You may be wondering, when you look at the last few posts of mine, that, Am I cribbing a lot??. I also removed one of the posts, thinking that, I was criticizing a lot. Hopefully I will write more about more myself and some of my experiences, acquaintances.
In one of my all time favorite books, there is a line saying, there is a solution to the aging problem. It is learning. Yes its true. Mark my words, its a brilliant line infact.
You can learn a whole lot of things.
> Work related.
> Professional life related
> Personal life related. etc etc.
You can also learn from a variety of sources
> Books.
> From people who are kind enough to share their thoughts and insights.
> From internet.
> Also from your critics.
In this post I would like to write, about handling active criticism. How do you react to it. Or you can rather say, how did I react to it??
Over the past few months, I have been lucky enough to be at the receiving end of some great criticism, advice @ workplace. But all was not quite well over the past few months.
Infact I hated criticism, I hated it, when people said, this could have been better. Why, why? I do not know, nor did I make any effort to analyze the whole thing. Things just whizzed away, I always kept running away from critics. I was indeed afraid of them.
Critics, were some of my friends, colleagues. Sometimes I would even lose my temper and angrily say, this is the only way I can do it. (How bad I feel, when I recollect that day, when I said this.)
Now after few months, things have changed. I am ready to listen and adapt as per even my friends advice. Its a remarkable change, I thought today, when all of a sudden I started to think about it.
When I tried to understand what really caused the change, I was shocked to learn that, when I was not so confident, not so well equipped with knowledge, on/about a particular task, I turned my backs on the advice or criticism recieved.
But once I found a better approach of doing things, I gained more confidence, I found myself listening to the advice of other people, started to debate on different ways to do things.
Yes, that is what I want to infer, the more you are confident about yourself, your approach, the more you can handle criticism. But also you need to be willing to work hard and be disciplined to be confident.(that is the catch point).
I would like to say sorry to all my friends who have been so kind to share their insights and advice, but inturn I turned my back to their advice, sometimes even raised my voice, in dis-agreement. Hope you have forgotten it guys. :)
~~~~~~~~~~
Cheers.
Is it luck ?
Last month, I was reading a book, which is one of my all time favorites. I have read it many a times, thought lemme read it once more.
There is an interesting event mentioned in one of the chapters.
A woman meets a famous painter in a busy street. She greets him and asks him to sketch something for her. The painter immediately comes up with a sketch and hands it over to the lady.
He also tells her, its worth a million. The surprised lady immediately asks, worth a million?, it took only 30 seconds to draw that out, to which the painter replies, it took me 30 years, to draw it in 30 seconds.
Cute, very cute isn't it.
There are many such incidents where in I have repeatedly done the same task again and again to gain familiarity with it. But the real twist in tale comes here. What if we do not have the opportunity to try the second time.
Assume a programmer is trying to code a bit @ workplace. He fails first time, betters second time, but still fails and starts for the third time. But what if his first/second time failure is fatal? What if there is no second/third time chance for him, since he may have lost his job by then.
I feel here luck comes into picture.
You need to be lucky enough to find a proper place and your enthusiasm to try must not come down. Else, the case can be drastically different
There is an interesting event mentioned in one of the chapters.
A woman meets a famous painter in a busy street. She greets him and asks him to sketch something for her. The painter immediately comes up with a sketch and hands it over to the lady.
He also tells her, its worth a million. The surprised lady immediately asks, worth a million?, it took only 30 seconds to draw that out, to which the painter replies, it took me 30 years, to draw it in 30 seconds.
Cute, very cute isn't it.
There are many such incidents where in I have repeatedly done the same task again and again to gain familiarity with it. But the real twist in tale comes here. What if we do not have the opportunity to try the second time.
Assume a programmer is trying to code a bit @ workplace. He fails first time, betters second time, but still fails and starts for the third time. But what if his first/second time failure is fatal? What if there is no second/third time chance for him, since he may have lost his job by then.
I feel here luck comes into picture.
You need to be lucky enough to find a proper place and your enthusiasm to try must not come down. Else, the case can be drastically different
Interest... How do I make myself interested??
Interest is a superb word. I have been been fascinated by this word, a lot more since I joined the software industry.
By the time, I realized I was interested in studies or not, I completed my schooling. I did not hate studies that much. I think right through my school days, I just studied and studied, never wondered whether I am really interested in studying the subjects or not. How bizarre, but actually its true. [I can write loads about this whole thing, but some other day.]
By the time, I realized I was interested in programming, I completed my engineering. Well, I was anyways interested in programming that is a different issue.
So I thought, before any task let me make myself interested in the task, and then try to approach it. [Assume: I have a book in front of me, let me make my mind to think that, the book is interesting.]
The result was a total flop.
My mind failed to accept thing as interesting. [Though I find coding very interesting, but I cant force myself. I may sometimes lose interest in that too. ]
So it was literally impossible to force my interest into something.
I only wish to make my mind interested in a task, and do the task and check the outcome. I feel the outcome will be super success.
I think more than dedication, you need interest in the first place.
Also I feel, trying to hold interest is like grabbing sand in your hand. The more tight you hold it, the more it falls off.
Example, you can see my number of posts on my blog, its a result of interest, by the way.
~~~~~~
Cheers
By the time, I realized I was interested in studies or not, I completed my schooling. I did not hate studies that much. I think right through my school days, I just studied and studied, never wondered whether I am really interested in studying the subjects or not. How bizarre, but actually its true. [I can write loads about this whole thing, but some other day.]
By the time, I realized I was interested in programming, I completed my engineering. Well, I was anyways interested in programming that is a different issue.
So I thought, before any task let me make myself interested in the task, and then try to approach it. [Assume: I have a book in front of me, let me make my mind to think that, the book is interesting.]
The result was a total flop.
My mind failed to accept thing as interesting. [Though I find coding very interesting, but I cant force myself. I may sometimes lose interest in that too. ]
So it was literally impossible to force my interest into something.
I only wish to make my mind interested in a task, and do the task and check the outcome. I feel the outcome will be super success.
I think more than dedication, you need interest in the first place.
Also I feel, trying to hold interest is like grabbing sand in your hand. The more tight you hold it, the more it falls off.
Example, you can see my number of posts on my blog, its a result of interest, by the way.
~~~~~~
Cheers
New album
I am hearing a lot about U2's new album " No Line On the Horizon". I have not heard any songs of the album, but heard about the album, on the radio. The Rolling Stone magazine calls the album the best in last 18 years.
My observation
My reading habit for the year 2009, seems to be going good, since I have read almost 5 books in the last 3 months. I recently was reading an autobiography. I wish not to disclose the name. To be honest, I just love AUTOBIOGRAPHIES. There are just unparalleled. I learn loads, from autobiographies of great people. So I wish to read as many as I can.
Recently I completed one such autobiography, of a very impressive personality. I enjoyed the book thoroughly no doubts about it. But it was a line, in one of the chapter, which literally puzzled me.
The author goes on to write, quoting that, he himself has an indentation towards aiming high, achieving high and being a great performer.
The only thing which came to my mind was that, is the author boasting? I always feel, its for others to judge whether a person is a high performer or not. (after reading the book)
After all, its the author's book, he can write whatever he may want. After reading the book, I hoped to get a feeling of appreciation towards the author, thinking him as a great achiever.
But in between if he tends to quote himself as a high achiever, doesn't that look a bit weird. Or may be I have not read many autobiographies. There may be other persons who would like to openly proclaim that they are high achievers.
I do not know.
Disclaimer :: This post has nothing to do with my current or previous employers.
Recently I completed one such autobiography, of a very impressive personality. I enjoyed the book thoroughly no doubts about it. But it was a line, in one of the chapter, which literally puzzled me.
The author goes on to write, quoting that, he himself has an indentation towards aiming high, achieving high and being a great performer.
The only thing which came to my mind was that, is the author boasting? I always feel, its for others to judge whether a person is a high performer or not. (after reading the book)
After all, its the author's book, he can write whatever he may want. After reading the book, I hoped to get a feeling of appreciation towards the author, thinking him as a great achiever.
But in between if he tends to quote himself as a high achiever, doesn't that look a bit weird. Or may be I have not read many autobiographies. There may be other persons who would like to openly proclaim that they are high achievers.
I do not know.
Disclaimer :: This post has nothing to do with my current or previous employers.
Its not liking what you have, its wanting what you like..
I just came across this line, in one of the books, I was reading over the last weekend.
It says, [May be my wordings are not that all correct, but still]
" A reasonable man, tries to adjust himself to the world,
An unreasonable man, tries the world to adjust to himself,
The progress of world however depends on the unreasonable man."
I have nothing against this particular quote.. It just sent me thinking and thinking for an answer, which I do not have at this moment in time, not sure whether I will I have it or not.
My only doubt is, " Should a person, go on doing things which he loves, or should he do things which are presented to him in the most fabulous way ".
Assume the scenario of a person working in a company, [Just Another imaginary Company]
The person may or may not be interested in the work what he is doing.
---> Should the person continue to work for the company, with whatever tasks that have been given to him, (which he likes or dislikes), just thinking about a better position he may land in the same company after a few years / months ?
---> Should the person, quit the company and do things which really fascinate him, forgetting about the so called career which he may build up after a few years of service.
In both the cases, the person may end up on the losing side..
In the first case, he may think, I have lost all my years, doing things which I do not really like, and the so called career which I have built up does not look any more interesting.
In the second case, he may think, I have lost out on a career, and may be ended up jobless, in pursuit of things which he was really interested into.
Now where do we and how do we strike a balance, between the two.
How do we enjoy things what we are doing, and how do we do things which we really enjoy.
Should we compromise on any one of them.. Well.... I have not even a single clue...
~~~~~~~~~~~
Cheers...
It says, [May be my wordings are not that all correct, but still]
" A reasonable man, tries to adjust himself to the world,
An unreasonable man, tries the world to adjust to himself,
The progress of world however depends on the unreasonable man."
I have nothing against this particular quote.. It just sent me thinking and thinking for an answer, which I do not have at this moment in time, not sure whether I will I have it or not.
My only doubt is, " Should a person, go on doing things which he loves, or should he do things which are presented to him in the most fabulous way ".
Assume the scenario of a person working in a company, [Just Another imaginary Company]
The person may or may not be interested in the work what he is doing.
---> Should the person continue to work for the company, with whatever tasks that have been given to him, (which he likes or dislikes), just thinking about a better position he may land in the same company after a few years / months ?
---> Should the person, quit the company and do things which really fascinate him, forgetting about the so called career which he may build up after a few years of service.
In both the cases, the person may end up on the losing side..
In the first case, he may think, I have lost all my years, doing things which I do not really like, and the so called career which I have built up does not look any more interesting.
In the second case, he may think, I have lost out on a career, and may be ended up jobless, in pursuit of things which he was really interested into.
Now where do we and how do we strike a balance, between the two.
How do we enjoy things what we are doing, and how do we do things which we really enjoy.
Should we compromise on any one of them.. Well.... I have not even a single clue...
~~~~~~~~~~~
Cheers...
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