#humawrites

Solution Lies Within You (19/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

2 min

Solution Lies Within You (19/26) A2Z 2018

In the existing times, the go-getter attitude and assertiveness is often seen as synonymous with success, the concept of self-reflecting may seem like an outdated one and not so much of a strength to some. Today, ‘shift the blame’ seems to have become a popular game. In simple words, self reflection is not spirituality nor meditation nor blaming oneself for all the bad things that happened. It is a self-examination of sorts. If you recall any situation or incident from your p

10 Steps to Uncomplicate Living (21/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

2 min

10 Steps to Uncomplicate Living (21/26) A2Z 2018

Better technology and ease of communications has brought along its own set of problems and complications. Multitasking is in. Too many irrelevant discussions kindle unnecessary doubts. Low self-esteem is common and complicated relationships are now a trend. There is a rising silent need to uncomplicate, before it becomes too complicated to handle all by yourself. And there is no need to come up with a grand plan ‘Operation Uncomplicate’, begin with a single step, whatever sui

Six Steps to 'Rewire' your Negative Mind Patterns (18/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

2 min

Six Steps to 'Rewire' your Negative Mind Patterns (18/26) A2Z 2018

Isn’t it fun to hang around with some people. You talk and you laugh together. You are comfortable and you have a good time. Of course, you have much in common with your companions, but that is not the only reason for this connection that you feel. I have a cousin who visits us regularly on his trips to India. Often his flight timings are inconvenient for us. However, as inconvenient as his flight timings maybe, we always look forward to his visits and enjoy the talks. Conver

5 Tested Approaches to Maintain the Quality of your Work (17/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

1 min

5 Tested Approaches to Maintain the Quality of your Work (17/26) A2Z 2018

Delivering good quality work consistently is a sure shot way to success. If you want your work to be credible, then delivering good quality work should be your priority. You may be a teacher, an executive, a student, or a homemaker, whatever be your responsibility, if you give it your best consistently, you become a role model for others. These are a few tested approaches to maintain quality of work. Working smart is a more reliable approach than to work hard with no interest

An Effective Method to Use a Planner (16/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

2 min

An Effective Method to Use a Planner (16/26) A2Z 2018

Keep a planner handy. It is an effective organizing tool for the working as well as homemakers. I find it convenient to have a weekly planner with all the days of the week stacked on one page (see pic bottom right). There are numerous benefits to keeping a planner. Planner helps you mark important dates or appointments, so you remember to buy a present in advance, if a dear one’s birthday falls in that week. Of course, we can put reminders on our smartphones, but a planner is

9 Ways to Trick & Overpower your Lazy Mind (15/26)A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

3 min

9 Ways to Trick & Overpower your Lazy Mind (15/26)A2Z 2018

Procrastination is a challenging situation that all have faced at one point or another. In simple words, it is the habit of delaying an important task, usually by focusing on less urgent, more enjoyable, and easier activities instead. Although, we don’t actually enjoy procrastinating or dilly dallying, the inertia to resist and do the task at hand is very strong. Consequently, it is a notorious time waster. This urge to delay an overwhelming task can be strong, when there are

Huma Masood

3 min

Six Ways to Say 'NO' (14/26) A2Z 2018

Have you ever said 'yes' when you want to say 'no'! Declining another person or saying 'no' without offending the other is an art, which you learn and may excel only with practise and time. It is specially difficult if the person asking is a friend and you value the relationship. I would like to share an incident when I wanted to say 'No' to a request and couldn't. One of my responsibilities at work was to coordinate the Marketing newsletter. Part of the information was colle

7 Tips to Grow your Money (13/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

2 min

7 Tips to Grow your Money (13/26) A2Z 2018

Irrespective of gender, class, your profession, this skill is crucial to every one of us. Although this is gradually changing, but many times and not always, we find women particularly lacking here. Ladies, do you realize that knowing how to manage money and put it to good use is highly empowering! We have attained our degrees with good marks, we earn well and demand an equal pay – which is a good thing – but when it comes to managing that money, we rely on our husbands or fa

3 Tips to Listen and Stay Interested (12/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

3 min

3 Tips to Listen and Stay Interested (12/26) A2Z 2018

Charismatic people are interesting, others want to listen to what they have to say, and are interested, they want to listen to what others have to say. The benefits of listening to others is common knowledge but the consequences of not paying attention can, at times, be damaging. Many potential opportunities are lost when a good conversation loses momentum. Many conflicts do not aggravate or may have the potential to be easily resolved, if the aggrieved party senses that the

Huma Masood

2 min

Improve the Kaizen Way (11/26) A2Z 2018

I admire the way Japanese have developed interesting techniques for regular things that others find overwhelming. I learnt a couple of them. Recently, I came across furoshiki. It is a type of traditional Japanese technique that uses a square wrapping cloth to gift wrap, transport etc. It is interesting to learn to make cute little purses from these squares. But more about that in some other post. I was introduced to ‘Kaizen’ by a book – One Small Step Can Change Your Life th

Improve your Social Skills(10/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

2 min

Improve your Social Skills(10/26) A2Z 2018

In this highly competitive world, there is a continuous search for that 'holy grail to success.’ We know that social or interpersonal skills are crucial for good working and social relationships. And that, while in some professions, technical skills may be more important, but in many others, like marketing & sales, consulting, etc., good social skills are key to one’s success. Social skills gradually improve with self-awareness and practise. Study of Social skills is called E

5 Steps to Manage Habits (9/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

2 min

5 Steps to Manage Habits (9/26) A2Z 2018

Successful people are simply those with successful habits. Brian Tracy When we repeat certain practises and get comfortable doing things the same way every time, we subconsciously adopt a habit without considering the consequence or effectiveness of it. For our success it is vital, that we adapt more of good habits and drop the bad ones. Those who have already read the Stephen R. Covey’s bestseller “The 7 habits of highly effective people”, will know my indication. For the un

Be Justice in our Dealings (8/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

3 min

Be Justice in our Dealings (8/26) A2Z 2018

I have followed the alphabet G by J. I broke a small rule of ABC. Small rules may be broken sometimes, but we should never break the rules of Justice. Because..... Justice is the foundation of a civilized society! When did we take so many steps away from our humanity, that now it seems to be lost! And more importantly, are we capable of recovering that lost ground and regain what seems to be lost? Today the very foundation of a civilized society seems to be on the verge of c

5 Ideas to Set Life Goals (7/26) A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

3 min

5 Ideas to Set Life Goals (7/26) A2Z 2018

A goal is a dream with a deadline – Napoleon Hill We all have desires that we wish to fulfil. In fact, at every stage of life, we have different desires like buying a big house or a luxury car or desire to achieve professional success. But not all desires may be realistic. It is very important to convert our relevant desires to goals, so that we can work towards achieving them. Sometimes, we may need a little counselling to help translate our desires to dreams specially young

Huma Masood

2 min

Being Flexible is Smart (6/26) A2Z 2018

People who know me closely, will smile when they read my take on ‘being flexible’ because they know how strong willed I can be, at times I am outrageously stubborn. But practising flexibility in crucial situations has its own advantages. Last Saturday, my family was invited to a relative’s wedding function in our ancestral town. It had been a long time since we had visited and I was naturally looking forward to it, it was a chance to meet most of our relatives after a long ga

Huma Masood

2 min

5 Tips to Wake up Early (5/26)A2Z 2018

I enjoy getting up early. In the early hours of morn, when the world is still asleep, the quiet is mesmerising. It gives you a couple of hours extra “me” time. I find this time best for reading and writing when my mind is at it’s best. Here, I should mention this that I was inspired to get up early after reading a popular book, Miracle Mornings by Hal Elrod, suggested by my hubby. You should read it when you have time. I have put a link on this page, do check it out. Have a m

Huma Masood

2 min

A List of Listing Benefits

"Did you list all the stuff you would need?", my mother asked for the umpteenth time. “Going to do it now”, I answered. “When is ‘now’, You have just 5 days left for the trip. And there is shopping, packing, everything to be done. How will I manage in such a short period? I want that list ready now”, she shouted from the kitchen. Reluctantly, I sat down, with a paper and pen in my hand, and stared at the blank paper. After staring at the blank paper for a couple of minutes mo

Huma Masood

3 min

Mindfulness Saves the Day

During my tenure at a leading market research consultancy, immediately after being promoted to the post of project manager, I almost lost my job. The lesson that I learnt that day is still with me. Just a day before the client presentation, as the clients' reports were being printed for delivery. It had been a long day and I was looking forward to call it a day. As I got ready to leave, I was informed that the report will not be sent for binding till I okay it. Fuming inwardl

Huma Masood

3 min

7 Steps To Grow a Positive Attitude

Don't you love to share little gems of quotes on social media? We take these quotes as a guide to lead a better life. You may have come across interesting quotes about 'attitude'. Did you notice that people, often, perceive it as being proud or egoistic. Some even relate it with selfish behaviour. But attitude is more than that. It is the essence of your personality. And your response in a situation or to a person depends on your attitude. A person's attitude does not form

Inspire to Write #powerofsimplechanges #lifeskills A2Z 2018

Huma Masood

1 min

Inspire to Write #powerofsimplechanges #lifeskills A2Z 2018

"Life skills" are defined as, psychosocial abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life by UNICEF. Another definition from Wikipedia “Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life.” Essentially, Life skills are associated with living a better quality of life and the ability live life to our

Be so well rooted that the strongest of storms go away defeated
~© Huma Masood, 2021

#humawrites

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone