Time is priceless and social media is a waste of time. Know why?

Social media is an addiction and a common subject being talked about in the 21st century.

It is like an ocean wherein we tend to dive and dive until we explore its contents to the fullest and get satisfied. In the morning, the act of waking up to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter has been embedded in most of us. We are so much deeply engaged in our heads with the heaviness of social media that even one eye gives a good vision of social media pages while still on bed. This might sound strange but we know the hard core truth.

                      

Why is social media gaining so much unwanted attention day by day? Even teenagers are bent towards opening their accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok (to name a few) without having complete knowledge of the term 'social media' and they do so based on word-of-mouth publicity. Being inquisitive of the attractive force of such platforms, parents and grandparents are getting inclined towards having their accounts too.

What is the end result?

In addition to wastage of precious time and energy of teenagers and young adults, seniors (or elderly) are affected too. It has become exceedingly hard to turn our eyes and attention from gadgets. For instance, it is now a common scene in every family get-together, where a teenager or a young adult remains totally engrossed in his/her mobile phone instead of participation. They end up losing the most vital, intangible and expensive part, ‘Time’ which will forever be gone. Not only that, we find ourselves seated beside our parents and each one of us allowing our phones to engage our minds making us exist in our respective worlds rather than being aware of the surroundings.

What’s wrong with us? Have we wiped out the gravity of our near and dear ones or have we become more selfish? Let’s give it a thought.

We all agree that everything comes with pros and cons and the same rule is applied to ‘selfish’. As long as we are involved in activities for personal development without ignoring our loved ones, being selfish is absolutely fine. Many of us are negatively impacted by the kinds of images, videos and texts posted by people whom we do not know personally (on Instagram, Twitter) and friends (on Facebook). We are more focused on receiving ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ on our posts or the number of views on our stories and most importantly, who are the viewers?

Are we uploading pictures and videos to get others’ reactions? No.

Friends, we also keep judging others’ lives based on their posts on social media. Let us stop being judgmental! We, unknowingly, become so much influenced that we forget to differentiate what is good and bad for us and our loved ones. All of us have issues to deal with but these are not depicted through social media. Let’s stop comparing our lives with others and not get swayed by easily. It is the right time for self-realization and put an end to unnecessary burdening our heads with irrelevant matter. Spending time fruitfully and efficiently reflects one’s level of wisdom.

Unlike others, I am not suggesting to undergo a total digital detox but an overuse of social media is not advisable. If you have time for yourself, get involved in things which will help you grow into an even better person than you were yesterday.

Time to ponder.

That’s all folks!

 

Five Magical Anger Management Techniques

Image representing Anger /Source- TED

Anger can be related to multiple underlying causes like depression, frustration, idle thinking, negativity, fear, ego etc. This feeling has further augmented during the period of the pandemic and lockdown.

Given below are very few yet effective tips/techniques which have brought a drastic control of anger in me. So thought of sharing:

Here you go!

Five magical anger management tips/techniques- 

INDULGE IN MEDITATION for at least 15 mins/day with any soft relaxing music of your choice. 

Do not let your mind control you instead CONTROL YOUR MIND. Our minds have a tendency to control our emotions irrespective of whether the outcomes are good or foul, be careful.

ZIP YOUR LIPS when you foresee a chance of an argument. Remember, the tongue is the biggest enemy and spoils relationships when misused.

SELF-ISOLATE from the spot of disagreement in a separate room or corner of your house and come out once you are calm and ready to talk.

Try to DIVERT YOUR MIND IMMEDIATELY from the reason of annoyance or pain caused by others to watching some motivational videos, reading books, cooking or anything you prefer.

Initially, these might be difficult but once you start executing and converting them into your HABITS, you will definitely witness a massive difference.

Year 2021- The Good, the better and the best

You may be wondering how can someone write on 2021 so easily especially when none of us were aware of the dreadful 2020 while we were welcoming the year on Dec 31, 2019. We all wanted 2020 to be a fruitful and an overwhelming one, but our expectations turned out to be tragic.

A year to be marked in world history

Lives were lost, emotions were shattered, peace of mind taken away, businesses closed, unemployment level skyrocketed and most notably a thick cloud of panic casted a shadow over our day-to-day lives. Pregnant women feared to give birth because of the contagious nature of the virus and even the babies were categorically named as 'Generation C' in some articles.

Extensive research found out that the virus happened to spread rapidly via sneeze, cough and while talking. Handshakes became a threat to our lives; imagine world leaders and thinkers banning handshakes just to keep themselves out of the treachery of the virus and claim their lives. 

The world came to a halt.

We can no longer move out being carefree.

WE GOT MASKED.

It is indeed, a disturbing phase and diving deep into it will lead to more pain and fear. Instead, we must be hopeful about 2021on account of it being a 'vaccine-launch and availability' year that will bring a sigh of relief. 

The objectives of this blog are:

1. To spread positivity
2. Rebuild lost hopes and 
3. Help people come out of the gravely situation.
4. Get acclimatized to the 'new normal'.

The Prelude to hope:

According to the sources, 52 vaccine candidates are already being tested on humans and as we all know, they are meant to prevent an infection and not cure. On an average, vaccine development takes 10-15 years and is a complex process as compared to non-vaccine drugs. But looking into the current crisis, researchers have moved in leaps and bounds to accelerate the process of availability.

Pfizer's vaccine has proven to be 90% effective in Phase 3 trial as on Nov 11, 2020 which is a significant breakthrough to help bring an end to the global health crisis. This is a mRNA based vaccine widely grouped under 'Genetic vaccines' that deliver one or more of the coronavirus's own genes into our cells to provoke an immune response. They claimed to supply up to 50 million doses in 2020 and 1.3b in 2021. Several others (10 vaccines) are almost on the verge of joining the team. 

With an effectiveness of 94.5%, the vaccine from Moderna has added a feather to the cap.

Both the vaccines are waiting for the emergency use authorization from the USFDA. Post-authorization, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will make recommendations/protocols for who should be first to get vaccinated. Once the worldwide distribution of the effective vaccines take place, it will lead to the shrinkage of the pandemic and life will return to normal.

Think positive.

Work from home culture- 

Each of our lives has an epicenter on account of which we tremble in response to all mishappenings at that point. The arrival of COVID19 was one such mishappening.

It is when the pandemic forced office-goers to work from home that they felt a sudden wave of happiness and excitement which continued to remain in some and slowly diminished in others. The very thought of managing both home and work 24x7 crashed heavily on us. The only waving thoughts in our minds were managing kids, household chores along with office work.

Many of us started complaining. Quarrels and arguments peaked not only among couples but also with other family members staying under one roof. We faced one of the most challenging scenarios of retaining relationships.

 

Friends, as 2020 has compelled us to adapt to WFH culture, this will continue to happen until and unless we, as separate individuals, practise the art of anger management, stop feeding our ego and start focusing on our work.

During the lockdown, I have seen people who have initiated diverse activities like the following- 

• Zumba training classes.
• Some spoke about their workout routine and how they have lost weight.
• Many invested in stock market for the first time and learned to read the pulse of the market.
• New entrants in YouTube.
• Online education courses like Udemy and Coursera offered discounts. 
• Focus on how to get fitter.

The sole mantra is - Become so busy in the goal of self-improvement that there will be no room for negativity. 

Everything is in the mind- the willingness and unwillingness to do-totally depends on you. 

Few real-life anger management strategies are given below which were fruitful to my friends and closed ones.

Five magical anger management tips/techniques at home- 

INDULGE IN MEDITATION for at least 15 mins/day with any soft relaxing music of your choice. 

Do not let your mind control you instead CONTROL YOUR MIND. Our minds have a tendency to control our emotions irrespective of whether the outcomes are good or foul, be careful.

ZIP YOUR LIPS when you foresee a chance of an argument. Remember, the tongue is the biggest enemy and spoils relationships when misused.

SELF-ISOLATE from the spot of disagreement in a separate room or corner of your house and come out once you are calm and ready to talk.

Try to DIVERT YOUR MIND IMMEDIATELY from the reason of annoyance or pain caused by others to watching some motivational videos, reading books, cooking or anything you prefer.

These might be difficult but once you start executing and converting them into your HABITS, you will definitely witness a massive difference.

Yes, 2020 was indeed a bad year in human history but 2021 will definitely spark a new hope within us. It will not be able to wipe out our memories for all lives which were lost but let us raise our level of optimism for the upcoming year.

P.S- Your suggestions for my next blogpost are welcome. Enjoy reading and continue to enrich your soul.