That Little Sack on your back!

 

Recently, members of my trekking group completed three rather difficult treks successfully. Over the weekend, we had a small gathering to listen to their stories.

One of them shared his story of how he suffered from fear of heights and how he struggled to navigate thru the challenging terrain. He was in the middle of nowhere with an Indonesian guide who hardly spoke any English. So there was no dialogue, no words of experience or wisdom. There was no way back, he had to overcome all his fears and move forward. Not easy.

Seeing his struggle the guide offered to carry the little sack on his back. It wasn't very heavy, nor was that impeding his trek. But he had no particular reason to refuse help so he agreed.

Miraculously, he started moving well on the terrain. The weight wasn't much but the fact that he had no weight on his back made him feel free, made him think positive and take the challenge on. Real life is not a fairly tale so he did struggle but on the whole he performed much better than before.

Probably we all carry some light sack on our backs. Something that may be insignificant ... may be some sense of responsibility, guilt of not being there for loved ones, guilt of not exercising regularly... something that keeps working at the back of our mind which drags up down.

Maybe once in a while, we should assess the loads and our backs and offload those which drag us down! Worth a try!

Drive away blues!

 How to drive away Monday Morning blues?

We usually start our working day with some meetings and greetings. Usually the discussion goes this way

Q: How are you?

A: Good. same old same old.

Why don't you try this. Instead of asking "How are you?" ask "What is new?" see how the expression changes. There may be some who are dying to tell you what is new in their life. Some others would not have thought of doing something new for a long time. If you keep asking "What is new?" instead of "How are you?" you will slowly start motivating people around you to break the monotony, go out of their routine and do something new, something interesting, something that will create memories.

When someone asks you this question, share minutest new thing you have done or experience you have had. You may have tried tomato sauce instead of usual chili sauce at your routine McDonalds meal but describe the experience, describe how you felt, describe whether it worked or it didn't.

Even if you are living the most perfectly happy and contented life, try something new. If it works you will be happier. If it doesn't you know you had the best life already.

Start a new cycle! do something new! Drive away blues...be it Monday morning or life in general!

When was the last time you tried something for the first time?

 

When was the last time you tried something for the first time?

Usually I never miss an opportunity to do something new, something I haven't imagined before. I may or may not possess the required skills. I may or may not be able to learn it on the go. I may make a complete fool of myself.

But this is what attracts me to the activity. I tell myself - It is ok to fail. It is ok to suck at it. But it is always worth a try. A new experience is alluring. Helps you to appreciate skills t
hat you don't possess. Helps you to build empathy if something goes wrong.

Last week I got an opportunity to flip Pratas. Prata is the lowest priced meal available in Singapore. It costs roughly about a dollar a piece and comes with unlimited helpings of curry. So prata flippers are often neglected beings. Probably they make lesser money that those who flip burgers.

But the skill level required to flip a prata is immense. Firstly there is no undo button. If something goes wrong you need to scrap the dough and start from the beginning. Hand dexterity required to handle the thin layer is very high... more skilled you are thinner are the layers in the prata.

I sucked at flipping prata. So one thing is sure the next time I see a prata flipper I will look at him with admiration...

That's enrichment, I guess.

What do you think? When was the last time you did something for the first time in life? What did you learn?

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