The more you pay gratitude, the more you have

Hola! Dear colleagues, mates, seniors and juniors! How was your Eid? One of the best? Or may be the busiest one. I hope you people spent a wonderful Eid with your families. Today I am going to share one of the habit of ultra-successful people, a habit that is practiced by most of the successful businessmen in the world whether he is Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz, Larry Page, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or whoever he is, a habit that everyone must need to develop and I am hardly working on it and I cannot do this without sharing with you people.

Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotion that you can practice in your everyday life. But unfortunately, we are quite unaware of the benefits of paying gratitude. We are so taking everything for granted that we have almost totally forgotten to accept what things we actually have. The biggest dilemma is that we keep on crying on the things that we don’t have rather than thanking and showing gratitude to the things we have.

I have been studying about habits of ultra-successful people for few weeks and from many habits, what I found the most common habit among all these people is the habit of showing Gratitude. Showing gratitude is no rocket science. It is so simple as walking in the park, but the urge to show is what matters the most.

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity...it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow - Melody Beattie

We live our life at our fullest, I still remember when I first started my job here at CMPak, and one of my very close and old friend who knows me from childhood, asked a wonderful question which brought tears to my eyes. His question was “How it feels like to see your wallet full?” and I replied him with a beautiful smile. Because when I recall, I didn’t have wallet even and now I hardly see it empty ALHAMDULILLAH. In our everyday life, we have uncountable things to pay gratitude.

Let me recall and remind the things which we are taking for granted from years,

• -          We open our wardrobe and see it full of clothes, even at times we get ourselves confused what to wear
• -          We have sincere friends whom we discuss and share our personals
• -          We wear everything branded (Clothes, shoes, perfumes)
• -          We maintain clothes like formal wear, semi-formal wear, casual wear
• -          We maintain shoes like, for running, for formal wear, for hiking, for sports, casual, semi-casual
• -          We open our refrigerator and find so many things to eat and sometimes few of them goes wasted even
• -          We breathe, we walk, we play, we see, and we have all the senses gifted by ALLAH without even asking
• -          We have electricity, gas, and air to live with
• -          We have fresh clean water to drink, cleanse & wash
• -          We are educated, knows good people, works in a good company
• -          We have flow of cash, we earn, spend, save, invest
• -          We have beautiful relations like (siblings, friends, parents, spouse, children)
• -          We live in big houses, sleep on comfortable beds, eat hygienic breakfast, lunch and dinner, play sports
• -          We own cars in which we travel and go to places whenever & wherever we want to
• -          We have the internet to learn so many things and stay connected to the world
• -          We hangout, we spend on luxuries, we spend on tourism
• -          We see our wallet empty, we go to atm machine and fill it up

I mean I could have made this list as long as I could but it would then be too long for one to read. Observe yourself, and your surroundings and you will feel all the amazing things which we are taking granted for years. We not only have necessities, but we have a rich lifestyle.

How to pay gratitude?

As I told you, every successful person has a habit of paying gratitude daily, some do it by simply reminding themselves, some do it by keeping a journal, some do it by daily spending 5 minutes to think on for what they are grateful today and writing on a notepad. There are also multiple apps available which remind you of daily to write for which you’re grateful. But after reading from different blogs, articles, and other sources, I have developed my own way of paying gratitude. One of its kind. I call it WALL OF GRATITUDE. It is as simple as a wall covered in white paper.

Cover one of your bedroom wall with a white paper fully. And on daily basis, whenever you spare few minutes, write 2 – 3 points for what you are grateful for. This way, every time when you look at your wall, you will have a sense of humility, thankfulness, and you will feel more grateful towards your life. Researchers at Princeton University and UCLA found that those people who write in longhand appear to learn better, retain information longer, and more readily grasp new ideas, according to experiments by other researchers who also compared note-taking techniques. The process of taking hand written notes encoded the information more deeply in memory, experts said. Keeping in mind the research I have developed this way of showing gratitude. Others reason of showing gratitude on WALL OF GRATITUDE is once you write on the wall, it will remain in front of you all the times and will keep you reminding of the things on the daily basis that you have and keep you more focused and energetic. And the lastly, it will be a great addition to your room decor as well. J

Why should you pay gratitude is the question now?

Detailed benefits of gratitude can be found in the link below, highlights of which are following

1. Gratitude makes us happier

2. Gratitude makes people like us

3. Gratitude makes us healthier

4. Gratitude boosts our career

5. Gratitude strengthens our emotions

6. Gratitude develops our personality

7. Gratitude makes us more optimistic

8. Gratitude reduces materialism

9. Gratitude increases spiritualism

10.Gratitude makes us less self-centered

11.Gratitude increases self-esteem

12. Gratitude improves your sleep

13. Gratitude keeps you away from the doctor

14. Gratitude lets you live longer

15.  Gratitude increases your energy levels

16.  Gratitude makes you more likely to exercise

17.  Gratitude helps us bounce back.

18.  Gratitude makes us feel good. 

19.  Gratitude makes our memories happier. 

20.  Gratitude reduces feelings of envy

21.  Gratitude helps us relax

22.  Gratitude makes you friendlier

23.  Gratitude helps your marriage

24.  Gratitude makes you look good

25.  Gratitude helps you make friends.

26. Gratitude deepens friendships

27.  Gratitude makes you a more effective manager

28.  Gratitude helps you network. 

29. Gratitude increases your goal achievement

30. Gratitude improves your decision making

31. Gratitude increases your productivity. 

Source for 31 benefits: http://happierhuman.com/benefits-of-gratitude/ 

Think Before Wasting

Hello everyone! Hope you’re doing good.

I just want to share a brief story with you today. I have heard it many times, and every time I listen it, I feel Goosebumps in my body.

Aik family thy bohat ghareeb, iss family mai 4 log thay. Husband, Wife, or un k 2 bachay, 1 larka or 1 larki. Bacho ki umar 4 se 6 saal thy. 4 saal ka larka tha or 6 saal ki larki thy. In k baap ki tabiyat kharab rehti thy to paisa kamaa (earn) ni saktay thay. Uper walay ka kuch aisa karna huwa k Husband ki death hogai. Ub uss family mai bachay 3 log. Maa, or us k 2 bachay. Jab husband ki death huwi to in k parosio (neighbors) ne mil k khana kiya, or in ki trf khana bheja.  Khana khaya subne or iss k baad 3,4 din guzar gye. In k halaat or zada kharab hotay rahay. Biwi ne bacho ka pait paalnay k lye kuch logo se udhaar maanga, ye udhaar akhir kab tak chalta. 4,5 din k baad wo paise bhi khatam hogye, kiun k insaan hain zrurat rehti hai pait ko. To in k bacho ko bhook lgnay lgi, ub Maa jahan se paise le skti thy wo le chuki thy lekin ub umeed ni thy k kahin se paise milain gy. Mayoos (hopeless) Maa or iss k 2 bachy ub is cheez ko le k pareshan thay k khana kahan se khaye gay. 1 din or nikal gya bhukay piyasay, lekin bachay thay bhook bardaasht na kr skay or bhookay hi sogye. Raat k takreeban 2:30 bje uss choti bachi ki ankh khuli or wo Maa k pas ai, iss bachi ne Maa ki trf dekha or ye kaha “k Maa, hmara bhai kab maray (die) ga?” To Maa ne kaha k tu esay ku kehri hai. To iss bachi ne kaha, Ku k jab Papa maray (died) thay to khana aya tha, Bhai maray ga to khana aye ga.

Itna bara gunah ni hai ye, lekin agar sochain kuch logo k lye ye khana bht zruri hota ha, Bht Zruri. So I request all of you, jo bhi ye parh rahay hain agli bar ap jb b kisi restaurant, hotel ya ksi ghar ki party mai kabhi khana bnaye/mangwaye, please itna hi lijea ga k jitna ap kha sktay hain or koshish kriye ga k bacha hwa khana unko dedain jo log is khanay se Ji sktay hain.

Bohat mumkin tha, bohat mumkin tha k signal p kharay hum, 10 rupay, sirf 10 rupay ki khatir, gari k sheshay saaf krne k lye agay barhtay or log hmai dhutkaar detay, or wo log hmari jga AC gari mai bethay pas se guzar jatay or hmai dekh k mu morr lia krtay. Or ye bhi bohat mumkin tha k aj BURGER KING, KFC, MCDONALDs khanay  walay hum logo ki jga, muhallay (area) k kachray se khanay ki ashia (item) uthanay walay hmari jaga hotay or hum kachray se kuch dhund rhay hotay. Ye b bht mumkin tha k aj her waqt sports gear, branded shopping or technology ki batain krne walay hum logo ki jaga Thalessemia, Hepatitis ya koi moozi beemari mai paray patients hotay or hum unki jga Hospital k us bed ya ward mai hotay or ksi madad ki umeed lgaye hotay. Ku k, 1 achi family, achy ghar or achi sehat mai peda honay ka ikhtiyar na hmare pas tha, or na 1 ghareeb family or chotay ghar mai peda honay ka ikhtiyar un k pass. Agar ALLAH ne hmai ye sb kuch dia iska matlab ha k ALLAH ne yakenan hum mai kuch dekha hoga k MAIN isko zda duga to ye mere bando ka khayal krega or unki madad krega.

I’ll close today’s motivation and inspiration part by this last saying:-

Kisi ko sadqa, kheraat ya uski madad krtay waqt ye na dekh k ye us ka haqdaar hai k ni, ku k Jo kuch ALLAH ne tmhain dia pta ni tum us k Haqdaar thay ya ni.

Let’s Quit Procrastination

Hello, Everyone!

Good Evening Mates & Assalam O Alaikum!

To carry on my Inspiration # 2 blog, I must admit something before coming to the point. When I posted my Motivation # 1, I promised to keep you posted with motivations and inspirations weekly. And now, here I am writing motivation # 2 after a month maybe. Now that is what you called a typical example of, Yes!! You got me right. Procrastination it is! You got me!!

Now in our lives, we do procrastinate in every part of our life (at least I do a lot), and unless we don’t work and try to get rid of this habit, it will only prolong day by day. So in order to get rid of it, we must take some time out for ourselves and we have to find where do we lag and why did this happen? Once you start thinking about yourself and your weaknesses, I am sure you’ll start working on it! But the big dilemma of our society is we can spend hours, nights & days, in fact, months to keep our surroundings happy and lively, we spend years getting rich experience from our employers, we spend countless time with our buddies and the dilemma I am talking about here is, we hardly spend a moment for ourselves. Ask yourself, how many times did you spend time with yourself? Now here spending time with yourself is not listening alone to music or watching some movie, or whatever activity you do, but spending time with yourself is looking thoroughly into yourself, analyzing and evaluating yourself, observing yourself critically and then took some time out to write feedback to yourself. How many times you sit aside alone, forgetting all the hustle and bustle of this world, and listen to yourself? One of the attributes that successful people have is they self-evaluate on weekly basis and then they observe the change in themselves that how much they have improved over the period of time.

We must admit, we take each and every second to judge others within a moment. We all judge people by their faces, we judge them by their dressing,  their way of talk, their way of walk, I mean like Facebook, we have become a Comment Machine now! And yes, ask another question to yourself, how many times did you comment yourself? How many times did you observe yourself with the same criticality and then commented yourself just like we all do to others? Hardly a single time maybe, do you know why? Because we never got a single moment for ourselves. We are so busy commenting other people lives that we keep on ignoring until we have zero energy to invest in ourselves.

So, in order to move forward in our lives, we must need to live with the Inside Out Approach. That says “The Strengths Strategy approach to creating great results is an inside-out approach, which begins first, with the Individual, and their own understanding and growth, and then moves outward to impact the Interpersonal relationships, Teams, and ultimately, the Organization, environment, and the nation”.

Reasons of Procrastination:-

Most of the people procrastinate because of the following reasons. Keep reading and see which of the following reason traps you.

·         I started something with huge motivation and excitement but that didn’t last long.

·         I was inspired to do something, but always waiting for the perfect timing to start.

·         I know what I need to do but I never really do them most of the time.

·         It seems like I have endless mundane tasks that have zero relationships to my true goals.

·         When I finally have free time, I was consumed by distractions and waste it away.

Btw, I am trapped by 3^rd, 4^th, & 5^th reason. The biggest challenge we’re facing in achieving our goals and dreams are either we never start or we never finish. Simply put, procrastination is the biggest reason why we failed. We all set goals early of the years (or anytime during the year), brainstormed the ideas, drafted the action plan, and do everything to get ready to start that big project we always wanted to do. But then, we never start. Even if we started, we got distracted easily along the way and start drifting toward the wrong direction.

In order to beat this cruel enemy of ours, Procrastination, try these simple following techniques and see yourself which of this works for you so that next time you don’t fall in to the trap.

·         Seek Assistance – Engage your family member, your best friend, or any of your confidant to support you in reaching your milestone by constantly reminding/bugging about the task you need to get done

·         Exercise Regularly - Exercise is proven to increase productivity, especially as you age. You will have more energy. You will feel happier. And you will be healthier. Exercise also boosts creativity. People must be more conscious of their physical health, and better stewards of the bodies God created for us.

·         Delegate, Automate or Eliminate - Look at all the things you have to do this week. Ask, “Can this be delegated, automated, or eliminated?” If you can delegate it, send it to someone else’s way. If you can automate it with technology or a template, do that. If you are honest, a lot of things simply do not need to be done. If it’s a recurring task and doesn’t lead to the mission statement, eliminate it. Just say “No” Stop doing it, and do the things that produce the most fruit.

·         Reward/Punish Yourself – This is my personal favorite. Set small milestones for yourself and breakdown your tasks in chunks and set deadlines for every chunk. Now for each milestone, set reward & punishment. For example, I am writing this blog for today and if I complete it by tonight I will dine-out from the best steak house in town or whatever you love most. If not, I will donate 500Rs to some charity or help the community in some way. You can set rewards and punishments as intense as you like according to the criticality of the task. This reward/punish yourself is so effective and amazing that it will force you to do a certain task but keep in mind, you have to be very honest and loyal with you while following it.

·         Tasks Timer - Think about how much you need to get done when you only have a short time to finish it. Setting a timer forces you to focus and work fast. Many people swear by this Pomodor Technique. Give it a try. Set a timer for 25 minutes and see how many emails you can answer before the buzzer. Think of it as a game, and you will get a lot more done with a lot less wasted time.

The biggest investment that you’ll ever make in your life will be the one that you’ll invest in yourself. It is never too late. This is the right time & the right moment.

I will end the Motivation & Inspiration part # 2 with my own quote.

“You are born to leave an impact on this world, find it, live it, work on it and share it unless your impact brings a change in the World” – Abdul Rauf Liaqat.