Be Inspired.: Doing PhD in India: A step-by-step guide to do PhD...

Be Inspired.: Doing PhD in India: A step-by-step guide to do PhD...: Overview A doctoral research is the academic adventure of a lifetime. It represents a substantial work. It represents researcher’s dedic...

Doing PhD in India: A step-by-step guide to do PhD in Social Sciences

Overview

A doctoral research is the academic adventure of a lifetime. It represents a substantial work. It represents researcher’s dedication, efforts combined with mixed emotions. PhD research requires systemic approach and mentoring. The article aims to help you keep track of the competencies PhD students should be developing at this stage of  research career. Author discusses strategies that may helpful to enhance the quality of research and completing PhD within specified time successfully.

There exist limited guiding resources to know about doing PhD in Social Science field in India except one or two pages guidelines by some professors. PhD research seems daunting but with a bit of organization, it can be a smooth and memorable experience. It is a unique experience. Completing PhD successfully is surrounded by so many factors, good as well as bad. Enthusiasm for the research and confidence are crucial to get started and important to maintain the enthusiasm and confidence throughout the research phase.  Although the practicalities of doing a doctorate differ to some extent by discipline and institution, this article provides general guideline on various aspects of doing and doctoral research. Refer to your institution for specific guidance on the requirements for your doctoral research. This article particularly discusses the PhD research process as follow:

• Define purpose and interest
• PhD admission
• Planning a PhD research
• Initiate a PhD research
• Complete a PhD research
• Conclusion

Define purpose and interest. Embark the journey of PhD research with your purpose and interest. Purpose of doing PhD can be enhancing scholarship on the topic and/or building successful academic career. Howard and Sharp (1996) described the process of research as “seeking through methodical processes to add to one’s own body of knowledge and, hopefully, to that of others, by the discovery of non-trivial facts and insights” (p.7). This implies that researcher should take up the issue that requires investigation where process or results have some significance.  Do not take up a research as an ‘academic exercise’ to satisfy research examiners and get the degree. Consider asking following questions to yourself:

Why do you want to pursue PhD?

Do you really want to make contribution to a field of study, become a trained researcher, or are you just overtaken by the glamour of having the title?

Are you motivated to become a scholar or do you want to have a PhD simply because you want a degree or you want to do PhD because your friends have the one?

The honest answer determines your purpose, interest, and motivation.

PhD admission.  Selecting a place for research can be a difficult choice and may depend on many factors. Many state run universities, central universities, autonomous academic institutions, private universities/institutions offer PhD in Social Sciences. Choosing a very good place depend upon your purpose, motivation to do PhD, and your eligibility to get admission. If one need a PhD for his promotion in academics career, hike in salary, or stable job in academics then usually state run universities and part time PhDs may work well.

To get admission in PhD program, essential requirement is 55% score in post-graduation study and clarify PhD entrance formalities of the respective University/institute. Most University conducts PhD entrance test, once a year.  Those who have clarified NET are exempted from PhD entrance test. Admission to PhD involves payment of appropriate tuition fee. Once you receive admission in PhD program, as per the respective University rules, students are either assigned PhD guide or need to choose PhD guide.

Planning a PhD research. This is important stage. Time spent early on effective planning will increase your chances of successfully completing on time. Students need to plan completion of coursework and initial PhD research with institutional formalities. Develop a three to four year PhD plan. Depending up on the kind of PhD program, it takes around 2-5 years to complete the PhD. Some Indian institutes have 3 years program where students need to submit PhD within specified time. If you develop three year plan, keep first year to complete course work and initiate the research. Second year can be dedicated to writing research proposal, pilot study and data collection for actual research. Third year can be dedicated to data analysis, writing and submission of PhD thesis. This planning not only help you keep you focused but also help you assess your progress on PhD.

Managing PhD documents. All documents need to be maintained carefully. You should maintain hard copies, at-least five photocopies each document and scanned copies. Save electronic copy in pen drive, hard disk and in email. Mark sheets and certificates, PhD entrance certificate, NET certificate, PhD admission fee receipt, PhD registration certificate and other relevant certificates. Along with these certificates, keep saving each document such as concept note, PhD proposal and each document you write relevant to PhD and course you complete such as participation in seminar, conferences, PhD progress report, PhD credit completion report and so on.

Initiate a PhD research.  Now it’s time to begin research. Steps include, choose the topic, determine research problem, write a concept note, determine research instrument, develop a PhD proposal, data collection and data analysis.

Choose the topic.  Choosing the research area which you want to research is the first thing to do, but do not mistake it to be a quick or easy task! Research topic is the issue or subject that you intend to study or investigate. This is the most difficult part of research for many. Discuss your ideas with colleagues, and teachers. Read research relevant to the topic and note down all ideas you come across. After consulting your friends, colleagues and teachers, prioritize the topic you like the most or interest you the most. Choose a topic which as relevance to the issue in present context which is neither too broad nor too narrow. If you are not able to conclude any one research topic, don’t panic. Relax and take comfort! If you have problems deciding the topic, avoid thinking about research for a week, engage yourself in other activities. After a week or so, revisit the research topic from fresh point of view. Choose the topic which is feasible and doable within specified time and available resources.

PhD registration. In some Indian Universities/institutions, students are asked to present proposal in the respective department and upon PhD committee’s recommendation, PhD registration is done. In this case, students directly start working on PhD. However, University Grants Commission (UGC) recommended credit program. As per the new UGC regulation, students need to undertake pre-requisite courses before working on actual research and submission of PhD proposal. These pre-requisite course work may include taking up some semester long post-graduate course, teaching assignment, undertake course on research methodology and data analysis, participation in the conference. After completing, pre-requisite courses, students, under the guidance of PhD guide, are allowed to work on actual research and registration of PhD topic. This process varies University to University. In some Universities/Institutions, students are registered for PhD even before submission of PhD proposal. In general, PhD registration requires title of the PhD and is valid up to four years. You may modify PhD title during the four years of tenure. Failing to submit PhD thesis within four years, students can extend for another four years by approval from the University and pay necessary fee.

Determine the research problem. One research area or topic is determined, next step is to determine a research problem that you want to study. Research problem is the logical explanation of relationship (between two or more) variables under study. Read widely and narrow it down to a simple researchable topic. Developing a provisional title of the PhD is helpful at this stage.

Write a concept note. A concept note is a summary version of ideas behind research. It is prospectus, a preliminary description of the research. It helps to conceptualize PhD research. Concept note is a document that encapsulates the research, a blue print or roadmap for the PhD research. The size of a concept note depends on many variables, but shorter is better. Usually concept paper should not be more than 3-5 pages.  Usually concept note is two-three page description of the research. Referencing style as per the University’s guideline should be adhered. There is no fixed format. However, the concept paper should resemble a mini-proposal and thus can be structured under the following headings:

1. Introduction/Background
1. Rationale
2. Aims and objectives/Problem statement
3. Methodology
1. Proposed source of data
2. Method of data collection/Instruments
3. Plan of analysis
4. Significance of the research (contribution to knowledge/originality)
5. Ethical compliance (Human Subject Protection)
6. Action plan with timeline
7. References

Determine or develop research instrument. Research instrument is a tool to gather data for the research. Based on the research methodology such as qualitative, quantitative or mixed method research, research instruments need to be developed or used existing research instruments. Quantitative research applies tools such as questionnaires, scales, structured interview, and /or secondary data like National Family Health Survey data and so. Data collection tools for qualitative research includes interview guide, focus group interview guide, case study guide, review of documents, monographs, and participant observation guide. Research instruments for mixed method research are combination of tools from both quantitative and qualitative research method. Researcher has to select appropriate research methodology and use or develop research instruments that is align with objectives of the research.

Pilot study (optional). A pilot study is a small scale preliminary research, prior to full scale research that is conducted to prepare for that study.  A pilot study can be undertaken to assess feasibility of the study, know adverse events, pre-test tools, refine research hypotheses, research design and try out statistical application. Pilot studies are used to ensure that the ideas or methods behind a research idea are sound, strengthen the research argument by gathering preliminary data, and improve the quality of research by contextualizing research tools and modifying research design. It warns possibility of project failures, deviations from protocols, or problems with proposed methods or instruments and, uncovers local problems that may affect the research. In clinical studies, a pilot study can be used to evaluate the feasibility of recruitment, randomization, retention, assessment procedures, new methods, and implementation of the novel intervention. Decision to undertake pilot study depend on the objective of research, type of research topic under study, recommendation by the PhD committee or by the PhD guide. Good pilot study increases the likelihood of success of the main study.

Write a PhD proposal. Proposal is blueprint of research. Purpose of the proposal is to assess the quality and originality of researcher’s ideas, logical sequence of the research process, skills in critical thinking and the feasibility of the research project. It an opportunity to assess researcher’s knowledge of the topic, existing research and expertise to conduct scientific research. Importantly, it is also an opportunity for you to communicate your passion in the subject area and to make a persuasive argument about what your project can accomplish. Many University/academic institutions require PhD students to present a proposal seminar along with submission of PhD proposal. The length of PhD proposal can depend on the variables of the research; however, average length of PhD proposal is 25-35 pages long. If the University or Institute has PhD proposal guideline, you need to follow that. Usually PhD research proposals should contain the following headings.

1. Title
2. Index
3. Introduction/Background
1. Rationale
2. Aims and objectives
3. Significance of the research (contribution to knowledge/originality of the research)
4. Review of literature
1. Description of relevant literature
2. Gaps in existing knowledge or field of the study
5. Methodology
1. Theoretical framework/Conceptual framework
2. Research design
3. Proposed source of data
4. Method of data collection/Instruments
5. Plan of analysis
6. Ethical compliance (Human Subject Protection)
7. Action plan with timeline
6. References
7. Appendices (optional) you may attach draft research instrument or any

Data collection and analysis. This is very important and most time-consuming stage of PhD research. Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information relevant to the research. Data collection requires proper planning. Develop a plan of data collection and follow it. Along with data collection, start classifying, and organizing the data. Start entering qualitative as well as quantitative data in excel sheet. If your research is qualitative, then you may need to transcribe or translate the data in English and preserve data in soft copy for analysis. Once you complete data collection, analyze the data with appropriate analytic techniques.

Revisit your literature review and update it. At this stage, since you have analyzed data, you may wish to consider attending conferences. Present part of your work as you will receive some feedback that will enhance your work. Uses excel sheet or other softwares such as NVIVO, SPSS, and MAXQDA. Use of softwares help organize data better. Extract a central message from the data you have analyzed and write key findings. Share document on analysis with peers and PhD guide. Keep this document safely.  Always remember to take back up regularly.

            Complete a PhD research. Once you initiated the research and collected the data, you need to begin data analysis, systematic literature review and thesis writing. This stage is crucial to utilize your research skills and show your caliber to others especially to your guide, examiners and other scholars. This stage requires patience, analytic and writing skills. Develop PhD completion plan that should include time for complete thesis writing (first draft of PhD chapters, develop PhD thesis document including title, index, acknowledgement, all chapters, references, and annexures), writing PhD synopsis, PhD thesis, submission of PhD thesis and preparation of PhD viva. From this stage, with your consistent efforts, you can complete PhD research within 1 to 2 years.

PhD synopsis. Write synopsis of PhD. It is summary of PhD research in 20-30 pages. Discuss with your PhD guide for the contents to be included in the synopsis and chapterization. Usually, synopsis includes following headings:

Title

Introduction and Review of Literature

Methodology

Results and Discussion

Conclusions

References

Submit synopsis to the University through proper channel and submission of PhD exam fee. Remember, you need to submit PhD thesis within a year of submission of synopsis. Organize Synopsis submission documents, receipts of PhD fees, PhD registration certificate, permission letter, PhD examination fee receipt and synopsis submission form. These documents will be required while submission of PhD thesis.

Thesis writing. At this stage you are almost exhausted. Be patient with your PhD guide and work through this stage. Finish writing results chapter first. Use feedback you have received in writing your analysis chapters. Start writing chapters. Attend university workshops on how to write your thesis successfully. Develop some of the conference papers you have produced or parts of the thesis that make significant contributions to some academic journals. Your supervisor can guide you on this. This will impress the examiners also. Finish writing first draft of PhD thesis.  Usually, following headings are part of PhD thesis.

Title

Index                            

Acknowledgement (non-numbered)

Certificate

Dedication

1.      Introduction/Background

a.       Rationale

b.      Aims and objectives

c.       Significance of the research (contribution to knowledge/originality of the research)

d.      Theoretical framework/Conceptual framework

2.      Review of literature

a.       Description of relevant literature

b.      Gaps in existing knowledge or field of the study

3.      Methodology

a.       Research design

b.      Method of data collection/Instruments

c.       Method of data analysis

d.      Ethical compliance (Human Subject Protection)

4.      Results and Discussion

5.      Conclusions and recommendations

        References

       Appendices (Include copy of research instrument, copy of written consent form, any relevant

       form  relevant to PhD research)

Share first draft in hard as well as soft copy marked as first draft to your PhD guide. You should meet with your PhD guide to discuss organization of PhD chapters, and exactly what should go into your thesis. You need to maintain a proper balance between the quality and quantity of the content.

Review of PhD thesis. One rule for writing PhD thesis is, WRRAMRR ie. Write, Read, Review, Add, Modify Review and Rewrite. Use MS word track changes for doing this exercise. You may use reference manager software, such as Mendley, EndNote, Zotero and so. I recommend the use of Mendeley as it is free and simple to use it. Mendeley will help you review articles, make note and cite references in the referencing style you are following. Be prepared to write end number of drafts.

Write. With your guide’s suggestions and inputs, write second draft of complete PhD thesis draft including all chapters, annexures and references. Convert it into PDF file; take two copy of your thesis.  This will look like complete PhD thesis set. Give one copy to your PhD guide and keep another with yourself for your reference.

Read. Read, re-read your PhD thesis several times in intervals. This is quick scan of the PhD thesis. Look at the logical flow, grammar, structure of the section or chapter and overall formatting. Divide your time, read one section/chapter at a time and keep note of corrections you make. For example, you may start reading non-numbered section (title page, index, dedication, acknowledgement, list of tables/figures) first. Then next day, devote time to read chapter one. Depending upon the length and depth of the chapter, allocate days to read each section.

Review. Review your PhD as a third person and make corrections. At this stage, you can give your thesis to your colleagues for their feedback and suggestions. Of course, you should share PhD thesis document to your PhD guide.

Add and Modify. After reviewing your PhD thesis and receiving feedback from your colleagues and PhD guide, you may want to add knew knowledge to your thesis or modify the content of your thesis. This is the time where you need to look at the language carefully and identify paragraph/sections that are not paraphrased appropriately. Here you modify paragraph, sections to avoid plagiarism consciously.

Re-review. Look at your thesis from close eye. At this stage, you proof read each word and sentence carefully, edit and mark corrections. Your focus is to assess adherence to preferred reference style as suggested by your University, paraphrase the content of the thesis and avoid plagiarism. For example, if your University prefer APA style then review entire thesis according to APA reference style wherein you will look at formatting, paraphrasing, referencing (in-text citations and references), and organization of PhD thesis in specified style.

Re-write. Re-review would have brought up certain corrections and you may need to re-write paragraphs or sections or chapters. Aim of re-writing is to cut unnecessary information to have crisp and concise write up. Target is to reduce number of pages of the thesis. Now this requires technical skills to present the information differently in prescribed reference style.

You should give your PhD thesis to your colleague for peer review and professional copy editor for proofreading and review. I recommend you to give your PhD thesis to a professional reviewer or research mentor (for formatting, language and technical writing inputs) who can help you enhance the quality of write-up and help you write article based on PhD thesis for publication.

PhD thesis submission.  Each University has regulations governing the format of your thesis, including formatting and specific procedure for submission of PhD thesis. There will be stipulations on how many copies you need to submit, when and how they need to be bound. Roughly you will require to have five to six copies of PhD thesis and PhD summary report (10-20 pages long) along with PhD submission application, and all PhD documents you have (receipts, synopsis submission form etc.). Make sure you know the procedure and documents required for final submission in advance. Before submitting, check again that your thesis adheres to the required guidelines. Checklist for PhD submission:

ü  Final proof-reading and review of entire PhD thesis is done.

ü  Adequate copies of PhD thesis are ready.

ü  Adequate copies of PhD summary report are ready.

ü  Application for PhD thesis submission is ready.

ü  Adequate documents for submission of PhD thesis are available and attached with the PhD thesis application.

PhD Viva and open seminar. This is crucial stage for qualifying the PhD exam. After submission of PhD thesis, get in touch with your PhD guide. University/institute forwards your PhD thesis to two examiners. Examiners take approximately in 3-6 months to send the report to the University. Get examiner’s report on your PhD thesis. Based on examiner’s recommendations, when necessary, make necessary correction and submit the revised PhD thesis. As per PhD guide’s advice, prepare for the PhD viva. Arrange a mock viva and PhD presentation with your PhD guide. Date for PhD viva and seminar is mutually decided by student guide and availability of examiners. Usually viva-voce (interview) is conducted at department’s or University’s office. After viva, PhD student is required to give open seminar. After viva and open seminar, examiner, recommend the University whether PhD student has qualified the PhD exam. Never rush through the final process. It is better to get it right than rush the process and be asked to resubmit. Discuss things with fellow PhD students who have finished successfully and benefit from their experience.

Conclusion. Doctoral journey is an endurance test. Treat every setback in our journey, whether academic or personal, as a bump in the road. Otherwise, we might waste our energy and lose focus; or worse, turn an obstacle into a show stopper. No matter whatever obstacles come, keep calm and face it confidently.

Kindly give your feedback on the article, share your experiences of doing PhD.

My next article is on “writing PhD thesis,” “doing grounded theory research,” “guide to APA referencing,” checklist for PhD thesis writing,” "checklist for final PhD submission.” Tell me which article would you like to read first? I will post the one that most students demand.

Raise Your Self-Confidence

I come across many individuals who ask me for tips to increase self-confidence. I am sharing tips that helped individuals to increase their self-confidence. The word ‘confidence’ comes from the Latin word to trust or have faith. Self–confidence is belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities. Self-confidence allows you to feel secure, makes you realistic, and helps you manage relationship, career, social and spiritual life successfully. Self-esteem is one’s judgment of self-worth as well as an attitude toward the self. It is how we feel deep down about who we are.

Low self-confidence is about fear of performing. For example, you have to give a presentation to a large group of people, and you are extremely nervous, because you are afraid of making a mistake. This would mean you lack confidence, because you question your ability.  On the other hand, you are afraid of how people will judge you, which questions your own self-worth. This would mean you lack self-esteem.

I have realized after several years of  helping others that self-confidence and self-esteem go hand in hand. As you start to love and trust yourself, your self-esteem improves. And as your self-esteem improves, you feel good, start taking decisions and actions, and hence your self-confidence improves. You start doing things you’ve wouldn’t have done before. The same thing happens when you start increasing yours self-confidence.  As your self-confidence builds, your self-esteem improves, because you start counting your success, which make you feel good about you.

First, let’s start building your self-esteem.  I believe, when you build your self-esteem your self-confidence builds automatically. Everyone has their own strengths, abilities and skills to enhance their self-confidence and become who they want to eventually be.  Just focus on being the best.  Following steps may help you raise your confidence.

1. Stop your inner critic.

We all have an inner critic. It is important to learn to manage and to replace the voice of your own inner critic. This inner voice whispers or shouts destructive thoughts in your mind. Thoughts like for example:

·         I am lazy and sloppy, now get to work.

·         I am not good at job at all.

·         I am uglier than my friend/co-worker/partner.

You need to stop the train of the thought driven by the inner critic, negativity and replace these critical voices with more positive and helpful thoughts.

·         Be aware of your self-talk, the thoughts you have about yourself and what you’re doing. While doing my doctoral research, I often come across negative thoughts, “This is too hard. I can’t write… want to stop. I am not good”

·         Simply to say stop whenever the critic pipes up in your mind.  You can do this by creating a stop-word or stop-phrase. As the critic says something – in your mind – shout: STOP! No, no, no, I am not going there!

·         Replace negative thoughts with positive one. Refocus your thoughts to something more constructive. Like planning what you want to eat for dinner or your study or writing journal (personal diary about reflections of the day). I replaced negative thoughts with positive ones, “C’mon, I can do this! Only one mile left!”

2. Act positive.

More than just thinking positive, you have to put it into action. Action, actually, is the key to developing self-confidence. You are what you do, and so if you change what you do, you change what you are. Act in a positive way, take action instead of telling yourself you can’t, be positive. Talk to people in a positive way, put energy into your actions. You’ll soon start to notice a difference.

3. Set a small goal and achieve it.

People often make the mistake of shooting for the moon, and then when they fail, they get discouraged. Instead, set a goal you know you can achieve, and then work to achieve it. You’ll feel good when you achieve your goals. The more you achieve small goals, the better you’ll be at it, and the better you’ll feel. Soon you’ll be setting bigger (yet achievable) goals and achieving those too.

4. Increase competence.

Identify skills you would like to strengthen and practice diligently. Just do small bits at a time. If you want to be a more competent researcher, for example, don’t start research at once. Just begin to reading articles you like, and write. Read about research methodologies, identify your preferred methodology and write summary of your readings. The more you explore, the better you’ll be. Set aside 30 minutes to an hour a day to read and write. Sincere practice will increase your competence.

5. Motivate yourself.

A simple but powerful way to motivate yourself and to keep that motivation up daily is focus on doing what you really like to do. When you really like doing something then the motivation to do that thing tends to comes pretty automatically. But sometimes, we feel lazy to do what we like. Push yourself to do even if your mind resistance yourself doing it or feel not to do. So if you lose your motivation, ask yourself: Am I doing what I really want to do? If not and if possible, then refocus and start working on that very important thing instead.

6. Appreciate yourself.

Take a 2 minute self-appreciation break daily. It’s simple and fun habit.  Take a deep breath, slow down and ask yourself this question: what are 3 things I can appreciate about myself?

A few examples that have come up when I have used to this exercise are as follow:

·         I help quite a few people each day through what I write.

·         I can make people laugh and forget about their troubles.

·         I am very thoughtful and caring when it comes to maintaining friendship/relationship.

·         I follow what I plan.

These short breaks do not only build self-esteem in the long run but can also turn around a negative mood and reload you with a lot of positive energy again.

7. Appreciate others.

It important to observe others, listen to others and appreciate others honestly. It raises self-confidence of yours as well as who is appreciated. Complement at-least one person a day. A few examples are as follow:

·         You always help others.

·         You have very good communication skills and write well.

·         You are thoughtful.

·         You look graceful today.

 8. Replace the perfectionism.

Few thought habits can be so destructive in daily life as perfectionism. It can paralyze you from taking action because you become so afraid of not living up to some standard. And so you procrastinate and you do not get the results you want. This will make your self-esteem sink. Or you take action but are never or very rarely satisfied with what you accomplished and your own performance. And so your opinion and feelings about yourself become more and more negative and your motivation to take action plummets.

·         Go for good enough. When you aim for perfection then that usually winds up in a project or a task never being finished. So simply go for good enough instead. Simply realize that there is something called good enough and when you are there then you are finished.

9. Be your own best friend. 

Instead of beating yourself up, ask yourself: How would my friend/parent support me and help me in this situation? Then do things and talk to yourself  like he or she would. It keeps you from falling into a pit of despair and helps you to be more constructive after the first initial pain of a mistake or failure starts to dissipate. Be your best friend.

10. Speak slowly.

Such a simple thing, but it can have a big difference in how others perceive you. A person in authority, with authority, speaks slowly. It shows confidence. A person who feels that he isn’t worth listening to will speak quickly. Even if you don’t feel the confidence of someone who speaks slowly, try doing it a few times. It will make you feel more confident.

11. Groom yourself.

Dressing well can make huge difference in our self-confidence. You will feel good about yourself when you dress well. You’ll feel successful and presentable and ready to tackle the world. Now, dressing nicely means something different for everyone. I don’t mean here to wear expensive clothes, but mean wearing clothes that are nice, comfortable and presentable.

12. Keep trying.

If you are not able to work according to your plan, don’t feel sorry. Keep trying until you don’t do what you wanted to do. Learn from past mistakes and focus on opportunities. It might be a small thing like getting up from the couch and going to the gym. It could be to be understanding instead of judgmental in a situation. Or to stop feeling sorry for yourself and focus on the opportunities and gratitude for what you actually have.

13. Try something new.

When you try something new, when you challenge yourself in a small or bigger way and go outside of your comfort zone then your opinion of yourself goes up. You may not have done whatever you did in a spectacular or great way but you at least tried instead of sitting on your hands and doing nothing.

So go outside of your comfort zone regularly. Don’t expect anything; just tell yourself that you will try something out. And then later on you can do the same thing a few more times and improve your own performance.

14. Change a small habit.

Not a big one, like quitting smoking. Just a small one, like writing things down, waking up 10 minutes earlier. drinking a glass of water when you wake up or start an exercise. Something small that you know you can do. Do it for a month and then continue. When you’ve accomplished it, you’ll feel good.

15. Don’t compare.

When you compare your life, yourself and what you have to other people’s lives and what they have then you have destructive habit on your hands. There is always someone who has more or is better than you at something in the world. There are always people ahead of you. So replace that habit with something better.  Compare yourself to yourself. Focus on you on your results and on how you can and how you have improved your results. This will both motivate you and raise your self-esteem.

16. Spend time with positive and supportive people.

Identify positive and supportive people around you. Try to spend some time with them. Choose to spend less time with people who are nervous perfectionists, unkind or unsupportive of your dreams or goals. And spend more time with positive, uplifting people who have more human and kinder standards and ways of thinking about things.

You can spend more time in reading self-help books, blogs, websites, or  watch TV-shows or you tube that inspires you.

17.  Smile.

Smile works. I feel instantly better when I smile, and it helps me to be kinder to others as well. A little tiny thing that can have a chain reaction.  Always smile to everyone you meet. Make it a habit.

18Audit yourself.

Spend some time daily with self. Introspect and reflection on your day. It is reality check to your progress. If you have done well, reward yourself. If you have performed well, punish yourself in terms of being more focused on goals, reduce fun or social time.

19. Write down your experiences

Writing is very helpful tool. Write down your experiences, feelings and emotions. Try to cover following aspects of the day:

·         How was your day?

·         What you felt?

·         How you motivated yourself?

·         Where do you find yourself on self-confidence? (Rate on point 10 scale where 10 is improved, 0 is nor improved)

Make a habit of writing. If you cannot write daily, write on alternate day.

Hope this helps you. Do not forget to share your experiences.  If you need professional help, do not hesitate to write to us or call InspireLife. We will be happy to help you.

Essence of true love

True love does not have reference of past and future. It exists in the "NOW," a present time. It is a spontaneous joy within a person. A person shares; showers it for no other reasons and no other motives. It is expressed without any conditions. A true lover never imposes one’s ideas, desires, and on to others. A true lover never possess someone. Rather love makes others feel free. A true love for someone gradually transform into a love for everyone. Love graduates from self love, to love for someone special to love for everyone. It transcend from being selfish, conditional to unselfish and unconditional love. It’s a transformation into a higher state of being.

Many people love, but then their love is very much contaminated by hate, jealousy, doubts, anger, and possessiveness. Love is delicate like a glass. It breaks easily and once it breaks, pieces can be joined but it cannot become the one it was earlier.  Just think of any one emotion may it be anger, doubts, hatred, possession, or jealousy: how can love survive? In love, most often people move into the head, start intellectualizing love; over analyze relationship, often do cost-benefit analysis. In this intellectualization of love, heart is left behind, emotions are ignored. The mother of love, heart, where love is born, is forgotten, only body and intellect remains. More dependence, but less inter-dependence. Persons in love interact more with body and intellect and less with heart, insights and true emotions. Talk more, but listen less. Trust more but understand less.  Have more sex, less intimacy. Person starts owning each other, possess each other. This is the time when persons begin claiming other as their own. This is what is expected. It is a conditioned response. It seems as a basic human reactions in love. It looks good for some time. Gradually, analytic mind start looking at negativities, weaknesses of others and soon become intolerable. Then the whole journey becomes bitter. Instead of attaining peace, life becomes a noise - conflicts, dislikes, angers, that disturbs the harmony. Love is all about sharing knowledge, energies, feelings and time. Love is being together, not owning to each other. Love allows other to grow, does not own other. Love makes others free, does not bind other. Love creates inter-dependence, does not make others dependent. Love make a person confident, free from fears and anxieties. Love is all about acceptance and unconditional positive regards. Love is spontaneous, no need to make efforts to express it. When all negativities are wiped out, love is natural phenomen. Its automatic.

To overcome negativities, a person needs to transcend from negativities to unconditional acceptance and celebration of being. All negativities are poisons and as buddhism expresses, "a person needs to transform poisons into medicine." OSHO said, “Learn to transform your poisons into honey.” I completely agree with OSHO, who suggested to be a patient to let negativities transformed into love. I often practice "patience." It helps me clean negativities from me and enable me to express love. You too try it. When anger comes, don’t do anything; just sit silently, take deep breather and watch it. Don't be against it, don't be for it. Don't cooperate with it, don't repress it. Just watch it, express your feelings, write them, and talk it out to self. Whenever you are surrounded by negativities just be calm, and/or go for a walk.  This will help you to learn to be patient. Practice this often and make it a habit. Let patience rise…and just see what happens. Once state of patience is consistent, negativities are transformed into strength. In this state, love evolves spontaneously. You feel joy within and become unconditional. Why do you wait, start experimenting from now and experience the true love. Don't forget to share your experiences here. You can share your comments/feedback, thoughts or reflections on this.

A mindset to have blissful and inspired life

A beautiful day begins with beautiful mindset. When you wake up, take a second to think about what a privilege it is to simply be alive, inspired and healthy. The moment you start acting like living, life is a blessing. Following tips gathered from my personal experiences may help you make your life blissful and inspired.

Be independent and value inter-dependence: Be free from fear, guilt and confined beliefs on one’s potential. Value others and recognize importance of interdependence. Take charge of your life; take firm decisions, and responsibility of life.
Be happy for no reasons: Be happy for no reasons like child. It’s a breakthrough to blissful life and soon happiness become unconditional. Make happiness a habit.
Be curious, not judgmental: Be curious and open. Don’t judge and assume. Just accept the situation or a person. Soften your judgment. Be curious and allow your inner voice and inner wisdom to be heard. Say to yourself, “It’s okay that you are angry, it’s okay that you are sad, it’s okay that you are confused.”
Fight tirelessly for something: Never quit. Do not give up you efforts until you get it. The beginning is always the hardest.
Be enthusiastic in everything you do: Whatever you do, be energetic. Express enthusiasm by being physically active and completely engaged in the task.
Be Inspired: Always remain inspired and inspire others by your words, actions and attitude. do something that make you happy.

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Live inspired and motivated life

Many people tell me that their life is very sedentary. They want to live  inspired and motivated life. With their requests, I am sharing few tips to lead inspired and motivated life.

·         Always smile and greet everyone you meet.

·         Set life goals and work each day to achieve them

·         Enjoy doing small things everyday.

·         Do small acts of kindness everyday. Help someone.

·         Live in the present.

·         Surround yourself with positive people.

·         Live simply.

·         Strike up a conversation with a stranger.

·         Listen to others and give respect to others.

·         Call and talk to someone you’ve been thinking about.

·         Write down your experiences, feelings and emotions.

·         Laugh often and smile always.

·         Spend time with self, introspect.

·         Pray or meditate.

·         Do exercise everyday or once in a week.

·         Listen to your heart and trust your instincts.

·         Spend time with  nature and do adventurous activities.

At the end of the day, assess your day and write  a diary.  I hope you find a few tips that you can incorporate into your daily life. Write your comments. You can add your experiences of living inspired and motivated life.