Reference Points

It was the last exam of our second semester. I had reached the exam hall a bit early since I was done with the revision somewhat two hours before the exam. My semester exams were okay okay and I didn't wanted this one to go away in a similar fashion.

While I sat on my bench,I saw the guy who sits ahead of me. There's some unusual thing about this guy which would make you respect him. He wears specs,has mustaches and light beard but doesn't care to trim them. Neatly dressed and quite reserved. His face remained quite expressionless and calm,knocking out the exam fear.

In the first four exams,I had not talked to him much,but this time,I decided to get into a conversation with him. He was from the Electrical Engg department which I understood from the orange strip on his ID card. 

Me: Today's exam is a bit tough.. I guess there will be a lot of diagrams to draw

He: Yeah.. I'm sure there will be some tough numerical as well.

Me: Lets see.. anyways,done with all the chapters

He (In a modest way): Don't know.. Lets see :)

Me: Ahem! Don't try to be so modest.. how much did you score in the first semester?

He: Umm.. 9.37 points. 

It was a sudden shocker for me,he was the college topper and I guess he had scored the highest in the city as well. He didn't ask my pointers and by then the supervisor had entered the hall. 

That evening,I was back to home after a long train journey and from the shelf,I decided to pick up 'The Greatness Guide' by Robin Sharma (P.S: I love reading his books again and again,it rejuvenates my spirit). I reached a particular topic called  'Choosing Reference Points'.

I re-introspected my performance over the year,I mean the last two semesters. I found that I wan't aiming much from the exams,thanks to the tremendous amount of complacency I had gathered during the year. The entire year was spent without much hard work and with low expectations.

I decided to change this habit and start with new and more efficient habits. I asked to myself "If he can,why can't I?" after all god gave me everything that I needed . I decided to set him as a reference point for my exam performance. I decided to set some more reference points as well. For example,there are some guys in my class who are good and regular at completing assignments,I'd refer them for my progress in assignments and continuous checking would help me buck up whenever I get loose and lag behind. Some guys are good at workshop,some are good at managing the class affairs. When I check their performance and I try to learn from them,it does wonders.

"There's something to learn from everyone around us,all we need is a positive attitude"

The best thing about reference points is that you always get a direction and standard. Merely saying that I'll get 9 points this semester becomes a bit vague,at times you don't know how to approach things. Don't ignore the fact that there are some smarter people around you and it's always wise to learn from their work and get it incorporated into you work. 

Some random Quotes

Here are some random quotes that I came across on twitter.


"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."
Casey, M. Kathleen


"Improvement begins with 'I'." 
Arnold H Glasgow


"Optimists enrich the present, enhance the future, challenge the improbable and attain the impossible" 
William Arthur Ward


"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." 
Jim Rohn


"You are not defeated when you lose. You are defeated when you quit." 
Paulo Coelho


"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." 
Albert Einstein


"It matters if you just don't give up." 
Stephen Hawking 


“If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.”
 Lucy Larcom


"I've got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end." 
Larry Bird

Mind Power

Mind Power is a highly talked about topic. Everyone wants to know about its secret,since they want their life would change drastically. Several books have been written on it,and infinite blog pots have posted. But probably I never get most of the matter.

However,on a general level,I feel mind power is simply how much powerful our mind is. To measure the strength of muscles,we have different parameters such as the amount of load one can lift up,or the number of push ups one can made,etc. Similarly the power of mind can be determined by the level of imagination.

Improving the life


Once we can imagine the advantages of an improved life,we get motivated to improve it. For example,when we imagine how our life would be if we end up some addiction,then it would be easier to overcome the addiction with a newly motivated mind.

Mind Power and Memorization

Imagination naturally enhances our planning ability,and also memorization. It is easy to remember anything if we can imagine how it happens. For example,if we want to memorize how an AC generator works,we can read and simultaneously construct a generator in your mind,and simultaneously imagine how the constructed generator works. This is equivalent to watching a generator being constructed at a workshop. Once we've imagined it in our mind,it is easy to reproduce and hence memorization is made a lot easy.

Aims For A New Year

This is that part of the year when we probably realize that we've screwed up it all when it comes to new year resolutions. So I am aiming to make this year somewhat different: No specific resolution,just three general aims that would make my life a bit simple and joyful.

Lets hope for some positive changes

Aim #1: Would expect reasonable changes

Life can be enjoyed the most when we enjoy every single achievement we make. So basically my first aim includes not aiming a weight reduction of 10 kg in one month, 1 kg sounds reasonable. 9 pointers sounds much impossible,probably 8 seems to be more achievable. Reasonable aims are more probable to be achieved.

No More *sob sob*

Aim #2: Won't take it personally

We miss out on enjoyment when we start taking things personally. When we learn to laugh at ourselves,we start feeling much lighter + a bonus: people who "like" you increase in numbers.

Leave laziness behind

Aim #3: Would try to run "The Extra Mile"

Probably we can do better than that what we think we can. If I think I can stay awake on exam night till 12 pm,I would try to aim half-an-hour more. I may fail at times to remain awake for half-an-hour,but may achieve 10 min. of extra study time. Isn't it an achievement? :)

Well,not much time's left before new year beginning. Without thinking much about the consequence,I begin with these three aims. Lets see what happens *fingers crossed*.

Random Inspirational Proverbs

"Fall seven times,stand up eight"
Japanese Proverb




"Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come"
Chinese Proverb




"Smooth seas don't make skillful sailors"
African Proverb




"Vision without execution is a daydream. Execution without vision is a nightmare"
Japanese proverb




"Flies flock to the lean horse"
Italian Proverb




"Count Your nights by stars not shadows;count your life with smiles,not tears"
Italian Proverb




"If there is no wind,row"
Latin Proverb

Preventing Mental Fatigue

Every time we study or perform any other activity related to the use of mind,mind usually speeds up. However,due to speeding up of mind,mental fatigue also occurs. Common signs are: irritation,depression,distractions etc. This is quite similar to over-heating of machine elements which sometimes causes malfunctioning.

 In case of machine,over-heating can be avoided by shutting down machines. Similarly in case of mind,mental fatigue can be avoided by shutting down the mental activities for a while in between long sessions of work. Common ways of doing this are:

• Listening to music
• Chatting with friends
• Breathing Exercise
• Taking a walk 
• Playing outdoor games

With a proper balance between work and switching off,we can achieve optimum results.

Childhood Euphoria

"Give me some sunshine,give me some rain,give me another chance,I want to grow up,Once again"

Every time I come across these lines,I am filled with a strong sense of euphoria and nostalgia. Most probably because childhood remains the best phase of our life.

Fear? What the hell is that?

Most of our childhood activities involve a carefree attitude,no risk calculation,enthusiasm and inquisitiveness,and the word "fear' remains alien to our dictionary.

Happiness: do we need a reason for that? Really?

As a child,we never wanted a reason to be happy,actually we already had infinite reasons to be happy,be it the simple sunset,spotting a chameleon,watching earthworms,numerous games and a trillion other reason. Endless reasons and infinite euphoria is what filled up our hearts.

Childhood Fights

Fighting up all the time and then making it all up. At that time,fights used to be at such personal levels,and now recalling each one of them makes each one of us ROFL!

Hidden artists

We rocked the studio with our attitude. Endless labor and a lot of fun,and considering each one of our creations to be a masterpiece, something which we can never forget.

And it all came to an end

It ended one day,one fine day when we decided to step to the boat of teenage,and end the journey on a happy note. What next? Infinite crushes,heartbreaks,romance,first kiss,excellence in something and a driving ambition to conquer the world.

Yes we moved on in life,but left behind some beautiful memories. 

One good idea:

Why don't we all take a dip back to the sea of nostalgia? Go through old childhood photo albums,take a look at the Super Mario game cassette,the old video game,or your old sketch books and feel free once again.