Personality Themes

Photo by  Mihai Lazăr  on  Unsplash As life is a constant journey towards betterment, you wish to be in a better position in the course of time. A goal speaks about where you want to be as the time goes by. Hence you need to set a goal for every area of improvement you have felt. A well-stated goal gives you motivation to work towards its realization. While all of us have goals, many times they remain as vague idea at the back of mind. You think about what you want to achieve, but not in concrete terms. Rather, a clearly stated goal alone can boost your energy and drive you along the course of action. Smart people have clear cut goals at the top of their mind and are energized by them, because they have put each goal in black and white in SMART way. SMART is an acronym that should remind you of how your goal statement should be: S-Smart, M-measurable, A-attainable, R-Relevant, and T-Time bound. Let us analyze these characteristics of an ideal ...

SWOT Analysis You have clear goals to achieve. What next? Before deciding your route-map to reach the goals, you need to understand where you stand now. In other words, you need to have a fair idea how well you are positioned to achieve those goals. For example, if you have a goal of increasing your wealth by two times in the next five years, you need to plan actions towards achieving it. Planning actions requires knowledge of whether you have sufficient resources to reach the goal (strengths), what limitations you have (weaknesses), what hurdles you might face in reaching goals (threats), and what outside support you are going to leverage upon (opportunities). You have the tool of SWOT analysis to help you in knowing them. The SWOT matrix has four quadrants as shown in the below template. Strengths and weaknesses lie in you whereas the opportunities and strengths lie outside you. You need to list strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in respective quadrants. Th...

Photo by  Chris Benson  on  Unsplash If you wish people show interest in listening to you, do not forget to keep your speaking as simple as possible. The greatest myth is that sophistication in speech attracts people. Rather, as affirmed by Leonardo da Vinci, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. There is nothing like a simple language that makes people wanting to listen. At the same time a simple language need not exclude the content of a great thought or idea. The power of simple language lies in its ability to convey grand ideas in unsophisticated manner to express humility. Even complex thoughts should be presented in the simplest words in a manner easily comprehensible by everyone. Nonetheless, it is not as simple as it is said. Simplicity in language is a rare art that needs great practice to achieve mastery; the practice of having the genuine interest of reaching the listener through every word you utter. Knowingly or unknowingly, you may ten...

Photo by  Matthew T Rader  on  Unsplash In today's world of mechanical life, as a way to vent out their emotions or to 'forget their problems', people resolve to things that give them immediate relief, without thinking about their harmful effects in the long run. Usually they are attracted to tobacco, alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, and the like. Very soon, they realize how such pleasurable things can damage their physical and mental health severely; but by that time, they would have already been in the tight clutches of their addiction. Even if they want, they cannot stop using such substances or behaviors; the addiction has enslaved them. Nevertheless, overcoming any addiction should not be difficult for a determined mind. Where there is a will, there is a way. Understanding the science of addiction can help us to address the problem at the root level and overcome it easily. Today, there are many tested and proven scientific ways of overcoming addic...

Photo by  Lauren McConachie  on  Unsplash Being too agreeable can tax your mental health. If you are habituated to be overly nice to others because you want people to like you and know that you are a good person, it would ultimately put you in the soup. If you usually try to please everyone and put others first by suppressing your views, concerns, and rights, then you are likely to end up suffering stress, resentment and depression. It only spoils the relationships sooner or later. Hence, the key to building meaningful relationships with others is to value your own views, concerns, and rights as much as you do with theirs. The problems with being too agreeable: In reality, the world is filled with all sorts of people. If you are too open, some people take advantage of it and try to manipulate you without respecting your wish and will. They project themselves to be better than you and try to gain the upper hand, thereby diminishing your identity. You may u...

Even though we are well organized and have a commitment to follow our work schedule, sometimes we may delay our work by spending significant amount of time on trivial things such as watching TV or browsing web or exploring social media. If this becomes a habit and causes regular delays in our work, it is procrastination. Whether it is putting off our work-related responsibilities or household responsibilities, procrastination can affect our job or our life. How procrastination affects Gradually procrastination becomes a part of our lifestyle. We not only delay simple tasks like household chores, organizing the office table, or servicing vehicle, we also start delaying most important things like critical health checkups, filing income tax returns, or major work assignments. Habitually we postpone important things until they become very urgent, and then try doing it in hurry, which leads to stress. Such a stress can affect the quality of work on hand as well as our mental he...

Photo by  Fares Hamouche  on  Unsplash Controlling the mind is like catching air with your hand. When we like to be rational, the mind plays the game of emotions. When we want to tread the path of righteousness, it makes us impulsively commit the wrong. When you want to rise up to the higher standards, it is attached to the inferior modes. In spite of all these, you can control your mind and be calm, composed, and happy. The way to achieve this is to make friends with your mind. Take time to know your mind better. Learn to communicate with your mind. Slowly convince your mind on what is good to you in the long term. Persuade the mind on how remaining steadfast on the path of principles could make your life worthwhile. Your mind is the key that locks you up in problems when it turns towards negativity. The same key, your mind, can free you from problems when it turns towards positivity. Hence your own mind can be your worst enemy if it lowers you. The same...