#YourBetterSelf

Through his book entitled, “The Purpose Driven Life” Rick Warren helped me realise in a deeper way that as individuals we all have different forces that drive our lives. “There are hundreds of circumstances, values and emotions that can drive your life” , writes Warren.  He goes on to list five common aspects as the driving forces in the lives of people, namely: guilt, resentment and anger, fear, materialism and the need for approval. I found that list quite insightful.  I became more curious in trying to understand what really was the driving force behind my thoughts, feelings and actions during the various circumstances I encountered or found myself. Whether it was thinking through a situation, identifying my feelings or making a decision about how to proceed, I have generally used Warren’s list as a filter to help me understand my own motivations better.  This is an on-going process because as human beings we are evolving each day. What may have been the driving force...

What’s Love got to do with It? Today is Wednesday 14th February 2024. The date is celebrated as Valentine’s day. A day when hundreds of people celebrate love with their partners and loved ones. The day has an interesting history, based on Saint Valentine. The story is told that St Valentine wedded couples against the laws of his time, thus celebrating and promoting love. He was killed for that. He died for what he believed in, Love.  Incidentally, today is also Ash Wednesday. It is a day marked by traditional Christian churches signifying beginning of  the Lent season. Lent marks forty days of fasting, prayer and almsgiving for spiritual purposes. I have been reflecting on this co-incidence and wondering what intersects the two celebrations: Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday. They seem worlds apart, yet today they are marked on the same day. Love is the notion that emerged during my reflection. Immediately, the question arose: “What’s love got to do with it?” Interestingly, th...

I recently bumped into an interesting book by Deepak Chopra (https://www.deepakchopra.com/), where he explains the seven spiritual laws of success. Deepak calls the fifth law, the law of intention and desire. In one of the paragraphs, I find his distinction of attention and intention quite interesting. He writes, thus: “Attention energizes and intention transforms. Whatever you put your attention on will grow stronger in your life. Whatever you take your attention away from will wither, disintegrate and disappear. Intention on the other hand, triggers transformation of energy and information. Intention organises its own fulfilment” It is the last statement that captures my imagination in light of how many people make beginning-of-year-resolutions. Intention organises its own fulfilment. Many-a-time, the word resolution is used to indicate decisions that one has made with the aim of making some change in their individual lives. For instance, one may say, I will stop smoking in 2024. Or ...

As a self-proclaimed student of life, I have made it my mission to become observant each day. It is interesting what one can see, hear, sense, smell or even taste when one is open to learning.  In fact my mentor and former supervisor - Professor Michel Lejeune once told me that learning does not stop in the classroom. It goes on even when we have long left the classroom aka graduating. But the question remains, “How many of us are actually open and willing to learn daily?” So as 2024 has just begun, many have been involved in setting new goals or resolutions for themselves as individuals and organisations as corporate entities that have a vision towards achieving their identified goals.  One may ask however, “what is it that makes some individuals and organisations achieve their resolutions and others not?”   After posing such a question to several people, there are various versions and answers one would get.  Among the many answers one would get to the above questio...

A very happy new to you all dear readers and followers of my Blog posts.  It is always a pleasure to share reflections on insights that I pick up on this life’s journey. I believe we are called to do better, be better and have better. It is what we were created for. And as a human species on earth, we have been endowed with special abilities like no other on earth.  My blog is entitled #YourBetterSelf for that very reason. At the beginning of each new year, many people make effort to set new goals or revise the ones from the year before. This depends on their personal circumstances. I have learnt that there are also creative ways this can be done, so as to stay on track, in being effective. But that will be a story for another day.  For this post, I was struck by the parallel depth of a story I have always heard around the Christmas season. It is the story of the three wise men who embarked on a journey to seek for the new born king, that they could pay him homage. On th...

  Growing Up.   About two weeks ago, I met one of my avid readers of my Blog at the supermarket, while I was doing grocery shopping. Unknown to him, I have deep respect for him for the way he carries himself. After exchanging greetings, he asked me: “Are you not publishing the Blogs anymore?”   My response was, “I have been having some down-time. But I will resume soon.”   After we parted, I asked myself: “What has prevented me from publishing my the posts consistently of late?” And as I rummaged my brain for answers, one thing kept coming back, again and again. That one thing is: growing up. And so I asked myself, “What has growing up got to do with anything? ”   I am still seeking for answers. But, one interesting phrase I came across sheds some light to possible answers to the question that is filling my mind. The phrase reads : “Growing up is losing some illusions, in order to acquire others.”   As 2023 is gradually coming to an end, may be th...

  It was John C Maxwell who coined a phrase on change that is quite insightful. He said, “Change is inevitable, growth is optional!” As I have pondered over that phrase in light of what has transpired locally, globally and individually since COVID-19 happened, nothing really remained or stayed the same. Whether one contracted COVID or didn’t, whether someone lost a loved one or didn’t, whether someone lost a job, business or didn’t, the fact is that change happened. Perhaps one would ask themselves: “What lessons did I learn through the change?” or “ How did I grow through the change?” As I think about possible responses to the questions, I have come to realise more and more that growth is intentional. In fact one can choose to grow, or not choose at all to grow. Change is inevitable, growth is optional. Another interesting phrase on change that I have come across says, “Change is the only constant.” What does a phrase like this possibly mean? One way to think of it is ...