Introspection illusion (3).. whirlwind

Most of the old moles I know wish they listened less to their fears and more to their dreams

So, dreams it is, as we decided to make our move again and this time to London. I do have to admit that with each move it is becoming difficult (4th international move in last 10 years) to leave your wonderful friends, a lovely home, and a sound professional network. ?

Flurry of pre move activity, 11-day hotel quarantine and subsequent settling into a new environment has indeed kept me busy. Countless possibilities with the new role, connecting with friends and colleagues with the occasional drink thrown in has kept me going and my spirits high. (Pun intended).

So, this time around I am back with 5 thoughts – seems about right, neither fleeting nor too long

20 minutes means a lot, make them count

I had to go through 11 days of hotel quarantine on my arrival into the UK (Covid protocols); an interesting experience with some stories to tell. Each day, I was allowed to step out of my hotel room twice (under supervision) for about 20 min to get some fresh air and some physical movement.,

It was so good to re-discover freedom and small joys of life after quarantine. Seeing the sunrise and coffee by the river will always be etched in my memory. The quarantine period also happened to my 11 best days of exercise despite challenges of limited space. I would look forward to the time to step out and made the most of it. Looking back, I am amazed at the excuses i could conjure to slip out of exercise or skip time with family and friends. ?So, my reflection - find your 20 minutes and make your moments count - Be available, be present and yes, get your heart pumping.?

Citius, Altius, Fortius: we need to do more

The next 2 weeks will be riveting as the World tunes into the biggest sporting spectacle in Tokyo. ?We want and we need India to do well. We will celebrate with gusto every Mirabai Chanu but deep down, we know well that we can’t win big with dedicated amateurs, our model is not sustainable. We need to back our sports, provide the right facilities, and secure the financial future of our sportspersons.

We could perhaps take a cue from Team GB …at Atlanta Olympics games (1996), Team GB managed to win just 1 gold medal and was ranked 36 in the overall table. It has been a remarkable journey from thereon to No 2 spot in Rio (2016) with 67 medals (27 Gold). The advent of the National Lottery in 1994, and the decision of John Major to allocate significant streams of lottery revenue to elite Olympic sport, set in motion a funding spree unprecedented in British sport. Since 2012, Olympic sports have received as much as total of ￡274m in Lottery funding, with around half as much again coming from the Treasury as grants.?

So, it is time to make some structural investments into Indian Sports to shape 2028 / 2036 Olympics.

We need to outrun the Jargon, can we?

You can’t escape sporting platitudes in everyday life…. more sports on my mind.?We have a full range ‘’from taking one for the team’’, ‘’make your dull day a game of two halves without dropping the ball’’ and incidentally ‘’giving it a 110% even if someone throws you a curve ball’’. There are more… I am quite guilty of using ‘’leave it all on the field’’ frequently and tempted to add more, inspired by Premier league i.e., ‘’cover every blade of grass’’. ?I think the more we use these jargons, the less we connect at a human level. Shall we keep it simple... say it as we see it / feel it and yes minus the jargon. What do you think?

Making friends and art of friendship

Last year was a trial by fire for many for a variety of reasons. We as a family made it through well thanks to the wonderful friendships that we made during the pandemic. We now hope to see more of the world together and in better times. This has however, made me discover my renewed energy and psychological bandwidth to cultivate new friendships. ?On this topic, I came across a wonderful piece in FT by Enuma Okoro and thought it best to share a few lines from her article.

There are friendships that expand our courage or feed our vision; friendships that revive us or help ground us; friendships that are perfect for laughter and lightness. These elements don’t all have to be found in one person.?

Humour makes us human

My good friend Asha gifted me a book on the eve of my departure titled ‘’Humor Seriously… why humour is super power at work and in life’’. There is a big possibility that Asha was giving me some feedback, but then I don’t take hints. Instead, I will share two of my reflections about humour.

• Humour indeed makes us human. A simple smile can long a way in defuse stress and infuse energy for Humour is mankind’s greatest blessing (Mark Twain)
• Take your work seriously but don’t take yourself seriously.?

Some parting thoughts ... We think and plan about future, get energy and get excited with possibilities. While all of this sounds good and sensible, I will leave with some wonderful words from Charlie Mackesy (I started by quoting him as well) …

We have a long way to go sighed the boy. Yes, but look how far we have come said the horse.