fighting are in the grand scheme of things. We live on a minor planet orbiting an average star in the corner of a small, galaxy. We really should be humble about ourselves. The differences in the color of our skin, cultures, countries, content of our languages – doesn’t matter. Because each other is all we humans have got in the big empty Universe.

I had written this on Monday and wasn’t written with World Poetry Day in mind. I was not well yesterday and was occupied in something else. So posting a day late. The second last verse is inspired from the creation verse of Rigveda (see below in notes). Happy World Poetry Day!

In Praise of Empty Space or Nothingness:

“What’s the biggest thing in the Universe?”, they ask.
Answers pour: “The Sun” “The Galaxy” “The Supercluster”,
“Great Void”, “Great wall”, “Radiations in which all Cosmos bask?”
They’re all wrong, truth they tend to ignore.
The greatest thing that ever was and will be:
Is Nothingness, Empty Space, what you can’t see.

Everything that will come to be,
And everything that is gone
Comes from the Void,
And to the Void it is gone.
The cradle and cremation pyre of all the Cosmos,
The great empty space is what make everything possible.

“All the world’s a stage”,
And that stage is set in nothingness.
All beings that have come, there are and that will come,
All beings on distant planets we know nothing of.
From their childhood to their death,
from their first smile to their last breath,
All took place and all was took away, gone in the empty space.

Like to any great entity, here too the disbelievers yell,
“There’s no true vacuum, there’s no empty space”
And the naysayers gather and yelp:
“Nothingness can’t be quantified or compared”
Then all their words and all their selves,
Are swallowed whole in the great nothingness

Atoms are 99.99..% empty space,
So isn’t matter too mostly empty, in this case?
See that ocean, the planet, the stars?
You, me, this device, everything near and far;
Not only it’s encompassed by emptiness,
But from within too it’s mostly empty space.

Who knows where it ends and where it begins?
Or if this even has boundaries?
How it was started and how it will end?
Had it any beginning and does it even end?
No one knows, no one can tell,
We’d be forever ignorant of Emptiness’s tale. [1]

The whole Cosmos will once be gone,
Frozen, or in fire, shattered or condensed, to us unknown.
There’d  be nothing left, just empty space,
No matter but all pervading emptiness.
Eons later a new light will shine,
A new Cosmos would breath life’s first sign,
Over and over again repeats the same story,
Oh Great Emptiness, praise on thee!


Next blog post on Health and Fitness, part 2 of self-care series would be published on Sunday.

I love space and Cosmos and would publish an app related to space soon.

Till the next time, connect with Man of Wisdom on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more frequent updates.

Be kind. Stay positive. Radiate happiness. Goodbye. Take care. Keep Trailing on your Untrailed Path.


Note:
1. Creation verse or Nasadiya Sukta:
“Who truly knows, who can honestly say where.
This universe came from
And where it will vanish to at the End?
Those godlike wise men who claim they know were born long
After the birth of Creation.
Who then could know where our universe really came from?
And whoever knows or does not know where Creation came from,
Only one gazing at its vastness from the very roof of the final Heaven
Only such a one could possibly know,
But does even He know?” -Rigveda, creation verse.

Self Discipline is Self Caring – 10 Ways to Be More Disciplined and Love it


“No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful 
that it may not be subdued by discipline.”
-Seneca

I am trying to be more disciplined myself as I write this post (this was supposed to be published on Sunday not Tuesday!), so do not treat this as something coming from an authority but from an experimenter and a fellow companion in the journey to be more self-disciplined.

(This is part one of 3 part series on Self Caring – Healthy Body, Heart and Lifestyle. This focuses on being self-disciplined as a lifestyle trait. The rest 2 would be published next Thursdays and Sundays.)

What is Self Discipline?
Merriam-Webster defines self-discipline or self-control as “correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement“. They also provide a simpler and more helpful definition for English language learners: “the ability to make yourself do things that should be done”.

Apt. Self-discipline is about doing things you do not want to do but you know you need to do and going ahead and doing them despite the inherent discomfort and reluctance. Some examples would be studying for the impending test when you want to watch TV, having that important but uncomfortable conversation with your partner when you’d rather browse internet, working out when you want to eat an ice cream and so on.

Our brains are wired for comfort and pleasure and discipline feels inherently difficult, bad and repulsive. So why is it needed?

The Importance of Self Discipline
In his book, The Road Less Traveled, Psychologist M. Scott Peck offers the following perspective on the importance of self-discipline:

Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life’s problems. Without discipline we can solve nothing. With some discipline we can solve only some problems. With total discipline we can solve all problems.

Discipline is essential for utilizing our full potential, realizing our possibilities and becoming the person we are meant to be. In all aspects of life – be it physical, mental or emotional health, personal or professional relationships, all goals and living a happier, peaceful life – discipline is essential and perhaps the most important quality. A few points to help you realize this:

Self Disciplined People are Happier
“It is one of the strange ironies of this strange life that those who work the hardest, who subject themselves to the strictest discipline, who give up certain pleasurable things in order to achieve a goal, are the happiest men.” – Brutus Hamilton.
According to a study by psychologist Wilhelm Hofman and his team at University of Chicago, people who are disciplined and are able to refrain from impulses are happier. This seems counter-intuitive, because if I can eat a cake now and everyday, am I not lot happier than someone who is disciplined in diet and eats boiled vegetables? The answer is sure, I am having more pleasure but in long-term it’s more likely I’d be prone to diseases like diabetes and heart diseases and would live a far stressful life versus someone in more control of their diet, who would likely be healthier, thinner, less susceptible to diseases and would avoid stress.

Corollary: Pleasure vs Happiness
A lot of people confuse instant gratification, which is release of pleasure chemicals like dopamine, with happiness which is wrong. Happiness is an abundance of positive emotions like joy, interest, pride, gratitude, an inner satisfaction and appreciation of life. Pleasure is just one small aspect which depends on external factors. You may not experience the pleasure without the cake but you can be happy – cake is not needed. Also gratification in this instant often leads to stress, sadness, disappointments and other overwhelming negative emotions later in life.

Self Discipline means Less Stress, Pain and Disappointments
“The more disciplined you become the easier life gets.” – Steve Pavlina
I think this is easier to understand. If you submit your homework on time, you escape from late submission punishment. If you put work and heart in your relationship everyday, you skip later disappointments. If you find time for your physical, mental and emotional health, you’re less likely to suffer from diseases, mental deterioration and would be more resilient and prudent in unfavorable circumstances. If you follow your work deadlines, you’re more likely to be promoted and less likely to be fired.
The key thing in all of these instances is attempting the necessary thing now for future rewards. But in doing so, you face your greatest enemy: the current you.

We hate ourselves (Please read this carefully)
A lot of us hate ourselves. Don’t believe me? How else can you justify the pain, disappointment, suffering and torture that our current self inflicts on our future self for momentary pleasure? We consider ourselves excluded of suffering our future self would go through. We believe it’s some different person who would be dying in a hospital, who would be going through a divorce, who would be fired from her job, who would be failing in his exam. Despite knowing such catastrophic outcomes that our future version would go through, we still indulge in petty pleasures that we know would ruin us and our lives.

Loving the “Future-You”
“Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” -Abraham Joshua Heschel
How do we address and overcome this self-hatred? One easily overlooked fact we need to realize is that just as our future self suffers from our current self’s indulgence, irresponsibility and debauchery. Our future self and therefore we, also reap the rewards like happiness, achievements, fulfillment, joy, peacefulness, loving environment and so on – if we exhibit more self-control and discipline now. It’s us who would be happier, healthier, have a great married life, richer, calmer, stress free and successful. As you’d see in the later section attuning ourselves with reality and our responsibility also helps us being kinder to ourselves. Begin to love yourself. Do not live a life where the present self is indifferent to the future self and lives in the regret of things past self did. It’s just you. Do not inflict such pain on yourself.

Corollary: Accept There’s No Different Person in Future.
Again, the person who experiences gratification now and suffers later are same people – you. Visualize and imagine yourself as reaping the results of your actions before indulging in pleasure. It’s you who suffers or succeeds. Be more connected with your future version through visualization, long-term plans, goals, letters/emails to future self, being mindful in this instant and consistent evaluation of where you’re heading in life.

The Structured Life
Discipline is formed through habits, over long period of time. More organized, structured and timely you’re in your daily, seemingly insignificant activities like sleeping, eating, bathing etc. the more disciplined you’d be in other, more significant aspects of your life such as health, relationship, career etc. and more time you’ll find for them.

Discipline is a Journey
And a slow one at that. It doesn’t happen that you’re in-disciplined and suddenly decide to be more disciplined and poof! -are now in complete control of all aspects of life. Sorry but you’d crash and burn. Discipline is like a muscle, the more you practice the better you become. Just like weight lifting, in the beginning you start small. Slowly, daily challenge yourself to larger goals i.e. more uncomfortable tasks and become stronger.

10 Ways to Become More Self Disciplined
I’ll discuss only 5 (6-10) here in detail and simply mention the rest (1-5) that are better explained in the post on Overcoming Instant Gratification. Let’s jump into them:

6. Shipping is Better than Perfecting
Pursuing Perfection is one of the most common excuse and most overlooked mistake. It’s deeply intertwined with self-discipline. Whether you’re trying to be more self disciplined or applying it in a task, know that it’s better to just do something than to delay it. It’s better to get something done than to avoid and delay any progress.
I used the word Shipping instead of Doing. Shipping means you’re open to criticism, feedback, any measurement of your activity. Writing this blog post and saving it in my drafts is doing, publishing it – putting it out in the world and getting feedback from real people is shipping.

7. Rituals are Better than Habits
Self discipline is a process and is built through good habits/routines. You don’t wake up early, workout, make your bed, study, talk to your partner once a year, you’ve to do it regularly. As I interpret Rituals are habits that are performed with attention, devotion, mindfulness and a sort of celebration. You don’t skip it. Rituals have the automaticity & self-initiation of habits but are performed with more attentiveness and more involvement. Habits can be bad but since you really think through and involve in rituals, they’re always good. Discipline cultivated through rituals is more effective than one built through habits.

8. You’d Never “Feel Right”
Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.’ – Pablo Picasso
Another powerful and somewhat rational excuse we give ourselves is “I don’t feel like doing it”. True. When there’s a pile of pizza a call away, you won’t feel like sticking to your diet or working out, ever. Motivation is extremely overrated and comes after the task is done or at least begun. Doing anything requires a touch of madness, just jumping into it, regardless of how we’re feeling.

9 . Prioritizing Tasks & Time Management (Einsenhower Decision Box)
The 34th President of the United States Dwight Eisenhower was one of the greatest leaders in history. He proposed division of all tasks into Important and Urgent and then acting on them. From a brilliant, must read post from Art of Manliness:
Eisenhower Decision Matrix urgent important

Urgent means that a task requires immediate attention. These are the to-do’s that shout “Now!” Urgent tasks put us in a reactive mode, one marked by a defensive, negative, hurried, and narrowly-focused mindset.

Important tasks are things that contribute to our long-term mission, values, and goals. Sometimes important tasks are also urgent, but typically they’re not. When we focus on important activities we operate in a responsive mode, which helps us remain calm, rational, and open to new opportunities.

The key is to focus more on important tasks than urgent tasks.

10. Keep a Track of Your Progress
You’d be better self disciplined and in more control of life if you know where you’re heading and how you’ve progressed. Maintaining this in a journal, app or digital document may really help you becoming more self disciplined, identifying and correcting the mistakes you make and the obstacles or circumstances that lure you away.

1. Start Small (so small it seems ridiculously easy).
2. Minimize Temptations (remove them!) and use Meaningful Distractions to your advantage.
3. Know that Willpower can be replenished and increased. Increase it.
4. Start Accountability and/or Support System
5. Be Consistent (Build the Momentum and Be Committed). Be Persistent (It’s ok to fail but it’s important to try again tomorrow)


4 Tools for Self Discipline (optional but highly recommended read)
The post was already long, so I put this separately. The Road Less Traveled is divided in 4 sub-parts, the first part is discipline. The author recommends 4 tools to be more disciplined in life:
1. Delaying gratification
“Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.”
“Serving one’s own passions is the greatest slavery.” – Thomas Fuller

This is the single most important tool in becoming more disciplined. I won’t cover this here, because I’ve covered in far more detail drawing insights from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy and practical examples in a previous post here: Overcoming Instant Gratification

2. Acceptance of Responsibility
“We can’t solve a problem by saying “it’s not my problem”. We must accept the responsibility for a problem before we can solve it. The difficulty we have in accepting the responsibility for our behavior lies in desire to avoid pain in the consequences of that behavior.”
You can’t escape from freedom of responsibility you have for your life. You can’t attribute your problems to society, system, parents, children, race and so on. Sure they may have some partial contribution to your current situation but you cannot be disciplined in life unless you accept where you are and determine where you want to be, in spite of the external factors that hinder you.

3. Dedication to Truth (Reality)
“Our view of reality is like a map with which to negotiate the terrain of life. If the map is true and accurate, we will generally know where we are, and if we have decided where we want to go, we will generally know how to get there. If the map is false and inaccurate, we generally will be lost.”
Continuously Revise Your Map – For our map i.e. our view of reality to be accurate we need to consistently revise it. This is painful and so a lot people avoid it. Their outdated maps make them think the reality is same in adulthood as it was in childhood, same in college as was in school, same when being single and married and so on.
Be Open To Challenge: The only way to ascertain that our view of reality is accurate is by being willing to be challenged from other people’s view of reality. Else we form a view and stick to it, a closed system. Consistently seek feedback and correct yourself.
A lot of people never confront reality/truth and live in a dreamland. You cannot be disciplined without accepting you are not. Be dedicated to reality and strive to have it more accurate.
Do not withhold Truth: Do not white lie i.e. withhold part of truth at least from self. Don’t indulge in black lying i.e. accept something as true despite knowing it to be false.  Wake up from dreamland.

4. Balancing
“To be organized and efficient, to live wisely, we must daily delay gratification and keep an eye on the future; yet to live joyously we must also possess the capacity, when it is not destructive, to live in the present and act spontaneously. In other words, discipline itself must be disciplined. ”
It’s neither possible nor necessary to be disciplined all the time. When acting spontaneously and immediate gratification is not destructive, we should act on it. This balancing comes with time and should be practiced with our best judgement.


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Be kind. Stay positive. Radiate happiness. Goodbye. Take care. Keep Trailing on your Untrailed Path. 🙂