Saturday, April 20, 2013

Think Velocity


On the other day while I was narrating the story of the popular Aesop fable “The Hare and the Tortoise” to my daughter, something sparked in my mind…We all should stop thinking about the speed (Pace)…rather we should think Velocity…What is the difference?

Hmmm…You should know the difference if you had passed the 7th class physics…anyway…here is the refresher, Speed is just the number …like 50 miles/kilometer per hour.  It does not tell in which direction. Velocity is both the number and the direction…50 miles/kilometer per hour towards North.

As you can see now, it does not add an iota of value to your life if you travel so fast  in the wrong direction. Many of us do that…we put our money in the wrong investment…we choose to pursue the education in the wrong field ….We chose the wrong job….and the list is endless. It is high time that we think velocity and not Speed alone..because

Speed is efficiency, Velocity is effectiveness
Speed is Doing the Things right ,Velocity is Doing the right things

You may ask how to get into the mode of velocity…the answer lies in the “ Thinking Time” . When was the last time you had undisturbed thinking time of 10 minutes about your life? You got to form the habit of thinking time ….It could be about your day,about your finance, about your career, about your personal life…whatever that is important to you. Japanese have a culture of “Reflection” (Hansei) built-in their life. This culture is attributed as one of the key reasons for their penchant of continuous improvement  

I have in the recent past trying to form this habit of “focused thinking”. I wake up around 5:45 am (I wish it is 4:00 am) just before the dust for the starts kicking in and just reflect on the happenings the day before and what lies ahead in the day ahead. I record the new stuff on the todoist & form a To Do list based on the priorities. As a self-appraisal, while I am operating only at 10-15% effectiveness, this gives a refreshing feeling at the end of the day when I complete my To Dos…

The highest level of effectiveness is  when all your actions for the day are congruent with the purpose of your life. If you strive for this, Speed does not matter..as long as it is one step after the next

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