Z - 5 steps to a catch some good Zzzzs!!

Sleeping well is quite important to our body. Doctors would tell you, that sleep supports your body’s circadian rhythm. When you sleep, certain body functions occur, which wouldn’t occur if you were to remain awake. Perhaps that is why it is important to sleep and wake up at the same time every day so that the body can perform to its maximum potential.

Repairing and relaxing the body happens during sleep and thus sleeping well is important to de-stress and rejuvenate your body. It is during deep REM sleep that our subconscious thoughts are manifested as dreams.

Here are 5 ways to help you get some great Zzzzs.

#1. Maintain a regular sleep cycle.

Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, so that the body’s internal clock falls into a pattern. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another, so choose your sleep hours according to your lifestyle. Having said that, the body needs 7-8 hours of rest each night- try to get adequate rest.

# 2. Eat a light dinner.

Heavy food, spicy food, and late dinners can make falling asleep difficult. Stick to a set dinner time, which should ideally be 3 hours before your bedtime. Eat light- preferably fill up on raw vegetables and fruits. Also avoid drinking too many liquids, especially alcohol and caffeinated drinks before bedtime.

#3. Limit technology at bedtime.

Limit your exposure to light at night-time. Bright screens interfere with sleep and body’s rhythms. So, avoid watching television or meddling with your smartphones and tablets late into the night. Keep away distractions at least an hour or two before bedtime. Use that time to read, or to listen to soft, soothing music.

#4. Relax the body.

Take a walk. Or better still, perform yoga. Shavasana or the corpse pose is quite a relaxing posture. All these activities relax the body and prepare it to sleep. However, avoid vigorous exercise before bedtime as it tends to have the opposite effect and keeps you awake.

#5. Create a proper sleep environment.

Before you jump into bed, draw the curtains to block out outside light from the room, light a scented candle or spray some sleep inducing fragrance like lavender or jasmine and switch on some light, soothing music at the lowest audible volume.

So, learning to sleep well is not really rocket science. Sleeping well is meditative and it can help your body to feel rejuvenated and be prepared for the next day. 

I think we'll all need this tonight!! 

Y - 5 things to tell Yourself

I don’t know about you, but I talk to myself a lot. I believe we have two voices, the one in our head and the other in our heart. The rational head can give you tons of solutions but it is based on what people say and how your previous experiences have been. And it is always peppered with doubt. On the other hand, the voice in your heart is full of hope. 

Here are 5 things you should tell yourself, i.e. things that your heart should tell your mind.  

This too shall pass.

Our life is full of ups and downs. But sometimes the bad phases are so painful and dark that it seems like we are stuck in that rabbit hole forever. But remember, that no matter how long the troubles last, it has to have an end. When the days seem dark and there’s no ray of hope, don’t give up yet. 

Tell yourself, This Too Shall Pass. Trust me, it will.

I can do it!

Often, we want to do something, achieve our goal, or take a risky decision. But there are people around you who tell you that you cannot, or you shouldn’t. Your mind too keeps rationalising your indecisiveness. When you are stuck with a decision, when in doubt about your ability, when the whole world seems to weigh you down, don’t give up on yourself yet. 

Tell yourself, I Can Do It. No one knows you better than yourself.

It’s my life.

Yes, it’s your life. You have the right to live it the way you want to. Don’t let other people influence or dictate how you should live, what you should do and what decisions you should take. Don’t let others tell you when or whether you should get married or have children, run a business, see the world, or paint, what kind of relationship you should be in and so on. Life is short. You don’t want to die with regrets, do you? When someone’s interferes with your decisions, don’t be forced to comply. 

Tell yourself, It’s My Life. I’m going to live the way I want to.

I don’t have to be perfect.

Are you trying to a perfectionist? Is the illusion of perfectionism making life miserable for you? There’s no perfect skin colour, there’s no perfect profession, there’s no perfect house, there’s even no perfect relationship or children! Similarly, you don’t have to be a perfect parent, perfect spouse, perfect child, perfect employee, perfect host, perfect yada, yada… No, you don’t.

Make it about gratitude and happiness than about perfection. When thoughts of perfection plague your mind and you feel you don’t have the perfect things or people to make life wonderful, don't fret.

Tell yourself, I Don’t Have To Be Perfect, neither do people and things around me.

I love you.

We always tell our loved ones that we love them. We pamper them, make them feel good, and make them feel loved. But what about you? Are you treating yourself well? Like they say, charity begins at home, love begins with self. Love yourself, keep yourself pampered and happy. Unless you love yourself how can you love others?

Tell yourself, I Love You. Every single day. 

X - 5 Xcess baggages you needn’t carry...

When you fly, the airlines specifies the weight of baggage that you can carry. Anything more than the specified weight, you end up paying an extra tax for it. As with the airlines, so it is with our lives. All our lives we walk around carrying a lot of xtra baggage. It does nothing except make us pay for it by eroding our own peace of mind. What are these xtra, xcess baggages?

Here they are-  

Expectations.

We all have expectations from people in our relationships. We do something for them, and we want them to remember what we did, and give it back to us when we need it. And when they don’t, it doesn’t go down well with us. Expectations in a husband-wife relationship, child-parent relationship, or in friendship, are quite common, but they end up ruining the relationship.

Don’t carry that xcess baggage of xpectations.

Do your deed and forget about it. If you aren’t likely to forget it, don’t do the deed. Don’t give yourself an xtra baggage to carry, by counting your favours. Karma has its own way of finding its way back to you and repaying you for all that you did, good or bad.

Anger –

Anger is like a piece of burning coal. The longer you hold it, the more it burns your hand. It will leave you charred and worthless. Yes, circumstances make us angry, people make us angry, and many a times we have no control over those umpteen things that make us angry.

But don’t carry around the xcess baggage of anger.

Instead, whenever you are angry, don’t react. Pause for a minute, take deep breaths and do nothing until you are calmer. An angry mind is prone to taking decisions that we might regret later. But also, remember not to leave the issue unresolved. Talk it over, take appropriate action, but resolve the matter. Otherwise, you will still be carrying that anger in your heart!

Feeling of hurt –

People have the ability to cause hurt to each other. They say or do things that leave us hurt and upset. The feeling of hurt is more when people whom we love and trust are responsible for it.

Don’t carry the xcess baggage of hurt.

If someone has hurt you, do this analysis. Is the person a loved one, someone who’s presence makes a difference in your life or is it some random person who merely has a passing presence in your life? If they belong to the latter category, there’s no point carrying the hurt. If they belong to the former category, ask yourself if you want forgive and forget, talk it over or give up on the relationship. You will know what to do. By carrying around the hurt and not doing anything about it, you are doing a great deal of harm to yourself.  

Past mistakes and feeling of guilt –

Who doesn’t commit mistakes? No one is all-knowing, or godly enough to have never committed mistakes in their life.

But don’t carry that xcess baggage of guilt.

It was a mistake, you realise it, you feel bad about it and swear to never repeat it again. Leave it at that. What’s the point in going over past mistakes, ruminating over it and killing yourself with guilt? What’s important is to learn from your mistakes and get on with life.  

Revenge –

Don’t hate someone so much that you wait to exact revenge from them for the misdeeds they have done unto you. Someone might have broken your trust, or tampered with your emotions, but is revenge the answer?

Don’t carry that xcess baggage of revenge.

Even if you succeed in taking revenge and destroying the other person, you aren’t going to feel better. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is the best revenge.

Whether it is an emotional baggage or moral one, xcess baggage is xcess. You have to stop continuing to carry it. Leave it on the ground, and save yourself the trouble and pain.

No matter who is responsible of the action, in the end, your response is about you. Make that count.

W- 5 ways to stop Wasting Time

If there’s something that runs away in the blink of an eye, it’s Time. We often complain that we have no time but if we’d just pause and look at what we have been doing, we have probably wasted away ours when we had enough.

“Every day you waste is another day you won’t get back” ~ Anonymous

Here are 5 ways to stop wasting the precious hours of our life.

Get off social media.

Social media has become the biggest killer of time. Whoever named it the World Wide Web, knew what a web it was going to turn out to be. Like a fly caught in the web of a spider, we go round and round, unable to break free of the tangle. With smartphones notifying us of everything that’s happening around us, we don’t even need to be logged into our PC.

So, we are either going green eyed at that cousin who’s having a destination wedding and posting hourly updates, or getting into unwanted arguments posting our point of view on topics that are irrelevant and a total waste of time, or busy updating the world about what we ate and if we burped and whether our dog barked. To add to it we are in umpteen groups on our phone and the poor thing keeps beeping the whole day delivering you useless forwards that you forward it again till it comes back to you!

How to stop wasting time on social media? The best thing to do would be to uninstall every dam**d app from the face of your smartphone. Impossible, right? I know! The next best thing would be to turn off notifications when you are completing your work or studies. Avoid looking at the phone every now and then to know who did what. Deactivate once in a while. It is a good detoxifying therapy. The world will not come crashing down if you don’t immediately like someone’s status or post pictures of the food that you are eating.  

Get off the endlessly long phone calls.

If social media is bad enough, the long duration phone calls are even worse. They sap your energy and time. But when it’s your best friend or close relative or the love of your life, you cannot just tell them off. Your parents or sibling might understand if you tell them not to call during working or studying hours, but friends often do not.

How to stop wasting time on calls? If you are studying for an important exam or are neck deep in work, the best thing would be to switch off your phone. If that’s not possible, let the calls go your answering machine. Put in a message that you are studying now or are working and will respond to their calls after a particular time, say after 7 pm.  

Stop procrastinating.

Putting off things that you can do today to another day is such a waste of time. Sure, it might not be urgent and it can be put off, but if there’s time today, the best thing to do is finish it off. Completed work equals that much less stress.

Don’t do unnecessary things.

Don’t go and clean your garden when there are more important things to be done. Don’t sit and gossip when you need to devote time to something else. Don’t watch back to back movies on Netflix when your attention is needed elsewhere. There’s a time for everything. Relaxing is important too, but relax in between work, not vice versa.

Make a to-do list.

A to-do list is an effective way to get things done. I stick three different colored papers on my board, green for work that needs to be done urgently in a day or two, yellow for work that can be stretched to a week and pink for work that does not need immediate attention yet needs to be done within a time frame. I keep ticking off the ones in green as I finish and move to the yellow and then to the pink.

The Eisenhower matrix is yet another way that I use to prioritise my work. It let's me slot my activities into four categories -urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent but important, and lastly, neither urgent nor important. Once work is slotted in one these four categories, it gives you an idea about which work needs your attention immediately, which work can be delegated, which ones can be put off for later and which ones you can skip doing completely. 

What's your mantra? 

   

V - 5 Valuable lessons I've learned from life..

I didn’t think I’d be able to write the ‘V’ post in time. But certain things happened that forced me into contemplation about life and the lessons it teaches us. Whether we learn from it or not is up to us.

Here are 5 Valuable lessons I’ve learnt from life-

Life is so very unpredictable.

We all know this, life can be so unpredictable, and therefore we can never be prepared enough. I met my close friend’s father on Saturday. He looked happy and cheerful and spoke to me for quite some time. But just day later, he developed a mild shoulder pain. He was even cheerful on the way to the hospital and chatted away with his family till they admitted him. He recovered enough by midnight and his family had just returned home to catch some sleep when they got a call that he had suffered a cardiac arrest. But unfortunately, his brain was deprived of oxygen for just a couple of minutes and he was declared brain dead.

In a matter of 24 hours someone who was alive was gone. Just like that. The uncertainty that looms over our lives is scary.

Hence, we can never take a single moment in our lives for granted. 

Set your priorities right.

Perhaps, that is why we need to get our priorities straight. Your work, your lifestyle, your social media presence - these aren’t or shouldn’t be your priority. Your family, your friends, your passions, your health - these should be. You can always get another job or buy things, but there will never be another parent, or good health if you don’t pay attention to it. The sad part is the things that matter don’t really last. You have to care for it while they are there.   

Don’t hold emotions within.

We hold a great deal of emotions inside us, anger, revenge, stress, grief... why, even love and happiness. The heart cannot deal with so many emotions. Express it, vent it out, talk it over, but don’t hold them within. It eats you up from inside. I lost a cousin to stress. He was just 38, but was suffering from a great deal of work related stress. He just woke up one day and collapsed before anyone could realise what was happening. Sometimes, I wish he had spoken about it.

Don’t let ego and time eat up the relationship.

My friend said that her father had been coming down to meet her for the last three days before he passed on. But she had been busy ferrying her kids’ to summer camp and had been unable to meet him. She rues the fact that though she had the opportunity to talk to him, she didn’t, because she had been busy and now she wishes that she could have a few minutes with him, but can’t.

Life doesn’t wait for anyone. You will never have time - make time.  

Her brother had broken away from his family over some issues, but mercifully he came back a few months before his father passed on. The burden of not having time to say goodbyes, of not having the courage to mend relationships, can be too heavy to carry.

If that relationship is important to you, don’t let ego come in between.

Nothing is permanent, neither grief nor happiness.

Grief and happiness are like the spokes a bicycle. As the wheels rotate, so do happiness and grief, and come into our lives alternatively. When you are very sad, tell yourself that ‘this too shall pass’. We all suffer from pain – emotional or physical. That is not in our hands. But not letting the pain become a suffering – that is in our hands. Don’t keep scratching the wounds, let them heal.

When you very happy, be thankful for it, but don’t be sad when the wheels turn. Remember, nothing is permanent. This too shall pass.

U - 5 ways to Unwind

After two back to back posts on why we shouldn’t overwork ourselves and why we should learn to relax, here’s one more that tells you ‘how’ to unwind and relax. I know, most of the times we have very little time at our disposal and sometimes we may have a little more. So here are five ways to unwind, depending on how much time you have on your hands. 

If you can afford to unwind for less than half an hour – Do Shavasana.

Shavasana or the corpse pose is a yoga pose we normally do at the end of the yogasanas. It is meant to relax the body. But it can also be done in isolation. All you need to do is choose a flat surface - your carpet will do. Lie with arms and legs stretched in a relaxed manner and close your eyes. Guided shavasana is even better. The yogic guide takes you through a series of scenarios which shuts your mind off from what you are doing and relaxes you completely. There are several well-known audio relays of such guided shavasana.

If you can afford to unwind for less than an hour - Lie down.

First create a space in your home other than your bedroom which you can use to relax. It can be a quiet corner somewhere, maybe a large window sill, or even your balcony. Use your imagination and creativity to decorate the corner in a soothing manner. Put a relaxing push-back chair, a rocking chair or a soft mattress and some pillows if you like to relax on the floor. When you need to relax, go your corner, lie down, and close your eyes. You may choose to listen to music or read a book or sleep. Why create a corner? Because, by marking a certain place as your relaxing spot, the body learns to relax when it is in that place.     

If you can afford to unwind for an hour or more - Take a stroll.

Find a place nearby where there’s a garden, maybe some birds and butterflies (do such places exist?), and take a calm stroll all by yourself. Solitude and nature are a great combination. Smell the flowers, admire the plants, breath in the cool air, and walk at a leisurely pace.

If you can afford to unwind for a couple of hours – Book a relaxing treatment.

Get yourself enrolled at a spa, or a Kerala Ayurvedic massage center or a fish spa center. Getting your body pampered is certainly the best way to relax. I can vouch for the efficacy of the Kerala Ayurvedic massages. They artfully knead your muscles into a putty and when you leave the place, you will have a broad smile on your face and a spring in your body. The fishes biting your feet is a delightful experience too!

 If you can afford to unwind for a day or two - Take a vacation

Skip the hot holiday spots. Steer clear of crowds milling around and opt out of sightseeing. Look for places that are far away from the city, have no wifi, and are set plush in the midst of nature.  You may not have to travel too far. The nearest village might be your weekend getaway. Do nothing. Just sleep, eat, stroll, repeat.

My most memorable vacations are – the one in a village called Magundi, Chikamanglur, surrounded by coffee estates, the Bhadra river flowing through it and surrounded by hills on all sides, the second one in Hebri, Mangalore, bang in the middle of a forest, the Sita river flowing by, and the third in Dandeli, near Hubli, the river Kali gurgling by and the Western Ghats surrounding the place. The common thread that linked all these three places was there was no network whatsoever, the rivers were practically uninhabited except by local people, and we were in the lap of nature for as far as we could go!

What's your favorite way to Unwind? 

T - 5 Ts of Togetherness...

Love is not easy. It involves a lot of effort. Irrespective of whether love has been around for 2 months or 20 years, whether the object of your affection is your child, partner, parent or friend - the effort needs to be renewed every single day. If being together with your loved one for an entire lifetime is your idea of love, then read on to know the 5 Ts that form the frame for togetherness.  

Trust –

Easily, trust forms the basis of all relationships. When someone places their complete trust on you, it’s their way of telling you that they feel safe and happy with you and are confident of turning to you when in need and know that they will not be disappointed. Don’t break the trust they have placed in you. Honour your commitments. If you have promised them something, keep it up, no matter how difficult it is, or else, don’t promise. If they have entrusted you with their secrets, with their issues, with their ambitions, guard them in your heart.

Truth –

Truth and trust are like two sides of the same coin. People trust those who are truthful. The moment you start having secrets that you cannot share, when you have to lie, be dishonest or cheat, be sure that the truth though hidden for some time will soon come out and the trust will be broken.

Time –

Togetherness demands your time. Isn’t ‘time’ the best gift you can give to your one? Agreed, in today’s fast-paced world, everyone is busy, there’s so much to do, and there’s hardly any time. But like it is said, ‘It is not about having time, it’s about making time.’ So, make time to be there for people you love.

Talk and touch –

Communication is such an important part of being together – both physical and oral communication. Most misunderstandings happen because people don’t talk, they don’t express themselves properly. People assume and presume, accuse and scream, and do everything but talk! Most issues would be solved simply if people communicated. And don’t forget to look into their eyes when you talk.

Touch is an important way to show love. Hug, hold hands, kiss. Make your loved ones feel loved.  

Tenderness -

As time passes, we tend to take people in our lives for granted. We expect more, we are disappointed more, we fight more and we hurt more. We forget that human hearts are as fragile as glass. Hence treat the people you love, like you would handle glass – with tenderness. Speak softly, act responsibly, behave gentlemanly and love endlessly, so with the adult, as with a child.  

What would you like to add to the list?

S- 5 reasons to say Sorry

Sorry. A five-lettered word, but how difficult it is to say it! As kids, we are taught that Sorry is one of the five golden words. While we have no qualms about saying the others, ‘sorry’ doesn’t come as easily. But of all the words, ‘Sorry’ has the most power to set things right. Don’t let the ego come in between. Say Sorry when it’s needed.

Here are 5 reasons why you should say Sorry.

Makes you feel lighter instantly.

When you genuinely apologise for some wrong doing, it lifts a heavy burden off your chest. Whether we accept it or not, our mind always knows when are wrong. And then we carry that burden all along, without realising how much it impacts our well-being.

Makes the other person forgive you.

I remember an incident where a friend had hurt me with such harsh words that stung for hours after they were spoken. It left a very bitter feeling about that person, and I vowed never to interact with her again. But within a couple of days, she called up and profusely apologised. I could see that she really meant it. It made me forget everything that was spoken and I willingly forgave her. I also realised how little it takes to set something right. One heartfelt ‘sorry’, was all that was needed.  

Makes other people see things from your point of view.

When you say sorry, it brings any argument or feeling of one-up-man-ship, crashing down. The invisible wall of hostility that gets built-up, breaks down and allows the other person to see and understand your point of view.  

Makes your little ones learn from it.

As our kids grow, they learn from everything we do. They mimic our actions, copy our behaviour and learn from our mistakes. When you apologise to someone, the little ones learn that committing a mistake is wrong but they can make it right by apologising. They learn to respect relationships and feelings more than their egos. Don’t you want to set the right example for your kids?

It’s for yourself.  

Saying sorry and meaning it, is more for our own sense of relief than for the person we have wronged. Irrespective of whether the other person forgives you or not, it will help you to be rid of guilt and help you to move on. Help yourself heal. Say Sorry.

R- 5 reasons why you must learn to Relax!

Our schedules are so tightly packed these days that we are constantly flitting from one activity to the other. Irrespective of whether you are a homemaker, are working outside, or are a student, there’s hardly a minute to spare for yourself! In the process, you end up fatigued, worried and irritated all the time. Only if you’d slow down a bit a take some time out to relax, you’d see that you can complete all your tasks without keeling over from trying too hard.

Here are 5 reasons why you must learn to relax.

Panicking and worrying is not going to make things right.

Sure, there’s a whole of things that keeps us on our tentacles – work that is pending, work that has deadlines, work that expects us to be in many places at the same time, work that is not going as per plan, or work that drives you crazy because the other people involved in it aren’t as dedicated as you are! But panicking or worrying isn’t going to get you anywhere. Things will happen when they have to happen.  

A relaxed mind can take more rational decisions.

You will agree that we hardly take our best decisions when we panic or worry. We tend to shout, argue, fight, feel discouraged, or angry when the mind isn’t relaxed. But if you take some time out to relax, you’ll see that your mind can react to situations and adversities much better. You will be able to take better decisions.

Relaxing increases productivity.

A relaxed mind is more creative and productive. When you give yourself a time out and spend time doing deep breathing exercises, meditating, smelling the flowers, simply lying down, or taking a nap, the areas in the brain responsible for creative thinking are activated. People brainstorm better, are able to memorize better, concentrate better, study better, and handle work stress better after a power nap. So, next time you find yourself in a jam, just reach for the pillow!

A relaxed person has a calming influence on their surroundings.

A relaxed mind is contagious. People around you tend to calm down if you are relaxed. An agitated person tends to increase the tension in their surrounding but a relaxed person dissipates the existing tension.

Relaxing helps keep illness at bay.

Relaxing helps to calm the body and mind. It prevents stress and depression. It also prevents high blood pressure, migraines and such illness which are all a manifestation of panicking and worrying. What is the use of spoiling the health and regretting later?  

Take time out from your busy schedules and relax. The body needs to rejuvenate and recoup. Don’t deny it it’s due.  

Q - 5 irritating Questions that people ask and how to tackle them!

Our lives are never private. There are people all around us trying to poke their noses into everything we do or don’t. They are so interested to know every little thing that goes on in our lives that it becomes a pain answering them.  

Are you free? they will ask. Your time is never your own. You will be expected to run errands, complete their child’s project, or whatever. But if you refuse to help, saying you have your own work to complete, they have the next question ready.

How much do you earn? they will want to know. Hah! They really expect you to tell them the figures? Don’t answer it, but if you did, well, God save you. If they think you are earning well, they will pop the next question.

Why are you single? What a waste of your life, if you aren’t yet married by the ‘correct’ age that society has set for you. Perhaps they will give you a cursory look and try to reason why marriage has evaded you.  

Why don’t you do something about your colour/ size? Poor souls. Don’t they know that one can do absolutely nothing about the colour of your skin, height and err…weight?  But when you eventually get married, you know what they will ask next...

When will you have a child? As if having a child is the sole reason why people get married!

After having given you the headache of a marriage and a child and seeing you run around like a headless chicken, will they get off your back? No! They will come back to question #1.  

Are you free?

So, here are 5 ways to tackle these irritating questions.

Use humour.

Find a funny way to reply back to irritating questions. If someone’s pestering you with the why aren’t you married question, roll your eyes and say, ‘Oh my, are you jealous?’, or wink and say, ‘Amn’t I lucky?’, or better, ‘Because I love bread pakoda more’!

Ask another question.

It always irritates people when you answer a question with another question. If someone’s asks, how much do you earn, say, ‘Why is that important to you?’, or ask them the same question, ‘How much do you earn?’ or even tongue-in-cheek, ‘Why, aren’t you paid enough?’

Be vague.

Giving vague answers which give out nothing about what they want to know is a clever way of getting them off your back. If someone asks, ‘What price did you sell your house for?’  say, ‘Even a million bucks would not be enough payment for this lovely home,’ or ‘Money is just a number, can it buy happiness?’

Give them an irrelevant and lengthy explanation.

If people have come looking for spice, give it to them. Take them round and round in circles, giving them all sorts of irrelevant information and take up so much of their time that they will think twice before asking personal questions again.

Refuse to answer.

Just refuse to answer. People aren’t expecting you to refuse to answer them. Knock them over with a refusal, ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t want to answer that.’ Simple.

What's your trick? 

P - 5 kinds of People we should be grateful for having in our life!

Life would be so lonely and burdensome if there was no one to share in our grief and happiness. Blessed are those who have someone who glue them back when they are broken. If you are one of those blessed beings who have a go-to-person, to fall back on, then hold on to them tightly and take time out today to send them a heartfelt 'thank you'!

Here are 5 kinds of people whom we should be definitely grateful to! 

People who make you smile.

I'm sure there's at least one such gem in your life. Even if your chips are down and out, and you are struggling for breath, they know exactly how to make you smile and laugh. Just seeing them lifts your spirits. They may not always dole out the best of advice but from them, you will learn that life is too short to be taken so seriously!  These are ones that make life worthwhile!

People who motivate.

These are the people who always have your back. They will egg you on to do what you want to do, assure you that your dreams deserve to be realised and support you when you feel low. With them you’ll be always full of energy. You can dare to share your weirdest and most impossible looking aspirations and they’ll tell you that you can achieve it too! And no, they will never judge you no matter what you do.

People who are honest.

Everyone loves honesty as a quality, and yet, we don’t like people who are truthful. Quite a paradox? Yes, because truth is bitter. We label people who are honest as unthoughtful, rude, and harsh, but they have your best intentions at heart. They tell you things without mincing words. They are way better than those who sugar coat their words but aren’t really bothered about you. Keep the honest ones close.

People who love you and help you unconditionally.

To receive unconditional love is such a blessing. Yet, we take these people who shower us with unconditional love for granted. Are there people who have been there for you and have always helped you in your times of need without expecting anything in return? Never forget to show gratitude to these people. No, they will never stop loving you even if you don’t reciprocate, but won’t they be thrilled if you do? 

People who listen.

We all need our 3 a.m. friend. The person who will be there to listen to our woes, to give us their shoulder to cry on, to hug us when we need it the most, no matter whether it is day or night. It's easy to give advice but it takes a special person to just listen without judging. These are the people that you can depend upon the most. There’s nothing that can comfort us more than a person who can you can give us a patient hearing, is there? Well, don’t forget to return the favour when they need you.

Who are these people in your life? Know who they are and keep them close. Perhaps, there’s just one such person in your life, but they might be a combination of two or more qualities or maybe even all 5. I hope you revere them for the sunshine they bring into your lives.

O - 5 reasons why you shouldn’t Overwork yourself.

No one really has a 9-5 job anymore! Irrespective of whether you are an IT professional, marketing executive, doctor, banker, a teacher or a housewife, the one thing that’s common is exhaustion due to overwork. Every employer is looking at how productive the employee is, every home maker is looking at what extra can be done or has to be done in order to push through the day and in general everyone is slaving their behinds off overworking, till it kills them. The Japanese have a word for it - Karoshi - which translates to, death due to overwork.

But working those extra hours, slogging away till you fall down dead is not really a great way of living, isn't it? 

Here are 5 reasons why you shouldn’t overwork yourself.

Is work all there is to life?

Whether you work at home or at the workplace, remember that work is only one part of your life. There are several other things that make your life complete - your family, spouse, parents, family, interests, hobbies, and travel. Making one part of your life seem like your entire life, is like just living 10% of your life, and neglecting to live the rest. Just like it is important to eat a proper ratio of carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals in order to have a healthy body, it is important to play, relax, and enjoy along with the work that you do.

Live before it's too late!

If you continue to neglect all other parts of your life, they will start neglecting you too. The kids grow up before you have spent enough time with them, the parents are no more around to share in your happiness and grief, the spouse and friends move on with their lives, and finally you are too old to travel or even pursue your hobbies. Remember that song by Doris Day? Well, listen to it here!

It's later than you think!!

It takes a big toll on your health.

Overworking is stressful. To stay relevant in the rat race, you not only have to be productive but also increase your productivity. All this leads to a chronic stressful condition. Soon, it manifests as panic attacs, heart disease, obesity, insomnia, depression, back aches, headaches, stroke etc. Your appetite is affected, sleep patterns are affected and the dearth of exercise and relaxation takes a big toll on your health. Eat well, exercise, sleep well. These are as important as working hard.

If not now, when?

What use are the money, fame, and name you have earned if you have not spent them well? Whom are you saving it for?

 Statistics say that most people who spend their lives overworking, die with more than 90% of their wealth unused in their lifetime.

A friend of mine has a three-storied bungalow which employs several servants for its upkeep. In addition to maintenance expenses, they also pay a huge amount as EMI. The couple are successful in their respective jobs but hardly have time to eat and very little time to spend in their own homes! It makes me wonder for whom they are working so hard for? 

Let's not die with regrets.

No one wants to die with regrets. Imagine being someone who's spent the entire life just working, unable to enjoy their hobbies and dreams, and in the twilight years, wonder how an entire lifetime has passed by. Why die with unachieved dreams, unfulfilled desires, and unshed inhibitions?

The point of this post is not to tell you to stop working. It is to make you aware that there’s more to life than merely work. Don’t forget to give an equal share of the pie to every aspect of your life. Don’t say, I’ll travel when I retire or I’ll enjoy when I am free of responsibilities. Remember that all these aspects have to be taken care of simultaneously so that you can live a fulfilling and happy life.