365 Exciting Ways to Live - 10

10 / 365 Learn to Breathe Right

For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth.

Sanskrit Proverb

If you observe a new born child breathing, you will realise how we have spoilt our breathing over a period of time! Newborn babies do what is called ‘diaphragmatic breathing’. They inhale fully, pause, and exhale fully. This process makes them healthy.

Today you meet any yoga master. They will explain the scientific reason behind the yogic breathing exercise called ‘pranayama’. In this yoga exercise, we are advised to inhale very fast, hold the air in our diaphragm and exhale very slowly. If you think for a while, you will understand the reason for this process: If the air is retained in the lungs for a longer time, the air is purified in the lungs and the cleaned, richly oxygenated air is absorbed by the blood vessels and is supplied to the brain; a richly oxygenated brain virtually becomes a ‘powerhouse’ giving us the much needed energy to fire us into action.

From today, make it a point to breathe well for fifteen minutes early morning and take advantage of the ozone rich air and watch what happens to your health!

(From my book “365 Exciting Ways to Live”)

N C Sridharan

'365 Exciting Ways to Live' is an ideal gift for any special occasion and a good reading material for supervisory development. You can also gift this book to the school or college you studied....

www.thetimefoundation.com

N.C. Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

365 Exciting ways to live - 9

9 / 365 Use Both Hands

An idle brain is the devil's workshop.

 English Proverb

A few days ago, I suggested left-hand writing as a brain gym exercise. A quick response from a reader that these days we don’t write, but only type! This is good news in fact. Over a period of time, we have become predominantly one-handed. In some cultures, it is a taboo to use the left hand and the left leg. The idea behind the ‘other hand writing’ of the brain gym is to integrate the right and the left hemispheres of the brain by using both hands.

I suggest that you should indulge in any activity, which uses both the hands. When writing we are using only one hand. While typing we use both the hands and thus typing itself is a brain gym exercise! In addition, you can do other activities such as swimming, cooking, playing a stringed or percussion instrument, rowing and yoga, in which you have to use both hands.

Today, pick up an activity which will involve using both hands. Why don’t you start cooking? You will be earning a double benefit!

(From my book “365 Exciting Ways to Live”)

NC Sridharan

'365 Exciting Ways to Live' is an ideal gift for any special occasion and a good reading material for supervisory development. You can also gift this book to the school or college you studied....

www.thetimefoundation.com

 N.C. Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

365 Exciting Ways to Live - 8

8 / 365 Free Writing

You know you've got to exercise your brain just like your muscles.

Will Rogers

In the previous chapter, I talked about the importance of developing the Right Side of the brain and I suggested an exercise. Free writing is another powerful exercise to activate your Right Side of the brain. Free writing means taking a paper and pen and just writing anything that comes to your mind spontaneously. The Right Side of the brain is spontaneous and does not think logically. Hence, when you write whatever that comes to your mind, you are activating the Right Side of your brain.

Today buy a notebook. Ensure that you are not interrupted for the next fifteen minutes; open the first page, take a pen and just write whatever comes to your mind. In the beginning, perhaps you may not write much. But continue to write. Over a period of time words will flow. Don’t look for any meaning or logic while doing this. Just write. Date the page. Do it every day. After six months browse through the pages and you will notice something different!

What are you waiting for? Start today!

(From my book “365 Exciting Ways to Live”) 
N C Sridharan

'365 Exciting Ways to Live' is an ideal gift for any special occasion and a good reading material for supervisory development. You can also gift this book to the school or college you studied....

www.thetimefoundation.com

 N.C. Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

365 Exciting Ways to Live - 6

6 / 365 Make Your Ideas Work for You

Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.

                                                         Napoleon Hill

All of us get ideas. But successful people notice an idea, focus their attention, think about it and arrive at a strategy to give a final shape to the same. Most of us allow an idea to squelch like a water bubble. J.K. Rowling got the idea to write a book when she was traveling in a train from Manchester to London. Look what she has done with Harry Potter series of books!

From today, carry a small pocket book. You can name it anything such as ‘My Idea Book’ or ‘My Future Book’. Whenever you get an idea, just note it down. It is like rainwater harvesting. Once in every week browse through the idea book. Categorise them into three types: crazy ideas, probable ideas and possible ideas. Crazy ideas are those which cannot be put into action. Probable ideas are those which have some potential for implementation. Possible ideas offer more scope to work on. Every month you can have what is called ‘idea of the month’ and work out a detailed plan of action. You may end up with ‘idea of the year’!

Start with today!

(From my book “365 Exciting Ways to Live”) 
N C Sridharan

'365 Exciting Ways to Live' is an ideal gift for any special occasion and a good reading material for supervisory development. You can also gift this book to the school or college you studied....

www.thetimefoundation.com

 N.C. Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

365 Exiting ways to live

5 / 365 Fixed Time Appointments

Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator.

Robert Orben

‘Fixed time appointment’ is a very simple but powerful idea, which should be practiced on a daily basis. We are familiar with the time table habit which we followed when we were in school. The school authorities ensured that we followed a specific schedule everyday, which helped us to read many subjects simultaneously. But many of us do not follow this simple but powerful tool after our school days. Successful people still have a weekly and daily schedule and follow fixed time appointments.

Choose not more than three daily activities that you have to do and fix a time for the same. For example: coffee at 6 a.m.; reading newspaper at 7 a.m; lunch at 1 p.m and dinner at 8 p.m. Try practicing the time discipline for these activities for the next 21 days. If you find it difficult, may be you can reduce the number to not more than two or three. Over a period of time, you will be able to bring many activities in to this time discipline. By this simple method, you will fall into a self discipline.

Start this from today!
NC Sridharan

(From my book “365 Exciting Ways to Live”)

'365 Exciting Ways to Live' is an ideal gift for any special occasion and a good reading material for supervisory development. You can also gift this book to the school or college you studied....

www.thetimefoundation.com

N.C. Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com