Develop Skills and Earn A Quick Buck

The legendary financial genius, Warren Buffett, cautions us and says “never rely on a single source of income.” He urges us to find ways to bring in money from a variety of sources.

This pandemic has rendered many white collar  and blue collar  employees jobless from MSME, Aviation, Tourism and Hospitality, Automobile Industries and Real Estate sectors.

Migrant labor who largely worked in construction sites, automobile manufacturing engineers, technical and marketing staff, from chefs, servers, cleaners, management staff and other skilled workers employed in hospitality industries, pilots, flight attendants to other airline staff, people engaged in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), beauticians etc have all lost their jobs.

Most people earn their living by doing a job. Many times that’s the only source of income. People have realized the hard way that- 

It is important to have multiple sources of income, which comes from planning wise investments and savings. It is also important to develop talents which helps us earn our living in times of a crisis like this. 

The yellow collar  jobs are flourishing. Music teachers, Yoga teachers, dance teachers, cooking, baking and selling food online, homemade useful items like masks etc. are doing brisk business.  

 

This is exactly the reason, why teenagers must develop skills.  Keep your curiosity alive. Be eager to learn, it’s also a great way to develop your personality. Learn basic life skills along with skills which can help you earn namely cooking, baking, yoga, dancing, music, self-defence techniques, gardening and so on.

Parent’s tip: The fundamental financial mantra is –Do not put all eggs in one basket.

Diversifying or spreading risk across asset classes is recommended. Lot of risks like health, accidents, retirement etc. can be planned with the help of insurances. Investments can be divided between debt instruments, bank fixed deposits, mutual funds to blue chip stocks. Systematic and small investment into various investment options will minimize risks to a large extent.

- By Harshini Nakhate

Eight Tips To Overcome Covid Challenge Psychologically

Workout

We human beings are a bundle of energy and in the case of youngsters the energy is very high. It is of course very tough to stay indoors in lockdown mode. Our energy needs to be released. The best solution is to do home workouts and expend the energy.

It is very important to do this. Find a way, one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. There are a number of online Zumba, Yoga, Dance, Fitness classes. Choose your pick and sweat it out.

Nurture yourself

This is a time to nourish yourself, just as nature is nourishing itself. Eat nutritious food in measured quantities, keep yourself hydrated and have your 8 hours of sleep. Give structure to your day. Design your day and take leadership of your life.

Time Management 

Have a routine, which means wake up, exercise, eat and sleep on time. Maintain social (socially distant) contact. Remember, unstructured time can create boredom, spikes in anxiety or depression, which can lead to unhealthy patterns of coping.

 Declutter your home 

Most of us are at home, let’s take a hard look at the stuff around, it’s a great opportunity to take action and feel in control.Let’s declutter, clean and organize our homes. Do not stop there, declutter careers and relationships also. This is the most appropriate time to relook at our career and life goals. Observe self. Discover who you are. What is it that you want to achieve? Writing a journal will help immensely. By the way, decluttering mind is called meditation!

Meditate

Add meditation to your routine. Relaxing your mind and body, keeping still and doing nothing for a few minutes each day does wonders to us. Mind is the most difficult to control. Meditation helps in quietening the mind. It generates positive energy.

Practice gratitude 

Even though you are facing a challenge now, write down some of the things you’re grateful for. Reading aloud positive affirmations each morning will generate positive vibes. Forgive all the people in your life who have not been good to you. That will give you peace. Accept life and circumstances as they are. Remember, “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”. 

Do creative stuff

Do something creative along with household chores, online classes and TV. Develop a hobby- highly recommend gardening, music, dance, photography, sketching anything that gives you happiness. Because when you do creative stuff, your self- esteem goes up and you feel fulfilled and happy.

Be of service, from a distance 

Being of service is one of the best things we can do for the society—and on a more selfish note, for ourselves. Studies have repeatedly found that serving others, even via small acts of kindness, has strong and immediate mental health benefits. And feeling a sense of purpose has also been shown to help people recover from negative events and build resilience.

-Dr.Lalita Anand

Nurture the Nature

How did our world turn upside down? How did this pandemic come about?

On the surface, it seems a virus attacked humanity which originated from bats in Wuhan’s wet markets, China. The conspiracy theory states that the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The entire world is blaming China, but who is responsible for this state of affairs? We need to ponder on this. The truth is humanity has upset nature. Simple statistics will tell the story:

The following statistics which will speak for itself

Year	1920	2020
World population	2.2. bn	7.8 bn
Wild tigers	100,000	3900
Forests	350 mnhectacres	140 mnhectacres (down by 60%)

We have been damning Nature!!!!

We produce millions of pounds of trash per day and dump it in landfills, 2mn tones of sewage, industrial and agriculture wastes each day is thrown into the rivers. Fresh water crisis is looming large. Our growing population is destroying wild life habitat, 30,000 species get extinct each year. Over fishing is leading to imbalance in ocean life. Pollution leading to acid rain is weakening the plant kingdom and making water bodies including oceans acidic. Our protective shield the Ozone layer is damaged exposing us to harmful UVB radiation. Air we breathe is polluted, unfit for human living conditions as per WHO. The Arctic glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising. Global warming and climate changes are serious threats to our existence.

Corona is the result of all these violations against nature. Now, while we are all huddled and shut indoors, the Earth has pressed the refresh button.

Please know that during this "quarantine" rivers are cleaning up, vegetation is growing, the air is becoming cleaner because of less pollution, birds and animals are reclaiming their territory,  there is less theft and murder, healing is happening, and most importantly, people are turning to Almighty. 

 The Earth is at rest for the first time in many years and hearts are truly transforming.

The question now is when we finally come out of this crisis will we learn to be more nurturing to the nature which is very vital for our own survival?

- Dr.Lalita Anand

Life is a game of Snakes and Ladders

It could have been disappointment regarding career growth, emotional insecurities, lack of courage to face the uncertainties of life, loneliness or anything, but nothing justifies the drastic step taken by 34 year old Bollywood Actor Sushant Singh Rajput to cruelly end his life by committing a suicide. He has only given pain to all those who loved him. Sushant Singh Rajput was not only a young actor I admired, he was also my close friend Rani’s brother.

Life is a game of Snakes and Ladders. In one move we climb a ladder and are elated by the achievement, in another move we are devoured by a snake and slide down to start all over again. We have to accept this inherent nature of life, factor in uncertainty, take courage, be patient, believe in self and never lose hope.

Last three months of lock-down due to the Pandemic Covid-19 has created an unusual situation and people around the world have been facing anxiety, psychological disturbances, depression and loneliness.

This is the time to be mentally strong, to strengthen everybody around you with positivity and positive talk. PAUSE from whatever you are busy doing. Talk to your loved ones about what’s bothering them. Listen patiently, ask them about their well-being. Help them if you can, seek help if you need it. The key is to talk your heart out to your dear ones.

Do not be in a hurry. Life is not a 20-20 match nor is it a 5 day test match it is a long and beautiful journey with many shades. 

A Paradigm shift in parenting is the need of the hour!

Largely parenting has been misunderstood as providing for children.  Giving them “good education”, cell phones, latest gadgets, branded stuff, luxuries etc. at the cost of self.  In today’s world where both parents are working and guilty of not spending enough time with kids, they shower kids with gifts, grand birthday parties and are ready to comply with their demands and fantasies. Whatever they missed in their childhood they do not want their kids to miss.

In all this melee the core purpose of parenting is lost. We need to equip children with life skills and value systems to face the world when we are no longer around.

This time around in the background of a pandemic and resultant lock-down when parents and children are staring at each other and the reality of life, it’s time for a paradigm shift in the way we deal with them. Face hardships together as a family. Share the household chores, share worries if there are financial and other troubles. Include them in every decision and challenge.

Guide them patiently in housekeeping, cooking, organizing, hosting, washing, cleaning, and buying groceries. Discuss what life is all about with them. Don’t shy away from discussing sex, relationships, marriage, career, children with them.

It is only from parents they will imbibe values such as honesty, service, sharing, love, hard work, respect, gratitude, loyalty, fairness and responsibility.

Talk to them about all these, prepare them to become independent as soon as possible. Careers are built over the years, do not fret over their grades and ranks and initial failures.