A Mindful State
Some people are not as mindful as others.
They… 
- Forget to do things.
- Fail to focus on the work they are doing.
- Are less aware of their surroundings.
Because… 
- Their mind wanders off in another direction frequently.
- They are trying to multitask — do many things at the same time.
- They worry about the future or regret the past too often.
Being mindful can… 
- Give mental clarity.
- Help in learning and working.
- Increase the ability to care for yourself and others.
To maintain a mindful state: 
Take a moment to ask yourself, “Am I doing the most important thing now?”
Don’t rush or multitask. Take small conscious steps.
Observe yourself and your surroundings with a purpose, not stress.
Keep yourself on the mindfulness track.
Score: Zero
Nothing weakens relationships like keeping scores — slowly and steadily building up the pressure to unload one day.
Keeping scores, good or bad, hurts both ways and is like: 
- Saying, “I have done more for you than you have done for me.” in
mind every time you do something for someone.
- Engaging in an argument that no one can win.
- Starting to get mean.
It’s very challenging and difficult to overcome the urge to keep scores.
But it can be done. 
- Close all your existing score books on everyone.
- Don’t open a score card on someone when they give you a raw deal.
- Stop feeling obliged when someone keeps reminding you about a favour.
And if someone is keeping a score on you: 
- Don’t react in the same way.
- Politely ask them to stop.
- Steer clear of them if they fail to make amends.
That being said, don’t become a doormat. Instead of feeling bad about being used, you should openly bring it up on the spot or get over it.
Maybe they or you are not aware of it.
Instead of registering: 
- I give gifts and they haven’t bothered to buy me one, even once.
- I spend on food all the time and they never pay.
- I have sacrificed so much and no one gives me the credit.
Try to: 
- Find if they did make up for it in other ways.
- Suggest, “Let’s all contribute or bring snacks next time.”
- Realise your self-worth and encash on it.
Remember that good people, friends and family will
never remind you of: 
- A favour done by them.
- A favour undone by you.
- A favour to pay off your debt.
They will still be around you even if you can’t do any favours.
Whenever someone reminds me about a score — what they bought or did
for me, I… 
- Thank them the first time.
- Acknowledge the second time.
- Ignore the third time.
And stay away from feeling compelled to oblige.
On the other hand, if I find myself scoring or I’m reminded of doing
it, I delete it.
The Right Option
My thoughts wander about the idea, ‘What if every person left in the middle of night, leaving everything behind just like that to find a greater meaning of life?’
The streets would be empty and the forests full. 
Maybe only the kings or rich can do it. But then there have been poorer sages who did it too.
They had left the world behind to find inner peace and enlightenment, their own true meaning of life.
I think, leaving like this can be a lot harder if you are rich and comfortable in life. The pull to stay attached to worldly pleasures is the strongest then.
It’s the easiest if you have lost all purpose in life, are depressed and dejected.
The long road away looks inviting, adventurous and promises freedom from your misery.
But only the courageous stay put to sort things out, change course or take care of their share of responsibilities.
That being said, if you think your work is done, you are satisfied, have enough energy and mojo left, then you should definitely pay it forward and help others.
Or else hit pause, take time-out to think and find yourself, and come
back stronger.
A reminder to help me choose the right option whenever the time comes.
Not Always Right and Neither Always Wrong
Human mind is vulnerable to its belief system.
When we start thinking that we are right all the time, that we can never be wrong, we start believing that we are invulnerable.
The same way, when we are wrong a few times, we get convinced that we will be wrong the next time.
This overconfidence or under-confidence is due to our belief system swinging to the extremes.
Circumstances, choices and luck plays a big part in bending our mind to believe this.
Neutrality is what we should be aiming for.
Develop a flexible mindset.
If the next step turns out to be right, good. We should not think anything more about it.
If the next step turns out to be wrong, we should course correct for sure but more importantly not make it a part of our belief system that we will always be wrong.
The same way, other people can be right or wrong at times. We should not put them in right or wrong containers.
If you have fallen to believe the always right or always wrong fallacy, try to change this by being more open to:
How others perceive situations and things.
Not always right and neither always wrong.
Building Castles
It feels optimistic to build castles in the air when you imagine what you would like to achieve. Thinking about your future gives you hope and makes you feel good.
If building such castles empowers you to work or act then there’s nothing like it, else you will have to find a way out; more so if you love to procrastinate.
To balance things convert your ideas into reality first.
- Think about your future — what you would like to achieve in a year or two or five — for around three hours.
- Decide to do it.
- Make a list of requirements for fulfilling your goal.
- Break it down into smaller and doable steps; steps that you can easily do without getting overwhelmed.
- Stop yourself from coming back to abstract dreams every day by not postponing for tomorrow what you can do today to execute/complete a step.
- Spend the next three months consistently working towards achieving that dream.
To build your castle, the best day to start was yesterday. If you didn’t then the next best day to start is today.
Or, the next best hour to do something that you missed doing in the last hour is now.
Go build your castle.