When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

Source: http://www.thedontquitpoem.com/thePoem.htm
]]> http://centerforwellness.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/dont-quit/feed/ 1 wisdomtree http://centerforwellness.wordpress.com/2008/09/06/we-are-our-choices/ http://centerforwellness.wordpress.com/2008/09/06/we-are-our-choices/#comments Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:42:52 +0000 wisdomtree http://centerforwellness.wordpress.com/?p=77 ]]>

“It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
- J. K. Rowling

Our tastes, desires, preferences, likes etc tell something about ourselves.

Choices reflect character. What we choose is what we are. We are what we watch and we watch what we are. We are what we think and we think what we truly are. We are our music and our music is what we truly are on the inside. We are what we browse and we browse for what we truly want.

Often times, we get away with our true (dark or undesirable) selves because of our abilities -  what we can do ( performance), what we can say (language) and what we can sell (dreams). Not suprisingly, there’s so much of emphasis on our abilities. So much so our abilities define us. We bask in the sunshine of our (Self made) celebrity status.

But it is our choices that tell something about ourselves – our true selves. Jesus said a good tree will bear good fruits; and a bad tree will bear bad fruit. It is not about the colour, not about the size, and not about the shape. A good fruit is determined (if it is bitter or better) by what it is (on the inside).

Do we know who we are on the inside? Our choices give us a clue. What we pick up – in  a world where anything is available, affordable and accessible is what truly represents our innerworld/s.

I pray you’ll be our eyes, and watch us where we go.
And help us to be wise in times when we don’t know
Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way
Lead us to the place, guide us with your grace
To a place where we’ll be safe

La luce che tu hai I pray we’ll find your light
nel cuore resterà and hold it in our hearts.
a ricordarci che When stars go out each night,
eterna stella sei, The light you have

I pray we’ll find your light
will be in the heart
and hold it in our hearts.
to remember us that
When stars go out each night,
you are eternal star

Nella mia preghiera, Let this be our prayer
quanta fede c’è, when shadows fill our day
How much faith there’s
Let this be our prayer

in my prayer
when shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe

Sognamo un mondo senza più violenza
un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace, di fraternità

We dream a world without violence
a world of justice and faith.
Everyone gives the hand to his neighbours
Symbol of peace, of fraternity

La forza che ci dà, We ask that life be kind
è il desiderio che, and watch us from above
ognuno trovi amor, We hope each soul will find
intorno e dentro sé, another soul to love

Listen to Song:  Please watch youtube vedio

“Stuck In A Moment”

I’m not afraid
Of anything in this world
There’s nothing you can throw at me
That I haven’t already heardI’m just trying to find
A decent melody
A song that I can sing
In my own companyI never thought you were a fool

But darling look at you
You gotta stand up straight
Carry your own weight
These tears are going nowhere babyYou’ve got to get yourself together

You’ve got stuck in a moment
And now you can’t get out of itDon’t say that later will be better
Now you’re stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of itI will not forsake

The colors that you bring
The nights you filled with fireworks
They left you with nothing I am still enchanted
By the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears
Through your eyes I can see And you are such a fool
To worry like you do

I know it’s tough
And you can never get enough
Of what you don’t really need now
My, oh myYou’ve got to get yourself together

You’ve got stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of itOh love, look at you now
You’ve got yourself stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it I was unconscious, half asleep
The water is warm ’til you discover how deep
I wasn’t jumping, for me it was a fall
It’s a long way down to nothing at allYou’ve got to get yourself together

You’ve got stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

Don’t say that later will be better
Now you’re stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

And if the night runs over
And if the day won’t last
And if our way should falter
Along the stony pass

And if the night runs over
And if the day won’t last
And if your way should falter
Along this stony pass

It’s just a moment
This time will pass

(LYRICS are the property of the respective authors, artists and labels, the lyrics are provided for educational purposes only)

Questions for discussion

1) Have you listened to Bono before? Do you like his music? What is this song all about?

—————————————————
2) How does Bono describe the stuck-in-a-moment experiences in the song?
————————————————–

3) What does this song do to you? Does it connect with the times when you have been “stuck in a moment”? Does it remind you of someone in your context/s?

—————————————————
You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And now you can’t get out of it Don’t say that later will be better
Now you’re stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

4) What do you do when you are stuck in a moment and you can’t get out of it? What are your experiences of pulling yourself together when everything seems to fall apart?
—————————————————

I never thought you were a fool
But darling look at you
You gotta stand up straight
Carry your own weight
These tears are going nowhere baby

I know it’s tough
And you can never get enough
Of what you don’t really need now
My, oh my

5) When you are stuck in a moment it is natural that you slide down deeper in guilt/self-pity. Why is it so easy to go on a self-pity trip? Even the tough among us cry? What do you do when tears don’t get you anywhere?
 
—————————————————
And you are such a fool
To worry like you do
I know it’s tough
And you can never get enough
Of what you don’t really need now
My, oh my

You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

6) Why is it foolish to worry when you are stuck in a moment? Bono encourages us to get ourselves together. How do you plan to do it?

—————————————————
You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

Don’t say that later will be better
Now you’re stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

7) Bono says: when you are stuck in a moment it’s got to be you and its got to be now. How do you plan to deal with ‘stuck-in-a-moment’ experiences?

—————————————————

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine.
I got a love, and I know that it’s all mine.
Oh, ooh oh oh.
Do what you want, but you’re never gonna break me.
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me.
No.
I got a pocket, gota pocketful of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it’s all mine, oh, ooh oh oh.
Wish that you could, but you ain’t gonna own me
do anything you want, you can’t slow me down, no oh.
Take me away: A secret place.
A sweet escape: Take me away.
Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A hiding place.
There’s a place that I go,
But nobody knows.
Where the rivers flow,
And I call it home.
And there’s no more lies.
In the darkness, there’s light.
And nobody cries.
There’s only butterflies.
The sun is on my side.
Take me for a ride.
I smile up to the sky.
I know I’ll be all right.

Discussion Questions ( Prepared by Samuel Thambusamy)

1) What is this song about?

———————————————————————————–
Do what you want, but you’re never gonna break me.
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me.
Wish that you could, but you ain’t gonna own me
Do anything you want, you can’t slow me down

2)The lyrics talks about a different kind of attitude towards life, particularly the harsh realities of life. Is this possible? How?

———————————————————————————–

3) We constantly worry about what others do to us. We let them hurt us. We let them break us. We let them slow us. How does this song deal with situations like this? What do you think about this?

——————————————————————————-
There’s a place that I go,
But nobody knows.
Where the rivers flow,
And I call it home.

And there’s no more lies.
In the darkness, there’s light.
And nobody cries.
There’s only butterflies.

4) What does it take to have a pocket full of sunshine that creates a magic? Where could this possibly be? Can we find it?

——————————————————————————

Take me away: A secret place.
A sweet escape: Take me away.
Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A hiding place.
There’s a place that I go,
But nobody knows.
Where the rivers flow,
And I call it home.

5) Take me away! Is this a  “get-away solution’ or pro-active response to difficult interactions?

———————————————————————

6) What have you learnt from this song?

——————————————————————————

Dr. Sheela Nambiar, in her article Corporate Wellness (1) contends, ” Corporate Wellness is about how to plan and execute a fitness routine, select the right kind of food, improve self-confidence, and thereby improve efficiency and most importantly, manage stress and work anxiety”.

• What fitness routine/s have we planned for ourselves? If we don’t, we have only ourselves to blame. We must work something out.
• what about food habits? Do we make the right choices about what we eat and how much we eat. In fact, out dietary habits has a rub-on effect on our kids.
• What are levels of self-confidence?

The answers to these questions are so important. Because, these decide our wellness. Our ability to perform manage stress and work anxiety is a competence. Ultimately, this is true success, at the personal level.

Citations

1. Sheela Nambiar, Corporate Wellness, The Hindu, Sunday, 24 Aug, 2008

Intelligence Quotient – based on cognitive abilities – is not the only skill that is required in our ever changing workplace. Today, it requires a different kind of smartness to be more effective and competent at the work place.

In recent times, a premium is placed on Emotional Intelligence (EI). Since, working with people and alongside people has been recognized as the skill that transforms the workplace to be more effective, productive and affective.

What is emotional intelligence? Emotional Intelligence (EI) is described as an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one’s self, of others, and of groups.To this, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer (1990) have added an important dimension: ” to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.”

EI is a new area of psychological research and not suprisingly, the definitions are constantly changing. However, what hasn’t changed is the acknowledgement that emotions affect the outcome at the workplace and therefore, there is a need for Emotional Intelligence at the workplace.

Life of my Life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure, knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs.

I shall every try to keep all untruths out of my thoughts, knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind.

I shall every try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower, knowing that thou hast they seat in the inmost shrine of my heart.

And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions, knowing it is thy power that gives me strength to act.

Source: Gitanjali

Why is it that we don’t love our jobs any longer? why is that we are constantly complaining about our jobs? Why is it that we want a “get-away” solution to work related stress?  Why is it that we get to work with a “Thank-God-its-a-Friday” attitude? This is an issue that needs to be dealt with at the earliest. I read sometime back that the key to life long happiness is to love your work. But, why it that we can’t love our jobs.

Increased automation, monotony of the task and the presure to perform may have made our lives difficult in the workplace. But then, more often than not it is our attitude towards work. For most of us, our jobs are a necessary evil. They help us to pay our bills. And sadly, people have started to work just to pay back credits. We have reduced “work” to a “job”. A job is something we do for the money. Work is something that we do for fulfillment.

We look for weekends that would keep us away from the dreadchery of work. The workplace has become a machine world. There’s nothing but work-work-work. So, we want to play games to regain our human-ness. The games we play have become simple. Spock in the Startrek series remarks, the more complex the mind the more simple the games are. One philosopher contends, the most finest amusements are the most pointless”. A (re)look at the games we play can tell us alot about ourselves.

Agreed, most of us do not land up in our dream jobs. But then, work is an essential aspect of life. It provides us meaning, significance and a sense of accomplishment. We need meaning – significance and a sense of achievement. Without which life becomes filled with boredom. Think about this:

• Why do you work?
• Why did you apply to the organization you work now?
• What aspects of your work do you dislike? Why?
• why aspects of you work do you like? why?
• Is it a problem or a psychological preference?
• Have you spoken to someone about it?
• What can you do to resolve your hang-ups about your job?

We need to enjoy our work. Work should not be reduced to a job. Work is much more than a job. It provides us daily meaning and signficance we all need. Next time you get to your workplace do not have a ” Thank-God-its-Friday” attitude.

Explore possiblities of how your daily work can become meaningful. Build meaningful relationships at the workplace. Find out how you work (re)shapes you. For your own sake “Reclaim the passion for work” – you’d be alot more happier and life a little more spiced up.