The underachievers' club

Hardwork we fear not, for we toil night and day,
Subordination of interests, forgoing all the play,
None for breakfast, for dinners sometimes a Sub,
Little do we achieve, we're The Underachiever's club

Sometimes we miss a point, perhaps a whole page,
Sitting in the dark work fuming with rage,
Perhaps what we do is not how it's done,
Hours put in relentlessly churning the sun.

Peace of mind, we say, is what we live for,
Exhaustion sinks in, on the psyche takes a toll,
The work still remains let alone appreciation,
The world shrinks in, remains only villainous trepidation.

We lose sleep over things left undone,
Dissatisfied, incompetent, eyes better unopened,
But the dawn must break, so must we,
Brave that we are, we start, resilience the key.

And then there's a tomorrow

The eyes have grown tired
Though the fire's still awake
Inquisitive I aspire
Today may not be the day

The todays are busy
Living in the moment we say
The exercises far too many
For bread we must pay

The muscles are flexed and raw
They ache a little too
Where's the fun without a challenge
Say bring it on, will do

We'll struggle again today
For battles we must fight
The trials and tribulations
Will throw the right light

The mistakes must be made
The lessons to be learnt
The fire must be played with
And fingers must be burnt

Experience we must all
The present day's fruits
The deep hidden disappointments
What's false and what's the truth?

And then there's a tomorrow
This was just today
The things I thought were done for good, will be done again

Tomorrow a new day
A day none have seen
a day I would never miss
Ain't a night I wouldn't dream.

Don’t LABEL me, for it might be true!

What is a label? So common, it seems pointless to ponder over a small and seemingly insignificant word. It is how you identify. It is the way you organize the huge stock of files in your brain. The brain automatically labels something as good, bad, healthy, ugly, satisfying, repelling or as a must to have. It almost comes naturally to us. Without labels we can’t really work the way we work today. It helps us not get into the frenzy of analyzing each and every minute detail and underwrite the basis of classification. So why the big fuss about labels? Let’s just ponder for a minute. Is the means with which you label, accurate? Is it really how you have to organize? Are you sure of the category that you put “A” in?

Labeling creates a rule in our mind. A thumb rule, if you will. A rule that says John cannot draw. So what do you think John feels when he gets to know of this label? It steals from him the idea of even considering that he can ever draw. It is imposed as a rule on him. Now if John is a 25-ish who is a well read, mature person he’d know better than to believe the label he’s been stamped upon. If John is an 8 year old kid who just likes to go nuts with his crayons he might not care and go on scribbling like there’s no tomorrow. But what if the only way John can understand of his capabilities or potential capabilities is by the way people close to him respond? It brings a tremendous block in his brain that says “Road blocked in case you are thinking of drawing, and PS: you are terrible at it” Now here’s a problem. Also, isn’t other people’s feedback a very essential form of recognition and evaluation for us. John may have the potential but the people judging him may lack the skill to understand John’s abilities. John may be not great at drawing but it might give him the freedom of expression, the breathing space that he needs. The solitary time where he needs to think, needs to get his creative side juiced up.

So, it’s easy for Mrs. Thomson to say “oh, well, John is no good in drawing, he just keeps scribbling his crayons, let’s try to get him to dance, maybe he’ll get that”. So what do you think Mrs. Thomson’s words mean? It’s probably true for all adults who have to either raise or manage or work with kids. They might not say it out loud but these thoughts do at some level affect the decision making process. And this is true not only for kids. Any organization you go and ask any employee to give an informal intro about another, you’ll get a different story from everybody. In the end it’ll be like nobody knows anybody here and that just might be true. We tend to be more discerning, less caring and on our guards, when it comes to work place. Our opinion about somebody is more often than not based upon situations where the other person might have either kept his cool (due to altogether different reason) or lost his temper (due to reason not at all relevant in the context) and based on that you judge him/her.

It’s hard but not impossible really, to think about all the things that the other person might have done in the past and then judge him. He might have helped you out numerous times, at times, without even letting you know but you might still be basing your judgment on the argument you had last night about a particular plan or presentation that you failed to execute. So what happens next? This person once so helpful & co-operative suddenly gives you the cold shoulder.

If John is labeled as bad at, say, Math, whether it may or may not be the truth, it might become the truth. John, labeled bad at Math will start believing in it and he might end up doing worse than what he could have possibly done. So isn’t label a form of appreciation or the other way round, really?

That means just by appreciating someone you have the power to help him perform better. Isn’t it probably the simplest way to enhance performance? Just imagine what great power each of us has. Great leaders possibly understand this. The same is true for criticism and complain t too. To quote the secret “Thos who speak of abundance -  have it. Those who complain a lot about the bad things in their lives – have it.”

                With such great power in such a simple thing as appreciation, I really wonder what else is in store. Inquisitiveness is the key.

You're not the one

I thought I had made it

I thought we had that spark

I thought I knew what I felt & need

Thought it would be you

But you turned out so different

Different than I had imagined

The  accommodating me it was

up the walls you have me drivin

I thought there was just a difference

A simple matter of point of view

It might still be true but now

I can't see the choice that's you

I take a step forward, a step away from you

Choosing a different path is the same as wanting a different you

But the you in you I respect

I can't let down either

The me in me I can't avoid

The me's freedom I desire

It never really took off

I saw it coming the morrow's mire

The whispering little voice in me

Set my goals a little higher

Ahead we move now

Towards more exciting times

The one is waiting somewhere

But mistakes dozen a dime.

One thousand Dreams

In this world of sensible people,
I'm just a fool for my dreams,
But little did you then understand,
The dream was you and me.

one of 1000 got shot down
That can't make me back down
It just singed my feathers a bit
Unbeknownst to me, I move on.

Ahead for greater experiences,
The one that will sway my way
The degrees with subtle nuances
And the knowledge that's here to stay

I run and I fly, in greater skies
I achieve; great things understood
Then why does the memory of dream number 1
Haunt me under the hood?

I ignore it and live happily after,
The forever lost somewhere
There feels a void that I can't avoid
In the lower quarters of my chest

How can my first dream of dreams
Of one thousand surpass the rest?
When the burden of one falls so heavily
The onus falls on the rest.

I ignore it once again, I tell myself,
All dreams are not meant to be
Be happy in what most would never dream
Make peace with destiny

Forward I move, clueless, astray
Hoping someday I’ll find my sun
That someday I might see the light
To the dream, my dream number one.

At war with me

The good luck is not good enough;
The bad luck can’t get worse,
The me’s what I’m beginning to hate,
This me’s quite absurd

The world’s strangely united when;
The whole world thinks I’m wrong
It curbs the rising fire within,
At me when it storms

I take it head on;
No doubt I’ll stand my ground,
But the ground shakes and breaks,
I’m not so strong after all.

The depths I begin to explore, an endless search in abyss,
The clouds of doubt and guilt make me feel amiss

Nobody understands,
is what I told myself
The one that broke all threads of trust,
Is the one I don’t deserve.

The one I’m talking about,
Is the one I know best
Or rather thought I did,
This one’s myself.

How can I plan or trust,
Or work or understand,
Which words can I use,
When I don’t know what I can

Steady this won’t be easy, this will take a while
With a little practice at the game, taking out more time
My brain will be trained; I can then spit my flow,
This hand will obey the master, excellence it will show

Then he rose, the poor boy, who got told off by the world,
He found his swagger, flamboyance, by all he’s adored

I'm Just Me

We started out young, we rowed alongside
we bowed to the greats, with hope they guide,
the practice done, the shackles they breakfree
transformed they appear, but I'm still me

The doubt apparent, my silence betrays
when I'm done mulling they look away
they're hailed and commended, a job i can see
I can't put my finger on it, I'm just me

found safety in the crowd, tension at bay
the doubt of direction I fail to convey
the seeds i failed to see, arriere pensee
Can't blame anybody, 'cause I'm just me

I seem to understand them and their disdain
They are what I thought, with them I acquaint
They're not wrong for that's the way to be
But I'm still different, but then I'm just me

They're just them, cold and prejudiced
Respected they're biased enough to do this
Refuse to see the tail below head, underneath
They try to prove they're right, but I'm still me

I almost believe the face I see,
But I can see the wheels turning
Inside they're heads they're cunning
I can see through but smile, as I'm just me

Now they're great, glory to thee
They are content, in the place to be
I'm still looking, for answers I seek
discontent, lost, unbiased i sink deep
But I don't lose hope, sense prevails idiocy
I tread pondering, for I'm only me.