I had written in Jan 2014, on being happy in 2014 and ever after. I went back and looked at it and refreshed my list to keep up with changing times and wisdom, though 95% of the items in the list remain same. 2014 was extra kind to me, and there are so many things that I am thankful for. So, I thought I would summarize ’14 of them’ too. I have started the 2015 with a viral fever and sore throat (thanks to street side pani puri adventure) but now on track to recover, to kick start my business day @ Cigniti on Monday

I know definition of happiness varies to person to person and is often classified or equated to state of mind too.   Each one of us become happy for unique reasons that matters to us, and is often said to come from within. Though reasons for happiness seems to be abstract, and sometimes elusive, there seems to be some proven ways to make you happier, and they can be done starting today (though today “Jan 1” is just a reference point we humans have created, and there is no meaning for Jan 1, in the original or my own definition of time & space).   Like some wise man (or woman) said, you may not be able to go back and change how have you started to get where you are today, but you can definitely change where you are likely to end by small changes in your thought process

Some of the proven ways of being happy (not listed in the any particular order) that I keep hearing and my thoughts about the same:

1. “Stay in the current moment” – Little difficult than it appears
2. “Spend money on others, rather than / including yourselves” – Gift a smile to someone in your ecosystem by helping them in need or use 3^rdparty avenues to find someone who needs it.   If everyone takes care of ‘folks in need’ within their ecosystem, we will have a very different world today
3. “Being in gratitude”  – Count your blessings.  You will be surprised that you have so much of stuff you ever want or need. This does not mean that you not aim for greater things in life. Being “attached” and ‘detached’ at the same is an art to be learnt
4. “Appreciate good in others” – Believe me, there is lot of it out there in the people around us. We fret / sweat on trivial stuff which really does not matter. Do take time to nourish relationships and ‘really know’ the folks around you
5. “Change how you look at past/present/future” – Yes, it is doable and is very easy to do.  Simple way for being happy. Does not cost much either. Don’t over analyze every minutia in life
6. “Exercise a little”  – 30 minutes a day would do good too and easy to find this much time.  Also while you do this, do practice little healthy living to do.  Practice little balance/sanity and do not do overdo, if being vegetarian/non-smoker/non-alcoholic is end of the world for you
7. “Do a bit of meditation” – This seems very boring, but is powerful
8. “Spend time outdoors” – No brainer, and gives you some time for self-introspection too. So, this is pretty self-explanatory.  Get some Vitamin D too, while you do this. If you are mandate to travel outside home, take it as an opportunity to learn about new regions
9. “Find your ‘enough’ index little early in life” – This is tough.  If you figured this one out, my “Jai Ho” to you.  We always seem to be chasing elusive moving target. Depends upon where you are today in the current phase of you life, you might want to tone down your ‘enough’ index and start relishing what you already have
10. “Spend more time with your family” – If the goal of your goal(s) is to achieve happiness / peace (which is we all go after, right?) for your family, and if you are sacrificing the same thing in the process of achieving those goals, then is it really worth going after that goal?   Begin to think about this.

As I said, 2014 was extra kind to me, and there are so many things that I am thankful for. So, I thought I would summarize ’14′ of them (which I had blogged and there are so many which I did not write about) too here with full stories being hyperlinked for your reading pleasure.  It is not so easy to stay away from the family and being on the road. However, I did my best to explore the new regions, make new friends, understand new cultural nuances, make best of so many new business contacts to create new business opportunities for Cigniti

1. Celebrating Parent’s 50^th wedding anniversary and travelling around Australia with them (and sky diving along with my 18 year old).  I pray, that is is not a once in a life time event.
2. Speaking at Leading Testing Conferences such as NSTC London inside British Museum (awesome place), and @ IQNITE 2014 in Melbourne
3. Experiencing Cigniti on the rise which grew exponentially with 2014 being the defining year, performing Talent hunt @ Tapmi, Celebrating Cignival 2014, Conducting Inner Harmony & Outer Dynamism event as part of Women’s Day and helping Cigniti expand in new territories and being part of strategic wins for Cigniti
4. Photographing Agumbe Snakes & other Reptiles as part of Rainforest tour just one hour flight away from home
5. Celebrating key Indian Festivals such as Dasara, Diwali, Ugadhi, Ganesh, Rakhi, Sankranti, and even Holi with Family in India, unlike 2013 where I was on the road for most festivals
6. Meeting Legendary Lyricist in Dallas and awesome personal rendezvous
7. Spending a day with an IT Farmer and gaining so much appreciation on what it takes to grow food
8. Exploring some more of UK via Cambridge University, Immersive Theatre, Bicycle ride around London, Shakespeare Globe Theater, shooting Light Trails in London, and world of Harry Potter  all during business weekends
9. Travelling around New Zealand and Driving around the Bay in Wellington, NZ
10. Most importantly driving on Great Ocean Road in Melbourne, Australia and exploring Sydney and meeting new business contacts in the regions
11. Travelling around Middle East region Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat and being astonished on what I found there, both on personal and business front (and what it takes to close new business in this region)
12. Watching ‘out of the box’ movies like Interstellar, PK, Nenonokkidne, etc
13. Decide to move into my own villa 369 and getting a possession of elusive Hill County Apartments
14. Fun blogging on most caloried Dosas in town Govind Dosa, and Dosa @ Devil’s Hour, yet still promoting Ayurvedic Cooking

Where are my readers coming from ?

Word Press says that I have readers from 95 countries. I hope more than 50% of them are humans, and not some autobots clicking the random links 🙂

 

Few Key Moments of 2014 (not in any particular order).  There are so many to list here

 

 

Cignival

Women’s Day @ Cigniti

Cigniti Strategy Meeting during Super Bowl Weekend

Testopia @ Cigniti