Age of Quick Fixes

"It's been 18 years since I joined  XYZ, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule." 

Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate  results. Therefore, we have come to possess a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

The first time I was in Sweden , one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September,bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, neither the second or third days. One morning I asked him, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, don't you think that whoever gets in late will need a place closer to the door?" Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart, Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week. 

Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being".

French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has come to the notice of USA , the pupils of the fast and "do it now" brigade.

This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. 

It means re-establishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living. It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive work place where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do.

It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence.

In the movie, 'Scent of a Woman', there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al Pacino responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance the tango!  

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious to live for the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists.

We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Worth reading.. In this age of quick fixes.

This is hypothetical, please do not take it personally.

Kite Flying

Father is flying a kite. His son is watching him carefully. After some time son says " Dad. Because of the string the kite is not able to go any further higher. ‎"

Hearing this, the father smiles and breaks the string. 

The kite goes higher after breaking of the thread and then shortly after that it comes and falls on the ground. 

‎The child is very dejected and sad.

The father sits next to him and calmly expalains

" Son, in life we reach a certain level of prosperity and then we feel that there are certain things in our life that are not letting us grow any further like Home, ‎Family, Culture Friendship etc. We feel we want to be free from those strings which we believe are stopping us from going higher.

But, remember son. Going higher is easier than staying at the higher level.

And friends, family and culture etc are the things that will help us stay stable at the high heights that we have achieved. If we try to break away from those strings our condition will be similar to the kite."

Moral

" never go away from culture, family, friends and relationships as they help keep you stable while you are flying high."

Life is Beautiful ‎😊

Attendence 35

Class Attendance

School Name: Life

Class: 35 th Std (All students are above 35 years)

Anger - Present sir

Anxiety - Present sir

Boredom - Present sir

Desires - Present sir (in full volume)

Frustration - Present sir

Monthly EMI - Present sir (in full volume)

Office Tension - Present sir

Sadness - Present sir

Worries - Present sir

Uncertainties - Present sir 

Happiness - ??? (no sound)

Happiness - ??? 

Happiness - Absent sir

Peace of mind - Absent sir

Contentment - Absent sir

Class teacher: In life, there is nothing called sadness. Either Happiness Present or Happiness Absent.

Life is very simple to live, but many find it difficult to be simple.

Make it Simple!

what's Inside ?

"'If I were to squeeze this orange as hard as I could, what would come out?' I asked him.

He looked at me like I was a little crazy and said, 'Juice, of course.'

'Do you think apple juice could come out of it?'

'No!' he laughed.

'What about grapefruit juice?'

'No!'

'What would come out of it?'

'Orange juice, of course.'

'Why? Why when you squeeze an orange does orange juice come out?'

He may have been getting a little exasperated with me at this point.

'Well, it's an orange and that's what's inside."

I nodded.

'Let's assume that this orange isn't an orange, but it's you. And someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, says something you don't like, offends you. And out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, fear. Why?

The answer, as our young friend has told us, is because that's what's inside.'

It's one of the great lessons of life. What comes out when life squeezes you? When someone hurts or offends you? If anger, pain and fear come out of you, it's because that's what's inside. It doesn't matter who does the squeezing: your mother, your brother, your children, your boss, the government. If someone says something about you that you don't like, what comes out of you is what's inside. And what's inside is up to you, it's your choice.

When someone puts the pressure on you and out of you comes anything other than love, it's because that's what you've allowed to be inside. Once you take away all those negative things you don't want in your life and replace them with love, you'll find yourself living a highly functioning life."

The Cruise

A cruise ship met with an incident at sea, on the ship was a pair of couple, after having made their way to the lifeboat, they realized that there was only space for one person left. 

At this moment, the man pushed the woman behind him and jumped onto the lifeboat himself.

The lady stood on the sinking ship and shouted one sentence to her husband.

The teacher stopped and asked, "What do you think she shouted?"

Most of the students excitedly answered, "I hate you! I was blind!"

Now, the teacher noticed a boy who was silent throughout, she got him to answer and he replied, "Teacher, I believe she would have shouted - Take care of our child!"

The teacher was surprised, asking "Have you heard this story before?"

The boy shook his head, "Nope, but that was what my mum told my dad before she died to disease".

The teacher lamented, "The answer is right".

The cruise sunk, the man went home and brought up their daughter single-handedly.

Many years later after the death of the man, their daughter found his diary while tidying his belongings.

It turns out that when parents went onto the cruise ship, the mother was already diagnosed with a terminal illness. 

At the critical moment, the father rushed to the only chance of survival. 

He wrote in his diary, "How I wished to sink to the bottom of the ocean with you, but for the sake of our daughter, I can only let you lie forever below the sea alone".

The story is finished, the class was silent. 

The teacher knows that the student has understood the moral of the story, that of the good and the evil in the world, there are many complications behind them which are hard to understand. 

Which is why we should never only focus on the surface and judge others without understanding them first.

Those who like to pay the bill, does so not because they are loaded but because they value friendship above money.

Those who take the initiative at work, does so not because they are stupid but because they understand the concept of responsibility.

Those who apologizes first after a fight, does so not because they are wrong but because they value the people around them.

Those who are willing to help you, does so not because they owe you any thing but because they see you as a true friend.....

why do we shout ?

A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath

found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in

anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled'n

asked.

'Why do people shout in anger shout at each other?'

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said,'Because we

lose our calm, we shout.'

'But, why should you shout when the other person is just next

to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a

soft manner.'asked the saint

Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the

other disciples.

Finally the saint explained, .

'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts

distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be

able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger

they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great

distance.

What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout

at each other but talk softly, Because their hearts are very

close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or

very small...'

The saint continued,'When they love each other even more,

what happens? They do not speak, only whisper'n they get

even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need

not whisper, they only look at each other'n that's all. That is

how close two people are when they love each other.'

He looked at his disciples and said.

'So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, Do not

say words that distance each other more, Or else there will

come a day when the distance is so great that you will not

find the path to return.'