All posts by Pankaj Chanana

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Thoughts on Effective Learning

ThoughtsPankaj Chanana
Learning – Reality!

Whether it is today or in the past, learning is inevitable. If you want to grow in whatever work/business you are in, learning has to be your primary focus all the time. Whoever you are as a professional – Physician, Lawyer, CA, Architect, Engineer, IT professional….. people who excel in their field of work are the ones who constantly indulge in effective learning. They make themselves disciplined, focused, and build their learning habits over time.

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But what if one doesn’t have the urge to adapt to the changing needs and keep up the pace! Needless to say, more likely than not, they will have to deal with some harsh realities. But what is that reality in effective learning? It is this:

Development or Survival or Life for that matter will become more difficult for those:

Who stop growing and learning:

If you look around you will definitely see people who never make an effort to grow, at times they even think that they will grow automatically as time passes by. Such are the people for whom life is more difficult than it would have been if they were learning effectively and continuously. Imagine what would have happened if noble laureates had stopped learning and growing! And if famous scientists we know had done the same as well. I am sure you will agree this world would have been a very different place than what we are witnessing today. It just doesn’t matter how successful you are at the moment. If you stop effective learning, trust me, you are surely going down the road to failure.

Who don’t think effectively?

Have you ever wondered why one person succeeds more than the other, even if they had the same upbringing/schooling/academics/opportunities etc. The simple answer could be in the way a successful person thinks. It is really important how do we think – whether it is effective thinking or just some involuntary action. In learning, it is very important to think effectively. Your thoughts will determine whether you will be a successful person or just another guy. There is an age-old story, where 3 people were working at the construction site. When the supervisor came in and asked the first person about what he was doing, he said: “I am mixing material that is to be used by the other person”. The second guy responded saying “I am laying the bricks to create a wall”. The last person said, “ I am building a Mansion”. So although all 3 were doing something related to that construction, only one had a different perception. I am sure you must have read this story earlier as well. Your effective thoughts/vision holds true when it comes to succeeding or not succeeding. Learning also requires effective thinking. You should never think that only when a certain requirement or tech-stack is needed, that I will learn. That will never happen, my friend.

Remember this: it is always good to showcase what you know instead of “only saying” what you know 🙂

Who don’t face reality?

Facing and accepting reality is another crucial aspect of effective learning. People sound miserable when they keep saying that Someday I will do this or someday I will do that….and that day never arrives.

Author Alex Haley had remarked and I quote him here “Either you deal with what is reality, or you can be sure that reality is going to deal with you.”

In my opinion what a perfect quote. If you want to climb a mountain then it will never happen overnight or it will never happen without the proper training and conditioning that is needed to climb. But one has to be proactive in seeking them, and not postpone matters to a later time.

Isn’t it the same with learning? Learning MEAN or MERN or PWA or for that matter AI or Data Science or Blockchain all requires those steps and actions, otherwise it will always be a mountain that someday you will.

Who are slow to make proper adjustments?

This always reminds me of the stock market. How many times have we seen that people who don’t put stop-losses and make proper adjustments in their portfolio lose more consistently. Making proper adjustments with time always proves to be more effective. If you have accepted the reality and have begun taking the required action then the intent has to be to stay on the track and not let anything distract you. There might be situations that demand your attention. But those should only lead you to recalibrate your action plan. Your commitment to your goal should persist.

A perfect example would be – You are idle and you start learning how to climb a mountain in the form of Machine Learning (it could be anything though), but as you get more work, instead of adjusting to the same you get distracted and start telling yourself that when I get the time, I will resume… which may or may not happen. Overall a vicious loop to get into.

It doesn’t mean you focus on your learning only, client/works is always a priority, but adjusting your time to learn is equally important.

Who don’t respond correctly to challenges?

Challenges or adversities always provide an opportunity for growth. All great ideas emerge out of adverse situations or problems. People who ignore the problem don’t solve it, whereas those who face the problems by taking them head-on are the ones who more often than not come out of it successfully. How true with the context of learning. Isn’t it right that when you face a challenging /complex task you end up learning more from it than otherwise! What if you had never faced any complex or challenging situations ever? I am sure you would have been a rotten lemon, else you would have made lemonade out of the same already 🙂

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So, go out and learn more, think effectively, face reality, make the right adjustments, and face the challenges. You will see a different person sooner than later. Don’t be a victim of your own mindset.

Quote: Victim mindset causes people to focus on what they cannot do instead of what they can do, it is a recipe for continued failure.

Happy Effective Learning.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. To know more about our company, please click on Mindfire Solutions.  For over 20+ years now, we have been the preferred Software Development Partner of over 1000+ Small and Medium-sized enterprises across the globe.

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Image for Habit

What is a HABIT?

Thoughts

The easy definition would be something that you do daily without being forced or pushed. For e.g. as simple as brushing your teeth. But do you remember how tough it was when you were a small kid and learning to develop this habit, am sure that is not even a matter of thinking today.

Another good and simple example of a HABIT is cycling. Remember when you started cycling/biking the first day! That feeling of imbalance, falling off or getting hit with no hand-eye coordination and then slowly and steadily you become the cyclist in your neighborhood doing all kinds of stunts.

There are many such examples that happen in our daily lives where the beginning looked as difficult as climbing the Everest may be, but as you start taking those steps forward, it becomes simpler and later a maybe even a “cake-walk” to perform those.

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Why I am talking about HABIT? Because as we grow older and get into our daily chores, we forget to adapt to new habits or develop new changes or even attempt to do something new, simply because we feel that we do not have the time, there’s always too much work in the plate, professional or personal. Whenever you think of doing something new, you always push it to a later date convincing ourselves that we will do it when we have the time for it.

My friend where is that time?…the fact of the matter is NOW is the time.

Remember, everyone has 24hrs in a day and utilizing the same, some became people like the Tendulkars, the Steve Jobs and the Bill Gates to name a few, and many are still searching for that time to begin.

Here I present the new definition of H.A.B.I.T – “[H]aving [A]bility [B]uild [I]ntense [T]ricks” – obviously this is not mine, taken up from the internet, but it very well fits our bill here.

What does it take to build a habit? Answer is “decision” and then taking “action” in the form of small steps daily at the same time every day for the next 21 days (an idea introduced by Dr. Maxwell Maltz ), but I will suggest, if you can do that for 1-Day and then repeat the same for the next 30 days, trust me you will be rolling. But the trick is it has to be continuous, if you break for 1-Day then the cycle has to begin again from Day 1 🙂 that is why its Intense Tricks ;).

So, go out and pick up that Guitar which is hanging in your bedroom and staring at you or start reading that new Tech Area or Buzz Word on which you always wanted to get your hands on and just do it for 1-Day and then repeat the same cycle for next 30-Days.

The exception is, there are still no guarantees of success. It all depends from person to person and on his or her burning desire to make something work. But it is much better than not having tried at all, isn’t it? Roger Bannister was the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. It was his persistence and practice that enabled him to cross what had otherwise seemed like a barrier meant to stay forever until then.

Do put your comments, if you really got into a habit 🙂

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. To know more about our company, please click on Mindfire Solutions. 

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Confused Face

Musings : Relevance of Asking Questions & Sharing Ideas

Thoughts, ,

Few incidents in the recent past brought back memories of my days in school. Although the narration is a personal one, I am sure many readers would identify themselves
or their friends with it. I was, as a matter of fact, quite a naughty kid and reasonable in studies :).

I would, in particular, be quite terrified on the days we had a question-and-answer session with the teachers. I would put in my best efforts by finding a seat in advance and do my best in concealing myself behind a friend with a more generous built. It would thus reduce the chances of my getting noticed and being at the receiving end of questions.

I would do the same thing if I had doubts on certain topics or sections in a passage..I was always shy and afraid of asking questions. I would be concerned about what my teachers, my classmates, and my friends would think if I asked a worthless one. I stuck to this habit through my days at high school, thus risking to perpetuate my stupidity.

However, as years went by, I felt my outlook beginning to change, not sure how and why; could well be due to the maturity and experience that age brings along, generally so to say.

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The turning point was in a class on Data Structures, taken by one of the better-known professors in our institute. He was explaining Binary Trees that day. Having explained, he said in an emphatic voice “Am I Clear?”

And guess what, the school kid who was always shy to ask questions in early days.. stood up and said. “I didn’t get it”… The lecturer asked

” Is there anybody else?”. And to my surprise, the most intelligent person in our batch stood up as well!

So the professor went ahead and explained the concepts again. I did not hold back this time either and got up and said, “I still didn’t get it, sir”. I could not help it. The act seemed out of nature to me, but I was finding a strange degree of comfort doing it. On the third instance though, the professor remarked, “If you understood it’s good, and if not then it’s “excellent” ;).” Perhaps he got irritated.

Later in the day, the professor called me to his cabin and explained the concept again. To my surprise, he claimed that he was on purpose not explaining things the way he should have in order to check how attentive we were in the class. And that he was not surprised that I failed to understand him every time; indicating that I was the one paying attention.

The incident was a special one for me.  I had managed to overcome my fears and also realized the importance of asking questions. The fact that one should not hesitate to ask. If done with the right intention, one need not get bogged down thinking whether the question will be looked upon as silly or irrelevant. Questions can in fact sometimes lead to throwing up of bright ideas, which might bring about significant happenings, including recognition to the seeker.

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In my professional career so far, I have seen many instances where people hold themselves back from asking questions, only to repent later. Or for that matter hesitate to share their thoughts/ideas. The fear of embarrassment of being judged unfavorably by peers or seniors tends to act as a deterrent. But what they don’t realize is that by not asking questions and letting their doubts persist, they rely on assumptions to act. And in the event of these assumptions going wrong, they set themselves up for disaster. Besides, they also lose out on opportunities to address matters better. Smart questions can lead to better solutions and recognition. Sitting back and allowing questions to die in one’s mind or waiting for others every time to ask is asking too less of oneself.

To all of those who are shy, hesitant or worried about what others may think of their questions, I hope my learnings help you get over your inhibitions. If you happen to work in the field of technology, you are at an advantage already. For the frantic pace of change almost entitles you to ask/share. So every time you feel an itch,approach your peers first, reach out to others in your organization, and if you sense a need to go beyond, connect to the world at large. We have enough tools and channels at our disposal today to facilitate that. Be fearless and ask as many questions as you can think off or share your thoughts/ideas. Just remember if you will not ask/share, then someone else will and you will be left wondering later ” Oh Shoot!  I thought of the same as well“.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. To know more about our company, please click on Mindfire Solutions. 

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