How’s this for a contradiction!
People often say, “I love food! I could never go on a diet.” I used to one of these people. When well-meaning and not so well-meaning acquaintances suggested I should try a diet, I bristled. And shut them up with my favourite Garfield quote – “diet is ‘die’ with a ‘t’.” Any one will beat a hasty retreat when you accuse them of trying to kill you!
Yet, the stubborn food lover was forced to re-evaluate when health concerns made my weight the culprit. Terrified, I stood on the scale and agreed to lose 20 kilograms, even if I didn’t know how I was going to do it.
Like all diet-haters, I had built up my impressions of starvation & extreme diets. Since I was taking this path to better my health, losing my health along the way was definitely not to be considered. I decided I would take it slow, gradually increasing my exercise routine and phasing out the ‘bad’ foods till I reached my target.
Three things saved me and kept me on my diet –
1. The high-metabolism plan – eating small meals every 2-3 hours means I spend more time planning meals and thinking about food than I did before.
2. The discovery that giving up calories doesn’t mean giving up taste – healthy food really does taste good! And your food habits can & do evolve! My comfort craving used to be pepperoni pizza, now its poached eggs. And I actually prefer the taste of multi-grain bread to white bread.
3. Scheduled cheating – I allow myself to cheat on my diet occasionally. The only rules are not more than once a week and a limit on quantity. This ensures that I don’t entertain the ‘deprived victim’ mentality, which can lead to the vicious cycle of unhindered bingeing and relentless guilt.
I’m still a few kilograms away from my target, but I’m feeling more energetic and healthy. And I’m still a foodie. I just don’t know which kind of food I love more – the sinful calorie-rich stuff which I get once a week or the simple wholesome stuff that I get to eat every day.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
YOUR JOB OR YOUR LIFE
Someone recently told me that a job is just a job – “it shouldn’t infringe on your life.” I have heard this or versions of this statement many times over. It is usually said by the kind of people who have their lives in perfect balance (i.e. have ‘made it’ to wherever ‘it’ is) or older people reminiscing about an earlier strictly 9 to 5 world or people who have never officially worked a day in their lives.
Regardless of who says it, being the recipient of this statement usually leaves me disoriented for considerable time. Why? Well, it’s because my response usually is, “what life?”
Yes, it’s true!
When I first started working I did have other interests. I knew what the latest music was, was aware of current events and had opinions on the latest movies, books, exhibitions, plays, etc. Yet, I was convinced that to advance my career, I had to ‘sacrifice’. I heard stories from senior colleagues about nights & weekends spent in the office which somehow had me convinced that whenever the situation arose, I would have to man up and do the job.
And my friends didn’t seem to have it any different. At least, when I worked late I actually had work to do. My friends had stories of having to stay in office without work just so they wouldn’t be seen to leave before the boss. What’s more, they sometimes went to work on weekends only to show their faces, thus displaying their strong commitment to the company.
Whenever we managed to meet, we all griped about this. This is not the way to live. We should put our foot down. As long as the work gets done, we should not have to give up our evening’s entertainment or night’s sleep. We would resolve to change this but when we went back to work, we never quite got up the courage. What if they fire me? There are plenty of people willing to work like this – they’ll get ahead and I’ll be left behind!
A few years later and I’m beginning to wonder if this was true or was I participating in some kind of mass self-delusion? The truth is that when something is pressing, we always manage to make time for it. Our jobs seem so important to us that they are given priority over all the other things we claim to care much more deeply for – our families, our friends and our passions. Is this really what some unspoken corporate morality is forcing us to do or is it a rationalization for those of us who define ourselves more by our jobs than any by any other parameter?
Think about it. When we meet new people, we no longer first ask ‘where are you from?’ Instead, our first question is ‘what do you do?’ It’s as if we believe that the choice (or compulsion) of a job is the best indicator of who the person is. And this is the same standard we are applying to ourselves.
While I ponder this, I also feel that it seems to be too late to get a life. If I have the energy to do anything once I leave the office, I’m not aware of it! If I get a weekend off, I only want to catch up on my sleep deficit. Even a movie seems like a perfect waste of 3 good hours. And as for writing this blog – it feels like therapy and it might just help me get a little bit better at my job ;)
Regardless of who says it, being the recipient of this statement usually leaves me disoriented for considerable time. Why? Well, it’s because my response usually is, “what life?”
Yes, it’s true!
When I first started working I did have other interests. I knew what the latest music was, was aware of current events and had opinions on the latest movies, books, exhibitions, plays, etc. Yet, I was convinced that to advance my career, I had to ‘sacrifice’. I heard stories from senior colleagues about nights & weekends spent in the office which somehow had me convinced that whenever the situation arose, I would have to man up and do the job.
And my friends didn’t seem to have it any different. At least, when I worked late I actually had work to do. My friends had stories of having to stay in office without work just so they wouldn’t be seen to leave before the boss. What’s more, they sometimes went to work on weekends only to show their faces, thus displaying their strong commitment to the company.
Whenever we managed to meet, we all griped about this. This is not the way to live. We should put our foot down. As long as the work gets done, we should not have to give up our evening’s entertainment or night’s sleep. We would resolve to change this but when we went back to work, we never quite got up the courage. What if they fire me? There are plenty of people willing to work like this – they’ll get ahead and I’ll be left behind!
A few years later and I’m beginning to wonder if this was true or was I participating in some kind of mass self-delusion? The truth is that when something is pressing, we always manage to make time for it. Our jobs seem so important to us that they are given priority over all the other things we claim to care much more deeply for – our families, our friends and our passions. Is this really what some unspoken corporate morality is forcing us to do or is it a rationalization for those of us who define ourselves more by our jobs than any by any other parameter?
Think about it. When we meet new people, we no longer first ask ‘where are you from?’ Instead, our first question is ‘what do you do?’ It’s as if we believe that the choice (or compulsion) of a job is the best indicator of who the person is. And this is the same standard we are applying to ourselves.
While I ponder this, I also feel that it seems to be too late to get a life. If I have the energy to do anything once I leave the office, I’m not aware of it! If I get a weekend off, I only want to catch up on my sleep deficit. Even a movie seems like a perfect waste of 3 good hours. And as for writing this blog – it feels like therapy and it might just help me get a little bit better at my job ;)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
I always thought that if I ever killed anyone it would be a taxi driver!
City dwellers all over the world might relate to this frustration – overcharging and reckless endangerment are only part of the problem. Many taxi drivers seem to think that their cabs are buses – they can decide where they want to go and at which point they will condescend to drop you. Add to that a rude abrasive manner and the fact that they seem to disappear magically when it starts to rain!
Seems pretty straight-forward, right? So, where’s the contradiction in that?
Something changed the way I felt about taxi drivers. And that something is this brilliant work by flickerpixanimations called ‘Horn Ok Please’. The story follows a day in the life of a Mumbai city taxi driver and succeeds in showing the world from his point of view.
After seeing this video, my perspective changed dramatically. I now feel empathy for this person, who is struggling against the odds to make it in the big city and has it so much tougher than the passengers he ferries.
So, do I still get angry at taxi drivers – occasionally, yes! But, that irrational homicidal tendency has been replaced by a willingness to see the situation from his point of view and cut him a break, now and then.
Bravo flickerpixanimations! You have changed a small part of the world and saved lives… those of the taxi drivers I might have killed ;)
Seems pretty straight-forward, right? So, where’s the contradiction in that?
Something changed the way I felt about taxi drivers. And that something is this brilliant work by flickerpixanimations called ‘Horn Ok Please’. The story follows a day in the life of a Mumbai city taxi driver and succeeds in showing the world from his point of view.
After seeing this video, my perspective changed dramatically. I now feel empathy for this person, who is struggling against the odds to make it in the big city and has it so much tougher than the passengers he ferries.
So, do I still get angry at taxi drivers – occasionally, yes! But, that irrational homicidal tendency has been replaced by a willingness to see the situation from his point of view and cut him a break, now and then.
Bravo flickerpixanimations! You have changed a small part of the world and saved lives… those of the taxi drivers I might have killed ;)
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