Ways to Kill Depression

Feeling sad, aloof and depressed? Take a deep breathe and relax because ups and downs are part of life and all you need is hope and a gentle push to remind that it is only temporary, and that the highs are not far away. So chill and enjoy because happiness can keep you going on more days than you can count. Here are some best ways to kill that melancholy mood and get the most bliss out of your daily activities.

Change your way of thinking

First and foremost you have to change your way of thinking. Apparently it seems not so easy to do and it is certainly a long process. You can start it slowly, whenever you get pessimistic thoughts go out for a long walk and think something good about yourself, watch a funny movie or chill out with those yo-yo friends. It is a long process as you get the result slowly. But once you pass this stage you will definitely feel you are no longer depressed.

Practice Yoga and Meditation

It is another best way to get rid of depression. Meditation is a kind of awareness of your mind and it strengthens your spirit and body. Yoga, on the other hand can bring happiness and health. Both yoga and meditation are helpful with severe depression or other serious mental disorders. Yoga and meditation can even help to avoid the recurrence of depression, once the depression has moderated.

Work it out

Regular exercise can improve your mental as well as emotional health. Any physical exercise can keep your mind and body strong and active. Doing exercise in an open and fresh air gives you extra benefit as you intake more oxygen. It helps you to reduce depression by maintaining the level of mood and emotional instincts. Physical exercise helps you to increase your sense of mastery, energy, self-esteem and health.

Avoid alcohol and Drugs

Over intake of alcohol temporarily blunts the effects of stress hormones. It leaves you feeling worse than ever because it depresses the brain and nervous system. Using alcohol or drugs and smoking may give temporary relief but when a person gets addicted, it takes a long time trouble to get rid of such habits. If you are worried by the idea of stopping or cutting down your drinking, or if you just can't cut down, it might help to talk with a specialist alcohol worker.

Get involved in social life

When under intense stress, it is very natural to withdraw from the world and concentrate exclusively on solving the problems around you. You can escape from this by expanding your own social network of friends. Nothing feels better than having a best group of friends and their support. The love and care expressed by others could boost your immune system and helps get rid of unhealthy thoughts. After all, you'll live a more secured and happy life.

Get Out of the Comfort Zone!!!!!

This story is about fish in Japan. And the message is relevant for individuals and corporate around the world.

It’s a classic problem-solution saga that the Japanese love to relate. As is well known, the Japanese love fresh fish. Such has been Japan’s fascination with eating fresh fish that, for many years now, there’s hardly any fish to be found in the waters off Japanese shores. So fishermen came up with a solution. They built bigger boats and went farther from the shore to catch fish. Unfortunately, this created another problem. The farther they went to fish, the longer it took
them to get back to the shore. By the time they got back, the fish was stale. And the Japanese, well, they like their fish fresh.

To solve this problem, the fishermen came up with another solution. They installed refrigeration units on the boats. But the Japanese were clearly clever, discerning folks. They could tell the difference between frozen fish and fresh fish. And they wanted their fresh fish. Besides, frozen fish commanded lower prices, threatening the viability of the entire fishing business.

So the fishermen came up with another solution. They installed fish tanks on the boat ! they would catch fish from the sea and put them into the tank. So they could now take back fresh fish!

But that was not to be either. As the tank got stuffed with fish, the fish would flap around a bit, then get lazy and lie resigned to their fate. Motionless. Inactive. Dull. And the Japanese could tell the difference. They wanted fresh fish, not sluggish fish !

Even as a seemingly insurmountable crisis loomed over the Japanese fishing industry, the wise fisher folk came up with yet another innovative solution. They still had to sail out a long distance. And they still had the same boats and the same fish tanks. But there was one difference. In each tank, the fishermen put in a small shark. The shark kept the fish active, running around, busy. Sure, the shark ate a few fish but the threat of the shark kept the other fish active and
healthy. The challenge ensured that none of them could afford to lie still. As a result, what eventually reached the shore was fresh, active fish. And the Japanese loved it !

Come to think of it, we are all like the fish too. We need that shark to stay sharp. To keep us out of the Comfort Zone . . . In case any of us or our organization is slowly slipping into the comfort zone, it might be a good idea to bring in a shark.

If you are Coke, invent a Pepsi. Do what Steve Waugh, the former Australian Cricket Caption did constantly to himself and his team – get outta the comfort zone ! (in fact his autobiography is also called “Out of the Comfort Zone”)

Remember, the shark may eat some fish but that’s a small price to pay for keeping the rest of them active. Go get your shark – today !!!

Get out of the comfort zone – if there’s no enemy, create one.

Being Clever and Being Wise

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.
- Naguib Mahfouz, writer (1911- )

A clever man will always tell you answers. He will tell you things you may not even care about. His purpose is to impress. To be more accurate, his purpose is,like that of Narcissus, to see himself reflected in the reaction on your face.

It may be arrogance, hubris or insecurity that causes him to seek a reaction from you. You are the fulfillment of the need of a clever man. You are the audience that satisfies his need.

A wise man will not try to convince you of anything. A wise man is trying to build himself, not to build you. He asks questions because he wants to learn more. He needs to learn more because he is aware of how little he knows about so many things. He is aware less of what he knows than of what he does not yet know.

A wise man will not proselytize you. If you are willing and eager, he may guide you to find your own answers. He will not push you because he is on his own quest.

Then we have those who are neither clever, wanting to convey to us how much they know, nor wise. They do not ask questions. They wish to give the impression that they know as much as they need to know.

They have learned from the ethics of business that they should "never let them see you sweat." Never give the impression that you don't know. When you don't know, fake it. Pretend. Most times the others won't know that you don't know.

While that is the apparent ethic of business, it's not a real one. The person who doesn't ask questions and who doesn't know will never rise against the competition because deep down the others know the truth. The ones who know will reach where they want to go.

The ones who do not ask questions don't try to learn. They remain ignorant. Comfortably ignorant, as they persuade even themselves that they know as much as they need to know.

Yet they are always poor. Poor of spirit because they think of themselves first. Poor of intellect because they close doors of opportunity to learn. Poor of character because they deceive even themselves, thus have no hesitation about deceiving others. A wise man will share what he knows. But you will have to ask. Otherwise he will be busy. He has his own quest. He will assume that you have your own.

Just Boss to a better boss

They're all around us - the high-nosed, irate bosses who somehow never seem to understand the ideas you're trying to put through. The phenomenon of the bad boss has been around much before Meryl Streep played the iconic Miranda Priestly in the 2006 flick The Devil Wears Prada. However, as many leaders will tell you, becoming a good boss was definitely not a cakewalk for any of them.

It takes more than just patience to understand, motivate and mentor a team the right way. Despite all the criticism and your theories about what a good boss should be like, the life-changing moment comes when you cross the line and stand behind that intimidating table. It is only then that it all sinks in. Here's a look at how to keep panic at bay while donning a new role at the workplace and building a strong team.

Relationship with former peers

You used to be 'one of the girls'. Then you got promoted. This could be a tricky situation since you not only have new responsibilities, but you may also be supervising a person who was vying for the promotion. How do you develop a plan to gain the support of former colleagues, get the work done and mould your relationships with them? It isn't so easy.

You must communicate to the group right at the start that you need their support to make this transition work. Maintain the dignity of your new position but at the same time acknowledge the immense role played by your former peers in creating a favourable environment for your success. "Remember, when you wish to go fast you go alone, but when you wish to go far you go together," advises Ashwin A Shirali, regional director, human resource, Accor India.

Define roles

No boss can work alone. Defining roles for each individual in team projects will not only keep misunderstandings at bay, but will also save the time and energy of the organisation. Begin by describing the job to your employees.

If your team doesn't clearly understand their basic responsibilities, as well as how their individual roles interact within the dynamics of the team, you lose. Discover the key result areas (KRAs) of each of the members of your team and also of the team as a whole. Giving the right job to the right person will not only bring you better results but will also allow the employees to sharpen their self-image as professionals.

Articulate expectations

"A boss who is able to articulate expectations, meet goals and yet not overburden the team is the 'dream' boss for any team," says Ashutosh Garg, Chairman and Managing Director, Guardian Lifecare. Conveying your expectations about your employees' performance and goals has to be a participative process. You can communicate to your team through discussions, group meetings or emails. Use emails only to send formal messages, which your team may require to refer to time and again.

Discussions are important as the team feels they have a say in the day-to-day activities. While you do define goals for the team, the challenge is to steer the brainstorming in such a manner that the definitions come from people themselves. It should appear to them as though they are working towards something which they have set out for themselves. Involvement of the team in the process helps increase their sense of ownership, making them perform better.

Delegate work

If a boss does not delegate work, she will be overburdened and have negative feelings about the team. On the other hand, the team will be clueless about what to do. Delegating work will help you groom your employees, an essential part of your role as a leader. "What you must remember while delegating work is that while one delegates authority, the responsibility remains with the boss," reminds N.P.S Sethi, vice president, human resource, Jindal Intellicom.

Setting up effective monitoring and control mechanisms must go hand-in-hand with the process of delegation. The basic goal should be to help one's team members grow from being dependent to being independent.

Offer your feedback

The classic rule that works when offering feedback is to give the positive review first and the negative review later. Never mince your words, a direct approach is always better and will help you gain the respect of your team. Again, while you must always give a pat on the back in public, it's better to offer criticism in private.

Negative feedback is crucial as it helps individuals develop. "Focus on helping the person understand the issue at hand, how it developed, and how she can address it more effectively," advises Shirali. However, the choice of words plays an important role, and one must ensure that the message is conveyed without being offensive. At all times, remember that you're playing the role of a mentor in your position as the boss.

Learn to listen

There is a clear distinction between hearing and listening. To be an effective listener one needs to suspend judgement in order to look at the matter in an objective light. As a leader, you must curb the desire to pre-empt the conversation in order to prove your point.

Always allow the team to speak out first. While on the one hand it will provide you time to think and formulate your thoughts about the issue, it will also help them vent their feelings. It assures the team that they will be heard before a decision is taken and will help them trust the final decision.

Set examples

A boss must set benchmarks for her team. "There is no 'how' involved with setting examples," says Sethi. "You simply take up the responsibility of the delegated tasks not performed well." Bosses, who take only the praise for jobs done well and try to pass on the buck to juniors for all that is not done well, lose their credibility with the team very soon.

There is no substitute to 'walk the talk'. If you are not ready to follow a rule, rest assured that the others will follow the precedent. "I fill in my leave forms and put my thumb imprint on bio-metric attendance just like my junior colleagues. Ultimately, a good boss is one who is not over and above his team," says Garg.

Cultivate team chemistry

Team chemistry can be developed only when you work as a part of the team. "A boss who orders things around and wants the teammates to clean up the mess created by her fails to cultivate any kind of chemistry in her team," says Garg. Listening to the team, asking for their inputs and constantly mentoring the team are some of the time-tested methods to develop team chemistry.

A major issue most leaders face is whether to interfere or not when a conflict within the team arises. According to experts, if the conflict is trivial, it's better that you stay out of it as a boss. However, if it is big enough to affect the unity of your team, then you need to listen to both parties individually before you step in to manage the problem or make a judgement.
Perhaps the American poet Robert Frost understood that the top of the pyramid is only a single point when he said, "being the boss anywhere is lonely." But with a little effort you can make this climb easier, mentor new leaders on your way and yield better results along with your team.