Monday, November 29, 2021

9 tips on how to stop postponing and get work done

Synopsis

Procrastination gets in the way of achieving your professional and personal goals and traps you in a vicious cycle of failure and self-hate.


 If it weren’t for the last minute, I wouldn’t get anything done,” goes the quote. And it does not apply to you alone. All successful people have struggled with procrastination at some point. Surprisingly, procrastination is sometimes a good thing when it prevents you from expending energy on unimportant stuff. At other times, you can get a bunch of smaller jobs done while avoiding a bigger task. But more often, procrastination gets in the way of achieving your professional and personal goals and traps you in a vicious cycle of failure and self-hate. Here is how you can break through the wall and get serious stuff done instead.


SAY NO

The first step is to declutter your life by prioritising demands on your time. Have you often found yourself with an endless to-do list at work and avoiding the most important tasks on that list? Cut down your task list to a maximum of 3 items and say no to everything else. This exercise forces you to think why something matters and what has no place in your priorities. Identifying your motivations helps you increase meaning in a task and thus gets you going faster.


GIVE IT 5 MIN

Start your big project with baby steps. Give it 5 minutes right away and get going with something really small. Are you avoiding working on that marketing presentation? Make an introduction slide NOW. When you simply show up for a task and make a small input, a great portion of your resistance disappears. To keep the momentum going, invest yourself in tiny blocks of time and soon you will find the enthusiasm to continue beyond your initial commitment. Want to start running in the mornings? Put on your shoes and go outdoors for a 5-minute walk to begin with.


GAMIFY IT

Make it fun. Break it up into small parts and pick something that you like doing or club it with another pleasurable activity. Want to get started on cleaning your closet? Put on your favourite song while you tackle only the top shelf. Reward yourself with a treat when you send that proposal to your client. As you poke holes in your project while keeping your mind engaged with a fun target or activity, the task seems to be less daunting.


BURN YOUR BOATS

In 1519, Hernando Cortez, the Spanish explorer, landed in Mexico to battle the vastly superior Aztecs. Thereafter he burnt the ships that brought his men ashore leaving them no choice but to win the battle. Similarly, face your fears and figure out what’s really stopping you. If you are afraid of public speaking, get yourself nominated to lead the sales team training. Cut off your cable TV connection if that prevents you from managing your sleep and family time after work. Give yourself no choice but to complete your target.


DO THE POMODORO

“Pomodoro” is the Italian word for tomato and the Pomodoro technique is a time management tool used to maximise focus and creativity in order to complete a project in minimum time and stress. Budget your time in 25 minute slots with a 5-minute break for every large project. Every time you finish one Pomodoro, mark a tick and after every 4 Pomodoros give yourself a 15-20-minute break. Many professionals find that this technique is equally effective with a large task list as with a single project.


GET A BUDDY

Make a commitment to a friend or a colleague that you will get a task done by a deadline. Start a Whatsapp group of people who like to eat healthy and post your daily calorie intake details. Research says that people who make themselves accountable and give periodic updates to another person, are twice as likely to reach their targeted goals. Give your buddy the space to motivate you to get back on track when you are feeling low.


LOVE YOURSELF

Learn to forgive yourself and practice celebration. Don’t be harsh on yourself if at first you miss a small commitment. Everyone is prone to de-energising self-criticism which then sparks an endless cycle of loathing, increasing your tendency to procrastinate. So, you didn’t wake up early today? Let it go. Each time that you do wake up early, congratulate yourself and put a large tick on your calendar.


RECOGNISE SUNK COST

Just because you invested a lot of time and emotions into an ongoing project does not mean that it is worth completing. This is known as the sunk cost fallacy. So, you decided to learn software coding in your spare time? Months later, you don’t seem to be making headway by way of enthusiasm or time. Maybe coding is simply not meant for you and your life can progress faster if you switch pursuits to another professional goal.


ADOPT A GROWTH MINDSET

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck found that people with “fixed mindsets” believe that character, intelligence and creativity are fixed assets. On the other hand, those with “growth mindsets” love challenges and perceive failures as a stretching and growing of capabilities and thus end up more successful and happier. Be in the latter category, where you will look forward to tackling your projects without being disheartened by temporary setbacks and emotions.



GET UP EARLY

The best part of waking up early is it is quiet and you have nothing on your calendar. Use that time to get a task done that would otherwise be impossible through your packed day. Most successful people use that time for thinking and planning.


STOP BLAMING

When you blame circumstances or people for your situation, it is an excuse not to find solutions. Hold yourself responsible for whatever is happening, even if it is not true. By holding yourself accountable, you will soon come up with ideas and solutions.


STOP CONTROLLING

Too much time and mindshare is taken up influencing others or getting them to do what you want. You cannot control another person. What they choose to think is their privilege. Give up on control and find immense peace and energy to do stuff that really matters.


CHOOSE YOUR COMPANY

Stop hanging around negative people who drain your energy and who are fixated on problems instead of solutions. Choose company wisely and find yourself energised and on the path to success.


WRITE YOUR GOALS

People who write down their goals achieve more than people who don’t. Write down your current goal and list 20-25 actions that will get you moving towards it. Put up the goal sheet on your computer wallpaper. The reminder will get you moving towards your target.

Essay - Can the Way to Success Be Laziness

Save Yourself The Guilt Trip. Laziness And Procrastination Could Make You Successful



So why does Bill Gates hire a lazy person to do a difficult job? Because a lazy person will always find an easier way to do it. That's just like the second mouse getting the cheese while the first mouse lies dead in a trap. Lesson learnt: being too eager can get you into deep shit. 


Here are some ideas that prove being too lazy can actually get your work done faster.


1. Lazy to be lazy.

Quora user, Karthick Venkatesh, suggests setting a long password, so the next time you take an unofficial Facebook or Twitter scrolling break, chances are, you won't remember your password or you'll be too lazy to type it out. The result? You're back to work, scrolling breaks are out of the question.



2. Late latifs have some hope.

Maybe keeping those assignments last minute is a good idea after all, "If I wait until the last minute to work on something, the stress of it automatically narrows my focus to what’s important, and I quickly jettison the rest. I throw no work away, I work quickly and efficiently, and I get it done," says Caroline Sin, another Quora user. Starting in advance makes you do a more work than you actually need to.




3. Be lazy and clever, not lazy and stupid. 

Kurt Gebhard Adolf Philipp Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord was Germany’s chief of the army before the Second World War. He said that all his officers were two of the following: clever, diligent, stupid or lazy.



According to the general, the most dangerous officer was one who was stupid and diligent. He couldn't be trusted with any responsibility because he would always make mischief.


However, officers who were both clever and lazy were qualified for the highest leadership duties. They were masters at avoiding “busywork” such as pointless meetings. He claimed, they delegate to others to get things done efficiently, and they focus on the essentials rather than being distracted by unnecessary extras.


4. Vital few, trivial many.

Believe in the 80-20 rule, focus on the vital 20% to deliver 80% of the results. Of the things you do during your day, only 20% really matter - in theory. Lazy people can cut down on 80% of their workload by identifying and focusing only on those things that are truly important.




In 2007, Tim Ferriss published his book, The 4-Hour Workweek, in which he extolled the virtues of the Pareto Principle and of working as little as possible. The self-help book was a worldwide success, selling 1.35 m copies in 35 languages.


According to Ferriss, to be truly productive, we must check our email just once a day and outsource every small daily task to virtual assistants, focusing only on those tasks that generate the largest return.



5. Mint money.

Wanna make money while you're lazy? Simple business models like Mc Donalds can shed some light on this. Produce simple products which can be sold and marketed in various combinations according to your customers needs. Packaging it differently to give it another identity reduces the time and effort.



Essay - The Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster.

 35 years since nuclear disaster, Chernobyl warns, inspires

Reactor No. 4 at the power plant 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of the capital Kyiv exploded and caught fire deep in the night on April 26, 1986, shattering the building and spewing radioactive material high into the sky.

FILE - This April 26, 1986 file photo shows an aerial view of the Ukrainian Chernobyl nuclear plant, with damage from an explosion and fire in reactor four on that sent large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere. The vast and empty Chernobyl Exclusion Zone around the site of the world's worst nuclear accident is a baleful monument to human mistakes. Yet 35 years after a power plant reactor exploded, Ukrainians also look to it for inspiration, solace and income.Photo/ Volodymyr Repik)



KYIV, Ukraine: The vast and empty Chernobyl Exclusion Zone around the site of the world's worst nuclear accident is a baleful monument to human mistakes. Yet 35 years after a power plant reactor exploded, Ukrainians also look to it for inspiration, solace and income.


Reactor No. 4 at the power plant 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of the capital Kyiv exploded and caught fire deep in the night on April 26, 1986, shattering the building and spewing radioactive material high into the sky.


Soviet authorities made the catastrophe even worse by failing to tell the public what had happened - although the nearby plant workers' town of Pripyat was evacuated the next day, the 2 million residents of Kyiv weren't informed despite the fallout danger. The world learned of the disaster only after heightened radiation was detected in Sweden.


Eventually, more than 100,000 people were evacuated from the vicinity and a 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) exclusion zone was established where the only activity was workers disposing of waste and tending to a hastily built sarcophagus covering the reactor.


Radiation continued to leak from the reactor building until 2019, when the entire building was covered by an enormous arch-shaped shelter. As robots inside the shelter began dismantling the reactor, officials felt new optimism about the zone.


"This is a place of tragedy and memory, but it is also a place where you can see how a person can overcome the consequences of a global catastrophe," said Bohdan Borukhovskyi, Ukraine's deputy environment minister.


"We want a new narrative to appear - it was not a zone of exclusion, but a zone of development and revival," he said. For him, that narrative includes encouraging tourism.


"Our tourism is unique, it is not a classic concept of tourism," he said. "This is an area of meditation and reflection, an area where you can see the impact of human error, but you can also see the human heroism that corrects it."


The Chernobyl zone saw its tourism increase twofold after the lauded television miniseries of 2019 and officials hope that level of interest will continue, or grow, once the global pandemic has receded.


One of the prime draws for tourists is to see the ruins of Pripyat, the once-modern town of 50,000 now being taken over by decay and vegetation. Work is underway to build paths to make it easier for visitors to navigate the ruins.


The Chernobyl plant is out of service, but there is still much work to be done at the decommissioned plant. Borukhovskyi said all four of its reactors are to be dismantled only by 2064.


Ukraine also has decided to use the deserted zone as the site for its centralized storage facility for the spent fuel from the country's four remaining nuclear power plants, and that is to open this year. Until recently, the fuel was disposed of in Russia.


Storing the spent fuel at home will save the country an estimated $200 million a year.


"We are doing everything possible so that this territory, where it is now impossible for people to live, is used with benefit and gives the country a profit," said Serhiy Kostyuk, head of the agency that manages the exclusion zone.


Although the radiation level in the zone is low enough that tourists can visit and workers can carry out their jobs, permanent residence is banned. However, more than 100 people still live in the zone that extends 30 kilometers (18 miles) around the nuclear power plant, despite orders to leave the site.


Among them is 85-year-old former teacher Yevgeny Markevich, who said: "It's a great happiness to live at home, but it's sad that it's not as it used to be.


Today, he grows potatoes and cucumbers on his garden plot, which he takes for tests "in order to partially protect myself."


Long-term effects on human health remain the subject of intense scientific debate. Immediately after the accident, 30 plant workers and firefighters died from acute radiation sickness. Later, thousands of people died from radiation-related illnesses such as cancer.


To the surprise of many who expected the area might be a dead zone for centuries, wildlife is thriving: Bears, bison, wolves, lynx, wild horses and dozens of bird species live in the people-free territory.


According to scientists, the animals were much more resistant to radiation than expected, and were able to quickly adapt to strong radiation. Ukrainian scientists are researching this phenomenon together with colleagues from Japan and Germany.


"This is a gigantic territory ... in which we keep a chronicle of nature," said biologist Denis Vishnevskiy, 43, who has been observing nature in the reserve for the past 20 years. "The exclusion zone is not a curse, but our resource "


The Ukrainian authorities are calling for the exclusion zone to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, since the object is a unique place "of interest to all mankind". The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has already taken steps to recognize the zone as a monument, which will attract more funding and tourists.


"Chernobyl should not become a wild playground for adventure hunters," said Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko. "People should leave the exclusion zone with the awareness of the historical memory of this place and its importance for all mankind."


In the spirit of preserving the memories, some enthusiasts have created the Chornobyl App, which includes declassified documents about the disaster and allows users to explore augmented-reality view of the zone and structures.


"Sixty percent of Ukrainians do not know the date of the accident and we decided that there should be a resource where a lot of verified information is collected," said Valeriy Korshunov, one of the free app's developers.


===============


Chernobyl is all set to seek a UNESCO heritage site statusChernobyl is all set to seek a UNESCO heritage site status

Credit: iStock


The Chernobyl incident of 1986 is undoubtedly one of the worst nuclear disasters in the world, and the site is a reminder of that horrific time today. Now, years after the disaster, it is a hallowed tourist spot, and hence it is seeking the UNESCO World Heritage tag. Including the ruins of Chernobyl into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list would allow it to get funds for the preservation of its now deteriorating buildings.

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster took place near the city of Pripyat in Ukraine. It has since been evacuated, and is currently a ghost town. Its popularity grew exponentially since the release of the HBO drama series of the same name. Today, you can visit Chernobyl, notably the Exclusion Zone that covers a total of 30 km.
Chernobyl is all set to seek a UNESCO heritage site statusCredit: iStock


According to the Ukrainian government, the site is not safe to live for humans yet; in fact, it may take up to 24000 years for the effects of the radiation to wear off. However, you will find animals, such as deer roaming the forests of Chernobyl.

The abandoned homes are in a state of despair, and there is a sense of doom to the place that you can still feel to this day.

The Ukrainian government is aiming to transform the place into a tourist-friendly area, and for not just curious visitors, but also for scientists, ecologists, and historians. The place serves as a reminder that nuclear disasters can very well be the end of civilisation. The expected proposal for the UNESCO tag is to be made in March 2021.

Essay - The Issues of Successful and Unhappy Marriages.

 

01/7Marital issues and how to tackle those

Every marriage is different and so are the issues that couples face in their conjugal life. However, there are a few common problems, which challenge the love and respect married couples have for each other. While some succumb to these hurdles and part their ways, others overcome these to lead a happy life. We talked to relationship expert and senior consultant psychologist Shweta Singh about the common marital issues and how should couples tackle these. Here’s what she shared:

02/7Trouble with in-laws

In an Indian family, this perhaps is the most common issue that married couples face. Especially, feuds between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is nothing new. There are many reasons, such as adjustment problems, unjust expectations, cultural difference and others, responsible for the negative attitude they have for each other. The best way to overcome this is by being patient. For a daughter-in-law, it’s important to understand that it’s not only she who needs to adjust but the members of her new family too are doing the same. And the same goes for the mother-in-law as well. Also, getting the husband involved in their fights is a wrong thing to do. Instead, he should be consulted but not forced to take sides. Take time to understand the expectations in-laws have and respectfully inform them of the discomforts or misunderstanding arising from the same if any.

READMORE

03/7​Irritating habits of a spouse

It’s not uncommon for a newly-married woman to complain about her husband’s irritating habits like leaving a wet towel on the bed, spending more time with friends etc. Similarly, even a man has trouble adjusting to his wife's habits, which he must have been unaware of like overspending, unjust expectations etc. They need to remember that marriage needs adjustment from both the partners and lifelong habits cannot be changed overnight. The best option here is to tell the partner about it and give him or her a fair amount of time to change any irritable or harmful habits if possible.

04/7Unequal division of household chores

This is something that most working couples have to face after marriage. A lot of times, only the wife is expected to take care of the household chores. The best way to tackle this situation if by addressing it directly. Talking to the partner who is shying away from his or her responsibilities might be helpful. If required chart out a schedule assigning individual duties. It might be a little difficult to follow the schedule initially but once the couples start doing it, things will fall into place.

05/7Financial problems

While many issues can be tackled once faced, financial crisis can entirely be avoided if the right steps are taken quite in advance. Before marriage, not everyone has the idea about the kind of financial challenges they might face and matters related to money get more serious after childbirth. The best way to deal with this issue is by making a financial plan and creating an account for a contingency fund, which they can use during emergencies. It’s important to think about the future and always have a foresight about unexpected expenditure. Also, taking advice from experts for financial planning can be a great help.

06/7​Boredom

Remember, marriage, like any other relationships, is for a lifetime and it’s normal for couples to feel boredom settling in after a few years of being married. In fact, a lot of married people seek professional help during this phase because they believe that something might be wrong in the relationship. The best way to overcome this hurdle is by accepting it and understanding the fact that marriage needs efforts to make it work. This is the reason why it’s important to do things that excite both the partners. If travelling is what makes them happy, they should take some time out of their busy schedule to explore new places or if both like being indoors, how about redecorating their place? A sense of newness is what makes any relationship an exciting affair. Also, taking up responsibilities together like taking loan for a house or buying a car can give them a new sense of duties and help them stay together.

READMORE

07/7​Picking up old issues while fighting

Whether couples agree to it or not, many have the habit of referring to old issues during new fights. If open communication fails to resolve it, ignorance can be the best medicine. If a spouse keeps picking up old issues, the best reply is to not give him or her any reply. When the partner will not receive any reaction over a time, he or she would stop repeating the same.

Essay - The Choice of Profession Directly Depends on the Degree of Interest in Personal Growth.

 6 ways to improve your career potential

Synopsis

Career is the most important investment in one’s life. Experts show you how to nurture it and realise your potential.

Whether you have just got a job, or are well-settled in your career or are still wondering which path to choose, the following advice is relevant for you.

Set a career goal

Just like you plan for your financial goals, you need to plan your career goals meticulously. Ideally, the planning and goal setting should start when one is a student. However, awareness about career options continues to be low among students. “Nearly 72% of students were confused about career options we found in a survey.

“Nearly 72% of students were confused about career options in our survey. More importantly, 80% of the students knew only about six or eight career options,” Prateek Bhargava CEO and Founder, Mindler.com

More importantly, 80% of the students knew only about six or eight career options,” says Prateek Bhargava, CEO and Founder, Mindler.com, a technology-driven platform that helps students and parents choose appropriate career paths.

Most youngsters base their career decisions on what they hear being talked about around them. So while they might want to become a doctor, engineer, chartered accountant or lawyer, they have to understand whether they are equipped for it.

“The first thing in a career planning is to understand your strengths and weaknesses,” says Sairee Chahal, Founder, Sheroes, a firm providing career destinations for women. Students need to turn to career counsellors in their own institutes or seek the help of outside experts.



Continuous learning

Most people tend to think that everything is settled once they land a job. “Just because you have got a job it doesn’t mean that you have achieved your goal and all learning can come to an end. Please note that you need to keep on pushing the career goal,” says Neeti Sharma, Senior VP, Team Lease Services, a human resource outsourcing and staffing firm. “You need to invest in continued education and learning.

“Just because you have a job it doesn’t mean you have achieved your goal and all learning can come to an end. You need to keep on pushing the career goal,” Neeti Sharma Senior VP, Team Lease Services

Lot of things are available online now, use them to upgrade knowledge all the time,” says Shiv Agrawal, Managing Director, ABC Consultants, a leading human resources firm. This continuous learning is already visible in global professions like medicine, nursing, IT engineering, etc. IT professionals opting for a Cisco certification is a case in point. Along with their technical skills, such professionals also need to improve their communication skills.

The world is slowly turning digital and you need to spruce up your digital skills irrespective of the field you are working in. For example, sales and marketing professionals need to update online skills and know how to set up online marketing campaign. Similarly, banking professionals should learn about the latest technologies to promote mobile banking and digital payments.

Instead of getting tied down to the classrooms, teachers and professors can take up teaching on online platforms. HR professionals need to shift from traditional hiring to social networking platforms like Linkedin. “Automation is now a reality and it is going to remove normal repetitive jobs. So the only option you have is to get onto the digital bandwagon and move ahead of it,” says Santanu Paul, CEO and MD, Talent Sprint, an online learning platform. So how should one practice this continuous learning? “Once you identify the skill gap, do something about it every day. Most of this can be achieved by continuous reading,” says Chahal.

While everyone will agree that they need to upgrade skills, lack of time is a problem faced by most working professionals. Taking up online courses is the best way to circumvent this problem. Here again, you may get flooded with courses, so how do you know which is the best one for you? “Take the course that gives you actual experience and not just theoretical notes. You have to learn by doing and not just by reading,” says Paul. While doing any course, your focus should be on learning new skills rather than the certificate you will get at the end. “What an employer needs is the problem solving skills and not additional certificates,” adds Paul.


Think like an entrepreneur

Once you begin to climb the career ladder, you will realise that your existing skill sets are not sufficient. For instance, most people get into the IT sector as programmers and then get promoted as team leaders. The next level is management and it calls for going beyond coding skills.

“Test your ability by shifting to other verticals. This is possible once you stop treating your career as a job, and treat it as a learning opportunity.” Shanta Vallury Head HR, CSR and Internal Branding, RBL Bank

At that level, one needs to understand sales, the financial aspect of any project, customer service, etc. You also need to have in-depth understanding about industry and competition. Shifting from one vertical to another is the best way to understand a business in its totality. Since most companies now have internal job postings and offer lateral shifts, you can easily move across different functions.

“Businesses now promote anything that help in overall improvement of the organisation, so they welcome lateral moves,” says Mukesh Bhasin, Partner, Career Connect. Shanta Vallury, who moved from business function to HR at RBL Bank, is a classic example. “Once you put organisation before self, you start thinking like an entrepreneur.

Moving laterally helps you realise your own potential and also gives you a 360 degree view of the organisation,” says Vallury, Head HR, CSR and Internal Branding, RBL Bank. Vineet Agrawal, who moved from branch banking to HR and then to corporate banking at a large private sector back, agrees. “While organisations give you an opportunity to move laterally, there is no force. So you have to take the initiative,” he says. However, before opting for a lateral shift, understand what it takes.

You may need to relocate. The ability to take risks and the spirit to learn new things are the other essentials. “If you are ready to put in effort, you can learn anything new. But please note that if you don’t learn fast, the next team may not accept you,” says Vineet Agrawal. Experts suggest you start doing this in the initial stages of your career. “Test your ability by shifting to other verticals in the early stages of your career. This is possible once you stop treating career as a job, but treat it as a learning opportunity,” says Vallury. Lateral shifts also help you to remain with an organisation for an extended period of time.

Networking

Networking was always a basic necessity for career growth. “Around 50% of the hiring happens through networks. Career prospects depends on marketability and reaching out to people,” says Bhasin. These contacts can be through alumni groups, former colleagues, etc. Social media platforms like Linkedin and Facebook have made such groups more close-knit.

“Around 50% of hiring happens through networks. Career prospects depends on marketability and reaching out to people.” Mukesh Bhasin Partner, Career Connect

You can use these networks to widen your contacts. “Linkedin is a good start to meet people outside your horizon and also to understand industry trends,” says Chahal. However, be careful about what you post on these networks.

“Most prospective employers look at your social media presence. So posting very strong religious or political views may harm your future career prospects,” warns Shiv Agrawal.


Ask for help or seek a mentor

We seek help when we need it in most situations and there is nothing wrong in taking outside help for career planning. “The ability to ask for help is a requisite quality for career enhancement,” says Chahal. As explained earlier, prospective job seekers can take the help of counsellors at their own institute or other professionals who provide this for a fixed fee.

“Treat your career like a bicycle, it will not move forward if you don’t make the effort and pedal.” Santanu Paul CEO and MD, Talent Sprint

Once you are in an organisation, your immediate superiors (and also the HR department) act as your mentors. “You should be able to ask what is the skill gap and how you should fill it,” says Sharma.

However, you also may have to seek outside help at this level, because the immediate superiors may not be the best for guidance as they have a vested interest in retaining you. “Earlier employers used to provide full career path, but now you have to do it yourself.

Treat your career like a bicycle, it will not move forward if you don’t make the effort and pedal,” says Paul.


Don’t ignore grooming

Prospective candidates have to concentrate on aspects which may not appear connected to the job in question but play an important role nevertheless. Maintaining physical fitness is one such aspect.

“Most employers think if you can’t take care of yourself, how will you take care of the company?” Shiv Agrawal MD, ABC Consultants

Appearances— dressing properly or presenting an attractive CV— are other factors one needs to take care of. Why should prospective employers bother about such things? “Perception is reality and please note that most employers hire based on their perception about you.

Even after being good, the perception about you should also be good,” says Shiv Agrawal. Assume there are two candidates with identical backgrounds. While one is physically fit, the appears obese. Chances are the employer will hire the seemingly fit candidate.

“Most employers think like this. If you can’t take care of yourself, how will you take care of the company?” asks Shiv Agrawal.

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Definition of 'Personal Selling'


Definition: Personal selling is also known as face-to-face selling in which one person who is the salesman tries to convince the customer in buying a product. It is a promotional method by which the salesperson uses his or her skills and abilities in an attempt to make a sale.


Description: Personal selling is a face-to-face selling technique by which a salesperson uses his or her interpersonal skills to persuade a customer in buying a particular product. The salesperson tries to highlight various features of the product to convince the customer that it will only add value. However, getting a customer to buy a product is not the motive behind personal selling every time. Often companies try to follow this approach with customers to make them aware of a new product.


The company wants to spread awareness about the product for which it adopts a person-to-person approach. This is because selling involves personal touch, a salesperson knows better how to pitch a product to the potential customer. Personal selling can take place through two different channels – through retail and through direct-to-consumer channel. Under the retail channel, a sales person interacts with potential customers who come on their own to enquire about a product. The job of the salesperson is to make sure that he understands the need of the customers and accordingly shows various products that he keeps under that category. Under the direct channel, a salesperson visits potential customers in an attempt to make them aware about a new product that the company is launching or it may have a new offer which the customers may not get from the open market.


Definition: PEST Analysis is a measurement tool which is used to assess markets for a particular product or a business at a given time frame. PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors. Once these factors are analysed organisations can take better business decisions. Description: PEST Analysis helps organizations take better business decisions and improve efficiency by studying various factors which might influence a business such as political, economic, social, and technology. PEST analysis helps in making strategic business decisions, planning marketing activities, product development and research. It is similar to SWOT analysis, which stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. Let's study each individual factor of PEST analysis in detail. In PEST analysis, 'P' stands for Political environment. It includes government regulations or any defined rules for that particular industry or business. It also involves study of tax policy which includes exemptions if any, employment laws, environment laws, etc. The letter 'E' in PEST analysis stands for economic factors. It gauges the economic environment by studying factors in the macro economy such as interest rates, economic growth, exchange rate as well as inflation rate. These factors also help in accessing the demand, costing of the product, expansion, and growth. 'S' stands for social factors that form the macro environment of the organisation. It includes the study of demographics, as well as the target customers. These factors help in gauging the potential size of the market. It includes study of population growth, age distribution, career attitude, etc. The letter 'T' in PEST analysis stands for technology. As we all know, technology changes very rapidly, and consumers are hungry to adopt new technology. It involves understanding factors which are related to technological advancements, rate at which technology gets obsolete (Example: the operating system in mobile phones), automation, and innovation.


5 Forces Analysis Of The Environment

The five forces model of analysis was developed by Michael Porter to analyze the competitive environment in which a product or company works. Description: There are five forces that act on any product/ brand/ company: 1. The threat of entry: competitors can enter from any industry, channel, function, form or marketing activity. How best can the company take care of the threat of new entrants? 2


Endorsements

Endorsements are a form of advertising that uses famous personalities or celebrities who command a high degree of recognition, trust, respect or awareness amongst the people. Such people advertise for a product lending their names or images to promote a product or service. Advertisers and clients hope such approval, or endorsement by a celebrity, will influence buyers favourably. For example, Sach


Reference Price

Reference price is also known as competitive pricing, because here the product is sold just below the price of a competitor’s product. Reference price is the cost at which a manufacturer or a store owner sells a particular product, giving a hefty discount compared to its previously advertised price. Description: Reference pricing, in simple terms, is known as that price which users compare with


Loss Leaders

Loss leaders are high volume, high profile brands or products that are sold by retailers with the intention to attract customers into their premises, with the hope that those customers will end up buying other goods as well, once inside. Examples could be steeply discounted electronics, or consumer goods, or garments. A zero percent loan for cars is a loss leader example for the dealer. Descri

Essay - The Possibilities of the Human Body Are Unlimited.

 

Seven popular myths about human brain


Synopsis

The two sides of the brain are intricately co-dependent. Brain-scanning technology has revealed that the two hemispheres of the brain most often work together in complex processing.

ET Bureau
The human brain is a power organ that controls all body functions, interprets information from the outside world and stores that information in our memory. Composed of the cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem, the brain controls our capacity for art, language, moral judgment and rational thought. But we humans have some very wrong ideas about our brain. We busts some of the popular myths about the command centre of the human nervous system:

Myth: We use only 10% of our brains
FACT:This is one of the most popular myths about brain. It can only be tracked down to the reserve energy theory by Harvard psychologists William James and Boris Sidis. In the 1890s, they tested the theory in the accelerated raising of a child; thereafter, James said that people only meet a fraction of their full mental potential, which is a plausible claim. Many of us believe that we could achieve so much more - learning new languages, musical instruments and sports - if only we applied ourselves. The myth sounds appealing because they see it in terms of human potential - implying that we have huge reserves of untapped mental powers.



Myth: Brain damage is permanent
FACT: The brain can repair or compensate for certain losses, and even generate new cells. Scientists believed that the brain was unalterable; that once it was "broken", it could not be fixed. However, it should be noted that the brain remains plastic throughout life, and can rewire itself in response to learning.



Myth: Doing crossword puzzles improves memory
FACT: A study, led by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, found that solving crossword puzzles initially delayed the onset of memory decline in individuals between the ages of 75 and 85, but sped the decline once a person showed signs of dementia. Today, most neuroscientists agree there is no harm in the activity but there's no great benefit other than making you an expert in crossword puzzles.



Myth: Being in a coma is like being asleep: You wake up well rested
FACT: In the movies, coma looks harmless. In real life, those emerging from coma often suffer disabilities and need rehabilitation. Scientists at the French National Center for Scientific Research, in 2012, found that high-traffic brain regions - normally bright hubs of activity, even during sleep - are dark in coma patients while other areas inexplicably light up.

Myth: Headaches are in the brain
FACT: Headaches are thought to be caused by the tension and swelling of blood vessels of the brain. But there are no pain receptors in the brain itself. However, the meninges (coverings around the brain), periosteum (coverings on the bones), and the scalp have pain receptors. Headaches are actually caused by the tightening of the muscles in the neck and the head. Headaches may also be caused by an imbalance in serotonin levels. Serotonin is essential for regulating mood, sleep and blood vessel size.



Myth: Male brains are biologically better suited for math and science, female brains for empathy
FACT: There are small anatomical differences between male and female brains. The hippocampus, involved in memory, is usually larger in women, while the amygdala, involved in emotion, is larger in men, which is quite contrary to the myth. Evidence suggests gender disparities are due to cultural expectations, not biology.

Myth: A person's personality displays a right-brain or left-brain dominance
FACT: The two sides of the brain are intricately co-dependent. We often hear that one can be "right-brained" or "left-brained" - and that those who favour the right are more creative or artistic and those who favour the left are more technical and logical. But brain-scanning technology has revealed that the two hemispheres of the brain most often work together in complex processing. For example, language processing, once believed to be the provenance of the left hemisphere only, is now understood to take place in both hemispheres: the left-side processes grammar and pronunciation while the right processes intonation.



White & Grey's Anatomy
* The human brain is the largest brain of all vertebrates relative to body size
* It weighs about 1.5 kg. The cerebrum makes up 85% of the brain's weight
* Brain makes up about 2% of a person's body weight
* It contains about 100 billion nerve cells (neurons) - the "grey matter". These neurons are connected by trillions of connections, or synapses
* It contains 1 billion nerve fibres (axons and dendrites) - the "white matter"

Did you know?
* A human brain can have a storage capacity of anywhere between 3 terabytes and 1,000 terabytes
* The brain is the fattest organ in our body at around 60 years
* There are over 1,00,000 miles of axons in your brain. That's enough to wrap around the world 4 times
* At any given time, the brain can generate up to 25 watts of power. That's enough to power a lightbulb
* Information can fly around your brain at 260 mph

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Psychiatry

 

The human mind plays an important part  in the proper development of a human being.  The speed of mind is much higher than  sound and light.  It has the innate capacity and capability  of  seeing  and hearing.  The medical world  has failed to a limited extent in understanding the different functions of the Human Brain.  The human brain has the executive function  of working like a chair if the human mind.  The different organs of the brain have to undertake the many duties  of the human mind.  As per the opinion of the father of Psychiatry, Mr Sigmund Freud,  “ The human mind has to fulfill the basic human necessities such as  hunger and thirst.  Sometimes, the integral development of the human mind could take as long as 20 years.  “.  In the first 5 years of a human being, the eye, ear, nose, skin and tongue  would not have been properly developed.

 

The human brain would first understand all the issues pertaining to it and respond appropriately.  In all human beings,  all the essential organs would not have been equitably developed in the right manner.  At the critical and important time of pregnancy, this depends on the intake of good, tasty and nutritious food by the mother.  This invariably leads to play a critical and important part in the proper development of the first 5 years of the baby child.  The paucity of  equitable nutritious food  leads to malnutrition to both the mother and the baby child. This could even lead to many illnesses such as  Anemia and  Vitamin insufficiency. This could finally lead to a situation where the mental and physical development of the human being could be crippled.  For the mighty human body, the existence of any ailment or disease is  unfortunately an inevitable part. Another reason for the improper development of the human mind  is the existence of  a mental ailment or an infirmity in the case of either or both parents.

 

When the heart  gets thick, it is quite natural  to consider it  as a heart-related problem.When one conducts tests such as ECG and Scan on the human body, this worry could be put at rest and dispelled to one’s satisfaction and comfort.  In the life of a human being, some diseases have a short time-span  whereas other diseases have unfortunately a much longer life-span.

 

Consumption of certain medicines  for a short period of around 3-6 months would ensure that pain, worry and  sadness could be  kept far from the human mind.  It has to be ensured that  within the short but critical time-period,  the doctor’s prescription  should be fully compled with.  One thing that has to be remembered is that  never should one take medicines as per his will and wish.  As per a medical report, a deep and  slow pace of breathing for around 10 minutes  would ensure to give peace and balm to the human heart and body.  A man has to always  remain far from the twin threats of  alcohol and tobacco.  A man has to make it his onerous right and duty  to consume nutritious and good food.  But, one should never consume excessive food or  too much of sweet food.  A man has to make it a point to ensure that  he has to contact  the doctor in times of medical distress without any sort of delay which would ensure that  the medical cure could be obtained before the ailment or disease spreads to other parts of the human body.

 

When compared with men, women have greater contraction of mental diseases.  As per the opinion of many people, there is a  wrong notion that  the girl child lags behind both physically and mentally across India.

 

The common medical infirmities in children are stomach ache, vomitting, diarrheoa, tiredness and sleeplessness.  This is the reason that parents are well-advised to show their wards to  a doctor  without any delay.  The reason for the low mental development of a child  is due to the combined effect of  regressive  intelligence on the one hand and  limited mental  disability, on the other.

Another important matter to be noted here is that  the concentration inadequacy of the child is due      to the improper development of the human brain.  A cool and comfortable environment could considerably help  in upgrading the learning and concentration skills of a child. A developing child’s mind could bend towards sexual attractions  and this could seriously affect  the concentration of the child towards studies.  The precise reason for this could be the lack of proper sex education in India.

 

In our country, more than 50% of our children are suffering from Anemia and  malnutrition.  Children should understand a subject after 30-40 minutes of reading it. They should take food in a correct manner  and should sleep for a minimum period of 6 hours a day.  They should participate from time to time in games of their choice and liking.

 

Some children could be suffering from issues related to  sadness and depression  and such children are under an increased risk of attracting mental ailment and diseases. Atleast 20% of the population suffer from some sort of  mental illness. Unfortunately, for such people, the chances of medical cure are too remote  as the possibilty of them consulting a psychiatrist is always a rare occurrence.  It is a misfortune that more than 50% of people in society suffer from some sort of medical ailment such as Anemia, dental and skin problems).

 

As per the recent report , in India, the average life-span of a man is 69 years while of a woman, it is fixed at  71 years.  In India, the percentage of people living above the age of 60 years is at a meagre 8% of the population.  The interesting fact about this is that by the year 2025, this share could increase to as much as an all-time high of 20%.  In this age of advancement in modern science and technology, senior citizens always suffer from some or the other sort of  mental ailments.  The reasons are as follows :  1. The different organs of the human body  lose its innate strengths as time progresses.  Memory power  and intelligence  goes on a declining spree.  Senior citizens resort to idleness in all their essential, core activities and heavily depend on others even for their basic daily chores.  2.  As age progresses,  the chances of a human being attracting medical infirmities such as Diabetes,  Arthritis, Cancer, Obesity and heart-related problems has become a common occurrence these days.Some people are at an increased risk of attracting medical ailments such as TB,AIDS and increased Blood Pressure.  3.  This is one of the reasons for a large number of senior citizens getting afflicted with many physical and mental illnesses of a critical nature.  Appendicitis,  Frailness, increased pain,  decelerating memory power and problems experienced in learning new skill-sets  are some of the hints of illnesses afflicting senior citizens.

 

People who have survived heinous crimes and  violent incidents of huge magnitude  and their immediate family members are susceptible to many kinds of mental illnesses.  That too, in today’s civil society,  addiction to tobacco and  alcohol  has unfortunately become an integral part of everyday life.A man has to undertake a lot of physical and mental exercises which give recurring and eternal peace and  balm to the unpredictable human mind.  When a person performs Yoga,  the mind has to be filled with peace and patience.  Anger only leads to  a state of perennial and eternal conflict and endless agitations.  This unfortunately leads to the temperature of the human body increasing exponentially leading to body and hormone imbalance. The face turns red and the tooth gets fat as time progresses.  An intemperate and  polluted atmosphere and environment makes  a man easily lose his state of balance and cool temper.

 

It is very common to see  a human  being getting negative in attitude when one is afflicted with diseases such as  Asthma and AIDS.

It is very common to see people having vision and hearing problems and skin problems and getting afflicted with devastating diseases like Epilepsy. It is an imperative need and obligation of civil society to treat such people with love and affection. Every human being in this world is a direct by-product and gift of the environment and nature. Critical or life-threatening diseases force a human being to lose interest in his work and this could result in negative factors such as inefficiency and  declining success rates in the work allotted to him.  Some people tend to neglect  their mental ailments and infirmities.  The precise reason for this is the incidental social stigma attached with their medical condition.  This includes diseases such as  Diabetes,  Scizophrenia and Epilepsy.  It is an irreversible fact of life that every man in this universe has only 24 hours a day or 100 years to live .If a human being is confronted with any problem or crisis in his life, he should always resort to the best practice of deep breathing exercise.  He should close his eyes and should only focus and have his concentration on the air and wind surrounding the atmsophere.  A man should always be engrossed and occupied in meditation and prayer in his free time.  He should always listen to soothing music.

 

In the world, at present, upto 70% of children are equipped with common intelligence.  15% of children, unfortunately have little bit less intelligence.  Out of this, around 3%  of the children suffer from some kind of mental illness.  It is advisable for all parents to allow their wards to learn the subject of their choice in their own pace.  In our country, even to this day, around 40-50% of the people suffer from Anemia.  This results in decreased supply of oxygen to the human body and this could increase the chances of tiredness.  Around 25-30% of children suffer from learning disabilities.  The different milestones of a child’s development is as follows :  1. Head Control- 3 months 2. Sitting – 6 months 3.  Standing -9 months 4.  Walking –  12 months  5.  Talking – 18 months.  One important and critical aspect to be considered here is that when a child is subjected to mental infirmities,  these developments could face a delay of upto 3 months.  In these children,  there is regressive physical development of the human body and unfortunately,  they have improper physical features such as round face, small eyes,  big ears,  small head and small legs.In critical subjects such as Science and Maths, their learning skills could be quite poor while on the happier and positive side,  their learning and adaptation skills could be of a high grade on other easier subjects of learning in the academic curriculum.While some students have excellent verbal communication skills, they are quite deficient in reading and writing.

 

 

In this kind of mental  illness,  the cure can be given mainly through imparting of adequate training to the affected person. The consumption of only medicines or tonic can be of no use.  Only people equipped with special training skills can  mould positive opinion and give special attention.  For reading and writing problems, the alphabets  should be bold in character.  For information to be registered in the human brain, it has to enter through the medium of ear, eye, skin, nose and tongue.  Information and the work mode should be registered in the human brain.

Growing children  could participate in drama and writing competitions.  As per a report, 12%  of girls and 40% of boys resort to some sort of unprotected sexual encounter. In the youth in the age group of  10-40 years, there are reports of  pre-marital sexual encounters.  This could result in increased chances of attracting deadly diseases like AIDS. Thus, there is a dire and imperative need of sex education in schools across the country.  Parents, teachers and medical staff  have the onerous responsibility of giving appropriate guidance in this regard.

Man always has to be healthy, physically and mentally and has to partake in general and special activities.  One important aspect to be considered here is that only earning marks  does not lead to a hild being equipped with sufficient life skills.  It is the responsibility of civil society  to ensure that children speak lovingly and cordially with poor, handicapped people and senior citizens.  Children of less than 10 years age should sleep for a minimum of 10 hours per day.

Children of the age group of  11-12 years should sleep for a minimum of 8 hours per day. People in the age group of  16-50 years  should sleep for a minimum of  6 hours per day.  Food is  a must for every human body.  Bad food is like poison.  Cleanliness and nutrition is most important while consuming food.  Food should never be thrown away.  It is most important to wash one’s hands before consuming food.  Every human being  could be subjected  to one or the other mental ailmemt  during his life-time. That mental condition  would have an irreversible relationship with our surrounding environment and atmosphere.  A  human being’s thinking process, memory power and intelligence undergoes many changes due to which mental ailments could surface.  The important indicators  of the existence of a mental illness could be sleeplessness,  irregular consumption of food and unlimited alcohol consumption. Sometimes, a man could even lose his consciousness.  There are different types of mental illnesses :  1.  Mental  deformities in the different functional organs of the human body.  2.  Schizhophrenia 3.  Mania 4.  Mental disability 5. Mental  disability due to excessive alcoholic consumption.  6.  Children’s mental ailments  7.  Headache and  sleeping disorders.  Due to chemical reactions in the human brain,  there could be clotting of blood and  unlimited alcoholic consumption.

 

In this modern age,  there are many medical facilities available for treating mental infirmities which are as follows :  Medicines :  Under proper medical supervision,  correct medicines have to be taken at the appropriate time  and as per the quantity prescribed by the doctor.  2. Counselling  3.  Training has to be imparted to the affected people to ensure that they can do their jobs easily, effeciently and effectively.  In this modern age,  there are 40 government mental hospitals and 100 private mental hospitals in India. While the oldest mental hospital is located in Chennai, the latest mental hospital is located in Delhi.  Here, there is a  availability of 2000 hospital  beds.  Due to historical reasons, the general public are hesitant to make use of mental hospitals.  District hospitals are in vogue across the country.  As per a recent report, around 4,000 doctors are practising the coveted medical profession in India till the end of 2015.  It is a pleasure and a sign of advancements in science and technology to know that in all the districts of South India, there is an adequate availability of  government and private psychiatrists.

 

As per a report, for every 1000 people, 10 are afflicted with mental ailments.  There are 2 kinds of mental infirmities, as per the expert opinion of renowned psychiatrists.  In the first category, there is regression in the human brain while in the second, there is head injury, blood clot and cancer which could lead to a situation wherein the memory power and human intelligence could start diminishing. The most common mental ailment is Schizhophrenia. In this mental ailment, the functioning of the human mind starts deteriorating. If correct medical treatment is not provided at the right time, this medical ailment could last for many years and some times, this could be detrimental to the proper development of the human being for life. If a man is afflicted with ‘Mania’, the human being starts reacting excessively in all ways.  But, this condition fortunately lasts for a period of only 3-6 months. A man sometimes has a thought of even committing suicide.  Generally, Schizophrenia is treated through the medium of giving medicines and sometimes, through the system of injections.  By administering medicines, a person’s sleep levels is brought back to normalcy.  Unfortunately, medicines have to be consumed for a number of years. The reason for recurrence of Schizhophrenia is the irregular medicine intake by the affected patients. As a man gets older in age, his development starts deteriorating.  His physical and mental health starts decelerating. This condition is due to the accident caused to the human brain. This is  called as “Dementia”.  “Cipilisy” is a sexually produced disease.  This produces a by-product called as “ Dementia”. These days, there is a possibility of cancer unfortunately developing in the human brain. In small children,there is an increased risk of mental disability in this modern age.  Some women unfortunately get afflicted to mental ailments after the birth of the child.  Precautions can and should be taken before getting afflicted to mental infirmities by stopping alcohol consumption and preventing injury to the head.

Ect is a system of shock therapy administered to a mentally ill patient.  (90-110 Volt electricity is given as a shock for around half a second to the head.  With this,  a human being is cured of his infirmity within a span of only a few minutes.  For the past 7 decades,  ECT has been used as a method of cure for many mental ailments such as Schizhophrenia, Mania and mental illnesses.  Since the 16th Century, Epilepsy has made its presence felt as a critical mental illness across the globe. Since the 1920-30s, there has been a negative relationship between Epilepsy and Schizhophrenia. In the improvised system of medication in ECT, Sodium is given in the quantity of 200-300 grams and it plays the part of Anesthesia in which human consciousness goes off in a short period of only 15-30 seconds.  90-110 Volts electricity is given as shock to the human body through the medium of 2 electrodes.  There is no pain experienced by the individual during this entire procedure which can be described as short and safe. For a short span of around 2 minutes, an artificial system of oxygen supply and respiratory system is given to the human body.  The man regains consciousness in a short span of around 2-5 minutes. In a week, if ECT is adminsitered for around 2-3 times, it helps in the brain returning to a normal state. But, there are side-effects to ECT such as vomitting and headache. But, ECT is a modern technique and a painless treatment procedure. This will not harm the brain. This is also a safe medical procedure.

 

The major reasons for accidents caused to the human brain are due to injury to the head, drugs consumption and harmful blood supply to the brain.  The main hints of  Meninjitis to surface in children are decelerating development  in the child and the inability of the child to walk properly. The child cannot talk properly. Correct exercises, proper training to speak properly could lead the child to live a balanced life.  This could also lead to the child learning new life-skills. Some children have behavioural problems and inadequecies. They are totally restless in character and they cannot be silenced even for  a minute. In such a situation, it is advisable to see a psychiatrist. Medicines have to be consumed for a period of 5 years in case of Fits and epilepsy so that this medical condition can be fully controlled.

 

The human brain’s Ciphilis disease initially shows up as an ulcer  and after around a period of 5-15 years, it has a debilitating and catastrophic effect on the brain.  This results in the damage of vital blood cells in the human body. This disease can only be controlled by giving Pencillin. The unwarranted consumption of  Alcohol, Ganja and sleeping tablets results in the birth of unwanted mental ailments. Injections such as Steroid helps in curing Asthma.  On certain Ocassions, the medicines given to treat TB leads to tension, suspicion and doubt in the mind of the affected patient. Industrial workers often suffer from certain kind of mental infirmities such as headache and sleeplessness.

 

Kidney disability sometimes leads to severe repercussions such as catastrophic effect on the human brain.  There is a dire necessity of  proper supply of glucose and oxygen to the human brain.  The human brain gets a regular supply of  700-800 milliliters of blood per minute.  But, as age advances,  the wall covering the blood cells gets thicker.  The net result is that circulation of blood becomes slow and the individual  could experience head ache, memory power loss and sleeplessness.  Injury to the head and high blood pressure could result in the individual  losing coscience partially or fully.  Cancer can arise in any part of the heart.This could even affect the brain.  If the brain tumour cannot be removed, it could be fatal to the life of the human being. Some tumours grow at a very fast pace, while some grow at a slow pace.  The main features of Brain Cancer is excessive headache and vomitting and resultant memory power loss.  Unfortunately, in certain individuals, ‘Dementia’ sets in their lives even before they attain the age of 60. If an X-ray is taken on such individuals, there are empty spaces across the human brain.  The cure to this illness lies in imparting Physiotherapy and life-skills training.  Such people consume “Desedrin” which would result in the affliction to Schizhophrenia.

If people resort to excessive alcoholic consumption, they could experience trouble in the different organs of the human body.  Ulser, vomitting and Diaorhea could be the net result. This could also lead to a state of severe indigestion.  This could also lead to vitamin deficiency. There could be burning sensation and pain in the hands and legs. According to social scientists, social disorder, dependency on medicines and the behaviour of robbers and dacoits have a deep sense of inter-relationship. If correct treatment is given to the affected people in good hospitals, there habits could be controlled to a very great extent. Such people should be subjected to a high level of supervision throughout the day. There is  a dire necessity to withdraw the consumption of medicines in a methodical manner on a case-to-case basis.

 

There is a mis-conception about alcoholic consumption which are as follows :  1. Alcohol acts as a panacea for cough, cold and breathing problems. 2. Alcohol consumption gives encouragement and inspiration for heightened sexual activities.  3. Alcohol consumption could lead to cure for pain 4.  Alcohol consumption could lead to hunger being lessened 5.  Alcoholic consumption could lead to good sleep.   As per a recent survey, in India, the percentage of male alcoholics is at a very high level. As per a recent report, in a single district government hospital, the percentage of female alcoholics is at a huge 16%.   The alcohol consumed by common people is called as “Ethanol”. This is the product generated by plants. This mixes up with sugar.This easily enters into the blood vessels. In women, the possibility of dangerous consequences due to excessive alcoholic consumption are very high. Alcoholic consumed once joins man’s stomach. One should never consume alcohol on an empty stomach. This could lead to cancer or ulcer. Due to alcoholic consumption, a major portion of sugar joins the human body. Due to excessive alcoholic consumption, the chances of a man losing his memory power and learning power are high.  This could lead to turbulence in the functioning of the human brain. As per a recent report, due to consumption of alcohol, women tend to lose their chances of producing a child. If a pregnant woman consumes alcohol, it tends to have dangerous consequences on the development of the child.

 

Unlimited alcohol consumption could lead to certain illegal  activities such as rape and molestation.  “Norasis” is a small mental infirmity.  In this ailment, the individual is aware of his mental disability.  The main features of this mental ailment are tension, fear and worry. For individuals afflicted with this ailment, the cure procedure could comprise of medicines, injections, X-ray and in certain undesirable circumstances, a surgical procedure could be inevitable. This mental ailment is more pronounced in children and senior citizens. As per the opinion of Sigmund Freud, the main reason for tension in this world is the atmosphere of conflict prevalent everywhere.  The atmosphere of tension plays a major role in the development environment of every child in this universe. The main features of tension are increased heart beat, breathing problems, sweat, vomitting, diarheoa and night dreams.

 

The main feature of “Phobia” is tension. This is more prevalent in children. If “ School Phobia” is discovered, it is common to see fear arising in the minds of parents.  The cure procedure for this is as follows : 1.  Psychotherapy 2. Group Therapy (consisting of 8-10 children). 3. Behaviour Therapy 4. Medicines 5. Music, dance, art, yoga and pranayaama.Sadness and sorrow plays a critical role in the day-to-day activities of a human being leading to the evolution of mental ailments. The mental ailments are of 2 types : one relating to environment and mother nature while the other relates to chemical changes in the human brain. The features of  environment and nature-related mental ailments are as follows : 1. Loneliness 2. Sadness 3. Crying 4.  Showing of disinterest 5. Tasteless food 6.  Sleeplessness 7. Headache 8. Suicide thoughts.

 

There are severe chemical reactions in the human brain when there is a shortage of quantity of Dopamin. This is more prevalent in the youth above 30 years of age.  This is hereditary in nature. The cure procedure comprises of pure medication  in the form of Stalopam and Emepremine.  The features of such a mental condition are mouth wearing off, eyes getting misty, diaarheoa, headache and hands shaking. When there is a state of “Mania”, this could be controlled by the use of Lithium Salt.  The consumption of Lithium could lead to a secure future. This  could be in the quantity of 900 milligrams. The blood status should be examined from time to time.

 

When the quantum of Lithium increases, the hands could shake and vomitting and diarrheoa  and sleeplessness could occur. Thus, it is better to see a doctor. People who have heart problems should not consume Lithium. When consuming Lithium, the quantum of salt should be more. The main features of OCD are :  1. Tension, Fear and sadness 2. Recurring thoughts. As per the opinion of experts, for every 1000 people, 2 people are afflicted with OCD. The main reasons for OCD are the huge quantum of “ Noradrillin”  in the blood.  To stop this, Stalopam and Klopramaine should be consumed regularly.  Behaviour therapy is very helpful in this regard. In children with common abilities, their mental age and regular age will be the same.  But, when there is a state of imbalance,mental problems arise.

 

When a baby is born, the blood clot could increase causing breathing problems.  Sometimes, the first 2 years could create malnutrition for the child. With this, there could be brain fever, extreme Jaundice, critical epilepsy and this could create mental ailments. There is financial assistance available from the government for children afflicted with mental ailments. Children afflicted with mental ailments could have suicidal and anti-social thoughts. Some children have an inferiority complex that are inferior to their classmates.  About 10%  of children could be afflicted with diabetes. This is very common for children in the age-group of 6-16  years. The main reason is fearful atmosphere. Small children want an environment of independence.

 

It is common  for epilepsy to occur in 1 out of 100 people. When electricity is transmitted through the human body and the information transmission speed increases, then it could result in epilepsy. In children below the age group of 6 years, then fever would increase and this could result in epilepsy. Coconut water and plain water should be given to the child regularly. When there is serious injury to the head, there could be harm caused to the human brain. Epilepsy could be diaognised by conducting tests such as X-Ray, CT Scan and EEG. If Epilepsy recurs, there could be more harm caused to the human brain.  The cure procedure us given in the form of medication. Food and sleep consumption should be methodical and if medicines are taken for a period of 3-5 years, the chances of epilepsy recurring is low. The doctor has to be seen  atleast  once in 1-3 months.

 

Sleeplessness is called as “Insomnia”. This condition has been reported by 75% of the affected people.  The main reason for this is negative thoughts and an atmosphere of insecurity.  Before getting a good sleep, pleasant music should be heard and one should not consume coffee, tea and alcohol. The sleeping room should be clean. The medication for sleeplessness Amitriphelaine(50-150 m.g.)  , Dothipin and Stalopam(  10-20 m.g.). . The medicines given for treating tension are Propranolol(20-80 m.g.).  and Klonasepam(0.5 m.g.)

 

To cure headache,when one consumes coffee and pain-killers, it could give balm to the mind and the disease could be cured. When there is headache coupled with vomitting, unwarranted thoughts come to the human mind.The result is that there could be lump in the eyes, blood clot in the brain and TB which could increase headache.

 

In the year 2014, 1.31 lakh people committed suicide and died in India.The number of people attempting suicide is 10 times more in number. A suicide attempt occurs every 4 minutes in India.Children in the age group of 7-10 years attempt suicide.  According to Sigmond Freud, every human being has a wish to live or die. Suicide is the net result of helplessness, sorrow,anger and fear.  This attitude could be more pronounced in every human being throughtout his life in the environment surrounding him. As per the Indian Penal Code, Suicide is a crime.  The chances of mental affliction are higher in cancer patients, sexually-exploited women,and lonely senior citizens.

 

For every 1000 people, 2 are affected by Schizhophrenia, 12 with tension,7 with alcohol consumption,3 with mental ailments and 70 people with limited mental disabilities. That is the reason for mental health becoming an integral part  of our public health policy. Unfortunately, the services of psychiatrists are available only to 10%  of the affected population.  50%  of the people get out of the treatment procedure after seeing the doctor for the first time.The Central Government implemented the Government District Mental Health Programme in the year 1996. As per the directions of the State High Court and the Supreme Court , the functioning of mental hospitals has improved considerably. For every 1 lakh people, 570 girls  are dying.

 

15-20%  of students  are afflicted to mental ailments, tension,tobacco consumption and Schizhophrenia. Many children suffer from behavioural and thought problems.  They spend  more time in internet and vehicles.In India, there are about 8 crore senior citizens.They are afflicted by ailments and mental infirmities which are becoming burning issues for the common man.
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The knowledge that has the potential to change your life


As food is the fuel to our body, information is to our minds. We read so many articles for health, make diet charts, get those superfoods from Nature’s Basket and make New Year’s resolutions to keep our body healthy. But where exactly is the seat of God in this temple that our body is? Yes, it’s in the mind.

Have you ever thought about the food you are giving your mind to fuel it?  Many of us are living on what’s called a daily diet of “media junk food”. Internet, our lives, look more like an ocean of information, which in truth is an information desert: full of mostly junk information. Even worse, many people living on this diet think they’re getting more informed and smarter because they feel satiated exactly the way they feel when they eat junk food.

Today, the amount of friends on Facebook we read about and never even meet, amount of content by a plethora of influencers on Instagram and videos we watch on YouTube has bypassed what a human can actually consume in a day while remaining sane. Starting out from watching Saifeena’s son Taimur’s tantrums to reading how much money Jeff Bezos’ wife will make after divorce to watching a video about Types of South Delhi Girls to tweets about Maha-Gathbandhan for the 2019 polls, we are in a constant state of content shock. Even worse, in the age of targeted, personalized content and subscriptions to feeds and channels, we end up consuming the same quality of content regularly. It is just an interesting treat that entertains temporarily but is quickly forgotten. Since marketers have found ways to feed us content specifically to our own inclinations and interests, it proves a powerful distraction from pursuing really useful “booster knowledge”.

What is booster knowledge?

Any information/content-article, book or blog which can give a boost to one’s knowledge system propelling a quantum leap in it, giving a breakthrough experience potentially changing your life forever is what I call as booster knowledge.

We’ve all had or will have a breakthrough experience or moment in our lives. For example, Elon Musk says reading “the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy” made him realize that a lot of times framing the question is harder than getting to the answer. The lesson stuck with him led him to ask bigger questions and solve the biggest problems in the world. Steve Jobs said “The autobiography of a yogi” had a huge impact on his mindset and made him “an incredible realization that his intuition was his greatest gift, and that he needed to look at the world from the inside out.” It was also the last “gift” given to all attendees in his memorial. As a matter of fact, this one book or article or an incidence in one’s life produces an impact more than hundreds of different books and experiences combined because its effects last with you.

There’s a content somewhere out there in the world which has the potential of changing your life forever if you read it and the ability to find that “booster knowledge” out of all the clutter, is an important skill to have in this era of information overload.

The flip side is the access to amount of booster knowledge available for cheap is more than ever. I could learn coding in Java or take a photography course on Udemy or YouTube for a modest amount or even for free. Heck I could sign up with Masterclass and learn cooking from 16 Michelin stars awardee Gordon Ramsay himself.

But how do we use the limited time we have to find that booster knowledge which is buried down under the unlimited ocean of distractions and how to decide which content to consume?

It’s fairly easy. Ask yourself the magic question “Does this content have the potential to give me a quantum leap in growth?” While consuming any content I ask myself whether it can change my fundamental beliefs or worldview or it’s just another repetitive content that produces a cumulative effect.
 

Knowledge Density and the 5-hour rule: A social media post which is writer’s best thought of the day has a lesser knowledge density than a book which is the author’s best thoughts in a year. Book summaries or TED talks are even more valuable providing concise descriptions of author’s main ideas. Field summaries (e.g. Book Series like “Philosophy for dummies” and “Negotiation skills for rookies”) have even higher knowledge density as they condense whole fields. Knowledge density is a learning format with higher signal-to-noise ratio. Many great entrepreneurs use the “5-hour rule”, setting aside at least an hour a day (5 hours a week) for deliberate practise or learning through A) reading by using knowledge density format which brings more knowledge value in shorter time. B) thinking/reflecting/meditating time, even better spending this time journaling their thoughts.
 

Understanding cognitive biases is an important skill in choosing the content we consume: A cognitive bias is the deviation from rationality in judgement that is caused by the tendency for the human brain to perceive information through a filter of personal experiences and preferences that lead us to trusting information we shouldn’t. (E.g. confirmation bias, social proof, halo effect etc.). A simplified example of the halo effect is when an individual noticing that the person in a photograph is attractive, well-groomed and properly attired, assumes that the person in the photograph is a good person based upon the rules of that individual’s social concept. A study in 1974 by Landy & Sigall demonstrated that we are highly likely to give a much higher rating to an essay if a photograph of an attractive female author is attached with it compared to an unattractive looking author. For further reading, my favourite resource on this subject is “The art of thinking clearly” by Rolf Dobelli.
Learning is one of the ultimate drivers of long-term performance and success. It is the single best long term investment we can make in our career. The Internet is filled with stories of the Zuckerbergs, Buffets, Gates, Cubans and the Musks reading enormous amounts of books every year. Warren Buffet credits his success to the habit of continuous learning “I read 500 pages every day, that’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest.” Not that you have to find time for 500 pages, but something useful every day. Everyone has equal access to the Internet but not everyone has an equal understanding of how to use that access. Hence it is so important to change our approach to media from reactive to a proactive one and choose what we consume wisely.
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Newton's third law, scientific discoveries and human nature
Synopsis
Considering human beings are as gullible as they are contrarian, every discovery gets its complement of believers — till the next one supplants it.
Science and scientific discoveries are indeed wondrous things. That Newton's third law — about every action having an equal and opposite reaction — goes beyond physics and applies to human nature is well known.

After all, our propensity to often do exactly what we are exhorted not to do is a manifestation of that; the whole concept of forbidden pleasures is predicated on it.

That could explain why scientific discoveries, conducted as they are by essentially contrarian human beings, end up proving opposite things with unfailing regularity. This paradoxical principle is most visible in aspects of popular science, such as findings related to health and nutrition. For every peroration about, say, the benefits of milk or eggs, there are equally credible warnings about their potential dangers.

The mission of science to prove that one person's superfood is another person's poison, for instance, is clear from the recent announcement about chocolate actually helping people to slim down. Chocoholics will not be allowed to revel in this justification of their indulgence for too long.

There will definitely be a counter-discovery in the near future of the role of chocolate in exacerbating the deleterious aspects of excessive caffeine intake, possibly even surpassing the culpability of tea and coffee. Some of these studies and discoveries, of course, are funded by interested groups, but these are easily identified.

Most of them, however, convey the impression that bored or underemployed scientists begin with a new idea or myth-busting notion and then go about proving their hunches to be true.

Considering human beings are as gullible as they are contrarian, every discovery gets its complement of believers — till the next one supplants it. We now need laws of human nature to put this in perspective.

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