Why giving up anger and forgiveness is important... for nobody but YOU!

Came across this very interesting post and thought to collect few of the quotes mentioned over there:

1. Remember that we are all doing the best we can at the time. - Diane Paul
2. I know that I need to forgive someone, not for their benefit, but for my own peace of mind. Don’t do it for them, do it for you! - Cathryn Kent
3. You remember why you love them. Love is about forgiveness.- Holly Chapman
4. Give up on all hope of a better past. - Matt Child
5. Forgiveness comes easy when you know that what people say or do is about them, it’s not about you. - Kim Kings
6. “Hating someone is drinking poison and expecting the other person to die from it.”
7. The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naïve forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. – Thomas Szasz
8. True forgiveness is not an action after the fact, it is an attitude with which you enter each moment. – David Ridge
9. A lack of trust is sometimes simply recognizing another’s limitations – Rose Sweet

I loved #1, #5 and #7 above. 

Emotions @ work

Found this interesting post day @ HBR Blog, here goes the summary to keep the thoughts handy:

The emotions people bring to work are as important as their cognitive skills, and especially so for leaders. 

Because it's not possible to check our emotions at the door when we get to work — even when that's expected — it pays to be aware of what we're feeling in any given moment. You can't change what you don't notice.

Negative emotions spread fast and they're highly toxic. The problem with the executive we let go was not that he was critical, but rather that he was so singularly focused on what was wrong that he lost sight of the bigger picture, including his own negative impact on others.

Authenticity matters because you can't fake positivity for long. It is possible to put on a "game face" — to say you're feeling one way when you're actually feeling another — but the truth will ultimately reveal itself in your facial, vocal, and postural cues. We must learn to monitor and manage our moods.

The key to balancing realism and optimism is to embrace the paradox of realistic optimism. Practically, that means having the faith to tell the most hopeful and empowering story possible in any given situation, but also the willingness to confront difficult facts as they arise and deal with them directly.

Thoughts of the day

1. Observe the environment and the people around you. How they reach to things that you do.
2. Network with people who don't look, think, act or dress like you. Talking with opposites inevitably sparks new ideas, new insights and ultimately corrects a course, individual or societal.
3. Experiment with the world by personally trying out new things, taking stuff apart or doing things differently that you've been repetitively doing day in and day out.
4. Ask more questions. Question the world with inquiries that provokes the status quo, that get under the hood of a situation, that open unexpected new directions that never emerged before. "Question the unquestionable" and see what kind of drift surfaces. Then of course correct and keep the ship from sinking.

Thought of the day

मैं क्या जिया?
मुझको जीवन ने जिया...
बूंद बूंद पिया
पीकर पथ पे खली छोड़ दिया...

- सूरज का सातवाँ घोडा (श्याम बेनेगल)

Thought of the day

At a company I frequently visit, there is a woman who works at the entrance and hands out the tickets for valet parking. She's worked at her job for years. When I pulled up a couple of days ago, it was freezing outside, and she was all bundled up. Even so, when I got out of the car she greeted me effusively, as she always does. She called me "Sweetheart," she gave me a huge smile, and her energy lifted me up. As I was walking into the building, I heard her do the same thing for the next driver, and she sounded just as heartfelt. 

This is a woman who knows who she is, and why she's here. She adds value in the world. She doesn't for a moment let the limits of her job stand in her way.

I'm inspired by her. She reminds me that knowing why you're here, and who you want to be, isn't a part-time job. The challenge is to live out what you stand for, intentionally, in every moment. 

I fall short, frequently. Who doesn't? When that happens, my goal is to notice, as quickly as I can, to take responsibility for whatever I've done, and to make amends. I know why I'm here.

Excerpts from HBR post