If you want to live a life of excellence – and who doesn’t? – develop an attitude that fosters excellence. Now, here’s this little girl, always cheerful, helpful, willing to do stuff. Then, one day, you discover she’s deaf – since birth. Don’t pity her, admire her. Her 24x7 cheerful openness to what life has to offer and to gracefully contribute to it is an attitude of excellence.
What’s the secret of the little girl? She is aware of her affliction, but she chooses not to allow it to bother her. By this smart choice, she has freed herself from the yoke of inadequacy. She chooses not to allow negative thoughts to tyrannise her. Without the baying beasts of envy, self-pity, resentment, her mind is a vast, clear, serene field. A luminous, peaceful space full of potential. She has mastered freedom.
When the mind is free, life becomes stimulating, joyful. Each day, feels fresh, each situation full of poetry, each circumstance a mere drama. Derive joy from life – you deserve it. Make these smart choices:
*Don’t keep for tomorrow what you can do today.
*Make today your favourite day.
*Shun self-pity, embrace self-growth. Substitute “poor me” with “hmm…how do I grow from here?”
*Live up to your word – do what you say you will do; be on time.
*Be willing to go that extra mile. The Masters say it’s less crowded there.
*Spot-jog for 20 minutes daily at 100 steps per minute for fat-loss and stamina-gain. Spot-jogging is a great companion to mature with as it reduces or does away with health risk-factors. Gyaan : A one-kg loss causes a drop in blood pressure of 3 mmHg systolic; and up to 10 kg a 2 mmHg diastolic drop.
*Eat smart: fresh vegetables, fruits. Whole grains. Fish. Sprouted pulses. Chicken with skin removed. Skimmed milk. Gyaan : Overall, low fat equals high energy.
*And the ultimate gyaan : to be able to study, work, read, sing, listen to music, paint, walk-in-nature is a blessing, a privilege. They turn the silence of the hours spent on them into timeless melodies. These activities are nurseries of love and joy from which excellence flowers.
(The writer is co-author of the book ‘Fitness for Life’.)
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