Blogging Break: Putting Things in Perspective

Take a break! (Photo Credit)

So, it’s another come back of sorts to my blog. Does that bother me - the long break? No, it doesn’t. Sometimes it’s just nice to sit quietly and watch the world go by. This time, I also watched the madness of other bloggers go by. This break also proves that one can’t rest on one’s past laurels. And that, one is never invincible after overcoming a challenge (the #NaBloPoMo, in my case) unless one continues to put in efforts. So, I am back with no promises of coming back often. To me, it’s ok to flow with the flow once in a while. It’s ok not to push things to do the way it should be done to conform to some arbitrary rule I did not make. 

Breaks are good. From whatever one does in life. Surprisingly, looking at others go about their frenetic activities while you are on a break makes them appear even more fast paced. So when I think back about blogging related activity that I noticed around me during my hiatus is - there’s just too much of it. Could be because of the effect I told you earlier. But I also felt that everyone is so much in a hurry to blog. To blog more. To blog everyday. To write for every weekly theme. There are so many conversations around how to just keep posting no matter what. I am honestly astounded at how fellow bloggers can not just churn out posts everyday but also share them on various blogging platforms for others to read!! I constantly wonder - how do they manage! I figured that maybe I am not just that hardworking or it’s not in me to be able to do that or just plain ‘don’t care’ attitude! Any which way, I realized that not being in the rat race works for me. 

And I think the more I saw that happening on social media, the more I savoured my luxury of not blogging when I did not want to. To choose to stop typing just because I don’t feel like. And to be ok with it. As I have mentioned earlier, I write for the passion of writing. I write because I feel strongly about something. I don’t know how to write to increase page views (I don’t even know that for my professional blog! “What a fool!”, you say? Well!). I don’t know how to write to drive traffic. (I think this means the same as what I said before). Yes, my professional blog has some semblance of planning for the posts of a month. But that’s about it. Blogging is not the central thing in my life. I am sure avid bloggers reading my post - if anyone’s reading this post at all - might gasp in incredulity at this assertion. But that’s just how blogging works in my life. (Though, hats off to people to who manage all the blogging with kids and full time jobs)

Another reason for the hiatus has been probably a common thing that all of us go through - life takes over and it’s hard to find the time. With some personal issues and the rush of keeping up with my professional blogging, I has to compromise on a few things. And my personal blog is usually the casualty. Plus, once you stop, the languor sets in making it even harder to begin again. You know, you’ve been there! But after avoiding looking straight in the eye of my neglect of this blog, even when I could begin writing, here I am fighting through my lassitude. 

While I was pondering about blogging sitting on the periphery of the blogosphere, I figured what might work for my blog here. I need to work on what works for me. Daily blogging doesn’t. I need to go back to my reasons for writing - the love of it and improving the craft of writing. So consistency through well thought of posts seems to be my kind of plan. I am outright incapable of writing a good post every single day. Maybe, if that was my only profession. So, I need to find a rhythm that keeps me going and the blog too. And I think I have kinda figured what that rhythm could be.

If you have made it all the way here through my rant, thank you so much! Your free gift of good karma should reach you soon! And while you are here, have you been through a phase where you just took a break even from something you love? It could be a hobby or a (weekly) ritual that you followed for a long time. Tell me about it. I’d love to hear about it. 

Sophie Kinsella: Remember Me?

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella (Photo credit) 

The title of this post is significant for more than just the title of Kinsella's book. As you might have noticed that this is my first post this year. So it's also a question for you guys, remember me? Maybe you should read, comment and share some of my posts in my absence so that I know that you do! :)

Getting on with the real book, Since I discovered Sophie Kinsella a few years ago, she has become my comfort read. I have read most of her books and re-read them. (The cover page of another book that I am now re-reading mentions titles under her pseudo name that I haven't read. So i'm off to treasure hunt after this!). And I started the year with her for my light reads. I just finished, Remember Me? It's hard to talk about this book without giving away the plot. So please bear with me. You will still have fun reading it, which I strongly recommend. The story is about this girl-next-door who meets with an accident and wakes up in the hospital but it happens that this is after another accident 3 years later. Only she wakes up to find her memory stuck at the first accident. Her life from then to now is blank. How she deals with it, is the story. You'll be surprised to read the consequences of the 3 year lapse in her memory. And this is what set me thinking!

How long is 3 years in a person's life? Considering the phase you are in in your life, it could starting and finishing graduate school, going from being single to married, the birth of a child to a school going toddler, from employed to entrepreneur. Your friends might be different, your equation with the family might have changed. Or maybe not! Remember Me? is an interesting journey down someone's forgetful path! And this is exactly why the book is so riveting!

Think of yourself as you were at the beginning of 2013. Imagine waking up now with your life as it was in Jan 2013 and blank about the next 3 years! How was your life 3 years ago? How were you as a person? Less confident? More carefree? How glaring would the change in your life be in these 3 years? Interesting to ponder and discover? I am extra eager to know your responses in your comments. Think about it. I think it's a pretty interesting exercise!

Dear 2015, a couple of things before you go...

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I have been pondering over what to write about for today's post. I think the optimism of the year gone by is giving way to the impending expectation from the coming year. I went back and read the post I wrote around this time last year. And that's not me anymore. I am nowhere near that optimism that I had last year. That was just a temporary bout of optimism and motivation that had hit me and I became a very different person. I liked being that person but she left a few months later. And I went back to being my impatient, paranoid, non-calm self! Don't get me wrong! I am not crazy - just a bit, maybe - but I just became my pragmatic self again. I know that life will just go on. And everyday is not going to be a party. That the time for romantic firsts is gone. And some things aren't meant to be in life. I went back to being my gauche self forever struggling for life to behave well the way it seems to for others. Yeah! I have gone back to yearning and hoping - again!

On the other hand, what thrills me is that I lived outside my comfort zone for an entire year and survived it! I have never been this dedicated and patient to any project in my life - building my online presence. The hard work and passion that I pour into my work gives me purpose and satisfaction in life. People let me down, I went through several bouts of self doubt, I felt inadequate and unsuccessful at times but I have lived through all of it and still dared to continue to be different. I stuck to my conviction that brick by brick there will be a palace someday and I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of building the foundation this year. And I know the journey ahead is going to be beautiful and I cannot wait to get started with the new year!

Thank you 2015 for bringing me all the happiness you did and I hope you've already told 2016 to bring along whatever you failed to! :)

Top 3 posts of 2015 on my professional blog

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I spent a lot of time this year working on my professional blog and building my online presence. Over the year, I have about 80 posts on it on communication, soft skills, coaching, training skills and language tips. It has been quite an important project for me. It has taken me a lot of hard work, self-motivation and patience to get all of it up and running. Since I have already done the round up of popular posts on this blog in september this year, I want to share the top three posts from my professional blog here.

1. Since I started my professional blog, I have got some calls from people asking me how to become a corporate trainer in soft skills. After I spoke to a couple of them and shared my experience, I decided to write a post on it. Little did I know that it would become so popular! Read on:

How to start a career as a corporate trainer

2. I got myself certified as a coach this year and realised that the term isn't understood clearly by most. We roughly understand the word to mean what a sports coach does - grooms the team for winning. But coaching, as used in personal and executive scenarios, is very different and enables people reach their goals through the help of the coach. The coach is just the enabler here who might use some tools to help you gain clarity about your goals and how you's go about achieving them. The short video in the post facilitates better understanding:

What exactly is coaching?

3. Communication in difficult situations can be quite challenging. And we all seek to get better at it. This could be the reason why the post on tips to convey bad news in a nice manner was read and widely shared across social media platforms. It talks of practical tips to follow and let the other person down easy in such a situation:

How to convey bad news to anyone

Do read these posts and tell me what you think about them. Also, look around blog and tell me if you like any others. Looking forward to your feedback.

4 Firsts of my life in 2015

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As this year is coming to a close, I am surprised at how many things these posts have helped me discover about this year. I had dismissed this as just another uneventful one. But now I think there have been a lot of seeds sown this year and hopefully will bear fruit in the coming years.

Today I want to talk about some things that happened for the first time in my life this year.

1. First friends in Mumbai: 8 years in Mumbai and no friends. This status definitely changed this year, thanks to Twitter and a few events offline.

2. First set of muscles: Though I have been in and out of gyms over the years, I seem to have found my perfect workout place this year. No boring gym equipment - just group exercise with music and the count of the trainer. The different kinds of workouts have ensured that I developed some muscle mass this year. Though I am far from toned, I look forward to being active for an hour a day and work towards fitness.

3. First blogging challenge: Having been a busy year with setting up my professional blog and promoting it on social media, I still decided to jump into my first blogging challenge. And the experience could not have been better than it was. It has made me so much more confident as a blogger and I think finishing a challenge is such a boost to one's self esteem.

4. First open session: At the fag end of the year, I decided to take the online action offline with my first open session on blogging for beginners. It was taking the plunge after being at the edge for sometime. From making graphics to promoting it on social media and designing session content - it was almost a one woman army all the way! I did have friends who have always motivated to go ahead. I made a few mistakes, learnt a few lessons and I feel confident about taking on more such adventures in the coming year.

How has your year been? I am sure you can also think of new things that you did this year. I'd love to hear about them. Do share your experiences your comments.

5 awesome events I went to in 2015

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Continuing my countdown posts, I want to talk about some great events I went to this year. In fact, like I already mentioned in an earlier post, 2015 has been a very social year for me. Thanks to social media that kept me abreast of various events around me, I managed to catch up with quite a few. So here are the top 5 of them:

1. The year began with Social Media Week in Bangalore. I was on the official social media team and was part of the work and fun right from the very center of where it all gets organised. Not just my first time as a volunteer, but also the first time I met so many people from Twitter in real! You can see the pictures and the full account here:

My experience at the Social Media Week, Bangalore 

2. One of my dreams is to be part of the live audience at TED talks. I started on the journey this year by attending TEDxGateway Women, an event for women only speakers. From the inspiring Leila Seth to the very charismatic Natalie Di Luccio - each woman had touching stories of their successes to share. Read all about it here:

TEDxGateway Women: A day with inspiring women

3. It is always fun and learning at blogging events and #WIN15 by Blogadda was no different. A day full of exciting talks by experts in blogging and social media and the energy of the host Siddharth Kannan kept us going for the day!

#WIN15: the brilliant blogging event by Blogadda

4. Just as we were getting over the frenzy of #WIN15, Indiblogger had the much awaited blogging event of the year ready for us. #BNLF was undoubtedly the baap of all blogging events this year with speakers like Jeff Bullas, Arnab Ray, Purba Ray, Bruce Dickinson and Christophe Trappe. One whole day of networking and learning followed by master classes by Jeff and Christophe the following day - this was the best way to end the year on the blogging front.

#BNLF: My review of the most disruptive blogging event of the year

5. Though the event I most looked forward to, I seem to have not done a post on it! The Sheroes Summit was a the highlight of the year for me. I have been following them on Twitter for sometime now. And it was a great experience to meet so many women passionate about fulfilling their career dreams. The speakers shared their journeys of having set up businesses with the star guest of the day being none other then Shilpa Shetty herself. (Maybe I should do a post on this later)

As the countdown is moving towards its close, I am glad I thought of writing these posts. My new year eves are generally trying to resist the temptation of pinning too much hope on the new year. But this one has been a great experience looking back at the new year recalling its best moments in tjhis unique way!

6 things that shook my faith in the world this year

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No, I am not going to rant about how bad the world is and that we have no hope for the future. But once in a while, there are things that make you sit up, shocked - and wonder where's the world going! Here's the quick list:

1. The juvenile rapist being set free tops my list. He, who was brutal beyond words, is set free!! What more, his future is being taken care of as if he's a victim of incarceration.
2. Sexual abuse of kids in schools. I can only imagine how heart breaking it is for parents to realise their kids aren't safe even in schools.
3. Drunk drivers, even the ones who have killed people in a state of inebriation, are free to lead normal lives. Human lives no longer have any value.
4. Shah Rukh Khan is still romancing on screen! He's 50!! The only redemption is it's not someone half his age this time.
5. Porn con is the new genre of comedy, thanks to Ekta Kapoor. And I thought the dialogues of her other movies were suggestive and bold. This one breaks all records of crassness.
6. The Paris attacks - brought back all the memories of CST and Taj attacks which left us all feeling so vulnerable and unsafe.

As the new year comes to an end, what are the good and bad events that stand out in your mind? I'd love to know what's on your list.