Life Lessons from Children

Hello Friends,

Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

Today November 14th is Children's Day in India. I had a wonderful opportunity to take part in Children's Day Celebrations organised in our office. Colleagues had come to office with their children and family today for the gala celebrations.

As usual I took up my role as an "Observer", started observing the cute little children over there running around, playing, singing and dancing. Kids just live their life enjoying every moment, enthusiastic about everything, eager to learn, curious about everything and with full of contagious energy. Practical life lessons we could learn by just observing child's play is plenty.

Few learning's from those cute little ones are here:

1. Live every moment:

Children live their life spontaneously. Literally every moment is experienced just during that moment and is thoroughly enjoyed. Nothing is pre-planned, they take life as it comes without much of worry. Kids don't waste the right moment at hand in thinking about the future or past, they just live in that moment completely involved. We adults always repent for what happened in the past or anticipate what would happen in future, and in that very process we miss the present right in front of us.

2. Ask lots of questions:

Kids ask lots of questions on matters very trivial to adults. What...? Why...? How...? When...? Where...? would be their major vocabulary once they start understanding things around. There would always be greatest level of curiosity to learn, to understand and to know about every thing around them. Most of the time they may not get answers for all their questions, but it doesn't stop them from asking more questions.

3. No emotional baggage's carried:

Children never carry emotional baggage's like we adults do always in life. Kids don't carry on with their emotions in life. As child I used to quarrel with my sister, we fought a lot for simple things in life. But that will last for not more than few minutes. We will be playing, jumping and running just after that. But now as grown ups we experience each and every situation with some or other pre-conceived ideas in life.

4. Contagious positive energy:

I would always consider "Contagious positive energy" to be the best in children. They enjoy life with full of positive energy that's instantly contagious. Doesn't matter how big our problem is, simply watching a child's play would make us happy and enthusiastic. Their positive energy is highly contagious.

5. No Inhibitions:

Inhibitions are meaning less in Children's world. They just don't worry about anyone and anything around. Unlike adults they don't worry about the consequences, just never bother what others would think. Kids would always want to be themselves, irrespective of where they are. They carry around themselves as just they are.

6. Curious about everything:

Children are curious about everything around. Curiosity is what makes them touch the fire, catch a fly, eat a bug, run onto the streets, jump from the stairs and many more. Always be ing curious to explore new things gives them a never ending learning experiences.

7. Ego Less:

There is nothing called "ego" in Kid's world. Children never have "I" conscious, they just go with the life as it comes without any egoistic thoughts. They fight and quarrel for a moment and next moment we would find them playing as if nothing had happened. The best part of child's behaviour is complete surrender to the loved ones most often the mother.

8. Express the Feelings:
Children would freely express their feelings no matter they are. Their feelings are readily available on their faces for every one to see. Kids don't hide or conceal their feelings and emotions, instead they express them right at that moment. We don't have to guess what's a child's feeling as it will be very obvious in her face. Openly expressing feelings makes life easier and simpler of us and people around us.

I've just listed few practical learning's we could take from Children. Of course we all has gone through that life as a child, but somewhere in the process of growing up we've acquired few things that are not very useful to us and dropped down few things that may be of great help in life.

Let's go back to our wonderful childhood, wake up the little child in us, live life king size.

With Love,
Anbusivam

Street Smart Leadership

Hello Friends,

Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

When I was walking along the busy commercial street last evening, I noticed a young boy selling balloons on the road side. I was curious to know the way he does his business. I opted to wait and observe him rather than going and asking him questions about his way of business. I quietly picked up a cone of ice cream and stood near him, to observe what's going on there.

My observations:

1. First thing he did was gave a flashing, catchy smile at the little children looking at him and his balloons.

2. With his smile and some funny actions, he inspired the children to ask for a balloon to their parents.

3. He had a variety of balloons, round, long, twisted, doll like...etc in various colors.

4. He had no fixed rate for the balloons, it depends on the attire of the child and her parents. He charged Rs.15 to a posh looking family in a brand new car and Rs.5 for the same balloon to a middle class family. He even gave it out for Rs.2 to a poor child on the street.

5. He knows how to fix the rate according to the person....as well. The price starts with two to three times the basic price and comes down gradually if the buyer seems to be bargaining too much. Same balloon is fixed at a reasonable price if a decent and quick buyer is seen in front.

I am sure this young boy on the street side had acquired these skills just by practice, and experience not by reading any best selling books. All the above the very necessity of not loosing a prospective buyer.

We have the most highly educated, literate and engaged workforce in our corporate world. And these graduates from elite institutions are most of the times from well to do families and they hardly know what "Street Smart Leadership" means. Street Smartness is just a combination of life experience, intelligence, awareness, cleverness, guile, humor, ingenuity, agility and ability acquired beyond (or in place of) formal education.

I sincerely believe "Street Smartness" is a greatly valuable commodity these days for those who want to get ahead of those elite and highly educated.

Thanks for Visiting My Page.

With Love,
Anbusiva

Motivation from Special Children

Hello Friends,

Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

Last Friday I had a great opportunity to visit Spastic Society of Karnataka, which is a special school for children with special needs. It was a part of my Counseling course and I was not even aware of the meaning of Spastics till I go there to see those wonderful children.

Yes, this school is mainly for children with Neuro-muscular disorders, Developmental and Learning Disabilities. All the teachers there are well trained special educators with lots and lots of care and empathy for those children. It was absolutely an amazing experience when we were taken to the classrooms. Those children seems to be enjoying and having a great time in their own world with their special school, special friends and special educators. Paradoxically I felt a huge pain and agony to see those innocent little ones in need of special care. Children were very happy to see us and they were well trained to handle thier basic physical needs and ettiquites by themselves. And the best part I observed is those children are highly helpful to eachother than the children we see in normal schools.

In spite of being differently-abled with special needs, I felt somehow the nature had given those little ones something more than what we all have and striving for. That something is Happiness. They are just laughing, giggling, smiling, talking, and playing all around with no big sorrow and worry on their disabilities. They also do some wonderful paintings, craft work, bakery products. We picked up some wonderful paintings and nice biscuits those were made by the children themselves.

The greatest Motivation I got from the visit is "When those children can be happy and enjoying life all the time, why can't we too...!!!"

Please, find out a special school near your place, do visit them, just spend some time with those little one's and help them as much as you can. I am sure you'll feel great and contented at the end of the day.

Thanks for Visiting My Page.

With Love,
Anbusivam

Choosing to be Happy :-)

Hello Friends.

Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

Reading my previous post When I grow up! I want to be a little boy, one of friends was sharing his childhood days with me over a cup of coffee. I always feel great and wonderful seeing people talking their joyful days of young age.

(One of the best expressions I clicked recently)

Last night when I was pondering over various things, landed up there in that conversation I had with my friend. I deeply felt the joy and happiness of my early days, those blissful moments. But, when I look at my present life, I had a tough question, “Where is that happiness, which was there with me moment after moment???”

As grown ups, we wait for someone or something to make us happy. May be, easy going university teacher, no traffic jams way to work, always green stock market, never troubling children, ever understanding boss, pretty wife, rich mother-in-law, admiring friends, it goes on and on. The moment any of these is not coming the way we wish, then starts the trouble. We become the embodiment of all distressing emotions like hate, anger, and frustration.

As a child, what was our state of emotion? Is it not happiness always? I am sure we remember our young days, where in someone or something has to make us unhappy. Our siblings, friends, parents or teachers some one should make us unhappy, otherwise we are just happy jumping, running without any reason and playing always.

Now, I can hear you saying, Do you want me to be happy in spite of all the turmoil’s happening in my life..? Yes, life is never a bed of roses for any of us, and that’s why life is life. If we can understand that Happiness is nowhere else but it’s now here within us. When it is there with in, why wait for some to trigger it? We should takeover the control of turning it on ourselves. Something like an automatic water level controller in our homes, we’ve an enormous reserve of Happiness with in ourselves (Ground Sump), just by choosing to be Happy at any moment we want (Overhead Tank) we can automatically control our emotions (Electric Pump) to fill us with the Happiness.

A popular greeting card quote by Henry David Thoreau says:

“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

Let’s Choose to be Happy and Yes, Being Happy is Our Birth Right.

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love
Anbusivam