5 steps closer to being successful
Why have some people been so successful in their lives, but not others? Sometimes even the most brilliant and highly accomplished people fail to understand why they succeed. After in-depth research, it has been found that successful people reach their goals not because of who they are, but because of what they do. Here are the five things that extraordinary people do differently, which make them so accomplished. 1) Set goals that are specific and measurable Always set yourself goals which can be measured and are also specific. For example, ‘lose 10 pounds’ is more specific and measurable than ‘lose some weight’, ...
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The terrible appeal of Humsafar
The appeal of Humsafar is obvious. You could cut through the weird chemistry between Khirad and Ashar, the hero authors of romance novels would be envious of. Eye candy, nakedly sexual, he stares arduously at his love interest with desire that would give the Grammarian and the Aisha Bawany schoolgirl goose bumps. He is clean cut. He smiles infrequently and when he does, it seems as if it were a gift. Physical contact is at a minimum. Sex is implied, and there is a chastity reminiscent of Zia-era dramas that drives people insane with tension. Khirad on the other hand, played by the cherubic ...
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The algebra of happiness
We spend the greater part of our lives calculating, constructing, accumulating and chasing our perceived parameters of happiness. Such parameters are usually the rational outcome of pre-established formulas and algebraic equations that have been fed to our brains by the more accomplished happiness seekers and by our interdependent social structures. Interestingly, the recognized achievers of this unparalleled feeling have also constructed their algebra based on collective judgment and the common societal beliefs. Under the simplest of formula, we are told that happiness is the derivative of good education, followed by a great job, tons of wealth, a happy family life ...
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Riaz wanted to learn English
It was almost 11 years ago when I stopped my car at the Teen Talwar traffic light to be greeted by the usual herd of beggars, windscreen cleaners and newspaper sellers. One of the newspaper sellers, Riaz, a total of four feet in height, asked me for a lift to the Marriot signal. Irritated by the commotion around me, I chose to ignore him. Rather than moving on, he boldly walked in front of my car, locked eyes with me, stuck his teeth out like President Asif Zardari would, if he stared at the sun, and performed a mini-break dance ...
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Are you an ‘educated’ predator?
Education – slick, elite, expensive education – for which, I attend classes, take exams and tap a phenomenal fraction of my parent’s hard-earned money. Education – there is no word so grotesquely misunderstood. No idea so ill-expressed. Little does anyone realise that the mad rat-race to score better grades does not ‘educate.’ On the contrary, the cut-throat dynamics of the relative grading system merely give us a taste of the usual rat-racing, throat-cutting, leg-pulling and back-stabbing competition that the corporate culture is characteristic of. Relative grading gives you the grade, but it ingrains in you the idea that your success is tied ...
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If anyone should retire, it’s Ijaz Butt
Shahid Afridi finally called it a day. The reasons he cited for announcing his retirement were those that most of us already knew and that most of us knew were hampering the success of the Pakistan team. Afridi said he was not allowed to give any input in team selection and bizarrely, was also barred from talking to the press about his involvement, or lack thereof, in team matters. This begs the question of why Butt, all pun intended, is the ‘head’ of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Is it so he can live the lifestyle of the rich and famous? Or ...
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Two thumbs up for Pakistani techies
The lack of success is somehow discussed and internalised more than the sweet taste of victory. But let’s sip this sweet nectar one sip at a time and savour it, just this once. The fastest brain in the world The world of information technology has found an abundance of fresh blood from the fertile Pakistani soil. The fastest brain in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records is Mamoon Tariq Khan, our very own wonder boy from Islamabad, now working on an inter-disciplinary IT solution to the problems of poverty and class divide through uniformed IT access from ...
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Lie, cheat or steal: The key to success
Salman Butt, a man who as captain of the Pakistan cricket team managed to provide us with a constant reminder that our politicians aren’t the only ones without scruples, has gotten a job as a TV expert commentator. That’s just wonderful. The fact that they’ve hired a man who isn’t even allowed to be involved in any form of professional cricket, for the disrepute he brought to the game and to Pakistan, is absolutely disgraceful. This poor excuse of an athlete shouldn’t be allowed to profit in any way from the game that he very skilfully helped tarnish. This is yet ...
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23 O level A’s: My success story
I am not a genius as many may believe; I do not have god gifted intelligence. But I do have vast knowledge. And more than anything else, I am hard working. I was never really considered a bookworm in school, because I engaged in activities that are part of student life. I play the guitar, and have won trophies for football. I was an active debater and secured six “best delegate” awards at the Model United Nations and also won trophies in parliamentary style debating. It was quite difficult to balance my social life with my studies and extracurricular activities, ...
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Countering harassment: My eyes are up here
Not long ago, at an informal get-together of friends in Karachi our conversation turned to harassment in the workplace. One of my friends mentioned a recurring problem she was having with a male colleague, who seemed to always keep his eyes at a particular location on her body instead of looking her in the eye when talking to her. She could not avoid it as their respective job roles required a lot of communication between the two. This was particularly uncomfortable yet she was unable to raise this either directly with the person in question or with anyone else at ...
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