Yesterday as I was walking on a treadmill at the gym, reassuring myself that I would feel great after I was done, when I saw a guy wearing a bright orange t-shirt. The slogan on the t-shirt said “Procrastinators: Leaders Of Tomorrow!” When I read it I could not stop laughing, which was challenging as I was trying to keep the same walking pace and not fall off the treadmill.

I am guessing the guy’s initial plan was to persuade everyone to take it easy and relax instead of sweating it out on the exercise machines. But in any case he got a whole bunch of smiles from everyone who saw him.

For me this great little quote was a reminder of how important it is to bring fun into everything you do.

Sometimes if I feel stressed out or upset I put all my work aside and spend 10-20 minutes reading funny quotes of famous people.

Do you have your favorite funny quote(s) that makes you laugh every time you read it? Or maybe your child or your friend said something really funny the other day? What is it?

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About two weeks ago I accidentally stumbled across one of the greatest manuscripts in Buddhist history called “Letter to a Friend”. It was written by the Indian Buddhist master Nagarjuna (1st – 2nd century A.D.) as a letter of advice to his childhood friend Gautamiputra, who later became a king.

Despite its short length (only 123 verses), it covers a variety of topics: one of them – the main qualities that a person should seek in their life partner (as well as to try to cultivate  them self) in order to create strong happy relationships. These qualities are honesty, trust, desire to take care of another person and patience.

Have you noticed that “love” and “physical attraction” are not even on the list? Nagarjuna considered love, passion and physical beauty as a passing phase and, therefore, believed that they are a shaky base for long-lasting relationships.

What do you think?

What in your opinion are the main components of a strong successful relationship? What qualities are you looking for in your partner?

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Do you see yourself as a lifelong student? I do.

I have probably mentioned to you that I often attend seminars and lectures given by spiritual teachers, motivational speakers and other interesting people that I can learn from.

After every lecture a speaker always asks if anyone has any questions. And most of the time just a few people raise their hands. And half those who do, end up asking some complicated or provocative question that has absolutely no other purpose than to demonstrate the intelligence of the person who asks it. Surprising isn’t it?

500 hundred people have a life time opportunity to ask a guru or highly successful person anything they want and get a specific answer to a specific question that can help them grow, improve their relationships, take their business to the next level, and resolve some of the challenges that they are facing. But 98% of the auditorium would rather let the opportunity pass by than to speak up, have everyone’s eyes on them and risk improbable, but very disturbing public humiliation. Believe me, I am not preaching…

I, too, have this irrational fear when it comes to speaking in public. And sometimes this fear holds me back. But sometimes I get enough courage and raise my hand.

What about you? Do you feel timid when it comes to asking personal questions? Or do you freely ask about something that is bothering you or something you do not know?

If you had the opportunity to meet one of the wisest people in the world and talk to them, what question(s) would you ask?

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My best friend and I have a great tradition – every once in a while we get together and cook something exotic (ok, I confess, she does most of the cooking and I do basic work like peeling, cutting, and adding condiments). And then after we are done, we take our delicious gourmet dishes and start watching our favorite movies. Yesterday saw “Gone with the Wind” with Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Even though I have seen this movie at least 20 times, I still enjoy it tremendously.

There are some movies that do not get old or boring no matter how many times you see them. I am sure that you too have a list of your favorite movies. What are they?

If you had to go and live on an uninhabited island what would be the 5 movies that you would take with you?

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“I cannot have another stressful day next week. My schedule is already full!” – A woman I accidentally overheard talking to a friend.

Let’s face it! She is right! We do not have time for stress, anxiety and busywork. We are too busy already having to deal with all the work projects, important meetings, constant phone calls, and “urgent” emails. And when we finally get home, there is just enough time to do the grocery shopping, cooking, doing homework with our kids and maybe if we are lucky watching a little bit of TV.

It is easy to get carried away by an ambitious desire to “get IT done today!” (IT stands for “Infinite Task list”)

I have noticed that as soon as I get hit with an over-achiever adrenaline rush, I start to use the phrase “I have no time for it!” more than it is really needed! This is how I know that it is time to slow down and relax.

Do you often feel stressed out or overwhelmed at work or at home? What do you do to relax and cope with a busy life when pressure builds up? Do you take a hot bath? Or go for a walk? Or do you hit straight for the fridge to melt your stress with chocolate-chip ice-cream?

What is it that helps you to respond with calmness and confidence to most life situations, instead of reacting with agitation and fear?

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It is during this great time of the year when most of us feel like we have to turn over a new leaf. For me this feeling of excitement and optimism is similar to buying a new notebook, opening it, looking at the clean pages and knowing that I can write so many wonderful and beautiful things in it. Of course, if you take a look at my old notebooks the first few pages look impeccable.

As you turn over the next 15-20 pages you will notice that random thoughts, phone numbers, flower sketches, even food recipes start to appear more and more often in the notebook that was initially meant for wise thoughts and interesting stories. But those first few pages still make up for everything else I write in it.

Similar, plans that we make at the beginning of the year might not always come true, because we might get distracted by pressing matters, other goals and banal everyday problems and slowly lose our focus and inspiration.

But sometimes what matters most is what we did while our motivation was high.
Right now is the perfect time to wish for great things and to act on our goals. While you have a great desire to do something amazingly wonderful and excitedly daring, make the most of it!
Although, this year I want to propose to you something different…

Ready?

Make one New Year’s resolution to help another person in some way.

Think of how you can help someone to achieve their goal. In what way can you help others? What is the one tiny action that you can take to make this world a little better, brighter and happier?

My New Year’s resolution is to ensure that one child in India gets access to education, enough food, clean water and much needed health care. I know it is probably not much, but it is a first step.

What is your New Year’s Good-Deed (G-D) Resolution? What is the first step that you can take to set your goal in motion?

Share it with others in the comment section!

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