Random Thoughts (Sn. 4)

Random Thoughts (Sn. 3)

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Flip Side Of The Coin (sn. 2)

There's always two sides to an argument...

Random Thoughts (Sn. 2)

Random Thoughts

Flip Side Of The Coin

Much Ado About Rating

In matters of "Life" and "Death", media sometimes bombarded the airwaves with “news” for the wrong reason.

In UK, they broadcasted trivialities and inanities while biding their time. Enthusiastically acting like Thumper and his siblings, while awaiting the birth of Bambi.

Across the continent, they hover around like vultures, not to sympathize on the well-being of a great man, but to be the first to break the news of his demise. 

"If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and chose their news sources accordingly." – Thomas Sowell

On Homily...

A good sermon should be like a woman's skirt: short enough to arouse interest but long enough to cover the essentials. - Ronald Knox

Just Saying...

Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least. - Robert Byrne

Taking Care of Number One

What the public expects and what is healthy for an individual are two very different things. – Esther Williams

Lately, I’m hooked on watching “health” shows like Dr. Oz and The Doctors. Although most of their topics pertains on how to “retard” the inevitable dread of most women, once in a while I do picked some practical health tips.  But my favorite is House. I’m fascinated by his character. I can’t decide if his a sociopath, lacks empathy of just plain aloof. Is he a sadist or it’s just his way of showing his affection? Unlike other “detective” series where I can guess “whodunit”, one only knows if House had an epiphany when the camera focuses on his bulging blue-eyes and then - case solve. To be frank, I don’t have an idea what the hell they’re talking about most of the time!

When you reach that milestone where your age is more than the number of days in a calendar month, it’s time to count the number of calorie you take in a day. That includes changing your lifestyle like putting a ceiling on you vices, watching the food you eat and stretching those stiff muscles to produce sweat.

I do that. I’m down to smoking 6 sticks of cigarettes a day. I eat nuts and raisins as TV snacks instead of my usual potato chips or popcorn. My breakfast consist of 4 crackers, a banana and coffee, an apple, an orange and 4 more crackers for lunch and fish, vege and rice for supper with plenty of fluids between meals. But of course I indulge on beef, pizza and fried chicken on weekends to put some color and spice to my monotonous if not drab weekdays eating habit. I also promised myself to do a 4 km. walk, 3x a week the moment outside temperature hits above 20 degrees.

It works for me. When my wife and I have our annual general checkup, all my numbers are down while hers are playing just below critical. That’s the reason she complained to our doctor. She brags she does our laundry by hand instead of using the washing machine. A chore she regard as a form of exercise. She sleeps early while I sit and watched TV all night. I smoke while all her vices “only” consist of coffee, chocolate and doughnuts. So how come I’m healthier than her? It is perplexing indeed when the question comes from someone who does not eat breakfast because she’s “on diet” and considers a glass of fresh milk and a slice of chocolate cake – lunch!

But hey! What works for me does not necessarily mean it will work for you. The least you might get, especially with the nuts and raisins, is farthing all the time!

I’m Rich and Famous… Yeah Right!

Some of you may have noticed some slight changes on my site; like my blog roll missing in the side bar or a minimized displayed post. I’m doing these to enhance my blog’s “visibility” and refresh rate.

“Out link” is the term used when you connect other sites into yours, such as cross-referencing and putting a site in your blog roll. The beauty of it is it’s much easier to annotate or to jump from one location to another. The disadvantage of this technique is search engines (Yahoo or Google) tend to by-pass sites with too much out links. On the other hand, showing a lot of posts on your home page will likely slowdown the refresh rate and will take “forever” displaying it.

Now, here’s the interesting part; while “testing” my modification, I noticed my blog was subjected to some web analysis. Here’s one:

It says my blog is worth $640,108 USD and have a daily revenue of $1,753 USD. I’m rich except I got no ads and this isn’t my blog but a copy. It’s called a “mirror site” and my “clone” is located somewhere in the Netherlands. Here’s another one:

This time it’s worth a modest £414.69 BP but it got a world wide ranking of 8,080,497. With roughly 50 million bloggers all over the world, that figure places me on the top 16%. In your face, Alexa! I’m famous even if you don’t know my blog exist!

No wonder I get emails asking how much is per share of my stocks. These infos’ leaves me with a depleted ego and in a wishful thinking mode.

Moral Lesson: Don’t believe everything you read on the web especially one that comes from so called “experts” and “authority” attached to their names.

Things I Pondered and Did on My Vacation

Going Home

I’m a little deaf, especially inside an airplane but as I entered the aircraft, one attendant greets me “Welcome abort!”

Do you wonder why airline personnel still demonstrate the aircraft’s emergency procedure when something that’s not going to occur defeats the course of action to take... when they say - “In an UNLIKELY event of an emergency landing…”

Ano Raw?
Upon landing at NAIA, I heard this announcement - “Pleas remen seated until the ehplen comes to a full stop befo dis embahking”. A few minutes later, another message, this time in an agitated tone - “Pleas remen seated an wet fo the ehplen to come to a full stop befo you stan up to get yo luggage from the ove’head compahment”

At the tube, attendants lined up, smiling and bidding us goodbye – “Think yo fo’ flying Singgapo ehlines”. Regardless of our stop-over in Dubai and walking endlessly on that huge Changi airport to our next flight; service wise, I still think it’s one of the best airline I ever flied.

Home Sweet Home

Nothing significant happened while I was in my hometown except going to beaches, attending a wedding of my wife’s nephew, wake of a departed aunt and of course our high school reunion.

I met most of my old classmates and thanks to Facebook, I recognized most of their faces and some of their names. We reminisced what we did during high school and one just can’t help put on a “show” of “how good life is” in her adopted city, Lohndohn. Later that day, when most had their fill of San Mig Light and brandy, old buddies clustered together and talked nothing but their health. Back pains, rheumatism, cholesterol and “daily maintenance” dominate the conversation. I’m the only guy who was silent and got nothing to share since my yearly medical data indicates all my “levels” are below “critical”. A classmate even told me I haven’t change since we graduated. He asked who my doctor is – “Si Calayan ba o si Bello?” We flew back to Manila the following day.

Shopping

At National Bookstore, I asked an employee if they have books by Carl Sagan. She typed in the computer the author’s name to see their stocks and then said “What’s the title of the book?”  I gave her the title and right away she said “We don’t have any books by Carl Sagan.”

In a Filipiniana boutique, I was admiring a polo barong with an embroidered map of the Philippines. The shop attendant approached me;

Saleslady - “Espesyal po ang barong na yan. Mismong kanang-kamay ng may-ari ng shop ang nag design at gumawa.”

Me           - “Ganun ba, ang galing naman. E anong nagawa ng kanyang kaliwang kamay?”

She paused for a few seconds, trying to absorb what I just said. It took a lopped-sided smile before she got it and began giggling in a high-pitch voice. I bought the barong.

Going Back

This time I’m pretty sure I wasn’t deaf. I definitely heard the attendant said – “Welcome abort”!

On Brand Names

Naming a product is important. It’s the product’s ticket to success. Two things I observed though; a name should be “hip and catchy” and consumer should be able to relate and remember it.

Old brands are so famous that it’s automatically attached to a particular product. In the Philippines, people buy Colgate instead of toothpaste and document are Xerox(ed) instead of photocopied. Some brands comes from family names like Honda; easy to remember and identifiable with cars and motorbikes. Daewoo on the other hand confuses consumers. They can’t tell if it’s a car, a washing machine or a wall clock. But not all diversified companies did poorly. A good example is India’s Tata Motors; a subsidiary of Tata Group. It does well because Tata, like Toyota, is catchy; people retain the name easily. Try advertising cars from "Venkatraman-Kanakamedala Motors" and see if anyone catches-up outside India. It’s not only hard to remember, it’s a tongue-twister.

That’s where the Chinese have a dilemma; Chinese can’t use their surname as brands even if it’s easy to remember a one syllable name. Non-Chinese consumer tends to associate it with something else. Imagine when somebody says “I’ve got a Warhol in my den”. Right away a “colored negative” poster of celebrities comes to mind. But try “I’ve got a Po on my wall”. It’s tempting to say “So do I, but I don’t go around bragging about it or make a habit of flicking it on walls”.

Combining two or three Chinese names won’t do the trick either - it sounds like a hardware store, a restaurant or worst, something sexually "suggestive". Others tried to “anglicized” but “Soft-Touch” sports apparel are sometimes mistaken for a feminine napkin. Not only that, they're fond of words like “Golden” and “Dragon” that they might end up suing each other of copy-right infringement. A Chinese car manufacturer took the name of their famous landmark:

In fairness, the logo looks good, but the name doesn’t fit. Look, if a guy boasts, “I’ve got a Ford truck”, one imagines a gas-guzzling behemoth work-horse. But something seems missing or doesn’t sound right if you say “I’ve got a Great Wall truck”. One might ask “What’s a wall truck?” It’s more apt and make more sense when a company is named “Great Wall Construction Co. Ltd.”, don’t you think?

I’m sure this is one of the reasons why the Chinese resort to imitating famous brands; less mental stress and cheaper for them. But don’t take my word for it. A product is a product how ever odd its name or where it’s made. As long as it serves it purpose and the quality is good… go buy it!

On Marriage

Foreword: Just in case my wife reads this; all anecdotes I told were work of fiction. Any similarity to people’s lives, both living and dead, was unintentional and purely coincidental. – BlogusVox

The Shrew

I love my wife and that’s my first mistake. But it’s not too late for you would-be-husbands out there. If you’re in love with your woman from head to toe – DON’T tell her you’ll love her till the end of infinity. The moment she knows, she’ll take advantage of you and exploit that weakness!

When we were younger, my wife’s “national pastime” was to irritate me to the max that I sometimes contemplate the idea of sending her back to her family. The only thing holding me back was the image of my departed father-in-law which keeps flashing in my mind. When my parents and I went to their residence to ask for my wife’s hand, her father wore this enigmatic half-grateful, half-relieved face. Later do I understood that his telling me in a subtly way – you asked for it, you got it. NO RETURN, NO EXCHANGE!

Wonder Woman

I believed my wife got “superpowers”. When I did something not to her liking, she simply looks at me and an invisible beam comes out of her eyes. It engulfed me, leaving me frozen - stone cold. The weird thing is it affects me but my daughter is immune to it. This leads me to suspect, maybe Bea got superpowers too. It’s not easy living among “X-men”.

I Don’t Have ESP

My wife got this nasty habit of leaving her sentences hanging on air. She’ll say something like: “Kunin mo nga yan…” (not looking but pointing her finger in space) or “Dalhin mo nga ang ano sa kwan…” But what really gets my goat is when she opens a conversation and in mid-sentence expects me to continue, like:

Wife: Totoo ba yung nangyari?

Me   : Nang ano?

Wife : Dun sa kumpare mo nung nakaraang linggo.

Me   : Anong nangyari kay Pare?

Wife: Ano ka ba! Kumpare mo yan, ikaw dapat ang nakaka-alam!

I’m a trained engineer. I deal with details and specifics. I’m not clairvoyant! I DON’T READ MINDS! Tell me what you want in a sentence that contains a subject and a predicate and I’ll comply!

When the conversation comes to this point, she’ll just look at me innocently and smiles knowingly, as if expecting this kind of reaction from someone “crazy”. And it’s true. That kind of “look” really drives me nuts! 

Read Between the Lines

When you received a text message or email from your wife that goes something like:

“Hon, if you’re not busy and you got time, please pass by the supermarket and buy the following…”

Remember, how ever polite and solicitous this maybe, it is NOT A REQUEST. It’s an ORDER! Discard whatever you previously planned and set this as your TOP PRIORITY. Prepare a valid reason if you miss one item from her list if you don’t want to be ZAP by her “laser-eye”.  

When shopping for something and she says: “Hon, anong gusto mo? Ito?”

She’s not asking your opinion. She already decided what to buy and all she wants is you concur. But be careful; don’t give your “nod” all the time. Find a way to distance yourself if things get “critical”. Let her decide alone because the moment something goes wrong with the merchandise - its YOUR FAULT, because YOU CHOOSE IT!

Marriage is teamwork. In order for it to work, both of you should have a “say” on any decision you both make. That means, when she “suggests” you “agree”.

Now that you know the difference between the sexes and you got your “pointers”, go out there and make her happy!

Where Have You Been My Brown-Eyed Son?

FB, I think, is a software application most of us appreciate it was invented. It enables us to communicate with our love ones and rekindle connection to our long forgotten friends and acquaintances in wherever corner of the world they maybe. It also gave me a glimpsed and first hand idea of their present state of affair.

Because of our coming high school event, our batch is gearing up its preparation for next year’s reunion. We used FB to find former classmates and as an organizational tool to update and inform each and everyone involved of our proposed agenda and plans. Those who have funds to spare voluntarily gave to finance our projects. Of course it is not imposed but still “expected” from those working or residing abroad to gave a much larger donation.

As I inspect our financial status, I noticed more “supports” are given by our Middle East based and sea-faring alumni than from our counterparts living in the western hemisphere. It strikes me as ironic that people back home look upon OFWs and sea-men to be a less desirable endeavor compared to a “blue passport” or a “green card” holder, and yet, this tally speaks otherwise.

A high school teacher once told me – “O, kumusta? Si (a classmate) na sa Amerika na!” With emphasis on “na”, as if going to “Tate” is the ultimate paradigm of success. Perhaps this holds true some 30 or so years back, but with the current trend and financial slump in which US has yet to recover, I think other wise. This assumption was further strengthened when one of my US based classmates mentioned – “we’re lucky, we still have jobs”. It is sad to think that they have to prepare and save a year ahead just to be able to attend our homecoming event. They felt envious when they found out going back home for vacation is routine, done on a yearly basis and free airline fare for us and our families.

These crisis US is now facing changed even the most amiable guy I know, a buddy since our formative years and haven’t seen for a long time. I found out he has an FB account, sent a message and jokingly said the climate in the US haven’t done much to his “color”. The reply I received isn’t what I expected. He was upset and began an outburst of insults including “ignorant” and “out of touch with reality”. You must be in a lot of pressure and stress to be so sensitive and react like that on something as trivial as a joke between friends.

Perhaps he is right. I haven’t changed much. But still I’d rather be “ignorant” than to “learn” that to get ahead, you either use people or step on someone’s toes. I’d rather be “carefree” than to look at the glass half-empty. I’d rather be foolish but happy than to come home from work morose and humorless.

I don’t look at “life” that way.

On Class Reunion

Never go to your high school reunion pregnant or they will think that is all you have done since you graduated. – Erma Bombeck

I like to observe. I’m content on standing in an inconspicuous corner, watching things around and trying to analyze every action and reaction. Of all things observable, what fascinate me most are human behavior. Take for example a class reunion. It is interesting to note that a lot could be learned by attending one.

What is the purpose of a class reunion? Why do we invent an occasion to celebrate something that happened some twenty or so years ago? I eliminate “to-rekindle-long-lost-friendship” because one will find ways to keep in touch with real friends, reunion or no reunion. For starter, one factor is “curiosity”; one wants to know how others faired on their personal battle for economic survival. Another is “contact”. It is always to your advantage if you knew people from different professions or classmates working in different government agencies. And the vainest of all the traits, to satisfy ones ego; to let the world know that you finally arrived, that you finally made it.

None of the factors I mentioned above categorize my motive. I go home every year so I’m up to date on every thing that interests me. When ambiguity is removed, curiosity fades away. My job is so specialize that I doubt if knowing what their field of expertise or where they are working helps me in anyway. And lastly, a simple man who enjoys life’s simple things does not possess a huge ego nor need to satiate it.

But why will I attend if I have the chance? I’d like to see someone who barely spoke to me or knew if I ever existed suddenly talk to me like I’m a long lost friend. I’d like to see the class bully became the most amiable guy in the room. I’d like to see the quietest guy in class commanders the microphone and won’t let go until he sang all the songs in the karaoke. I’d like to see my classmate who looks like Rio Locsin then if she looks like Rio Locsin now. I’d like to see the fellow who walks and wears rubber sandals to school arrives in an SUV. I’d like to see what I perceived before is the exact opposite of what I see now.

Unfortunately my vacation won’t coincide with our class reunion. Other wise you’ll see me in an inconspicuous corner, watching things and trying to analyze every action and reaction.

Horror Stories and Other Creepy Shows

I was fascinated with horror stories. When I was a child, after dinner, we’ll gather around the radio (we don’t have TV then) to catch our favorite program “Gabi Ng Lagim”. I’m hooked to it that I’d even set aside a portion of my allowance just to spend on renting “Lagim” and “Lamor” komiks. As my taste became “sophisticated”, I’m no longer easily frightened that I switched on to watching shows that tweak my mind like “The Twilight Zone”, “X-Files” and later on “Fringe”.

But what makes a successful scary movie? I use to cower at Christopher Lee’s Dracula series. I was scared stiff with “The Exorcist” and “Alien” made me jumped from my seat. I think these films got its desired effect (to me at least) because they pioneered the “technique” on how to scare viewers. Back then, werewolves and vampires are the “scary stuff”. Today they are the main characters of a love story. Linda Blair’s character spewing green stuff and turning her head 360 degrees was awesomely frightening then but would look funny now. The “Alien” monster might not be new but the psychological effect of being alone in outer space with a drooling metallic monster as a bunk mate really scattered my wits.

Newer horror films became popular but failed to impress me. I was amused with “The Grudge” and “The Ring” and sneered while watching “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Final Destination”. The first one looks like a “kabuki” actor whose face was dip in a bowl of flour. The other looks like an escape contortionist from an asylum. The third was a family of psychotic retards while the last one was an exercise in physics on how to kill a guy in a sophisticated but cumbersome way (the writer was probable a McGyver fan).

Viewer’s taste today leans more on “realism”. “The Blair Witch Project” was a success because it was done like a “documentary”. Its predecessors like “The Paranormal Activity” did it differently but with the same technique. Subtlety suggesting that what they are viewing is real.

It all depends on the viewer really. I enjoyed watching “Poltergeist” and Freddy’s antics but was terrified of Jason. But here is my list of what makes a horror film funny:

1. The killer is waiting for you in the next corner even though his walking with a limp and you are running away from him.
2. Something nasty is going to happen every time a cello solo starts to play.
3. The victim trips on nothing while being pursued by the killer.
4. The room or house has all the indication of unpleasantness yet the victim insists on entering it.
5. All the characters are dumb in a horror movie. Only luck saves them, if any survives.
6. The window, stay away from the window, dummy!
7. The door key or car key won’t fit if the guy is in a hurry to escape.
8. The car won’t start (this never fail).
9. The girl in a flimsy negligee goes out of the patio to look up the moon in a cold windy night (a sure way to attract rapists, serial killers and vampires).

I hope you enjoyed you Halloween!

Being In a Wrong Place at a Wrong Time

Fortune, it seems, remains a stranger to some people whose only deed was to seek a better life and a place under the sun. Take the case of Jason Aguilar who is unfortunate to have a namesake with an allege killer and an entry date in Qatar on the same day the crime happened in the Philippines. That is just too much a coincidence and bad luck to a poor guy.

Another case is that of Jakatia Pawa, a domestic helper in Kuwait, who is accused of stabbing her employer’s daughter to death. But this time, not only her employment but also her life is at stake.

A lot of speculation surrounds this case. But if we take into consideration the evidence reported here and what an embassy official said (aired on TFC) about the daughter having an affair with a neighbor, I can also speculate that this maybe a case of “honor killing”, and framed an innocent helper for the misdeed. The sad thing is we have to beg for their mercy and ask for their forgiveness on something we didn’t do. It is unfair, but if you’re an expatriate in these parts of the world, your rights are limited, your freedom is restricted and your safety depends on how you obey the laws of the land.

I have no sympathy for our incarcerated kababayans caught gambling, womanizing and drinking alcohol. They know it’s against the law, still they did it. I have no pity to those couriers of illegal substance, and then admit their stupidity and ignorance when caught. The same feeling I have to those caned for throwing chewing gums on the streets of Singapore. But my compassion goes to those who are innocent yet languishing in some foreign jails and in some cases forgotten by our government.

For those of us who are “lucky” enough, be wary of your surroundings and people around you. Remember “trust” and “confidence” are expensive commodities. Don’t give it totally.

Busy...

Some of you might have noticed that my posts are dwindling lately. That’s because my job occupies most of my time. Our company, who handled this particular branch of the government for the past 18 years, will end its contract on January next year. We have no idea if we’ll win another extension.

What I mean is they have an unconventional way of awarding contracts. A candidate company’s resume, even if it contains long years of experience, expertise, capable staff or even the lowest bidding price, does not guarantee ink on paper. The final nod is reserved by the head honcho at the Ministry. If the man doesn’t like your CEO’s face, even if you’re qualified, fulfilled all requirements and won the preliminary bidding, there is no assurance you’ll get the contract.

I remember a few years back. After the Gulf War, there was a multi billion dollar communication upgrade contract up for grabs. A consortium composed of big European communication companies (including mine), headed by Siemens, placed a bid and won. A few weeks later, US’s Secretary of State visited the kingdom. After several more weeks, guess what? The contract was awarded to AT&T. I’m not “sour-graping” here, but rumors have it that Bush’s emissary reminded the government on US’s role in liberating its neighbor from Saddam. If there’s any grain of truth in that gossip, then the Americans have a phrase for it – “its payback time”!

I’m going astray here. Let’s get back to my main issue. One of our systems resides in old computers and runs on DOS environment. Since manufacturers no longer make hardware that support 16 bit platform and we’re running out of spare parts, our “policy makers” decided to buy the latest computers and upgrade the system to run in Windows. That is what I’m doing right now; modifying old DOS programs to run in Windows. And I got till December to finish the job. A Quixotic task if you ask me, since I’m a one-man-team assigned to this. That’s because it seems “C” programmers are a rare breed. Am I a dying specie or what? I knew a lot of guys in cyber space who are experts in C and C++. Yet our human resources have a difficult time finding programmers who can read “C” source code and convert it to Visual C++.

A sample of what I’m deciphering is a program similar to this:
and converting it to run in Windows, like this one:
It’s a sub-program that automatically connects receivers to measuring instruments and antennas with just a click of a button. It looks simple. But behind this minimalist facade are relatively complex programming calisthenics, to make life easy for an operator.

I don’t know yet what destiny has in store for me next year. I might be joining the number of jobless workers and be part of the growing unemployment statistic. But I don’t see things that way, at least not yet. I’m preparing myself for any eventualities that might occur.

So if your company needs a System Analyst/Programmer, I’m available next year. Just think of me as an elephant (“I work for peanuts”), a matriarch African elephant. : )

10 Principles for Peace of Mind

Foreword: I got this from a good friend, R.B. I found guidance and lessons to be learned from it, that I decided to share it with you. I slightly modified its content to make it more "universal" – BlogusVox

1. Do Not Interfere In Others' Business Unless Asked:
Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others' affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.

2. Forgive And Forget:
This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This in turn results in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive, forget and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.

3. Do Not Crave For Recognition:
This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yourself in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely.

4. Do Not Be Jealous:
We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? No. Remember everybody's life is shaped by his/her destiny, which has now become his/her reality. If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will only take away your peace of mind.

5. Change Yourself According To The Environment:
If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.

6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured:
This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe in yourself and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.

7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:
This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. . Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.

8. Meditate Regularly:
Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty-three and half-hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily meditation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.

9. Never Leave The Mind Vacant:
“An empty mind is the devil's workshop”. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading.

10. Do Not Procrastinate And Never Regret:
Do not waste time in protracted wondering " Should I or shouldn't I?" Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past. DO NOT REGRET.