One of my resolutions for the year 2019 was to read more books as compared to last year. This year till date, I have read around 15-20 books in different genres – An Autobiography, Fiction, Psychology and Human Behavior and Nutrition.
The topic of this blog is about the lessons that I have learned after reading some of these books.
- 5 people you meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
About the Book: The story is about Eddie – A man in his late 80’s working as a maintenance man for one of the rides at an amusement park. It is about Eddie’s journey of self-discovery in heaven (he dies while saving a young girl at the amusement park) as he meets 5 people who were closely associated with him when he was still alive.
Learning :
Perspective: All the 5 people Eddie meets in the Heaven narrate about the interaction with him from their perspective (while Eddie was alive, he looked at those incidents only from his perspective). Every incident or conversation has a different perspective. Looking at an incident from the 2nd or 3rd person perspective is key to being non-judgmental and unbiased in our interactions and build better relationships
Forgive and Let Go: While Eddie was alive, he was bitter about his father, from his childhood to his death. It is only when he is in the Heaven , he realizes the truth about him. His Father was a victim of his circumstances. It made me think of the resentment and anger we hold against people, is it worth it ?. The quote by Ruby Pier, the third person that Eddie meets sums it up, “Holding anger is a poison”.
- Zen in Martial Arts by Joe Hyams
About the book: Joe Hyams shares his experience of getting better at Martial Arts under the guidance of respected Masters such as Ed Parker and Bruce Lee. He reveals as to how The Zen principle can not only be applied to Martial Arts, but also our day to day life.
Learning :
Power of Visualization. The fact that the mind and body are connected has been proved with the help of several experiments – In the chapter, ‘Confident Seeing’, the writer shares his experience and learning on the power of visualization. He realizes that most of the successful athletes use this system. In Bruce Lee’s words,“The mind is like a fertile garden, it will grow anything you wish to plant—beautiful flowers or weeds. And so it is with successful, healthy thoughts or with negative ones that will, like weeds, strangle and crowd the others. Do not allow negative thoughts to enter your mind for they are the weeds that strangle confidence.”
The story of karate instructor Sam Brodsky, on how he used the power visualization to miraculously heal his ‘displaced fracture’ in 10 weeks (as compared to 12 months as stated by the Doctor) is one of my favorites and strengthens my belief into this process.
- Ikigai -The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles.
About the book: The authors Hector and Francesc conducted close to 100 interviews in Ogimi, Okinawa, to understand the secret behind leading a healthy and fulfilling life of eldest members of the community. ‘Ikigai’ is about finding a purpose and leading a fulfilling life.
If I had to define Ikigai in a nutshell, then it is A reason to jump out of bed each morning!
Learning: The meaningful statements made by the eldest members about their life philosophy. Here are a few of those statements :
- Don’t Worry
- Cultivate good habits
- Nurture your friendships every day
- Live an unhurried life
- Be optimistic
- Celebrate all the time, even small things
- Be passionate about everything we do
- Be busy
- Man’s search for meaning by Viktor Frankl
About the Book : Victor Frankl was a psychologist and neurologist practicing in Vienna. A holocaust survivor (arrested for being a Jew during the Nazi Regime) – this book is based on his experience in the concentration camp. Victor Frankl’s ‘Logotherapy’ (a branch of psychology) is based on the premise that man’s primary motivational source is to find meaning in life.
Learning :
Better Understanding of ‘Logotherapy’. I was introduced to the concept of ‘Logotherapy’ in the book’ Ikigai’. Logotherapy is a branch of psychology. ‘Logos’ means ‘Reason’ in Greek. This branch of psychology is about the future (as compared to other branches of psychology). I believe that Logotherapy has similarities with Coaching. It is about constructing the future, finding intent and purpose in what we do.
We always retain the ability to choose our attitude. One of the observations of Victor Frankln based on the experience at the Concentration Camp was that in extreme circumstances, we can choose what we want to become. The external environment/people/situation can take away everything away from us except our attitude and we always have the inner-freedom to decide our attitude.
Here is one of the most powerful quotes from the book:
“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts, comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.“
- Women and Weight Loss Tamasha by Rujuta Diwekar
About the Book:In her second book, Rujuta talks about women and their various life stages, their typical diet patterns and health issues. The book provides information about women’s health and fitness and overall well-being.
Learning :
This book provided immense insights on matters related to health and well-being. Here are a few things I learnt and have been practising:
- Eat freshly cook food
- Don’t starve, Eat well – in small quantity every 2-3 hours.
- To follow our grandmother’s diet/ lifestyle.
- To listen to our stomach because it will tell us when to stop
- Exercise regularly
- Learn to respect our body
- Being skinny doesn’t mean healthy
- Stay away from crash diets
- Make work out regime essential
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I hope you found it useful. For articles on Coaching and NLP, do read my previous articles.
Here is wishing all my readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
One Response
Great insights, loved reading.