The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the “extra”. It’s what changes the world. Yet many stick around being ordinary because they’re unaware of how much “extra” is needed and how capable they are of offering it. If only you knew what you were capable of and deployed your capacities to be the best version of who you were meant to be.

Have you experienced being in a zone or spot that felt like you were standing at the end of the road? There was nothing ahead of you (at least this is what you thought at that time)? No ideas, no path, no answers. Just a lurking question mark mocking you, “What are you going to do now? Give up?”

What did you do then?

Kaizen (Japanese for “good change”), thrives on the core philosophy that adversities are, in fact, moments of opportunity, to change what has ceased to work and ring in what will. Keeping the faith in hope, conviction and action. All Kaizen asks for is change. This amendment can be momentary or ongoing; massive or small. Kaizen contends that if you don’t change the status quo from time to time, you may not survive.

Why so much focus on change?

Newton’s Law of Inertia insists that if an object is in a state of motion or rest, it will continue to stay in that state of motion or rest unless it is acted upon by an external force that changes its status quo by accelerating or decelerating it. But look around and at yourself. Can you stay in the same state forever? Aren’t there too many changes taking place around you?

Circumstances, friendships, relationships, career, family, education and more… It’s impossible to maintain your status quo when external forces trying to modify you are so powerful. Technologies, trends, politics, and above all people, are ever transforming. It is increasingly important to integrate with the ebbs and flows, to experience delight, adventure and growth in life. Nothing is possible without embracing change.

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Author: Dr Carol S. Dweck
Genre: Psychology / Self-help
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication year: 2006
Pages: 277; Price: Rs 399

If you feel like reading something life-changing, go for Mindset, a powerful book written by Carol S. Dweck, a widely-known researcher in the fields of personality, social psychology and developmental psychology. In her book, she primarily focuses on two categories of mindsets, the ‘fixed’ and the ‘growth’. We have often heard that our thoughts are powerful enough to impact the circumstances in our daily lives. Carol Dweck has not only confirmed it through various studies, but also shows us a way to make the most out of her research.

We often find it challenging to detect the hindrances in the path of success. But what we fail to realise is that the biggest obstruction is in our mind itself, a type of mindset, to be precise.

Carol Dweck has made an effort to widen the perspective of the readers by negating commonly-established wrong beliefs. One such belief is the one where students are categorised as ‘smart’ and ‘dumb’. She believes in continuous effort rather than fixed traits and labels. Similarly, she explains how parents, coaches and mentors lead children to develop the wrong mindset (not intentionally), which affects different aspects of their lives negatively. Briefly, this book is a guide to success for anyone possessing goals.

Mindset was an eye-opener for a teenager like me who cannot stop hitting herself for even a minute setback in life. I hope it will be for you too!

Available on Flipkart and Amazon

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“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” — Rumi

We are awash in change — it is everywhere we look. And it is the only constant.

The rate of change we have experienced over the last hundred years is unprecedented. For thousands and thousands of years, humans have moved no faster than a man could walk. Then for thousands more, it was no faster than a horse. Then in a few short decades, we developed trains, cars, planes, and rocket ships. Now, communication occurs at the speed of light.

What is important for us is how fast we adapt to changes. Instead of dreading change, we must try to find comfort in it. This mindset can assuage anguish and help us move forward.

Those who are deeply rooted in traditions are quite likely to be resistant to change. The traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past. The temptation to use tradition as a cover for prejudice and conformity, accompanied by a refusal to change or stretch, manifests itself quite stubbornly because it has become our nature.

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“No, because I’m not crazy!”

Of course I didn’t mean it in the being crazy way! But the social animals we are, we talk to people around us every day, every hour, and some of us every minute. Based on what work we do, we could be talking incessantly all day too even if we didn’t want to. While a large chunk of our conversations are transactional, i.e., they are a method of communicating our needs and wants to the world, and seeking ways to get them fulfilled; a lot of our talks shape our reality and influence our view of the world. And ourselves. 

Talking to yourself really means reflecting on your life, people within it and events that transpire inside of it. Self-talk is like a reappraisal that is so personal and unique to each one of us. Nobody can talk to us the way we can. And occasionally do. 

Think about it. Do you ever feel as if:

• You’re different from others?
• Nobody understands you? 
• You aren’t accepted for who you are?
• You can’t express what you feel? 
• You’re punished for how you think?

You’ll be surprised to know how many teenagers think like you. And ponder over why nobody gets them. And why they just don’t fit. 

We’re each unique. 

And that’s what make us all the same!

It’s the sense of belongingness that connects us to the rest of the world. We feel comfortable when we belong. And when we’re certain that we’re cared for, loved, accepted and wanted. But who today can love unconditionally like that? Be it friends, classmates, teachers or even family, they all have opinions. We worry so much about what they think and whether they accept us enough, that in the bargain we lose focus of what we’re doing to gain that love and trust from them in the first place. 

And then our self-esteem? If we call it self-esteem how can we base it on how much regard outsiders gives us?

Self-talk is the answer. 

But it helps only when you ask yourself the right questions. And then of course give yourself appropriate answers. 

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Wireless audio, ultra-soft ear cups and crisp sound by audio company Onkyo is integrated with Mindset’s founders’ bio-medical and neuroscience experience in the form of five built-in EEG sensors. Those same sensors in the headband will monitor your brain activity via a connected software programme, to recognize your state of concentration and give you a gentle audio cue when you’re not focused or when your brain is fatigued.

Once Mindset is accustomed to your habits, it will also give you peak productivity hours and will suggest the exact length of break your brain needs to return to its most productive state.

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