What RamP's Reading: Apr'18

After a long time, met with one my ex-bosses whom I reported to for over 7 years and who has heavily influence on my leadership philosophy. The planned 1.5hr meeting between the guru and the disciple lasted close to 3.5hrs. He suggested to read some books and I'm picking the three of them and to break monotony, added a book on traveling. My reading had nearly stopped in Feb and March and I hope to pick it up in April. I'm on vacation for two weeks and long travels should make it easier to complete.

Are you a Pleaser or an Introspector?

Over the last few years, the importance of "Self-Awareness" has caught up with the people that wants to continuously improve. The four archetypes are so profoundly explained in the pic. What are you?

Remembering Roger Bannister

Roger Bannister died y'day. If you are a runner chances are very high that you'd have heard about him. If you have read some material on psychology of self-belief etc, you'd have heard him. He was the first man who ran a mile in under 4-mins, when it was thought it was not humanely possibly to do so. But Roger is not famous for that, many such records have been broken. But once Roger ran a mile within 4-mins there were so many people who started breaking sub 4-min record and now for the elite runners of the prestigious Boston marathon running a mile in about 5.5mins over 26.3 miles. As a long distance runner myself, he has been an inspiration to me (my best mile though is just under 10mins, about 2.5times more than Roger) and felt sad when I heard the news. 

Seth Godin, as usual, has come-up with this thoughtful post:

Taking care of yourself!

There is a reason why flight attendants insist that you first wear the oxygen mask before helping others (of course in rare emergency and I wish none of us would ever experience it). We can get stuck in our own world and neglect taking care of ourselves, which hinders our ability to lead and serve people that we deeply care about. Here is a list of tips/suggestions from leadership guru/speaker Tom Flick, that addressed some NI Sales leaders of AMR region. Thanks to Vineeth for pointing me to this resource. 

TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF 

Consider the following as tips or suggestions. Hopefully, you'll find some that work for you. 

Focus and Vision: 

• Revisit your personal hopes, dreams, values and goals. Are you still committed to them? Are they in need of change? 
• Make a list of what's not changing . . . your personal "comfort zone." 
• Narrow your life focus; defer important decisions until you're in the right frame of 
  mind. 
• Prioritize and do what's most important right now. 
• Sort out what's essential information . . . in difficult times, too much negative 
  information can be detrimental. 
  
  
  Stress and Worry: 

• Find time for reflection, meditation, relaxation, deep breathing or prayer. 
• Explore your feelings . . . write about them in a journal, talk about them with 
  people who care. 
• Practice a positive outlook . . . engage in positive self-talk . . . refuse to be a victim! 
• Become action-oriented, you can't worry as much when you are focused on 
  getting something done. 
  
  
  
  
  Health and Body: 

• Eat healthfully . . . more fruits and vegetables...drink more water. 
• Take a multiple vitamin daily. 
• Get more sleep (one hour . . . even 30 minutes will be health giving). 
• Exercise regularly . . . doesn't have to be strenuous . . . light is fine. 
  
  
  Social and Relationships: 

• Use your support network . . . ask for help, share your feelings. 
• Socialize more with positive, balanced people. 
• Ask more questions like, "What's good about that?" . . . and, "Is there a 'silver 
  lining’?'" 
• Live more "in the moment", be "fully present" . . . think less about what's next, 
  what's happening tonight, tomorrow, or the next day . . . don't waste the "here and now." 
  Fun: 
• Pursue activities at work that leverage your strengths. 
• Pursue activities outside of work that give you pleasure. 
• Try that one thing you've always wanted to do. 
• Find humor in situations where you don't usually see it. 
• Turn off the television and play games with your family. 
• If you can't turn off the television, rent the funniest, "gut-busting" comedy you 
  can find.