Extrinsic motivation is easy, you just have to do what other people tell you, and you can feel that you are satisfied by doing that… But if ever your extrinsic motivation fails you, then you will have to look inside yourself for motivation… And that might not be the easiest thing if your main experience is with extrinsic motivation… You will need to learn to reward yourself for whatever it is that you do, and that seems a bit fake to me…

Intrinsic motivation is what separates the machines from the humans, the juice stall employee from the philosophers, the masses from the enlightened… I would go so far as to say that if you don’t have intrinsic motivation, your life is not worth living… If everything you do is to get praise from others, then what value is there in your life???

Obviously I wouldn’t say this if I was very extrinsically motivated… But the truth is, although I am very intrinsically motivated, I do not have any strong intrinsic convictions or goals… I’ve got a whole list of things that I don’t care about in life, but I haven’t quite found what I do want to accomplish… I’m searching, of course. I quit my job in Pune because I realized it was not motivating me at all, and I decided that working for society for a while is a better match with my intrinsic goals… I still don’t know what those goals are!!! For the moment I’ve put in two placeholders: travelling and learning…

Why traveling??? Because new experiences will open your mind to new ideas, new concepts, that you would never get if you stayed at home… The Travel & Living Channel on your TV is not a substitute, you actually have to go somewhere to experience it… Travelling is not an end goal for me, but I believe I will get a better understanding of the world by travelling, and as such it should help me to figure out what I want to eventually do with my life…

Why learning??? Learning is rather generic… Very practically speaking, when I think about learning, I am thinking about learning new programming languages, new frameworks, new techniques… It is the niche that I am quite comfortable in and in which I can learn new things the fastest and with the least amount of frustration… The other side of learning is actually trying out new things that I know nothing about, like scuba diving, starting a company or investing in stocks…

Some people I know are very extrinsically motivated… But most people I know do have some level of intrinsic motivation… And most of them don’t know what it is that motivates them either… I wonder if people who are both truly intrinsically motivated and know what it is that drives them, are happier than people who are completely extrinsically motivated… Or one might rephrase that as: are stupid people happier than smart people??? Probably they are…

I haven’t posted my thoughts on this blog for a while, but reading about extrinsic and intrinsic motivations made me realize something…

We all come across the latter ones sometime or the other in our lives… From high school, from work, who does not seem like he/she has gained self-awareness… They know how to make decisions for themselves, they know what’s going on around them, yet they behave like zombie not caring about anything in there lives… They are in school because they have to be in school or they are at work because they have to be at work… They will get married because they happen to know a boy/girl for a long time… Life will kick them around like a football and they would not even realise it… I know some of these people. These people are working at cash registers, unable to figure out what to do if a product doesn’t scan… These people are programmers who, after being shown a new programming language, tell their boss that they need an official training course to learn the language, and then still cannot figure it out… Brainless…

I always try to be positive about other people, but even after knowing some people for years and years they don’t change… The easiest way to find out if people are zombies or real people is to have a conversation with them about life, their goals, and what they want out of life… If they haven’t really thought about it, or if they can only see one path, that’s a bad sign… I generally try to elicit responses from people that can only be made by humans, but sometimes people I talk to really don’t pass the Turing test…

Is being a brainless zombie a problem??? No it isn’t. Most brainless zombies I know are perfectly happy… Probably more happy than other people I know… Still, I wouldn’t want to be one… I’d rather use my brain to the max than let it rot away…

This XKCD comic probably describes this post the best…

Life changes every minute of every day. You lose friends. You gain friends. You realize your friend wasn’t ever really your friend, and that person you used to hate can make a really good friend. You look for love. You find love. You lose love. You realize all long that you’ve been loved. You laugh. You cry. You laugh so hard that you cry. You do this, you do that. You really wish you hadn’t done that. You then learn from that and are glad that you did. You have your ups. You have your downs. You see good movies. You see bad movies. You wonder if your life is just one big movie. You look at others and wish you were them. You then realize who they are and are glad that you’re you. You love life. You hate life. In the end you just find yourself happy to be living life, no matter what’s thrown at you.

Many changes are taking place in my life these days… After leaving job in Pune, things changed for the better… Working for an International Organization as a Technical Consultant is quite exciting and really challenging… I”m enjoying it a lot… It keeps me busy when I’m not preparing for CAT… Also helps widen my social network, aswell as improve communication skills…

Would write more when i get some break from my job… Till then Cheers.. :)

Someone once said… “Everything is meaningless. Completely meaningless!”

What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

So what is it that drives us to do while we live here??? For most it is self-recognition, pleasure of seeking thrills that chase the boundless limits of excitement… But do we ever truly go after it??? Yaa sometimes that temporary high from a particular pleasurable moment feels great.. but that also fades away like the morning dew… Like the latest must have hi-tech gadget that’s sure to please, or the 4th marriage that just has to be the greenest grass yet, or the drug induced (pick your chemical) high or a child’s toy tossed over in time… What’s the difference between all these???

The answer is extremely simple… “looking for external stimuli to facilitate inward happiness…” Yet is it possible that any worldly stimuli would ever satitate your soul with limitless joy??? Has this world ever given anything that would last forever??? So is it that we just live to move from one high to another existential high, often with no real meaning another that self gratification??? And then we die… Why does any of this matter then???

What if instead of looking for external joy we looked inward fo that everlasting joy which has meaning and purpose??? That’s where our true soul exists… A soul that has been given the freedom of choice… How you use this choice will determine your destiny… The wisest of all men after seeking all the vainglorious wiles the world offers, profoundly stated “Vanity of Vanities, All is Vanity”… So one should learn from this and should seek no more emptiness that this world has to offer rather look into ones self for joy n happiness… Vanity can destroy a person but can also push him to become a better human being…

Looking back at those times now I realize that there was always someone there offering me suggestions when they saw that my structure was destined to fall… But I always refused there suggestions… and after sometime my structure would come crashing down… What strikes me now is that I act in the same way when it comes to life in a general… I know its not just me but majority of us do this in our lives… We act like kids when it comes to the way we “build our lives.”

You need a plan to build a house… To build a life, it is even more important to have a plan or goal… ~ Hilary Hinton

How many times are we so determined with what we’re set out to do that we just rush past other opportunities??? How many times are we so sure that we know what we’re doing that we tackle it without seeking anyone’s guidance??? With our limited vision, we may fail to see something else that we should do instead… How many times, after we’ve done things our way, do we look at our lives and not like the way it looks??? Perhaps we’ve become something we don’t really want to be… How many times have we refused to listen to others who try to help, or failed to follow basic instructions, because we wanted to do it our way??? Then, we later watched as everything tumbled down around us…

It’s not until everything is crumbled at our feet that we will stop trying to do it our way and look for help… In doing this we forget the basics of why we are after something… We try to strive so hard that we forget its not a particular thing we are after but what we are really after is a comfortable life which we enjoy living… For example to gain success in anyway a strong relationship with people around us is always necessary… Also required is a solid foundation of ethics and morals… Such a life is compared to a house built on a rock which can weather the rains, floods, and winds. By contrast, a life not built on this foundation is compared to a house built on the sand which will fall when the storms come…

I still remember that occasionally, I used to listen to my teacher and make changes to my wooden block structure accordingly… Or time when friends used to help out or work together to create something bigger and better than what any of us had imagined… This is the way life is supposed to be!!!

The world is a big place… There are many options, many ways to build a life, but only one is right for each one of us, our own… I’ve come to a place in my existence where I try to make sure my path crosses the paths of people who enrich my life, and leave me wanting to make the world a better place… I pull from these friends and acquaintances whatever knowledge I can, sifting through it to determine what to keep and what to let slip gently back into the world… What pleases me may not please you, and that’s ok… I try to maintain that perspective when giving advice, that which brings me peace may do nothing for you, or it may change your life, either way, it is not my choice, it’s yours…

Despite the wisdom of others, the ultimate and final jury of our own beliefs is ourselves… After all the advice, beyond all the suggestions and demands put upon us by the world around us, we are responsibile individually for living a life worth remembering, or fading quietly into the background… I aim each day to do the former rather than the latter… I fail often… I recognize that, and it’s ok, I get to try again tomorrow, and the next day and the next until that day when I grow cold and die… When that day comes, if I have lived correctly, I will pass on with a grin saying “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish“!!!

Sparing thoughts of reincarnation, we have but one life to live; one opportunity to grow into the person we are each destined to be… The journey is different for everyone, and the journey is more than a way to reach our final destination, it is the story of our lives, each and every one of us… I guess my ultimate point in all of this is to point out that whatever it may be that we are aiming for we all need to strong foundation to build our lives on… To live a life befitting of the greatness that is within each and every one of us, that is the goal, that is the hope, that is the north star I follow…

We would always perceive life and its events differently… And because of this, two entirely similar events may influence two individuals in the exact opposite directions… Persons can usually be associated with one of the traditional temperaments, which are phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine, and melancholic… These temperaments are representative of the four humors; phlegm, yellow bile, blood and black vile respectively… One will view and translate events based upon their own personal temperament… I find myself to be melancholic and in that, I find the most significance in seemingly insignificant events…

During my stay in Pune, once I was working on an office related project late one night… I recollect the project was based on a twitter like application… In my frustration, I asked myself, How important is this application??? This was the first time I had ever asked myself this question… In all the projects prior to this point I had never questioned their importance… In fact, I surprised myself with the answer… At that moment, I realized that this project was completely unimportant and would not effect me or the organization in the long run… Upon this, I began to exam all the events of earlier in the day… I could not find any real meaning in any of these events… Suddenly and horrifically I came to the assumption that not only my life, but life in general was seemingly meaningless in the scheme of the universe…

With this conclusion I came to wonder, is life worth living??? Up until this point I had found meaning in my life… In order to live productively, I understood that I must assign meaning to my life… In accepting this false meaning, I am able to survive… If one could not find any meaning in his life, it would be a depressing life that he would lead and probably seek suicide… When one dies, he is nothing… With death staring one in the face, one might ask himself was life at all important??? If this individual was able to perceive meaning in his life, then the answer will be yes…

Happiness is found in toiling with one’s goals… After completing the project I found happiness in my struggle of completing a meaningless task… Completing this project put me one step closer in my ever-lasting goal of obtaining success… I feel that happiness is found in the effort to reach one’s aspirations… Without happiness life is not worth living…

All are condemned to death… No one knows exactly when the inevitable will come, but everyone knows it is inescapable… Knowing this, it is obviously difficult to ascertain meaning in one’s life, and in knowing this, it is obvious that life is universally meaningless… Life is only bearable if one can find a faux sense of happiness and meaning in his life…

I noticed a unique quality in me couple of days back… I work and understand much better under stress… And that means deadlines are the best example of that… Mostly i finish my work couple of hours before its deadline… Sometimes i may miss it or something.. But eventually you would see that i land up with a code optimized to suit the problem in every way keeping all conditions into consideration…

So the moral of this is that if you want to get anywork done from me… Don’t give me more than a couple of days for it… Because I will be chilling out most of the days and would start working only a day before the deadline… Believe it or not!!!

It’s not about laziness or neglect, It is all about the awesomeness of “Can I do that or not!!!” not a challenge with anybody but its like “Don’t complicate things”.

I used to hear one of my friends saying “I am going to home now to complete my work and hand it over” and when I ask him about the deadline he says “Ahhh, Next week!!” you can notice stress and depression on his face!!! Damn it!!! You are going to solve that “work” for the next week??? Okay, go solve it but why stress and depression??? Chill up dude…

Its nice to manage your time but you shouldn’t put yourself under all these things at once… I am not a wise man but I still think that I can feel what is good and what is bad… Always remember, you cannot eat Cherry in winter, everything has its own time… ;)

We are so used to seeing the world through our eyes, we didn’t try to see it in a new way… Its usually good but mostly hard… The point of happiness is not easy as we knew it… I have to admit, its seriously hard especially these days, many people are waiting your success and the rest of them are waiting you to fail… Not because they have some animosity for you but because you and them are fighting to get the same chance… So never give them your chance easily and at the same time don’t be selfish…

I am living life taking the best out of it “as much as possible” and seeking happiness everywhere, maybe happiness is hard now but I could work and manage to get it somehow or the other eventually, It must be mine, because I truly deserves it… Sometimes its hard to guess what is the idea of happiness, is it about money, health, education or future??? I do believe that its NOT all about money… Money can give you what makes you happy and thats the truth but SATISFACTION is something money can never give.. Nothing can change it because its clear as summer’s sun…

Actually, I have to stop taking life easily as I used to do… I understand what life means but I think that my happiness was just a black scarf, beautiful but keeps me going as a blind man!!! For goodness sake, why do I have eyes??? They are connected to my mind and heart because what I see shapes my mind and heart, feelings and ideas everywhere…

“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch“

Everyone is after seeking happiness and it doesn’t matter what type of it because it doesn’t really matter!!! I want to keep in mind that I am going to fight and climb mountains to reach my goal… I believed and I still do that life has no mercy, nothing comes for free or easily… You gotta be strong to continue with life’s rhythm…

“The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful.” ~ Dalai Lama

Negative thinking, in all its many-splendored forms, has a way of creeping into conversations and our thinking without our noticing them… The key to success, in my opinion, is learning to spot these negative thoughts and squash them like little bugs… Then replace them with positive ones…

I come across many Negative Thinking on a daily basis.. Lets talk about some of them…

You can’t do anything right! Why can’t you be like <What’sHisName>???
Firstly, one should never compare two people, it is always a fallacy… People are different, with different ways of doing things, different strengths and weaknesses, different human characteristics… If we are not like robots…
Second, saying negative things like this to another person never helps the situation… It might make you feel better, and more powerful, but in truth, it hurts your relationship, it will actually make you feel negative, and it will certainly make the other person feel negative and more likely to continue negative behaviour… Mind it… Everyone loses!!!

Dammit! Why do these bad things always happen to me ???
Bad things happen to everybody… If we dwell on them, they will frustrate us and bring us down… so just GET OVER IT!!!

I don’t think I can do this — I don’t have enough <WHATEVER>… Maybe some other time…
If you don’t think you can do something, you probably won’t… Especially for the big stuff… Your reasons have nothing to do with it.. Motivation and focus has everything to do with it… And if you put stuff off for “some other time”, you’ll never get it done… Remember negative thinking like this inhibits us from accomplishing anything…

I’m going to beat <What’sHisName> no matter what — I’m better than him. And there’s no way I’ll help him succeed — he might beat me…
Competitiveness assumes that there is a small amount of gold to be had, and you need to get it before anyone does… It makes us into greedy, back-stabbing, hurtful people… We try to claw our way over people to get to success, because of our competitive feelings… Learn to see success as something that can be shared, and learn that if we help each other out, we can each have a better chance to be successful…

I am a miserable failure — I can’t seem to do anything right…
Everyone is a failure, if you look at it in certain ways… Everyone has failed, many times, at different things… I have certainly failed so many times I cannot count them — and I continue to fail, daily… However, looking at your failures as failures only makes you feel bad about yourself… By thinking in this way, we will have a negative self-image and never move on from here… See your successes and ignore your failures…

Facebook is extremly popular these days… It is a website where you can socialize with other people and look at posts of other people in which they tell what they are doing etc… But as some people have realized, its more than just a popular social network site… It exists everywhere and it’s penetrating to every inch of our space and our life… I see people browsing Facebook in the cafe,  my colleagues playing Facebook games during office hour, friend greeting each other by inviting friends to add them in their Facebook. It has became everyone’s habit to on their Facebook or browsing the site from time to time… Browsing Facebook has became one of the favourite past time…

People  like to share everything in Facebook… The party photos immediately available in Facebook for friends to view right after you reach home from the party… Every video you watch, you share it here… You tag your friend and feel excited when photo of you being tagged… You can visit the sites for hours by just browsing through friend’s message and updates and you multi task by switching from games to games… ;) You indulge in another world of you and other friends provided by Facebook…

There are over 300 million users worldwide, half of whom log on to the site every day…. Further, about 2 billion photos and 14 million videos are uploaded on various Facebook pages a month and about 6 billion minutes are spent on Facebook a day, worldwide…

Don’t overlook this Facebook addiction… One day you will realize how emotionally you are attached to Facebook when your feeling of uneasy and lost presence during the absence of Facebook for perhaps only one day…