Of Dreamers and Doers...

Written on Saturday, June 12, 2010 by Siddharth PV

"Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible."
T.E. Lawrence

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of hi...gh achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt

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Also posted to So Spake the Wise Men... at 6/12/2010 01:57:00 AM

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Thoughts - Wake Up Sid

Written on Wednesday, June 02, 2010 by Siddharth PV

I just saw the first 15-20 minutes of Wake UP Sid - the movie and something which struck me instantly about Sid's character was the simplicity in his decision making. He seemed like someone who has kept life really uncomplicated for himself. No wonder then that he was able to take decisions so easily. And at some level, I did feel very very envious of him. I look at myself in the past few weeks and I see that my thinking has been becoming more and more muddled - my decision making more and more convoluted - and it wasn't this way at all times. Surely something needs to be put back in order.

Frankly, I do not want to get into the nitty-gritty of whether Sid's attitude towards life was correct – to each his own, I say. What I want to focus on is what made it possible for Sid to take the decisions so easily? And how can I go (back) to such a state?

The reason that Sid could take those decisions so fluently was probably that he had his motivations absolutely clear. He knew himself and what he wanted very well. As a result, he could act in accordance with his heart rather easily. And acting in accordance with one's heart / one's basic motivations is one of the most liberating experiences. If you are truly acting in accordance with your heart, you act without the overhanging sword of any doubt. You give it your all because the motivation for the action comes from one's basic nature and motivations – it is not driven by any false pretenses, external influences, etc.

Now, when I look back at my recent actions/decisions and single out the decisions / actions which I was not completely satisfied with – I realize that those decisions/actions were very highly influenced by my environment. That is probably the reason that I have not been feeling too happy about those decisions/actions.
It's time to set this right. After all, if I don't clear up this surrounding clutter (environmental influences) right away, I will probably lose touch with my basic motivations (typical case of the signal getting lost in too much noise).

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Of course – I am not saying that one should not listen to others' inputs (opinions / views / reviews). That would be a folly. But one must be on guard and avoid these inputs from becoming unconditional influences (sometimes its ends up being that way out of sheer repetitiveness).
In fact, I believe it is important to seek feedback. But one must take it objectively and not let it become an overarching dictat.

Posted in , , , , , | 3 comments

Of Dreamers and Doers...

"Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible."
T.E. Lawrence

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of hi...gh achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt

--
Also posted to So Spake the Wise Men... at 6/12/2010 01:57:00 AM

Thoughts - Wake Up Sid

I just saw the first 15-20 minutes of Wake UP Sid - the movie and something which struck me instantly about Sid's character was the simplicity in his decision making. He seemed like someone who has kept life really uncomplicated for himself. No wonder then that he was able to take decisions so easily. And at some level, I did feel very very envious of him. I look at myself in the past few weeks and I see that my thinking has been becoming more and more muddled - my decision making more and more convoluted - and it wasn't this way at all times. Surely something needs to be put back in order.

Frankly, I do not want to get into the nitty-gritty of whether Sid's attitude towards life was correct – to each his own, I say. What I want to focus on is what made it possible for Sid to take the decisions so easily? And how can I go (back) to such a state?

The reason that Sid could take those decisions so fluently was probably that he had his motivations absolutely clear. He knew himself and what he wanted very well. As a result, he could act in accordance with his heart rather easily. And acting in accordance with one's heart / one's basic motivations is one of the most liberating experiences. If you are truly acting in accordance with your heart, you act without the overhanging sword of any doubt. You give it your all because the motivation for the action comes from one's basic nature and motivations – it is not driven by any false pretenses, external influences, etc.

Now, when I look back at my recent actions/decisions and single out the decisions / actions which I was not completely satisfied with – I realize that those decisions/actions were very highly influenced by my environment. That is probably the reason that I have not been feeling too happy about those decisions/actions.
It's time to set this right. After all, if I don't clear up this surrounding clutter (environmental influences) right away, I will probably lose touch with my basic motivations (typical case of the signal getting lost in too much noise).

--

Of course – I am not saying that one should not listen to others' inputs (opinions / views / reviews). That would be a folly. But one must be on guard and avoid these inputs from becoming unconditional influences (sometimes its ends up being that way out of sheer repetitiveness).
In fact, I believe it is important to seek feedback. But one must take it objectively and not let it become an overarching dictat.

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