NARA'S NOTEPAD
VOLUME 12
JULY 2016
NUMBER 7
Thursday, June 30, 2016
SPONSOR
NARA’S NOTEPAD
THANK
Prof.
SRINIVASA RAO MENTREDDY
Program Coordinator
Plant Biotechnology
Dept. Biological & Environmental
Sciences
A
& M UNIVERSITY, ALABAMA
USA
MEMO FROM NARA
It was when
I travelled from Chennai to Coimbatore by AC chair car, I noticed a young
gentleman, elegantly dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. He was doing some work in
his lap top. He did not make a small talk
with his co-passenger sitting in the next seat. I was observing him keenly.
Mostly I do observe people when I travel by train or air. It is an interesting
hobby. Some of these people are worth watching and others are not! We can learn
many things from such men and women. Their behaviour, attitude, conversation,
movements etc., are worth watching. It’s a time pass for me, at the same time a
learning process.
Yes, the
gentleman I was watching pulled out some eatables from his plastic bag which
made a crack noise. The eatables were not the ones I expected; they were a bar
of chocolate, some nuts and an orange fruit. He started eating them one by one
while others were ordering for masal
dosa, vada, somosa etc., What a contrast! Without messing up, he finished
his eating and took out a bottle of water and drank half of it. He went back to
his lap top again.
I tried to
learn something from this gentleman, although I am a seventy plus year-old man.
One thing I could understand was that not to buy eatables from the railway
canteens which are generally not hygienic. The gentleman did not disturb his
co-passenger by buying the stuff from the canteen boys.
The most
important thing I noticed was his eatables. He ate chocolate, nuts and an
orange fruit! I was thinking about these three items again and again. Generally,
I find very few people who eat such sophisticated foods. I was thinking about it
even when I reached home.
I used to
read for an hour before going to bed. I took one of the posts received on that
day and found that it was a report on food nutrition. There was a chapter on Chocolate is good for your brain.
I got more
interested in going through this chapter first. The report said that chocolates
are good for brain and heart health because of the flavanol content coming from
cocoa. Similarly the nuts are supposed to bring down the cholesterols and they
are good sources of manganese, a trace mineral required for human nutrition.
Orange is a good source for vitamin C which is considered to be one of the
important anti-oxidants.
Now I could
fully understand why the gentleman in the train took those three eatables. By
the time my wife brought a cup of hot drink which was not coffee, but it was a
chocolate drink!
PERFECTION
"He's not perfect. You aren't either, and the two of you will never be
perfect.
But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice,
and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him
the most you can.
He isn't going to quote poetry, he's not thinking about you every moment, but
he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break.
Don't hurt him,
don't change him, and don't expect for more than he can give.
Don't analyze.
Smile when he makes
you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there.
Love hard when there is love to be
had.
Because perfect guys don't
exist, but there's always one guy that is perfect for you." – Bob Marley
JUST TO LAUGH
A doctor was
addressing a large audience in Oxford on the subject of modern nutrition.
"The rubbish we put into our stomachs should have killed
most of us sitting here, years ago.
Red meat is full of steroids and dye. Soft drinks corrode your
stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High trans-fat diets
can be disastrous, and none of us realize the long-term harm caused
by the germs in our drinking water.
But, there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and most
of us have, or will eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that
causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"
After several seconds of quiet, a 70-year-old man in the front
row raised his hand, and softly said:
"Wedding Cake?"
HOW TO STOP OVER THINKING?
Putting an end to
rehashing, second-guessing, and catastrophic predictions is easier said than
done. But with consistent practice, you can limit your negative
thinking patterns:
1.
Notice When You are Thinking Too Much
Awareness is the
first step in putting an end to over thinking. Start paying attention to the
way you think. When you notice yourself replaying events in your mind over and
over, or worrying about things you can’t control, acknowledge that your
thoughts aren’t productive.
2. Challenge Your
Thoughts
It’s easy to get
carried away with negative thoughts. Before you conclude that calling in sick
is going to get you fired, or that forgetting one deadline is going to cause
you to become homeless, acknowledge that your thoughts may be exaggeratedly
negative. Learn to recognize and replace thinking errors before they work
you into a complete frenzy.
3. Keep the Focus
on Active Problem-Solving
Dwelling on your
problems isn’t helpful, but looking for solutions is. Ask yourself what steps
you can take to learn from a mistake or avoid a future problem. Instead of
asking why
something happened, ask yourself what you can do about it.
4. Schedule Time
for Reflection
Stewing on
problems for long periods of time isn’t productive, but brief reflection can be
helpful. Thinking about how you could do things differently or recognizing
potential pitfalls to a plan, for example, can help you do better in the
future. Incorporate 20 minutes of “thinking time” into your daily schedule.
During this time, let yourself worry, ruminate, or mull over whatever you want.
Then, when the time is up, move onto something more productive. When you notice
yourself over thinking things outside of your scheduled time, remind yourself
that you’ll think about it later.
5. Practice Mindfulness
It’s impossible to
rehash yesterday or worry about tomorrow when you’re living in the present.
Commit to becoming more aware of the here and now. Mindfulness takes practice,
like any other skill, but over time, it can decrease over thinking.
6. Change the
Channel
Telling yourself
to stop thinking about something can backfire. The more you try to avoid
the thought from entering your brain, the more likely
it is to keep popping up. Busying yourself with an activity is the best way to
change the channel. Exercise, engage in conversation on a completely different
subject, or get working on a project that will distract your mind from a barrage of
negative thoughts.
TO QUOTE...
v
The most
important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get
along with people. – Theodore Roosevelt
v
When a thing is done, it’s done. Don’t look
back. Look forward to your next objective. –
George C. Marshall
v
You never
know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough. – William Blake
v
If you obey
all the rules, you miss all the fun. – Katharine
Hepbum
YOU NEED TO LET GO TO BE HAPPY
Everyone
has one
common goal in life: to achieve true happiness. The biggest factor holding us back
from achieving our dreams is, simply and sadly, our own selves. We put
limitations on ourselves every day, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
There are so many ways we can alleviate these restraints.
Remember, life can either be something you embrace
or something you hide from. Stop making things complicated and just live your
life. It would be so much simpler and more enjoyable if we learned to just
release certain limitations.
Let's take a look at the things you need to
let go of in order to become a happier person.
1. The Approval of Others
Who gives a sh*t what other people think? If
you are happy with the decisions you have made, then whose business is that but
your own? Think of how much you could achieve if you stopped letting other people's
opinions dictate the way you live your life. Do you, and engage in whatever
actions you think might better your life.
2. Anger/Resentment
Anger will eat at you from the inside. Learn
how to make peace with those who have wronged you. This isn't about letting the
other person off the hook; it's about alleviating the pain that resonates
within you. Keep in mind that he who angers you, controls you.
3. Negative Body Image
There is only one person's opinion you should
be concerned with when it comes to your body and that is you. No one person
determines what the "correct" body type is. If you are comfortable in
your own skin, and you are healthy, then that should be the only thing that
matters. Do not let others tell you that you're not beautiful because if you
believe you are, then you are.
4. Idea of A Perfect Partner
There is no such thing as a perfect partner,
so throw your checklist out the window. In life, what prevents us from moving
forward is looking at the perfect image of a partner we concoct in our minds.
Find the right person for you: one that you can love with all your heart, one
you feel comfortable with and one that accepts you for the person you are. The
sooner you realize there isn't one perfect person out there for you, the better
off you will be.
5. Perfect Life
Just like there is no perfect partner, there
is also not a perfect life. Life is what you put into it, so if you are not
willing to work hard and put forth effort, you will most likely end up
miserable. The choices you make will directly reflect the life you lead. It is
up to you to create the best possible world for yourself. – Ashley
Bern
LINES I LIKED
Ø
Learn a new habit
to replace the old one.
Ø
Learn at
least one new thing.
Ø
Learn from
knowledgeable, most respected, and most results-driven, fun-loving teachers.
Ø
Learn from
yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Ø
Learn how to
complete all that you undertake.
Ø
Learn to be
pleased with everything.
Ø
Learn to
forgive yourself and others.
Learn the art of feeling good!
Meet you next month –August, 2016
Professor A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com
Ph: 0422 4393017 Mobile: 098422 42301
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