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Showing posts with label blogging challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging challenge. Show all posts
I've been on the look out for some blogging inspiration - especially now that I've decided to sign up for the Ultimate Blog Challenge .  The last few days have been spent doing general research on the past challenges that I've participated in to get an idea of what kind of themes or topics other participants were blogging about.  The challenge sends out blogging topics each day as well to keep the participants inspired. 

Then, the other night I came across The Daily Post blog site which has a Daily Prompts section.  It's quite cool as there is a 'daily' prompt (as the name suggests).  The prompt is a word or up to 3 words from what I've noticed topped up with a question / statement that you can put your own response to in case you don't want to think of a topic solely based on the prompt word(s).  The site also allows you to pingback to their posts and enables your post to be visible to all the participating bloggers. 

Quite a few of the prompts have caught my attention and I'm hoping to get cracking on them at the earliest.  I may have to back-date some of them to go in accordance with the Prompt schedule or maybe it won't matter at all.  I'll figure that bit out.  I'm a bit of a stickler for order. 

I also came across A Prompt A Day which has only just started in June and as the name suggests - the host puts up prompts ranging from a word, an image, a quote.  There are about 80 prompts so far. 

Another interesting site is The One Minute Writer - wherein there's a daily prompt but you have 60 seconds to jot your thoughts down in the form of a comment.  Of course you can take this a step further and expand on your own blog.  I know I would do that.  

So there you go - in case you are in need of some writing inspiration, I'd definitely recommend heading on over to any of these blog sites and see what it is that inspires you to write.  

p.s Don't forget to share your blog link in the comments so that I can visit your page. 

I've often wondered about this (and it seems like the ideal quote for a wrap up post).  I'm the type of person who has a folder on my laptop filled with various images, quotes and even cartoon strips that have caught my fancy over the years. 

Some of the content would cause those acquainted to me to reassess their perception of who I really am.  At end of the day - we are all 'someone' on the surface but there is much more to our individual characters than what we allow the world to see.  I can be an extremely expressive person except when it comes to being 'emotional', 'mushy' or 'overly romantic'.  Don't get me wrong - I can - it's just not in my comfort zone.   Having said that, I've found a way to express myself by way of some of the lovely content available online and those few lines of expression are what I can relate to immediately.  It's as if someone else has read my mind and penned it down.  

Thanks to social media - I feel that I gain a better insight to a person when I see some of the articles, links and images that they post via Facebook or Twitter. It's those things that we no longer talk about or express in person that we do by way of social media (through images / quotes etc) that says more about an individual than words could justify.  

Think about it ... if I shared something today that appealed to you and it was something you didn't expect from me - your perception of me would be altered. Try it out within your own social network and see how many people surprise you. 

What are your thoughts ? Do you think our favourite quotations say more about us than we let on in person ? If you've been following my blog through the Ultimate Blog Challenge - have you enjoyed the quotes that I have used ? Were you able to relate to any of them ? 

 p.s. If you're a lurker and came by without leaving a comment - now would be a great time to delurk and reveal yourself to me. 
I like this quote because it perplexes me in a way.  Based on numerous conversations with people and reading various blogs - it seems like individual self-worth is down and people don't realize that they 'deserve' the good things out there and they just need to find the path to lead them to it.  

Who doesn't want to be a laid-back billionaire with a private jet ? That's aiming pretty high but that doesn't mean one doesn't 'deserve' to go on a few holidays a year.  We all struggle with this balance of being financially stable and having the good life and sometimes it so happens that to have the good life - your finances can take a bit of a hit.  That is one of areas I find that makes me anxious BUT in the last few years I've sort of tossed it in the air and said that I deserve that luxury week long trip or the extravagant annual birthday weekend because if I don't spoil myself now in my prime years - when the hell am I going to do that ?? 

I know I can afford to do this because I have my own business and I'm my own boss; but I also have friends in corporate houses who make it a point to take a long weekend or a week off every quarter because they damn well deserve it for working their asses off all year round.  Obviously one can't go completely off the chain and pour their hard earned money down the drain; but the point is that stop worrying about the what ifs and learn to spoil yourself - you've earned it.  

On the other hand if I apply this to my personal life - it makes me sit back and think.  There are days I don't even know how I feel about relationships; it's been a while since I've been in one and I know I'm very good in one as well - but business is booming and my personal life has been sacrificed for the time being and I'm left wondering one of two things.  How is it that I haven't found myself in a relationship and then the immediate thought after that is because I deserve better than what is currently around me.  Perhaps a tad cocky - but I really think so and that's why I'm okay with where I am today.  

What are your thoughts ? How do you feel when you read this quote ? 
Do you ever find yourself wondering 'oh I could have done XYZ' or 'I should have done ABC' ?  The thing about human nature is that it's only natural that we wonder and cross-examine the ifs, buts, whys, who and wheres in our lives .. but the problem with that is that we end up setting ourselves up for disappointment.

Have you ever found yourself trying really hard to achieve something but you end up struggling with it ? And at times, the minute you just stop and let go - things seem to fall into place ? 

I'm a self proclaimed workaholic - I like the buzz and the random stress that comes with the job of an events & wedding planner.  Having said that, I also decided that life is too short to stress oneself out and made a conscious decision to let things come and go naturally to me.  As harsh as it may sound - I apply this to people around me as well.  I know which friends I am certain of ; I know that other people are all passing by to share a lesson or two and then there are some people we need to let go off.  We must rid ourselves of fears because fear stumps our growth and crushes the potential we have deep inside.   I rather live a life stating 'oh well' than thinking 'what if'.

What are your thoughts ? How do you avoid stress ? Do you dwell on the could have / should have of things ? Or do you go with the universal flow and see where it takes you ?  
I've always believed and felt that we meet the people we do for a reason.  As a child I used to think we were characters in one massive story - The Storybook Life - and each person we met had their own chapter and our lives / chapters merged together.  When I look back at those thoughts now - I reckon I was on the right track. 

I've had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people over the last 3 decades of my life who have given me so much.  There are some people who have opened my mind and heart to the possibilities of so much more just when I thought I didn't have it in me to 'feel' a certain way.  Not all of those experiences ended in a positive way - in fact probably more painful than I care to admit - but definitely an experience I'm glad to have had because it just leaves me in a better place overall.  

Life is as complex as it can get and each of us has our own experiences to add to it and I just feel that there's a reason we choose to interact with certain people - it's because we were meant to (for whatever time  period it may be).  Every interaction has taught me a valuable lesson (good and bad); has made me evolve more into the person I am and added to my own character.

So if you’re reading this, you are in some way a part of my story –and I want to say ‘thanks for reading’ !  (just de-lurk in the comments so I know how to find you)


We all have expectations about something or the other - it could be about the work environment one is in or it could be what one expects from friends and family .. and it all boils down to the perception of expectations.

Last year the subject hit home to me and I wrote a post 'To Expect or Not To Expect?' and did a quick follow up on that with a new post 'Lowering Expectations'  .. and I've noticed that quite a few people around me were all discussing 'expectations' on social media platforms. 

I've already admitted that my personal expectation levels from my nearest and dearest are on the higher side despite having lowered my expectations when it comes to other things.  I suppose it's because if I can't expect those closest to me to do what it takes then who else can I expect that from other than myself ?   
The minute I saw this quote I knew it was one of the ones I had to share with all of the folks out in blogosphere. 

I hate being in a 'what if' situation.  I rather have tried & tested and come out saying 'oh well' this worked / this didn't than be left wondering 'what if I did this or did that instead'.

I've been in situations where the 'oh well' result wasn't the best but I'm glad I did because I finally knew what would happen.  I wasn't twiddling my thumbs away.  I rather just go out there; speak my mind and see what happens - the outcome can only be good, bad or neutral right ?  

How many times have you wondered 'what if' ? Do you regret those what ifs ? How many 'oh wells' are you glad that you followed through with ? 
Life is too short to be left wondering 'what if' .. when was the last time you pushed yourself to take a risk where you weren't sure what the outcome would be ? 

 Ask yourself a this question -  Are you living your dream ? If you aren't then start building your dreams before someone asks you to build theirs for them ! 

 I believe that nothing can substitute experience and one must challenge their limits to see how far they can reach.   Don't be a afraid of failing because failure leads to innovation and adds to your experience.  The next time you try - you will know what pitfalls to avoid. 

 So today I ask you - have you ever risked going too far to see how far you can go ? How did you feel about it ? Are you glad you did what you did ? 


Okay maybe 'wonderful' isn't the word I'd use but time does show us what really matters. 

The trouble with people (or society in general) is that we all think we have time.  But in reality we don't have a clue how much time we have.  

When someone says something to you - we tend to hold on to that in some way.  Someone told me that I would see a definite change in their attitude & behaviour towards me as a friend and two months later I do see the change - there's nothing.  It probably doesn't matter to that person - but my perspective has changed and what was important to me then is no longer the case.   In fact I've lowered my expectations altogether because I don't have the time to get annoyed or disappointed by people. 

Ever since my Dad passed away - time just seems to be of essence to me.  I have very limited free time and if I want to maximize that when I can.  As days, weeks and months pass - if you dig deep down into your heart and soul - you will now what really matters to you.  Take all the chances that you get so that you can happily say 'oh well and not what if'   

Whilst I understand that it's inevitable that everyone has advice to offer - and it's probably very good advice as well .. sometimes you just have to go through the motions to 'experience' life by yourself.  If we took all the advice ever given to us would we really have lived at all ? Wouldn't we be in this safe haven where everything was always alright ? 

 Sometimes you have to suck it up and just be brave, confront your fears and take that risk because YOUR experience is going to be different to someone else's experience.  It's better to say 'oh well' than keep wondering 'what if' right ? 

 Is there something that you've always wanted to do ? Perhaps start a new business ? Or take a sabbatical from a Big 5 corporation to pursue a culinary course in the Big Apple  (a dear friend is doing this now) ? I've moved to two different countries to pursue my event management business and I can assure you that it's been on hell of an experience.  My advice - take all the chances you get - after all it's right there in front of you !  Have you taken a risk that resulted in an experience that you are grateful for ? 
When was the last time you took the time to appreciate someone who does something you take for granted ? 

I know I'm guilty of not doing it as often as I should and my only excuse is that I'll do it later or I'll let that person know tomorrow.  Life does get in the way of the smaller things you do want to do and I'm trying to find that balance to be able to take the time to appreciate everyone else around me. 

So today I'd like to pen my appreciation down.  The one person we all take for granted the most are our mothers ! Why the hell do we do that ? Every since my Dad passed away 2 months ago - I've been making it a point to compliment her or encourage her to go out with her friends and even thank her for thinking about me when she's out shopping (seriously she's too cute - she sends pictures of shoes she knows I will like and tells me where the sales are !) 

The other person I'd like to show some appreciation for is Kathy Hadley, a life coach, from the UBC FB page.  She's the host / group monitor and hats off to the lady for updating the page DAILY (and not just during the month of the challenge) and also finding the time to write her own blog posts; read & comment on other posts; and encourage others to keep blogging.  We just wander along to the UBC FB page and leave our posts around for anyone to see without thinking about the effort it takes to maintain such a page.  So cheers to you Kathy ! 

What about you ? Is there someone that you'd like to express your appreciation to ? Who does something that you take for granted ? 

Wow ! October is flying by and I can’t believe we’re already half way through the Ultimate Blog Challenge !

How have you been faring through out the challenge ? Are you on-track or perhaps behind by a post or two ? Did you schedule your blog posts or did you just set your mind to write a new post each day ?

I have compiled pretty much all the ‘quotes’ that I want to use for each day of the challenge; but with my current work schedule and the lack of network in the cities I will be visiting over the next week - I really hope all my scheduled posts go up as they should.

How many blogs have you been visiting through the challenge ? I've book marked about 2 dozen of them that I've quite enjoyed and also try to use the 'comment chain' on the UBC FB page to discover new blogs.  However I'm a bit bummed that I haven’t been able to push and promote my own posts as much as I would have liked. Also I've noticed that not everyone promotes other peoples posts over social media which I suppose is fine but it would be nice if everyone encourages others too.  I make it a point to tweet the posts that I've enjoyed with the #blogboost tag and the blogger Twitter handle so that others can also enjoy the posts I have discovered. 

So guys, if you are participating in the UBC, don't forget to share the love among your own FB and Twitter followers and give a fellow blogger a real #blogboost.  If you share my posts - I will be sharing yours =) 

Good luck to everyone of you out there who are blogging for the UBC – give yourself a huge round of applause ‘cos we are already half way through the challenge ! You can do it ! Keep Blogging ! 


Do you recall the popularity game in school or university ? The one where who was who was determined on how many friends one had ? Nowadays it's all about how many 'Facebook friends' one has.  

Through our lives we will encounter plenty of new people; school, university, work, friends of friends, and for the married couples - they will meet other parents through childrens' play dates .. and now thanks to Facebook we can pretty much be 'friends' with anyone.  BUT when it comes down to our actual close friends - the kind that you would call in a crisis or the one who would understand your rambling even though those around wouldn't be able to .. those friends you could count on one or both hands.

Today due to the nature of my business and largely 'cos of my personality - I actually 'know' over 2000 people (split into friends - school / university; family, acquaintances - some more than others - and even clients).  But when push comes to shove; I 'know' those that I can be certain of - they are the ones that matter.  These friends live in different parts of the world - I don't get to see them as often as I would like but I know they are there.  And for that - I'm grateful.

Just because one is surrounded by a flock of people - doesn't mean that they will follow-through when it matters.  Know who your 'real' friends are and keep them close.  It's hard to forge friendships as we grow older and we should value those that matter to us.  

This particular post 'quote' was not part of my original list of quotes but seeing that today 13th October is 'No Bra Day' I thought I'd tweak the content (just for today hehe) because I'm pretty sure most women would feel similarly on the subject. 


On a serious note, the first thing I do once I know I don't have to step out again is unhook the bra and take it off !! Sometimes I just feel almost claustrophobic in one - especially if I've had an early start to the day ! (then again I'm not a fan of having much clothes on in the first place so no surprises that I throw the bra off ) 


So to all my female readers, were you aware about No Bra Day ? Did you know that the actual point of it is to raise breast cancer awareness ? (how - I'm not sure but at least people are talking which means there's X amount of awareness right ?) How do you feel about your bra ? Are you a bra-abuser (the kind that throws it around and doesn't care for them) or are you a bra-fanatic (lots of colours, styles etc ?) 
Age is but a number and should never determine what you can and cannot do.  That's what I believe.  Why should you limit yourself because society has predetermined age brackets for everything including when one should 'ideally' finish their education or get married or have children (okay so the last two are specifically targeted at women but society does this and it irritates the hell out of me)

We have one life to live and we should make the most of it.  I know people who dread their birthdays and when they hit milestones they go into a panicked frenzy.  Not me.  I love my birthday and think of ways to celebrate in a bigger way each year.  I'm technically 31 but I have the same spirit and energy levels as I did when I was a teen and in my 20's.  

When people say random things that are age related I often wonder - why do we focus on 'age' ? How does it matter ?  Indian society puts this invisible pressure on young women to marry & settle down by a certain age otherwise they won't find someone.  If they are married - then there's the pressure of having a child by a certain age or else there will be complications.  It just goes on. (Never hear this being said to men - wonder how they would react to it) 

I'm happy to be living my life just the way I want.  I'm up for trying new activities and always ready for an adventure.  I'm always going to be my Mums' daughter and to her - that means I'm a kid (regardless of my age).  The thing about life is that we think we have time but really we don't.  So if we aren't going to live our life the way we want right now - when the hell are we gonna do that ?? Leave no room for regret is all I've got to say.

Do you live your life by your age or do you let yourself live the way you want to you ? Do you ever find yourself factoring your age into decisions that you make ? 


Fact - we don't actually know how much time we have.  And yet we just put things off for another day thinking we have time.  Why ? 


We all have a bit of a procrastinator in us.  It's only natural I suppose.  It could be about the little things or even the big things (and you need to be careful there 'cos that can cause some trouble!).  

I lost my Dad 2 months ago.  I always 'knew' someday it would come to this - but when it happened - it was like someone punched me hard in the stomach and knocked the wind out of me.  I was fortunate enough to be able to spend time with him in the hospital and tell him all the things I wanted to tell him ... but at that point he wasn't capable of speech so I never really know what he had to say about what I spoke to him about.  One of the things I did tell him was that I wished I had spoken to him more over the years and not put off having a chat with him for another day.  I had time to do everything else but sit down and 'talk' to him; that's something I realize now and I regret it.  

Life is short.  You need to prioritize all the things that matter to you and go out there and live your dream life.  Do the things that matter most to you.  Speak to the people you care about.  Write that email or letter that you've been putting off.  Tell someone how you feel about them - no matter what the response is.  Go on that vacation or road trip you've always wanted to embark on.  Take control of the time that you have and ENJOY it.  Do it with passion or not at all.  Seriously, life is too short to stress yourself ! Also, if you can't find the time to fit something or someone into your life - just let it go. 

I've always lived by the above but never really 'valued' the 'time frame' I have to do all that I want to do because I took it for granted that 'there's time' for that to happen.  Until I lost my Dad.  That's when it really hit me that time flies.  I mean really flies.  We get so caught up in our day-to-day routines that we forget to feel 'alive'.  We take it for granted that we will probably live up to the age of 60 and be relatively healthy - but what good is that if you haven't actually lived ?  One must learn to listen to our hearts and take all the chances we can get so that there's no room for regret. 

Thoughts ? What are some of the things you've put off doing because you think you have time ?  

The hours I have spent having random late night conversations with my closest friends (and every now and then with a stranger) have given me an insight into them that otherwise would have taken much longer to discover during our friendship.


My girl DA and I can talk for hours; and I really mean hours.  We've had marathon chats lasting over 4 hours and the interruptions are courtesy of bad internet connections. (She's in London, I'm in Bombay, and to avoid massive phone bills there's Skype & Viber).  During our last conversation, my eyes were gritty, and my wrist hurt from holding the phone and I kid you not, I must have even dozed off at some point.  You know when you can 'hear' everything the other person is saying and your responses seem coherent in your head but you can't quite get the words out ... Even though she asked if I wanted to go to bed - I told her I had to stay up talking to her ! Yup that's the extent of late night convos I've had.  

Years ago one of my best friends' RR and I sat on the roof of his 4x4 on the beach in the middle of the night and chatted until it was well past my curfew and I ended up sneaking back into the house.  We haven't had a chat like that in years now but THAT was enough to keep us going more than a decade later. 

I haven't been in a relationship in a while now but when I used to be - the late night conversations were always there (on the phone or in person).  I remember when I left for university, my then boyfriend would call me despite the 13 hour time difference and we would chat until one of us dozed off before cutting the line.  I don't know if people do that anymore - I hope they do because there's something really special about it.  

I guess what I'm trying to say is that - if you haven't really spoken to someone well past the hours of midnight - then you haven't had a really deep conversation with them.  There's 'day time' chats / social chats at parties etc but the 'real' conversations only happen when two people have time .. and that tends to be at the end of a long day .. Believe me when I say this - but you will discover another side of a person whom you know ... Am curious to know your thoughts on this ... 
The more we wonder about the "whys / what ifs"  when it comes to our past - the more likely we are to do a quick u-turn and find ourselves in the same situation as if in a time loop. 

In order to avoid doing so - we must make a conscious choice to keep moving forward and not be dragged back into the past. 

I apply this thought process to pretty much everything I do - even when it comes to personal relationships with people.  If I don't think someone is right for me overall - I let go and just move forward.  I don't spend too much time dwelling because there's no point in it.  

If something isn't working out for you - regardless of the situation i.e. work / personal life / education etc chalk out your options / alternatives and strive forward.  Once you've made that choice - don't dwell on the past.  This is when applying the 3 C's of Life will help you : make a choice to take a chance to change your life ! 

How do you stop yourself from looking back ? How do you stay focused on the future and not linger on the past ? 
Have you ever found yourself wondering 'what if' ... Whenever I find myself doing that I remind myself that at that stage in my life - it was my conscious choice to follow a certain path or to make a certain decision.  It was all in my control and I chose to do whatever it was that has eventually bought me to where I am.

I believe in speaking my mind - I don't believe in holding back.  I have had some interesting adventures over the years.  I've made life altering decisions by packing up & moving from London to Bombay and shuffling my life like one would a deck of cards.  When it comes to dating or pursuing relationships; be it confessing about a crush on someone or even connecting with a stranger on a flight  - I've taken those chances just so that I'm not wondering 'what if'.    

I'm living life on my terms.  And hopefully in the process will leave no room for regret when I look back at where I am.  The next time you find yourself wondering 'what if' - just stop and if it's something you really want to do; just take baby steps towards it.  [On a serious note if you're depressed and / suicidal - please talk to someone and don't do anything you will actually regret] 

If you have a goal - strive towards it because it sure as hell isn't going to swagger over to you.  If you see someone attractive or wearing amazing clothes - just say something to them and make their day - who knows what a compliment can lead to.  

Do you regret any chances that you didn't take ? What about all the things you did that you wouldn't change if given the chance to ? 
Can we really manage our expectations of those around us ?  This is a subject that has been on my mind for a while now and I really went into it last year during the UBC where I wrote a post titled 'To Expect or Not To Expect?'

I really feel that nowadays people just don't value those around them and hence everyone has sort of let their personal expectations just fall atrociously.  

I've always believed that if you want to get something done - then you ought to do it yourself for the best results (unless of course it's something you realistically cannot do e.g carpentry work in my case).  I've also learned over the last decade or so that people will somehow disappoint you if you don't manage your expectation levels of them.  

I tend to be hard on those around me because I know without doubt that if they asked me for something - I would do it to the best of my ability with no room for complaints or disappointment; and the reason I'm hard about it is because if it was the other way around - I'm more than likely to be disappointed by the outcome.  It's not as if that person is doing wrong intentionally - it's just that somehow we've all let our standards drop. 

To make my life easier - especially when dealing with the work culture of India - I've learned to just lower my expectations to ground level.  It saves me drama and time wasted on the phone giving the other person grief for just not doing their job.  When it comes to people - as harsh as it sounds - I'm the same.  My closest friends aren't included in this because we have an understanding that has developed over 2 decades.  I have no expectation from the new people in my life to avoid being disappointed.  Every now and then it's only natural that I do have some form of expectation and then I get a reality check and I'm back on the right path. 

Maybe this outlook works for me because I'm quite realistic about what goes on around me.  Maybe it's just too cynical.  I don't know - but what I can say is that ever since I have lowered my expectations of all that goes on around me - I'm in a better place.  I'm not getting annoyed or pissed off and my personal ranting sessions have definitely reduced according to friends. 

What are your thoughts on this quote ? Can you relate or not at all ?