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Hi,
Welcome to day 7 of the Self Challenge Week and I am with you. I am thrilled and excited to share with you the lessons learnt in the last seven days.
With the bridge of knowledge constructed from the last 6 blog posts, I could say, I crossed the sea of the self challenge week, with all your support. Thanks for visiting, reading, suggesting and commenting on my blog. I express my deep gratitude to you all.
It is needless to say that it is all because of your encouragement and support that I could set my writing sail and could reach to my destination point well on time. I sincerely hope and wish that I would continue to share the best of the works produced by the great writers that I come across and would continue to share the lessons from experiences of my life which make me what I am today with you all.
Baltasar Gracian, a philosopher says that “Self-reflection is the school of wisdom” and I am happy to say that after leaving my full time job as Assistant Professor, I joined this school of wisdom. Little did I know about its powerful lessons at that time since I could hardly get time to reflect, to contemplate, to think and to meditate on the day to day activities, people, incidents and happenings which were occurring in my busy life. But my self reflection classes of this school began when I would retire after my domestic work and would think and reflect on my past days, years and everyday incidents after leaving the full time job. It was during those moments of reflection I got to know about my own self and about lessons that life had taught me so far. In those moments of silence I listened to the internal voices becoming louder and clearer inside me. I also understood people around me without judging them for what they were and what they did. I felt happy and better after attending each class.
I would not hesitate to share with you that it was during those moments of reflection, self inspection and interrogation, I got to know about the riches of my life, of what I had gained in the past 10 years and what I could build on, in the days and times to come. I could not be more thankful to this process of self reflection, because it introduced me to my natural gifts and talents and passions on which I would continue to work upon.
Since this is the last day of the Self Challenge Week and these 7 days have again given me a lot of powerful insights about my own self, about my habits, about my belief system and my working pattern, I am happy that I took the courage to announce this Self Challenge Week and then completed this challenge in the stipulated time frame.
This journey, though small, has proved to be meaningful and purposeful and has prepared me to take on bigger challenges in life, so that I could confidently move on further. By consistently working on each post, I could say that I have created a new vision for this blog and I know where I would want to take you all along with me. I feel a great sense of belongingness and connectivity with you all and I am sure that in days to come our mutual understanding and appreciation for each others work would increase multifold.
Therefore, it would be unfair, If I do not share with you the analysis of the work done in these 7 days, in which, I wrote six posts each day with varied word count and given below is the detailing of the same.
- Day 1: Out of Chaos Comes Order (word count: 1301)
- Day 2: What Makes Your Story Good (word count: 616 )
- Day 3: Discover the Superpower Within Like Hanuman (word count: 757)
- Day 4: A Gift that Will Make Your Life Magical Forever ( word count : 616)
- Day 5: Today is the Only Day To Achieve Any Great and Worthy Purpose (word count: 734)
- Day 6: Be the Source, Be the Fountainhead (word count : 969)
- Day 7: Reflections on the Last Six Days Passed (word count: 1558)
In total I wrote 6,551 words in these 7 posts.
Moreover, the time taken in writing these posts varied from 3 hours to 4 hours and thus I spent approximately 21 to 28 hours in writing these posts. In editing, revisions and answering, I could add additional 15 hours of my week.
For me, the entire writing process was divided into the following steps:
1. Brainstorming. This part of the writing process was random and I was dependent on my mind. Since I took this challenge, a part of my brain was always thinking about the posts and topics on which I had to write. The subconscious mind was at work, I felt.
I could say that the best ideas came to my mind when I worked in the kitchen or I was dusting the rooms. During these days I was highly alert of the ideas coming to my mind and wherever they came, I greeted them well without thinking whether they looked good or bad.
2. Writing . Earlier I used to write on word and then would copy the entire post and would paste it on the WordPress site. But this time I started writing straight away on the WordPress drafts section.
I also have this tendency of checking how the post would read and look so I often check the post by previewing the post which gives me a lot of confidence and makes me feel better about my writing. I used this technique for writing faster this time.
I always have a theme, a message, a story or a purpose in my mind which I want to share through my posts. When I start the actual writing process, in between, I start connecting the unconnected thoughts. Interestingly, in the process of writing, some posts take the shape and feel of their own and I feel no control over my writing. The thoughts lead to other thoughts and words lead to other words fast. What all I do is obey the orders and keep my writing momentum. In the actual writing process there are many thoughts that come and join dancing the former set of thoughts. There is some rhythm and continuity that I feel in writing process which looks effortless often, but many a times the process looks too strenuous and I think why did I start writing after all?
Writing involves some research part as well which is related to finding of the appropriate quotes and images for each blog post. The hours of research varied this time from one post to another, depending upon my own knowledge of the subject, and end message that I wanted to convey through each post.
3. Editing. Editing is one of the most time consuming and frustrating tasks. While I am working on the writing skills, I know that my editing skills would also increase with the passage of time.
To cut my own crafted sentences and to delete the noisy words and adjectives are challenging tasks indeed, but I am learning to be my own critic gradually. In some of the posts I had to do 30 to 40 revisions because of multiple typographical errors, which I found, even after publication.
4. Revision. After pressing the publish button, my revision process starts and I keep revising until I publish the next post. Number of revisions done, I cannot say.
By taking this challenge, I made a major shifts in my writing time and gave a self deadline to myself which worked best for me. Most of the posts were published between 11 AM to 2 PM and after doing revisions of the posts I updated them on facebook between 5 PM to 7 PM everyday for reading and dissemination for larger audience.
There are few patterns and techniques that I have observed about my writing, but there are many writing secrets which will be revealed to me over a period of time, as I continue to travel in this realm of writing.
Challenge two.
There are 78 pages left in completing The Picture of the Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I will complete reading these pages before 12:00 PM today.
Now what kept me on track all these 7 days?
This quote by Napoleon Hill that “Whatever the mind of a man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
And the words which guided me through all these days were: PATIENCE, FOCUS, COMMITMENT, BELIEF, PURPOSE, GOAL AND GRATITUDE.
I wouldn’t have completed this challenging assignment without relentless support of my husband, son and my mother who provided me enough time to work on my one week’s mission.
I hope that the bridge of knowledge that I have build over a period of one week would help you to cross the sea of your Own Self Challenge Week.
I feel encouraged to take up many such exercises in times to come along with you and I hope that you would enjoy reading this little longer post of 1558 words with little patience and perseverance, with a cup of coffee or tea in your room.
And don’t forget to share the lessons which you learnt during these 7 day because I will wait for your response.
Stay connected and keep reading until we meet next, after time of 15 days.
Great ma’am 🙂
Congratulation for this great task.
Many thanks Abhijeet.
I hope that many should benefit from this Self Challenge Week.
Looks interesting Pratibha, however, I am reading this post while returning home from office so not finished yet. Will now read all the posts from Day 1 as the titles look motivating and interesting.
…and did you leave your job to become a full time blogger. Great! At least you are doing what interests you.
Many thanks Inder. It is always great to hear from old friends. Welcome again!
Moving in life is important and leaving the job was one such step. My job taught me a lot. Change, as they say, is the only constant thing in nature and my this change has revealed me many hidden treasures. More is less and less is more we need to understand when this happens!
Teaching is and will always be my greatest of passion and interestingly this blog gives me pleasure of teaching and writing both. So, I can say, it is win-win for me, for my students and for friends like you!
Yes, this blogging interests me greatly and this new platform has been full of learning and exciting experiences for me and I am happy to have embarked on this journey quite faster! 🙂
You coming for office…no worries…my posts will give you company, so read the last 6 posts and stay connected, it feels always great to hear from you.
Hello, this past week was quite interesting , inspiring, motivating and overall a test of our innerself.
A big thanks to Pratibha ma’am for sharing her entire experience with us. The way you framed down your feelings in the form of words is superb and unmatched.
May be it is hard for a writer to feel and believe as an audience but every single word literally spoke out the experience that you have been through this self challenging week.
This week was really enthusiastic for me , although I failed to attain few goal which I had set in the beginning of this small challenging session. I completed few and I’ll share those soon .
The pain and strain(problems and frustrations while editing) that you ENJOYED in writing down these post for us are highly appreciable.
Your VISION to bring the change among us is working 🙂
Thank you very much di 🙂
Dear Devanshu,
There is no greater feeling in the world than listening to people appreciating little endevour of yours. If this little blogging exercise of mine can make a smaller difference in the life of my near and dear ones than I am everyday reaching towards my higher goals in life.
This week has truly been full of learning experiences for me and I must say that your constant support has kept me motivated and energised. I tried to speak my heart, as honestly as I could, and I am happy that you appreciate it so much.
For now, you might have failed in few goals, but important is to look where you slipped and not where you fell through self-reflection so that you could strive better the next time. Celebrate the goals which you have achieved. This is important and for that I am with you. I completed my reading of the novel as well. We must celebrate together!
Thanks for understanding the pain and frustration, and thanks for being always a great help.
If Vision is bringing change that feels great but I know that I have ” miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep.” Stay connected and be blessed always 🙂
**WOW**
Ma’am, many many congratulations for crossing the sea of the self challenge week.
We always had an idea how hard you work on this blog. But today we have got to know exactly how hard you are working.
Leaving a successful teaching career just to listen to your internal voice. How many people show the courage to listen to themselves.
Thank you for showing such a courage and writing this blog.
You are inspiring and motivating many.
We want to thank your sweet family too who is supporting you and us readers of ur mind blowing writing. A damn hard writing.
My self challenge was to learn preparing 3 vegetarian healthy recipes.
But I learned only 2 of them .
I didn’t learn the whole dish but I learned preparing (1)- Homemade Low Fat Pander.
and (2)- Homemade Tofu.
Both are rich source of protein(which most of the people lacks daily in their diet)
And contain very low amount of fat.
These are very easy to prepare and they can be added with salad or any dish according to taste.
These can be consumed at multiple times a day.
Thank you very much Prashnat for your words of sincere praise.
I must congratulate you also for successfully learning the two recipes. One more recipe, you can try to learn this week. I wish you to continue your learning and be a great help to your mom.
I have always loved my work so I don’t know how hard at times it becomes. I am just sincerely trying to help myself and if others can benefit from it, and can be a part of the same, there is no harm, I guess. You all make my journey more fulfilling and enriching with your enthusiastic presence.
My family members too express their gratitude to you all. Especially my son!
Writing is indeed hard but I want to master this beautiful art!
keep reading and stay in touch always, we have miles to go together!
Blessings with you always!
Finally managed to finish reading all the posts from Day 1 to 7. Congratulations for successfully completing your challenge. To be frank I see you transforming from a blogger to a novelist soon. All the best. It really gives me immense pleasure to read your posts, one reason may be because I have been reading many author’s work but none I know personally. So when I see somebody from ‘one of us’ is a writer/blogger, is really is a great thing.
Reading and writing both are my hobbies and though I have read plenty of different author’s work, I never was able to start writing (formally). But now I believe I should give it a shot. Let’s see.
Anyways keep writing and keep inspiring. Best of luck.
Superb Inder!
Many thanks for reading all the posts and paying such big compliments.
“We know what we are but we never know what we may become.” So true are these words by Shakespeare.
I am on this journey and I hope that I would continue to give my best either through a blog post or through any new mode.
I could already make out your passion for reading and writing and I am very sure that you too would embark on this journey soon. Try giving a shot to your writing and you would be amazed to find your own creative strength!
I would love to hear your experiences in your own style, be it in a novel or on a blog. My best wishes are always with you. If my posts could inspire you even a bit in moving towards your dreams then nothing greater than that!
Stay connected and look forward to reading something from your end soon.All the best. And I know you will rock!
Congratulations for successfully completing the self challenge week Ma’am 🙂
The path you have chosen Ma’am, is bound to be full of challenges. Thank you very much for sharing your enriching experience and analysis. Learning from you, has always been good experience. There are some who exhibit their expertise very well in their own person and some show greater skill in imparting that expertise to others. Very few excel in both these qualities and deserve a pre-eminent place among teachers.
I introduced myself very late to self challenge week (पर कोई नहीं, जब जागो तभी सवेरा 🙂 ) Ma’am, I think your recommended books would be good to start with. Though, my rigid schedule (due to previous commitments) says to make it a self challenge month, I would try to finish them as soon as possible.
Once again thank you very much for your continued and dedicated efforts to enlighten us with your knowledge and wisdom 🙂
Many thanks dear Shatrughna.
I know I have chosen the less travelled path, but that has made all the difference and will make a big difference in times to come. Thanks for being an integral part of the journey and making the entire wisdom journey memorable through your constant support and encouragement. This pursuit would be meaningless without all your presence.
Yes, I would suggest you to take up a self challenge month rather than a self challenge week because you already have mega commitments and assignments to deal with. But spending half an hour over a month would allow you to complete reading two books at least. First begin with the Magic my Rhona Byrne and then go for the Fountainhead because it may take little time in consuming both the masterpieces by Ayn Rand. My best wishes are always with you! Stay connected and be blessed always 🙂