Be a Sea Sponge.

Sponges do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes, and the shapes of their bodies are adapted to maximize the efficiency of the water flow.

Our perspective on life today, should be like a sponge, we should absorb the good from people whom we meet, know about, hear about or read about, always looking for the good in all things whether its the movies that we see or the music that we hear or even from the birds of the sky or from the animals that roam the earth. We can learn so much from the things that make up our lives, we need to only absorb what is relevant and good, remove the irrelevant or the bad in the nature of things surrounding us, learning never stops at an age, it is an evolving process, everyday we can learn something new to incorporate into our lives to sweeten the lives around us and our own.

Let us adapt ourselves, to listen, to feel, to notice, to read and to observe the good things around us and learn something from everything for there no greater teacher than experience in this world.

Cut one's coat according to one's cloth

Living a life of contentment seems so impossible, we always want something more, as economics of life states that, wants are limitless, how do we cut our coat according to the cloth?

Being happy with what we have is a virtue that a few possess, here are my tips to that sublime state.

Reflecting on our past - Past is a vital clog in our life, not forgetting where we have come from, and where we are now, makes a ton of difference always appreciating what we have today, how did we get there? the sacrifices that we have made to be there, the hard work that has helped us be where we are. These thoughts will help us to be content with what we have in a small way in our present scenario.

Reflecting on our surroundings - As we live our lives, as we get comfortable, we automatically forget the people around us, and the circumstances that they live or have, how often are we thankful for our bodily gifts, how often do we remember the less fortunate among us, reflecting on the have-nots in comparison to us, will again in a small way help us.

Planning and questioning - Adequate planning curtails unnecessary spending, listing out the things that we need in our daily life, and then weeding out the things that we don't want is a prime example to curtail our spending. Organisation makes our life easier, cheaper and simpler. Questioning yourself if we really need the things we buy, really need the many things we splurge on, Is there a more cost effective way to do the same, etc. Questioning brings awareness, for it is similar to looking before you leap. How many times have we purchased something we don't need and never used it? How many times do we pay for things that don't actually help our day? and crib and brood over it. Careful spending leads to less spending which leads to happier spending. Careless spending leads to more spending which leads to unhappier spending.

Appreciating what we have - Advertisers have a knack for making us want what we don't really need, we always want the next big car, the next big video game, the latest shoe, the next biggest bling, which is relative to us, and as soon as we get whatever we want, whether it is a car or a game, etc, we soon grow tired and bored of that thing, and we want the next biggest thing, appreciating what we have, remembering why you bought it and treasuring it will go a long way in curtailing our wants. Just because you can, is no reason you should. I remember a friend of mine, and his habit of changing his mobile phones as you would change clothes, and all these mobiles that he would trade in for a newer mobiles, would always have depreciated from the time he bought them, and the newer mobiles would always be costlier than the last, the features on latest models would not even be relevant in his line of work, and as these mobiles are always bought on some equated monthly installment or scheme, he would always be in debt. Let us learn to like what we have before we want something we do not have.

Always comparing our needs to our wants - This is essential in our spending being wise. Do we always wonder if the things we buy are the things we want or need, is it essential to our lives or do we simply crave for them, because of the status attached to them?, or because it is the next big thing?, or because you colleague at work or your boss or your friends have them?, or because you are avoiding dealing with the real issues in your mind and spending because it makes you feel better?

always weighing our wants against our needs, helps us to decide and curb our spending.

Living without debt - In this age of credit cards, spending is almost inevitable, it seems so easy to swipe your card for everything, but do we realise that credit cards always encourage us to spend what we don't have, and when we spend what we don't have, then we are always slaves to debt. Let us not have many credit cards, let us make a decision to spend what we have and not spend what we don't have or spend what we are going to have, for life without debt is an happier life. Credit card is only one such example, it can be anything like a loan etc,. Let us treat Debt as a bad thing, and the further we keep it from our lives, the better it is for our lives and those around us.

Sharing whatever we have - I am not saying that we should give our salaries to the unfortunate, but simply saying to give whatever small contribution to we can to the less fortunate among us, believe me, there is no greater joy on this planet, than making people smile or spreading joy among others.

I believe that thinking about these points stated above, in a small way will help you in cutting the coat according to the cloth and not vise versa, these are my thoughts, please let me know your thoughts through your comments.

Why do we always value people and things after they are gone or are lost? Why do we not treasure what we have?

Why do we never value anything whether its lives or things when we have them? Why do we take things or people with us for granted? Why are human beings always fretting about things they should have done when their loved one was there with them?

My friends, take control of our lives, our people, our things, be possessive of what we have, never take things or people for granted, nothing in life is permanent, tell a loved one today that you love them, never let a chance to hug someone go, for you never know if you will get a chance again, never let the chance to appreciate someone's good work go, without you appreciating them. Treasure the time with those you love, make an appointment to spend quality time with the people who matter in your life, for that is what you live for. Why do we not take care of our own when we can, rather then mourning or crying after they are lost. Life is lived in moments my friends not in years

Similarly, Why do we chase that beautiful girl in our school or college relentlessly and would cross the deepest sea or climb the highest mountain for her, but once the chase ends, once she becomes your girl, once you marry her, treat her like nothing? Isn't she the same girl, who once made your heart skip a beat, isn't she the same girl who made you speechless, isn't she the same girl, who you dreamt of being with day and night? Lets make the crooked paths straight in our lives , lets make that someone, that special someone in our lives feel like she is a queen for a day, lets respect what we worked for, lets appreciate what God has blessed us with. For there is no time like today to love, and show the love to the ones who love us and whom we love. Lets not forget that this is the same special girl in our life today, whom you prayed and wished to be with. Live and love without boundaires, for a life such as that, is a life with no regrets.

If you have never failed, you have never lived

Why are our yesterdays better than our todays!

Why do some of us live in our past? why do those days in our memory, the best days of our lives? Why do we always look back than looking at ourselves today or into the future.

This for me is a negative attitude in life, we are not looking ahead with anticipation, we are not enjoying our todays, we are not making the days that we live in count, we are glorifing what happened then, rather than making things happen now. As we live today, we should live in the present, making everyday count, cause as it is life is too short, lets fill it with laughter, joy and loads of fun, lets live in looking forward to the many places we are going to see, lets live life looking forward to the many things that we always wanted to do, but have not done as yet, lets live looking forward to the many memories, that we are going to create, life does'nt stop at any particular age, life stops when we stop living it. The things that make our days livable is in the anticipation, not in recollection. So lets live our lives not by glorifing our yesterday, but instead live in our todays and look forward to our day after tommorrows.

Planning your Life

Planning your life starts with something very basic by organising you day to day activities, while keeping your milestones and goals in life ahead of you, everybody wants to somewhere on a futuristic date, and to get to that place we got to take a specific road to be there, there might be detours or deviations cause nothing is certain in our life while got to make room for eventualities or contingencies.

KEEP LIFE SIMPLE

Don't over think things,Don't look for perfection in everything, Keep all you basics right, just get doing things, for all your ideas come to nought if it is just there"IN YOUR HEAD", try things out, don't be scared to fail, for in failure everyone learns something no classroom in the world can teach you, there is simply no alternate for hands on experience. Like a well known shoe company says "JUST DO IT", take responsibility for your actions, that shows character.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Walk like you own the world, and talk like you can sell it. Without the confidence in yourself, in would close to impossible to instill confidence in someone listening to you. Prepare yourself for your purpose in life, keep fit, eat right, treat your body with respect for your body reflects you. It would be difficult to be confident if you in your mind don't look right, feeling good inside translates to feeling good outside. Be positive in your approaches, doesn't matter what others tell you about yourself or your ideas,to do as others do is ordinary, but to do as others don't is extraordinary.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Cutting you coat according to your cloth, when you plan for anything don't always plan with what you don't have instead plan with what resources you have or can muster, it may not be big, but all big things start small, plan not only in ideas, put things in writing, plan judiciously, take calculated risk, keep your focus on the goal, as my school motto 'Nec Dextrorsum Nec Sinistrorsum' which means not to look either to your right nor to your left but straight on forward, let the past take care of itself, never look back, but always remember your roots. Take stock of the situation periodically to measure your progress, investigate, analyse, and then continue. Never be scared to ask why, learn from other peoples mistakes, similarly learn from other people's success.

BE PREPARED

Never let success or failure catch you unawares, for both can ruin you, when dreams on collision with reality turn to dust, go back to the drawing board, learn from what you did wrong, and start again. Learn the magic to look for the silver lining in every dark cloud, pick positive from negatives, learn the art of being cool in hell, nothing is the end of the world, don't let any situation overwhelm you, always weigh your positives against your negatives, acting impulsively is like not looking before you leap. Success also comes with its share of problems, you control it rather than letting it control you, when you are finally where you dreamt you would be don't forget the people who helped you on the way. Make time for love, success is contagious, keep a company of people around you who think like you, work hard and party hard, spread success so people around you can feel successful. Never take things for granted. Balance Life. NEVER EVER STOP DREAMING for we all are only as big as are dreams.

Why do all good things come to an end?

Why does all good things in life come crashing down? Why do people who are madly in love and get married, cant find the love the got married for? Does love also require work or it just comes with an expiry date? Does pain always follow Joy?

My opinion is that, like all things around us be it our furniture or our leaking roofs, everything needs constant upkeep and love is no exception, we got to keep the flame going, through stormy weather and sunny days, Love grows and I am not talking about the intensity, I am talking about love like us grows into different stages, from puppy love to teenage love to courtship love to husband and wife love, it needs to be watered, fertilized, and it needs sunlight, to grow. We need to understand that sacrifice is a part of love, compromise is a part of love, give and take is a part of love. I guess like all other things in life the key is to keep expecting nothing and giving everything. Maybe then you can live life with love having no regrets. Knowing you have done your bit and the person watching us all will do the rest, gives us Hope in an hopeless world.

Reinventing Life.

Life as we know it has become monotonous and mundane, do we we even care about what's happening around us? Have we forgotten how to live? Are we too busy to help ourselves?

Life needs to be lived in all its fullest glory, take time to smell the flowers, make someone smile, help an elderly person cross the road, pay for someone's lunch, give a hug to someone who needs it, say i love you to people whom you love and mean it, pray for people who can't stand you, connect with an old friend, learn to play a musical instrument, if you know one, learn a song and play it for someone who cares for you, listen to someone who needs listening, play a sport, start a hobby, watch the sun rise, help someone with their chores, laugh a lot, smile a lot, be spontaneous, do things on the spur of the moment, always look for adventures, make others around you happy, yeah, live life in moments not years, spread joy and happiness for then you will be really be living life. Walk the wild side, brave the untamed, step away from the causeway, for in the unknown lies mysteries that will make your life worth it. Reinvent yourself, reinvent life, taste that very last drop, for then you will never ever have regrets, Dare to be different. Be Yourself and live every day as if it were your last.

Why can't we keep the promises made to ourself?

Why do we repeatedly fail to go to the gym? Why do we fail again and again in our attempts to eat right?

I think that doing things right over a period of time consistently is an habit, so like all habits, these have to be done repeatedly over a point of time, remember that this is the most difficult and crucial time for you success, once we get past this stage, things grow on us, and secondly just turning up is better than not turning up at all, to elaborate this, everyone of us, have these days where we had too much to do the previous day and we just don't want to go to the gym, or feel like working out, but it is very important for us to just turn up at the gym, or the jogging track, ready for the workout, maybe the exercise for that day may be toned down but it is important not to skip and be regular, so that it becomes an habit, and thirdly, mentally keeping yourself motivated is very important if you have to lose weight, you got to keep imagining yourself thinner, leaner, and always have a mental picture of how you want to look in your mind so you stay focused for longer periods of time, use that motivation to drive you to a leaner and fitter you and fourthly use the positive responses from people, like "Matt, you look thinner today?" to push yourself further, convert all the positive vibe into positive energy, and then use the positive energy to work harder. Fifthly, believe in yourself, to achieve what you have set out to do, think of what fun you can have if you looked like you wanted, always prioritise yourself as important. Never give up. Failure is the stepping stone for success, the more you fail the more the chances of you making it. NEVER EVER GIVE UP.

Failure is the stepping stone for Success

5 Strategies to Handle Criticism - Robin Sharma