Blissful Life

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Notice: after planning it for years, I moved this blog out of blogger/blogspot (which google has abandoned long ago) to wordpress on a fine evening in Dec 2024. This notice will stay here to warn that things might be broken. Let me know if you find anything.

  • Dare to Think Beyond just Google, Gmail, Facebook, Youtube and Wikipedia

    The internet is the best thing that human beings have invented (at least until 8 pm tonight). But still, millions of internet users all over the world do not visit more than 5 websites on an average day. (Those being google, gmail, facebook/orkut, youtube and rarely wikipedia too). Considering the fact that there is probably more than 182,226,259 sites out there, this is a pretty small number though certainly not negligible, because most people get whatever they need from those few sites.
    If you are someone who love to break out of the pack and venture into the internet, here’s what to do.
    First of all you must know that google is the answer to all your questions. If it hadn’t been for google or similar search engines, internet would have been a grand failure. And we should be grateful that google does exist because it is such a huge thing (the god of internet). Just think it without google. How would life in internet be? No mail, no scraps, no videos, no news, no search, not even me… Horrible life.

    So, google

    It’s analogous to human life. People are born into the internet knowing about a single site – google, then they learn everything about the web.

    With google there is gmail, orkut, youtube, blogger,  (and since you are reading this blog I know that you know about these already)
    But these are not the only services that google provides:
    There is even more
    News : An automatically updating database of news. Finds the latest news matching your query. Can even substitute your newspaper.
    Translate : You know what it is. Does an excellent work, you can even put in url and it does the rest. It can even detect language (so you needn’t know the language you don’t know in order to know what is being told)
    Groups : The best and easiest way to do something together with your friends, colleagues. Share files. Anything.
    Docs : Though I don’t use it for creating documents, it is great help for viewing attachments in my mails.
    Reader  : The best and easiest way to read and subscribe to feeds online. What are feeds?

    Now I shall start about sites that are meant to be read, and not used. And before that I must tell you what feeds are. Feeds are also called RSS feeds or Atom feeds (RSS and Atom are different types of feeds. But either can be used without much problems). They are usually seen as links under the title RSS or subscribe or Feed or in websites.  Now, what you must do is to copy the link and paste it in your feed reader (by the way feed reader is a software used to read feeds) But since there is google reader, you just need to go to google reader and add a new subscription. But nowadays, you needn’t do even that. There is feedburner that adds extra functionality to feeds. The feedburner feed links takes you to a page where you can select which online feedreader to use and you will be automatically subscribed to that feed. Just click on this link to test it

    So now that you are familiar with feeds, you can go to the sites I’m going to tell and subsribe to them one by one, or alternatively subsribe to a bundle of all those feeds in just one click, which is available at the end of this post.

    Now some personality development websites.
    zenhabits : my personal favourite. The biggest guide to simplicity available on net. Leo Babuta is bound to simplify your thoughts, likes and life after you start reading. (start here)
    PluginID : Another nice one from this niche. Written by Gen Allsopp who have firsthand experience in dropping out and freelancing and so on. (start from this post)

    Dumb Little Man: Tips about productivity, simplicity, etc and the real reason why it’s a cracker? The articles in it are submitted by great bloggers around the world trying to gain a bit more publicity, and therefore are bound to be top-notch.

    Now, a bit about technology:
    Lifehacker is a site that gives you tips, tricks and links to various great things out there. It’s written by a group of people and at least 20 posts are made a day. (start with these)

    After all, there are some sites you’ve heard of but haven’t started using.
    Twitter : From Barack Obama to Shashi Tharoor there is everyone in twitter tweeting about what they are doing.
    Entrecard : If you are a blogger you’ll find this a handy tool to gain traffic to your blog by advertising on other blogs in the network without money, but with credits that you can gain by displaying others’ ads on your blog.

    And wait a minute, did I tell you about stumbleupon? The basis of stumbleupon is simply a firefox toolbar. It has a few buttons called stumble, I like this, I don’t like this, etc. When you click stumble, after creating an account at stumbleupon, you will get to a website you haven’t heard of but you must hear of, based on the areas of interest you chose while signing up for an account. And if you like that site, you can click I like it. Then stumbleupon will see what other websites people who liked this website liked and brings you another website you may like on the next click of stumble. It’s fun when you start using it.

    If you are a google reader user, you can just subscribe to this bundle and subscribe to many sites I’m subscribed to in a single click.

  • The Golden Rule in Social Life

    The best thing about being a kid is that you can be frank in your opinions, blurt anything out to anyone and live a carefree life. But the moment you break out of the childhood shell, you gather a lot of cobwebs.
    Then you can no longer talk like you talked when you were a kid. You will have to consider and reconsider every word before you let it out. You will have to think twice before you talk.

    And since I learned it the hard way, I believe I’m experienced enough to share that golden rule of social life and communication.

    And that most unwelcome, most painful, most disgusting rule of life which everyone should remember before even thinking about talking is… [with bated breath]
    …that “No two persons think exactly alike“

    A bit familiar?
    Ever thought something and heard the exact opposite thought from someone else? Ever had a debate where people never seem to understand your way of thinking? Ever tried to appreciate someone and ended up gaining hatred? Ever tried to convince somebody and failed miserably?

    Yeah, you know what I’m speaking about.
    The reason why there are more debates in the world than constructive criticism, the reason why people are always in two sides on every topic of discussion, the reason heaven is not situated on earth, the reason for every extra word spoken…

    For if everyone were thinking alike there would be no doubt, no question, no answer, no debate, no question of who is right, no conflict, no war. Completely calm, quiet.

    No. The world has been designed for mutations and differences. Evolution is entirely dependent on differences. Should there be the fittest, there will also be the feeblest. And so, biologically, we are designed to think different, so that even if some of us do things that may be dangerous for the survival of life, others think different.

    Of course our parents or friends may think like us (though not exactly alike in all cases), but we must remember that our parents are the ones who define most of our thoughts, and that we find similar minded people first and friends next.

    Now leave that aside. Let us concentrate on how knowing this fact can save you out of a lot of trouble.

    I have had many occasions in life which I would very fondly like to undo, but alas! there is no Ctrl+Z shortcut for that in real life. I had made a controversial speech in my school about my life there, which I intended to be a joke packed thriller. But when it was delivered it slapped many people blunt on their faces. What happened here? What I thought to be harmless, where actually venom packed fangs (according to people who thought thus)

    Then there is a whole bunch of marriages where I tried to crack jokes to people whom I scarcely know (supposedly my relatives) and most of them backfired as insults and stupidity because some people think giving respect is the only way somebody younger than them can acknowledge their presence. (You know me, I just don’t like these adults being serious, life is supposed to be enjoyed)

    And what did I learn?
    Nobody thinks alike. So, though you are absolutely right when you talk with yourself, you range everything from exactly true to pure blasphemy. And what does that mean? If you don’t want yourself to be misheard, you’d either speak nothing, or don’t be frank in front of people whom you don’t know.

    When your honest opinion is sought, most probably your positive comments are what is being expected. So, if you don’t have something good to tell, you’d rather not let it out, unless you know the other person very well and are sure that they won’t take it personally.
    And when you are speaking to a crowd, never talk about a person. If at all you are, don’t talk anything (i said anything) about negatives.

    Come on, now tell me your frankest opinions about this post.

  • It is not about your age, it is about your inclination

    Fun and Fun Only sent me a thought provoking mail yesterday.

    3 stupid stages of life
    We have 3 stupid stages of life………..
    Teen age: Have Time + Energy …but No Money
    Working Age: Have Money + Energy …but No Time
    Old age: Have Time + Money …but no Energy

    This is an accurate description of the lives of the billions of people who took birth on this earth and left it without disturbing a leaf. They pass their childhood thinking about things they would do when they grow up. And when they grow up they have their jobs and family to take care of and they even forget what their dreams were. And after they have grown old, they remember their childhood dreams but they declare themselves unfit to pursue them and retire to a solitary life waiting death.

    While we could be just doing it (like Nike says), we waste time finding excuses for why we can’t be doing it. Is there nothing on this earth that a kid can do without money? Can’t time be bought and used if you have money and energy? Does the fact that you are weak prove a handicap?

    It is all about whether you want to do it or not? Whether you can do it or not is not a meaningful question, because you can do anything, but only if you will.

    So, some practical ways to make things happen, at all ages.

    If you are a kid:
    You know how to dream. You like to do things.
    But you don’t know where or how or what to do?
    This is where organisations come to your help.
    You can sign up for NCC, JCI, Scouting, etc. in your city.
    You can be a help for the librarian in the public library (and he will probably let you know about things that is happening)
    You can join the activities of organisations for elders like Rotary club or Lion’s club, (and inspire adults)
    You can form a group with your friends as members and collect money and donate it.

    Whatever you do there is one big advantage of being a kid. People don’t expect you to do these things, so when they see you do these, they will shower their blessings and cooperate seamlessly.

    If you are working:
    You’ve got a job. You’ve got a family to take care of. You’ve got just one holiday per week which you would rather spend relaxing. Where the hell do you have time?
    But think carefully. The childhood lasts only for about 25 years and of it 10 years you’re in absolute bliss.
    If you’re lucky you may live up to 80 years but your body will last only for about 65 years, i.e. 10 years after retirement.
    Your working age is the widest phase in your life. When you think week by week you might be having little or no time. But think of it as a whole. It’s the best part of your life. Where seconds can be hours.
    Why don’t you take leave for a week and do some social service? You might need to meet the same organisations I mentioned before.
    Why don’t you donate to somebody.
    Sponsor a child’s education, an athlete, someone’s eye surgery.
    Donate blood.

    If your vision has started blurring
    If you are old and if you do nothing, you will end up neglected in your home as if you were the dull picture hanging on the wall. If there’s something that can bring value to your existence it is only activity. Do something.
    Learn to use computer.
    SMS your grandson.
    Help your son in share market.
    Go for a morning walk with your walking stick.
    Teach children whatever you know. Share your experience.
    And why not write a book?

    The mind :
    Decide whether you want to do it. You probably would want to.
    Then think of yourself, in your death bed. Or after your death. How would you like people to remember you? Would you have them love you because you were a human or would you have them love and adore you because you were an extra-ordinary human?
    Do you want to live the ordinary life or the extra-ordinary.
    It’s easy to be ordinary. But at the same time it is not going to do anything for you.

    But when you are unlike others, when you are a kid who does what none of your friends dares to, when you are an officer who does what none of your colleagues never think of, when you are an old man with more energy and enthusiasm than anyone else, then you will really shine, and your light will last for ever.

    Do what no one else has done

  • A Glimpse Into What’s Been Keeping Me Busy

    This post comes after a really long break (almost 17 days. That’s huge!). And during these days blogger rolled out many new features, Onam was celebrated by Malayalis all over the world, and Federer reached the semi-final of US Open. Still I couldn’t make any post. Why?
    I had decided that I wouldn’t post until
    I create a new layout for my blog myself (of course using resources which I’m going to mention very soon)
    And now I’m glad to announce to you that I’ve succeeded in creating a brand new template that not only pleases my eyes but also proves to be extremely effective.

    And along with that there is another major change. Change has become ASD of INDIA. [update on next night: ASD of INDIA has become Blissful Life which means much more about this blog]
    Yeah, I do know Change is a much better name but due to many reasons I don’t want it to be my blog’s name. (Those reasons will make another post)

    All these changes and this particular post is dedicated to all of my friends and schoolmates at Chinmaya Kannur, who visited this blog, liked it and made it a point to tell me that they liked it. I can’t find words to thank Nishan, who not only found this blog but also spread the word inside his large circle. My sincere thanks also to Mithun, Anoop, Akash, Abhishek, Waqas, Fathima, Raysa, Ratan, Arjun, Thushar, two brothers in +2 (whose names I don’t remember) and all those whose names I’ve (unknowingly) omitted, for their unyielding support. I wish I could live upto their expectations.

    Now tell me your comments on the new look of my blog.

  • Have A Rocking Browsing Experience (for Firefox users)

    If you are a firefox user, which most probably you are (and if you’re not you should download and install it before reading the rest of this post) you already have a rocking browser. And after you read this post you will know how to make the impossible happen out of it.

    See the screenshots below to get an idea of what I’m talking about.

    This is my orkut home page. (The theme for which once I was ready to switch to live)

    This is my facebook page

    And finally these are my google pages.

    Want to make your browser too so attractive or why not even better?

    Here are some useful addons you will certainly need.

    1. heaven.cube theme: Just so attractive. Though this simple, dark theme is full of cubes (starting from the back – forward buttons to the scroll bars) it is certainly the best theme I’ve used until now.
      Installing: Go to heaven.cube, select add to firefox, click install again, sit back and relax.
      If you ever feel like going back to the default theme (which you probably won’t, OK for trying personas or so) just go to Tools –> Addons –> Themes –> Default –> Use theme

    2. Personas: If you are not for themes, personas has it for you. It is a nice extension that adds colour to your firefox toolbars by using specially designed persona wares. But I am not using it right now because as I’m going to reveal by this post how, I don’t have status bar or menu bar so personas won’t work so well, and also personas won’t feed my appetite for an overall great appearance.
      Installing: Install personas from mozilla addons, then wear grabs by using the personas menu, or going to the personas gallery and selecting wear this on any ware.

      If you are deciding to use personas, here are some skins you should check out

    3. Stylish: This is the real reason why I’m making this post. Stylish is a great extension that allows stylising the websites that you visit (you heard it right, not just the browser, even the sites that you visit). And that is how I got that wonderful theme for orkut and a dark background for google and facebook.
      The way stylish works is a little complicated. Still if you are for the technicalities here’s how. Every website depends upon CSS for their styles. What Stylish does is load a preset CSS for your websites. Now the default CSS won’t work and stylish begins the work.
      Installing: Stylish is like personas. You should first install stylish extension. Then install separate codes from the stylish resource site. This is very simple just go to the page of any stylish style and select install to stylish
      If you’ve finished installing stylish here are the styles you should try out

    4. Hide Menubar: Can be skipped if necessary. Hides the Menubar (File, Edit, View, and all) until you press ALT.
    5. Fission: Progress bar in your address bar.

    Done. These little tools can make your day.

    P.S. Don’t forget to comment if you find better styles.

  • ClearType Tuner : If You Are Using Windows XP and an LCD monitor

    The above pic is a comparison between text as it is seen on most computers, and text as it could be seen on those same computers.

    ClearType is a technology by which microsoft has made it possible to view texts more clearly in LCD monitors. But by default it is turned off in all computers. So, most people do not get the best out of their LCD monitors (which I understood when I went to my cousin’s home last week and found it extremely hard to read a thing)

    It gets more interesting when you know that it is very simple to turn it on if you have cleartype in your system,

    1. Right Click on your desktop
    2. Select Properties. Now the Display properties window opens up. Yeah, the one you use to change screen saver, wallpaper, etc.
    3. Go to Appearance tab. This is where we don’t go
    4. Click Effects… button
    5. Tick “Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts:” and select ClearType from the drop down menu.

    (And if you don’t have that option, don’t worry. You can download it and install from microsoft itself. ClearType Tuner PowerToy setup.exe (2 MB 5 min @ 28.8 Kbps))

    Happy reading

  • If by Rudyard Kipling – A Poem that Tells It All

    This poem by Rudyard Kipling has all the secrets to a wonderful life. Just read it and get inspired.
    I also have included this poem as a wallpaper. Feel free to download it and set it as your wallpaper.

    If
    If you can keep your head when all about you
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
    If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;
    If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
    Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

    If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
    If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
    If you can meet with triumph and disaster
    And treat those two imposters just the same;
    If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
    Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
    And stoop and build ’em up with wornout tools;

    If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
    And lose, and start again at your beginnings
    And never breath a word about your loss;
    If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,
    And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

    If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
    Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
    If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
    If all men count with you, but none too much;
    If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
    Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
    And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

    – Rudyard Kipling
    (content courtesy: everypoet.com)

     (Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image)
    Then, right click and save the picture or set it as wallpaper.
    If you liked this post, you may also like

    Gandhiji Best Expressed

    The Don’t Quit Poem

    Martin Luther King Junior – I Have a Dream speech

     

  • God As The Cosmic Consciousness

     The reason why there are a lot of atheists in the world is that nobody could provide people with a rational definition of God.
    Some people praised God as the great soul who created and controls the universe. And others knew this couldn’t happen.
    Some defined God as the beat of one’s heart or the thoughts of one mind. And others knew that such a thing wouldn’t possess any powers that a useful God would have.

    But, though unheard by a vast majority, there are excellent definitions of God and everything hidden inside many of our ancient text books like the upanishads. Only some people, lucky to have both access to Sanksrit and access to those literary gems, or lucky to have a great guru, happened to know the actual and rational definition of God, as proposed in the upanishads.

    This definition, I have been reading again and again from Swami Vivekananda and Swami Paramahamsa Yogananda. It is not just rational, it absolutely gives today’s theists a hope and at the same time do not hurt atheists in any way too.

    So let us begin.

    When we go on dividing atoms we get subatomic particles. But though we can’t, as physicists, divide anymore, there is an even finer particle inside every atom. Let us call this fine particles.
    So the whole universe is made up of these fine particles. (A lot like string theory)

    Now, these particles can be controlled by human mind. Our mind can produce certain sensation / vibration / energy / wave or anything which can control the arrangement of these fine particles. Just like in nanotechnology we rearrange particles and get new things, when these fine particles are rearranged we can create things from thin air, etc… (yeah, you said it, miracles)

    But not everybody’s mind can do it. Only a properly trained, well-experienced mind can do that. (So, you just can’t go about and do it)

    (read this chapter from An Autobiography of a Yogi for more details. I know it is slightly different from what i just told. But i just fine tuned the theory to make it more rational. So, this is how miracles work.)

    And God? God is superconsciousness. Just like you are conscious of yourself, there is a larger consciousness which is the sum total of every one’s consciousness. (Compare it to the world wide web, no one is the core, everyone is a part and yet as a whole it is a marvel). So, everyone’s consciousness is interconnected and this extreme collaboration of consciousnesses is called superconsciousness. Ordinary people (untrained, inexperienced people) can not experience this superconsciousness (like if you don’t have the password you can’t enter the database). But those who meditate daily and do other things that helps in improving the ability of mind (these are the things that is taught in yoga) they can access this superconsciousness as they wish.
    (Read this from Swami Vivekananda’s complete works)
    And they can manipulate others thoughts, rearrange fine particles, heal diseases, materialise at another half of the world, and so on.

    Such a God is scientific, enviable and believable.

    I know it’s a lot like a fairy tale.
    But when you do get time feed from these two online resources

    They will surely give you a lifetime worth ideas. (By the way, my next plan is to hack the password of the superconsciousness)

  • How to Get Rid of Obsessions

    [update on 2011/02/11: This is by far, the most read post on this blog. And this is also one of the oldest articles of this blog. And I think this article hasn’t been well-written. But, I won’t edit my articles (except for grammar/spelling mistakes) and I don’t want to lose my readers from this article. So I’m doing some gimmick here]

    Added on Feb 11, 2011:

    The bad news is that there is NO ‘ONE surely working way’ to get rid of an obsession.
    But the good news is that there are several ways you could try to get rid of an obsession.

    For example, if you’re addicted to the internet, you could try the crazy tip given in How to Get Rid of Addiction to Facebook, Myspace, Orkut, Twitter, Other Social Networking Sites, Internet or Computer in General

    And usually addictions set in when you are not a happy person. So, try reading The Secret to (Infinite) Happiness (which tells you how to control your mind and be happy)

    You may also find 3 Questions to Define What is Productive and What is Not interesting too

    And if you want to hear a largely biology oriented view about obsessions, read on the original article below

    If you find yourself watching endless hours of tv, or jumping from site to site without noticing the clock on your desk running away, you probably know what an obsession is.

    obsession – an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will

    While what you think is an obsessive behaviour of yours may be anything ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder to humane laziness, it is best to avoid them. It takes away most of your time. It shifts your focus away from things you need to really concentrate upon. It makes you feel less confident. So, we reach our topic of discussion. How do we get rid of obsessions? Of course some obsessions may be biological in origin and may need medication. But, let us try with our mind.

    GET RID OF IT

    The first thing we need to know to get out of a problem is to know that we are in a problem.
    So let us tell ourselves that we are going to fight it. That we will master our mind and direct it to do what we want and not what it thinks.

    And when we are ready, we are almost there.

    ” You are free the moment you think you are.”

    So, what next? To get to the next step let us think why we developed the obsession at the first place. We are back home in the night. We have got nothing to do. We switch on…

    Why? We’ve nothing else to do, we do something we normally don’t do. And this continues even when we have something else to do. Thus the behaviour is established. And our focus is destroyed. Now our bodies start loving the behaviour and it automatically repeats appearing in our daily life.
    And that brings us to the next step in getting rid of obsessions – breaking old habits. It’s really easy to break your obsession if you know the right technique to it. If you observe your obsession for a few days you will see that it usually comes right after something else in our daily schedule. Sometimes you might be coming straight from work and getting into your obsession. Sometimes it would be after having tea. Or sometimes right after waking up in the morning. But it always comes just after something. Find that something. That thing which switches on your obsession. That thing which invariably precedes your obsession. And when you’ve found that, things are simple.
    Eliminate the predecessor . The successor will lose its way.
    Yeah. If you come home and get carried away, come home doing something, or reading something and continue that even after you’ve reached home. If you wake up to your pc, meditate from your bed itself.
    Just don’t give a chance for the obsession to start.
    Thus you have shaken the base of the obsession.

    Now exploit the chance. The obsession is losing ground. And if we launch our attack right now, the obsession will sure fail. And our weapon?

    Our only weapon against an undesirable behaviour is a desirable behaviour. Take a sapling from the desirable behaviour and plant it where the undesirable used to stay. So, we need a new behaviour as a substitute. Anything from reading to exercising will do. And it need not be static. You can exercise one day, read another day, cook one day, blog another day, but there should be a substitute ready to enter the playing field.

    Now cement your victory by watering the new plant everyday. Never go back to the obsessive behaviour. Whenever you feel like just get away from the thing that lures you (physically, away). And start doing the other thing.
    Now there will be a voice from our mind talking about why the obsessive behaviour is probably not bad for you. But just don’t listen to it. If you try to argue, almost always only that voice will win. (It has biological reasons: There is a neurotransmitter called dopamine in our brain which is related with the pleasure system. It is designed in such a way that whenever we get a pleasure, it is released, and whenever it is released we desire to have pleasure. Read more)

    Due to this dopamine effect, the obsessions that have already been with you for a long time cannot be uprooted with anything I have discussed above.

    But fortunately I have found a cure for dopamine.
    Just like any other hormone, the effects of dopamine don’t last more than a few minutes. So, the moment you feel like doing something you don’t want yourself to do, tell yourself that you are ready for the obsessive behaviour (Am I telling the opposite? no! wait, read it completely). Then borrow a little time from your obsession. Think of how dopamine is working. Think of why you feel like doing that. And just sit in silence for a few minutes. And by that time dopamine will have failed to affect. You will slowly be thinking more impartially. And you will at last decide not to sway towards the obsession.

    Bear in mind that fighting dopamine is difficult. But it is not impossible. And once you win this battle, you will certainly be rewarded by a stronger will.

    Tell me whether this has worked for you after trying out.

  • How to Make Resolutions and Keep Them

    We make a lot of resolutions. And we break all of them.
    Can you tell out loud at least one resolution that you’ve kept (If yes, the comments section is open and waiting for you )
    By the time you rack your brains to find one such resolution, I bet you’ll have found out ten resolutions you haven’t kept.

    Why do we make resolutions and break them?

    The reason is that we don’t make proper resolutions. When you make a resolution properly not only does you keep it, you will most probably end up building on the resolution. What makes a proper resolution different from an improper one?

    • Proper resolutions are made when they are least required.  Most people resolve to do things better just after doing the worst. If you’re a student you will decide to start learning daily only when you do your examinations very bad.
      But if you make that resolution during holidays, then it’s a proper resolution.
    • Proper resolutions come from your heart, not from someone else’s. That is why most new year resolutions fail. On the new year eve, everyone is making resolutions. So, you too does and not because you want it from your heart.
      Proper resolutions are made during moments of solitude, when no one is around, and you are talking with yourself. You ask yourself who you are and who you want to be. Then you resolve to be that soul which you always wanted to be.
    • Proper resolutions are not postponed for the next day. Most probably you would have done this. You resolve to stop watching TV, not from today, but from tomorrow. Today is the last day and you go on breaking resolution today thinking that you will keep it tomorrow. The rest I need not tell.
      But when you make a proper resolution, you begin this moment. The moment you resolve you begin realising the resolution. You do not postpone it for another hour.
    • Proper resolutions are well planned.
      You just resolve to do something. You will fail.
      But you plan it in detail, how to do, what to do, when to do, for how long, where to do… A proper resolution is so well planned that the person who makes it knows exactly what he means to do.
    • Proper resolutions are properly motivated. 

     Think like you want to make a new resolution, right now? One which you have been making and breaking. Let us start together.

    1. What is it?
      Think of it. Think of why you need to do it. Think of how you can do it.
      Now clear some time in your daily schedule, and keep a time for your new habit. (If you had resolved to lose a bad habit then fill the time you used for it earlier, for something else. Read my post on getting rid of obsessions)
      Of course when you decide to do something new you will have to devote lesser time to something else. For example if you decide to exercise, you will naturally need 30 minutes to warm-up, exercise, and cool down. Your day can’t go as long as 24 hours and 30 minutes. The only thing you can do is to cut short something you do daily by 30 minutes. Be it sleeping. Be it blogging. Be it chatting. You’ll have to cut something short.

    2. Get going
      You’ve decided. Now start doing. If you can do it now, do it right now. (Of course after finished reading the next few tips). If you need a prop, get one as quickly as possible.
      But that is not enough. As I told, you need to be motivated so as to keep the momentum. So, how do you get motivated?
      Here is the most important thing to remember
      The motivation that you create by yourself won’t last long. It will run out as soon as you meet the first obstacle. So, we need a never ending source of motivation. For this, I’ve found two extremely useful sources.
      1. The opposite sex:
        If you’re a boy, think of impressing girls through what you have resolved to do. If you have started exercising, think of how having an attractive body can help you in winning their hearts.
        Not only that, have a crush on the best girl around you. By the best girl I mean the girl whom everybody wants to be a friend of. Now how can you make her feel for you? Keep those resolutions. Cultivate those enviable qualities, like an attractive body, or sharp intelligence, or sweet voice. Just exhibit those when you get a chance.
      2. Lie:
        Lie to your friends that you have already achieved your resolution. Not to go straight to him and tell “I have done this”, but during conversations distantly related to your resolution, just put in your resolution and ‘how you achieved it’. If you lie to someone, and if you are not a big fat liar, you would probably want to make that lie a truth. And you will actually keep the resolution. Got me?
      3. Just tell others:
        Now if you don’t want to lie, you can just tell people that you’ve made such and such resolution. Only that it would be a little less effective. Still, when you tell others about your resolution make sure that you tell them in a tone of confidence or over-confidence. Tell them that you are going to do it and you are going to show them the results. Otherwise you will slip back.

    3. Keep the momentum
      So, you are properly motivated, and strictly keeping your resolution. Now after a week or a month, just do a review. See how much your muscles have grown, how good you can sing, how good you are with people,…
      If you are on the right track, the results will possibly be what you expected. And those results will in turn motivate you to keep doing things.
      Don’t worry if you don’t find any results. Think of what you could have missed, where you could have gone wrong. Rectify those errors. And start from step 1.

    If these steps do not work for you, there is one last resort I would recommend you – similar minded people. Find online groups doing what you intend to do. Hear from people who have already done it.  And you will probably know why you’ve been failing.

    So, happy resolving. (OK! It’s over, now you can start from step 1, what is it?)