Trust, Action, Berkeley!

Trust in yourself, fate or a higher power. Trust that everything will turn out okay, nay everything will turn out awesome. In my opinion, 'Let the fear of failure not keep us from trying' is a perfect phrase to ascribe to for the difficult circumstances that you will find yourself in : Sometimes we worry too much about how things will turn out and are either overwhelmed by the complexity of the task at hand or are engulfed in the belief that we may not be able to make it. It is imperative to ignore such thoughts and focus.

The very first step is planning : think long and hard about what do you want to achieve and why do you want to do it. Consider all possible factors, this is one of the most important phases. Talk to people who have made it. Voice your ideas to your mentors and take their advice into consideration. Reach out to other successful people in your field; let me let you in on a secret : most successful people are good human beings and more than willing to help motivated individuals, you just need to ask them nicely.

After considering all of this, make your own decision for the right reasons. And once you have decided on a path, stick to it. Don't let self-doubt fool you into lowering your expectations, which is bound to happen when you are faced with challenges that any goal worth achieving would present. This is the time to believe. Trust in yourself and your abilities and drive. Trust in fate, you are destined to achieve greatness. Trust in a higher power, God will help you. Trust in anything you believe, and trust that you will achieve your goals. Do not let self doubt eat away at your dreams. Trust and put in work.

At the end of the day it is the only action that matters. Work towards your goal, and you will find yourself closer to your goal with each passing day. The steps need not be and will not be significant, in fact you will not even notice that you moved forward in the grand scheme of things. But keep your head down and keep working, after all it is the drops that make an ocean.

You must keep in mind that not every action will lead to an instantaneous reward, in fact 99% of your effort will seem to go to waste. But that is not the case when you are mindful, with each attempt you are learning something which makes your next attempt better in some small way. You need to actively look out for opportunities and seize them with an unapologetic fervour. You need to keep shooting arrows after arrows, you never know which one will hit the target. And it will hit the target, believe me.

For instance, I have been applying to good summer programs in artificial intelligence for over six months now, and none of them seem to materialize. Some of the applications got very close, even to the last stage of reviewing, but did not come through. Rejection is hard, and it is difficult to not take it personally. I mean who believes letters like "Thousands of meritorious applicants applied to our program this year, but unfortunately we have a limited capacity.....This decision does not reflect on your caliber....we are sorry.....apply next year". But you know what, they are true! Of course merit is one of the main factors but so is luck. Chug along and finally you will receive an email at one in the night saying that you have been accepted to participate in Astro Hack Week 2016, a summer school cum unconference being organised by some of the best institutions in the field, University of California Berkeley, University of Washington and New York University, in Berkeley.

After the jumping on the bed stops and you are finally able to explain to your friends why have you been smiling the entire day like an absolute and utter fool, you will begin contemplating, and that’s when self doubt begins to creep in. Am I really good enough? Was this an administrative mistake? I surely do not belong here! You will not believe how common the Imposter Syndrome is, and how powerful it can be. The best way to fight it is to recognize it. To realize that almost everyone feels this way, and this brings us back to trust. Trust in yourself and your abilities, it’s about time.

Power to you!

How to have a Chi-ful day

Here is a small guide to have a positive productive day, you know the kind of day you feel you are greater than yourself and part of a larger whole. The kind of day that you have too rarely. The day where you can feel the life force flowing through you. The day you have your chi with you.


Eat the frog in the night
Do something that you have been putting off for some time the night before. This need not be a huge task, even small symbolic tasks like doing the dishes that have been lying around for a couple of days or tidying up your work desk can be enough. Its raison d'être is to motivate you to get out of bed and start your day on a positive note.

Have a reminder of your previous night's achievement ready by the bedside, so that you see it first thing in the morning

Wake up early, sunrise early 
Witnessing the calm environment and nature rejuvenating and restarting can be contagious and inspiring at the same time.

Have a clean workplace ready where you can organize your thoughts have a paper or app handy

Have a full belly
You need fuel to do all the awesome stuff you have been planning, don't you?

Take a review
Step back from the daily banalities and look at the bigger picture.
What kind of a day has it been? What kind of a day do you want it to be?

Think about one of your achievement that you are proudest of
 It is okay to gloat!! This is not only for your self esteem, but you must resolve to strive to better this achievement.

Read some good positive get-out-of bed-change-the-world writing 
Quora can be a good source

Have a nice calming relaxing bath.
It is not only a great way to de-stress but also an awesome opportunity to collect your thoughts. Many great ideas are a result of soothing baths (read Archimedes)

Time Management
 It is imperative that this morning routine be totally stress free, so make time for it accordingly.

Have a phrase that exemplifies your goals, intents and ambitions. 
Repeat it every time you need to step out of your comfort zone and need that momentary insane courage to do it.

Think about what kind of a person you want to be
Your dream/ideal self, now incorporate some small part of that ultimate personality into your day. Sounds simple right? It is. For example if your ideal self is a well read and well informed person you can debate at fancy parties about the country's fiscal policy, stream the news in the background as you get ready for work. That's it, you have taken a step towards being that awesome person.

Work when your productivity is at its max 
Work smarter not harder. If you are lucky enough to have flexible timings, use them wisely, if not demand that you be trusted with them. There is no point sitting on your desk and staring at the monitor for hours, or gossiping at the water cooler, or reading mind blunting social media crap. Time is the rarest commodity, you only get so much of it. Do not waste it. Give your all to what you are doing. When you are working, you are working.

Always say Yes! 
This is a lot more difficult than it sounds. We are wired to say no to new things and stay within our comfort zone, it takes active effort to say yes to things. Go further than your call of duty, go the extra mile, take the first step. Being complacent is our natural state. Summon the 2 seconds of insane courage and see the magic happen. Make Yes! your new default.

Smile
Smile and be kind to others spread the positivity and cheer. There is no feeling better than this, trust me!

Hope you have a Chi-ful day!