Author: Deeya Nambiar

I believe in taking every day as a learning phase, and exploring my writing skills. I have enjoyed the challenges as a journalist, content writer and college lecturer, and at the moment am living life analysing the extraordinary in the ordinary!

The Indian Confidence

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The confident Indian consumers are quite optimistic about the economy picking up in the near future. The global economic recession may have bred insecurities in jobs, relationships, shares and business. It may even have made the day to day needs a little expensive. Yet, Indians sure believe that the domestic market is large enough to support continued growth.

A study by The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence showed that India ranks foremost in consumer confidence as investors have been safeguarded by India’s relatively nascent financial markets. Indians are “the most optimistic lot globally who think that their country will be out of the economic recession in the next twelve months,” said market researcher Nielsen.

“Despite the global economic recession Indians seem to be quite confident of the economy picking up in the near future.”

“They believe that the global recession will have limited impact on India where the domestic market is believed to be large enough to support continued growth.”

“In such conditions it is the fast developing markets that are turmoil-proof with their consumers appearing to be more optimistic,” said Nielsen.

The survey showed that 16 per cent respondents said they considered job prospects in the country “excellent” while 59 per cent felt job prospects were “good”. Also, 75 per cent respondents were upbeat about local job prospects over the next 12 months.

“Though the conditions might not be as great as they were in the past few years, the growth opportunities in India are better than most other countries at the moment,” the report added.

Interestingly, India’s concern about terrorism topped the list when the survey was conducted in October 2008, ahead of the terror attacks in Mumbai. And still it ranks as a major concern along with the economy among the Indian consumers.

Help Yourself : Chapter Of Life

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A self-help book comes in print. It becomes the best seller. The book shows us the things we know and guides us to follow it. It is a source to help you to lead a better life. Many read and follow the book to be better human beings and to be able to improve their life. But many others turn critics and ponder on as to why it had to sell when there is nothing new in the book.

Agreeing with the critics, when put to think, you would be the first to comment, “The writer has just written all that we know.” But still you do not put it to practice.

You are right when you say you know it all. The only difference is – these are the simple lessons of life you do not take into consideration as necessary. Instead, you love to find fault with others, and read the book with enthusiasm hoping to improve your own life.

You are blind to your imperfection. You do not even take time to think, “Maybe I went wrong somewhere?” Indeed it is human tendency to feel jealous and indulge in self-pity when you miss a great opportunity; or when going gets tough. Yet, often you do not mend your way. You like to complain and hold someone else responsible for your mistakes.

The chapters of life are very simple.

– Love yourself first, before anything else.
If you learn to love you, as who you are, loving others will follow soon. You may be talented, skilled and extremely efficient; but you feel your friend or sister is doing better. In this unwanted competition you fail to see your achievements. You lose out to yourself, giving others an opportunity, to further pull you down.

– I came alone, I will go alone. Others are needed for my existence.
Often you are faced with situations where you are all alone. When you fall sick, you are the only one who can take care of your body. Family and friends act as support systems, which help you to recover. This is just one example. There are many that you face on a day to day basis.
The moment you realise the significance of your existence, you will learn to depend on yourself before looking out for someone to depend on. This will help you to become stronger to face tougher situations.

– Look at the positive side of things.
There are times when, whatever you lay hands on becomes hard to achieve. You refuse to give up, and fight back, because you know that you are gaining in the process. If you stop seeing the glass as half empty, you have miles to go. But always remember to be positive, read, write and spread positivity around. You will feel good and happy too. Even people you come across will be happy to have you around.

– Learn to accept the situations and people as they are.
You will never have an answer for, “Why this happened to me?” You do not have that much time to ponder and brood over it. The best solution then would be to accept it the way it is, and learn to adjust and accommodate yourself to every situation.
For example, you work really hard on your office presentation that could decide your promotion. It is well received and appreciated by your management and co-workers. But when the promotion list is out, your name does not appear in it. You feel miserable, sad and unhappy. You wish not to return to the office anymore. When you do not have a job in hand, instead of creating a scene in public, think and act.
Accept the situation as it is. And continue to be a part of it, till your turn comes – a new job if lucky, otherwise change your outlook and work for the organisation.

– It is easier to change the way you see things than change the situation or people.
You may question “Why only I need to change, when others are not making any attempts?” Simple, you have to live in the situation with the people. Of course, it is easy to teach children the book of life, but once you are in the path of being an adult or adulthood, making attempts to teach is futile.

Self-help is the best help for a successful living. A little change in your attitude with a minor adjustment to the environment, you will find peace of mind and happiness taking the reign of your life.

Published in ezine.com

New Year Facts

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A very Happy New Year…. Some facts that I found informative…

– January is named after the Roman god Janus (Latin word for door) who is said to have two faces that allows him to look both backwards into the old year and forward into the New Year at the same time.

– The Gregorian calendar as promulgated in 1582 did not specify that January 1 was to be either New Year’s Day or the first day of its numbered year.

– Traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s New Year’s Eve, the night of December 31, has become an occasion for celebration.

– In the United States, the common image used is that of Father Time (or the “Old Year”) wearing a sash across his chest with the previous year printed on it passing on his duties to the Baby New Year (or the “New Year”), an infant wearing a sash with the new year printed on it.

– The New Year’s Day Parade is the biggest New Year street event annually held on January 1 in London. The parade is used to raise funds for charities.

– The New Year Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra that takes place in the morning of January 1 in Vienna, Austria is broadcast around the world to an estimated audience of one billion in 44 countries.

– In Sydney, Australia, the world’s largest fireworks display draws 1-1.5 million people to the harbour.

– It is said that New Year is the most important holiday in Japan. Most businesses shut down from January 1 to January 3, and families typically gather to spend the days together.

– Interestingly, January 1 is the World Day for Prayer for Peace.

Let’s Begin Anew

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The year passes by and we sit to promise ourselves to learn from old mistakes and make resolutions to being anew on New Year. “This year I’ll work towards eating out less.” “I’ll quit smoking”. “I’ll save money from my salary and invest properly to secure my future.”

Year after year, we make such commitments with regard to a habit or lifestyle that we wish to bring changes into, on New Year’s Day. And we hope to remain committed till the set goal has been achieved. The idea behind is to leave some old habits to start fresh in the New Year.

Surveys of contemporary New Year’s resolution show health-related goals top the charts every year. This includes pledges to lose weight, exercise more, and quit smoking. A close second are financial resolutions, such as plans to increase savings, conquer debt, and avoid excessive spending. Rounding out any list of today’s common New Year’s resolutions are those pertaining to relationships with friends, family members, trying to be more patient with co-workers, and striving toward better communication skills.

The tradition of taking a resolution at New Year’s Day and fulfilling it in the coming year dates back to the early Babylonians. They believed that what a person does on the first day of the New Year will affect him or her throughout the year. The Babylonian’s most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The Romans associated the New Year’s resolution with their mythical two-faced king Janus as they believed Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. That is why he became the ancient symbol for resolutions. As a result Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

Even the Chinese New Year, which falls around late January, has seen many moons. Among the several customs associated with the Chinese, the New Year resolution is housecleaning. This continues in the list as one of the most common New Year’s resolutions worldwide.

This year, with the situation of global economic recession breeding insecurity in financial and human relations, and the recent terror attack on Mumbai waking us from the slumber to stand united, the list is also undergoing a change.

According to a recent survey conducted by a website, myGoals.com, the percentage of New Year’s resolutions, which focus on family and finance, should be going up. Similarly, Business Today’s latest list includes a new and unique resolution, “fighting terror”.

The list may be endless, as it varies from person to person and from children to grandparents. Following the Julian and Gregorian calendars based on the movement of sun, January 1 has been universally recognised as the New Year’s Day and we, like others around the globe, practice the universal tradition of making and breaking the New Year’s Resolutions. The countdown has begun.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

Published in merinews.com
Let’s begin anew by Deeya Nayar-Nambiar