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20 Cognitive Biases that Screw up your Decisions

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 15:17:00 GMT

It's not the first time that someone has given you two choices, and you chose one in a hurry, or that you got stuck the moment someone asks you an unexpected question

Trust me , we all have been there. And though it's not something critical, it's still there. It is an error in human thinking when they are understanding or thinking something to put it in simple words. And it is not one bias, but a total of 20 and each of these are equally interesting. Let's see how many of these can you relate to in a setting.

1 . Anchoring Bias

People tend to rely on the first piece of information they get. And thus, the decision becomes biased. In salary negotiations, the first offer opens up the gates to multiple options and possibilities in our minds.

2. Availability heuristic

The availability heuristic is the biasedness created due to human memory, and that too is because they have seen particular examples like that. Chances are that a person disagrees with smoking being unhealthy because he knows someone who lived a long and healthy life despite smoking.

3. Bandwagon effect

In a social gathering, an individual's decision is dependent on the findings of the others in the group. This mind behavior is mainly observed in group hiring settings resulting in a fruitless outcome.

4. Blind-spot bias:

Every individual experience some sort of biases in our thinking and cognition. But more often, such behaviors are observed more in others compared to ourselves. And this is an error in itself.

5. Choice-supportive bias:

When we create or choose something, we regard it as the best, even though it has its flaws and negatives, like a man complimenting his dog, even though it can be a little rough sometimes.

6. Clustering Illusion

This bias is more prominent in random events like in a rolling roulette. If several pink balls have passed at once, your mind would think that it's very likely or unlikely for it to appear again.

7. Confirmation Bias

Once an idea or a belief has taken the space, it's tough for the human mind to accept a new religion. That's one of the core reasons why there are no creative debates on climatic change.

8. Conservation Bias

Human minds prefer old ideas and beliefs instead of accepting new ones, like how it took a long time for all of us to accept that the Earth was round.

9. Information Bias

More information is not always necessary, especially when it doesn't have any action. Sometimes our thinking fails to understand the importance of little but specific information.

10. Ostrich Effect

When you are surrounded by a hostile environment, you decide to stay low like an ostrich in the sand instead of changing things. It's a very relatable situation, but we don't know ways to improve it. Thus, we ignore it.

11. Outcome Bias

This biasedness happens when we put too much interest in the end results instead of the whole decision-making process. An example would be the thought of investing in gambling just because you won one in the past.

12. Overconfidence

When an individual becomes more than confident in his abilities, that's when things start going wrong. This overconfident behavior is more common in professionals of a particular field compared to the non-expert.

13. Placebo Effect

Thinking is believing, and medically this belief garners all the positive perks. If you think that a sure thing is good, it will trick your mind into believing it. And ultimately, you'll sometimes end up with the desired results… Or not.

14. Pro-Innovation Bias

You come across a pro-innovation bias when something focuses and exaggerates its plus points without giving the due value to its constraints.

15. Recency bias:

This is the biases towards the recent and updated information as compared to the old and outdated methods. An example would be the investors giving more preference to the short term results than the long term.

16. Salience

It's the mental biases to get attracted towards easily recognizable things. It follows an attentional mechanism, and an example would be the thought of getting killed by a lion, even though the chances of a car accident are more probable.

17. Selective Perception

It is a human activity to observe certain things and ignore others. When the other team commits a foul, the home audience seems to notice more than the different audience.

18. Stereotyping

We all are familiar with this biasedness which expects a particular group of individuals to have qualities without knowing them. That's the reason why we presume every stranger a danger.

19. Survivorship Bias

One faces such an error when his only focus is on the winning cases and not on the failure stories. It happens when you don't look at both sides of the story.

20. Zero-risk bias

Zero-risk bias asks for the removal of the risk and uncertainty altogether. It wishes that the element of risk and danger just vanishes from the scene.

Comment below what intrigued you the most?

What topic would you like me to write about next?

Sources

Brains Biases; Ethics Unwrapped; Explorable; Harvard Magazine; HowStuffWorks; LearnVest; Outcome bias in decision evaluation, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; Psychology Today; The Bias Blind Spot: Perceptions of Bias in Self Versus Others, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin;

The Cognitive Effects of Mass Communication, Theory and Research in Mass Communications; Wikipedia; You Are Not So Smart; ZhurnalyWiki

21 Mistakes you Probably MADE in your 20s that RUIN the chances of SUCCESS and HAPPINESS in LIFE

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 14:55:01 GMT

By Avoiding these 21 Mistakes you can become Happier, Healthier and Wealthier later on in life

Many things have been done that people have come to regret later in life. The bulk of these things were done while they were in their 20s and lacked the simple concept of taking on responsibilities. They also wish they could turn back the hands of time and do things differently, or at least better. Time and tide, though, do not wait for anyone. So, now that it has happened, the only option, if there is one, is to either find a way to undo the aftermath of their decisions or live with the consequences for the rest of their lives. As a consequence, I've assembled a list of 21 mistakes you can stop right there if you're in your twenties in order to start living the good life…

21. Failure to look after yourself

Everyone knows that health is wealth. Your wellbeing must take precedence. Most people in their twenties, on the other hand, neglect their wellbeing and concentrate on eating whatever they want, believing they are living life to the fullest. They go to the bar, smoke, drink excessively, and prefer hanging out. They consume foods that are high in fat, sugars, and protein. They are unconcerned about the effects of continuing to exercise in order to stay fit and burn excess fat and sugar. Hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other health problems are often the result of these factors. And who says these diseases can't impact you in your thirties?

20. Making the wrong friends

Some twenties assume that everyone can be their mate. One thing we must remember is that our friends are among the people at the very top of the influence ladder. They have an impact on us in ways we never imagined and have an impact on the choices we make. If one gets interested in the wrong company, his friends are likely to influence him. This has a life-altering impact and will remain on his record for the rest of his life. In their 20s, some people become hardened criminals, drug addicts, alcoholics, smokers, and so on. They may think they can improve when the time is right, but they may not be able to control the consequences of their decisions.

I used to have a friend, he was a high achiever, he had big things going for him, All ‘A grades’, he was a top student, but at some point he got involved with the wrong crowd, made the wrong friends, they did drugs, so did he, they went to crime, and so did he, and that ruined his life. Jim Rohn said “You are the average of the 5 people that you hang around with”. So remember choose your friends wisely.

19. Rushing to get married

Don't get us wrong: We think it's fantastic! Everyone wishes to marry and is on the lookout for a suitable life partner. When you're in your 20s, you might think that if you don't get married right away, people will abandon you. And, seemingly out of nowhere, a promising young man or woman with your basic qualities appears and begins talking about marriage. Nothing else matters at the moment, and you aren't ready to consider the possibility that your career will end after you marry. Then you get married, only to discover that it was one of the most costly decisions you've ever made. Don’t rush, play it steady.

18. Families being overlooked

Just your family will be there for you when everyone else has left. They've been your closest friends since you were born, and they'll always be there for you, no matter what. They can be irritating at times, especially if they start prying into your personal affairs and impose restrictions on your liberty. They were, however, well-intentioned. In your twenties, you're busy with school events, attempting to concentrate on love, keeping a social life, and so on. Your goals should not be set without considering your family, but it seems that people in their twenties devote more time and energy to other aspects of their lives while neglecting their families. Here’s what we learnt - People in their forties and fifties when asked about one of their biggest regrets: many told us it was not spending enough time with their families and loved ones when in their twenties. Spend those precious moments with your family. You will appreciate this advice.

17. Impulsive buying

The word "impulsive buying" refers to the act of purchasing something you see. You may feel like the best thing to do in your 20s is to spend every penny that comes into your hand because you have few or no financial obligations. You want to buy the most up-to-date items, have the most up-to-date smart phones or gadgets, go to clubs, eat out, and have a good time. It does not occur to you that saving is a must and can be extremely beneficial in the most bothersome times of your life. It is highly recommended that you should start saving and investing in your twenties. What's more, guess what? When you're in your thirties, you'll look back and be thankful. The book ‘The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason’ is a great read about saving money and accumulating wealth in your 20s.

16. Doing a job you despise

It is sometimes unavoidable to work in a position that is a carbon copy of your ideal job. With the current state of the economy everywhere, finding a dream career can be daunting at times. When you get your first job, which you may or may not like, you may be afraid of not being able to discover another. As a result, you get trapped and continue to do a job that stresses you out, drains your energy, or prevents you from enjoying other facets of your life. Don't stay in a position you despise because you fear you won't be able to find something better. The faster you make the correct decision, the better because you do not have the same freedom to seek better opportunities in your 30s or 40s or 50s and so on.

15. Burning bridges

It is not a good idea to burn all of your bridges. Some individuals in their twenties leave their former lives and move on as soon as they receive a better offer in life. Some people abandon their friends, families, and those who stood by them when times were tough. It's likely that they obtained a better job offer and hopped into the moving train, saying goodbye to their former position without having to quit professionally. You can send them a few days, weeks, or months' notices so that they can find a replacement. Often, since you can't see into the future, you could run into these people again when you're in a tight spot. So, what are your options? Don’t burn bridges.

14. Believing that talent and education are sufficient for success

High intellect, natural talent, and degrees from prestigious universities are all desirable qualities, but they don't guarantee that you'll land a great job — and they're worthless if they're not accompanied by hard work. Acting with others and how you portray yourself can be much more critical in advancing your career. Whatever you do, having social skills, soft skills, understanding who to ask for what, and seeing the big picture are all useful assets.

13. Associating pleasure with wealth

Although prestige and a big paycheck can make you happy, there's a lot more to success than that. If you prioritize a paycheck over your passion, you're setting yourself up for a long time of regret.

12. Giving up when things get Tough

When it happens for the first time, ending a serious relationship, being fired from a job, and making your startup fail can all seem life-changing. Instead of giving up or setting a lower goal for the next time, you should consider setbacks as opportunities to improve you and develop you. Remember every hardship can be a blessing hidden in disguise. Remember to look for the blessing and the lesson learnt.

11. Putting off things

There's a theory that says if you're 30 years old, you'll be extremely successful and have it all figured out. It's all too easy to put off your most cherished ambitions, assuming that you'll have time for them eventually. However, you can reach an age when it is too late to change occupations, attend graduate school, or start a family. Our advice is to create a ‘Life list’ with all your goals and set action steps for what you will do to achieve those, and tick them off your ‘life list’. Remember Arya Stark had a list too, and she ticked names off her list too. Now we don’t suggest you have a ‘kill list’ like Arya Stark did in Game of Thrones, but having a ‘life list’ helps you keep you keep focused on the goals you want in life.

10. Making an attempt to satisfy everybody

It is instinctive to want to get along with your boss, customers, and almost all of your colleagues when you're first starting out in your career. Embrace it, and don't get upset when you know some of them really don't like you. You will always find someone in your office, family, or school who dislikes you. So, don't get stressed and don't try to please everyone. This way, things will work well for you.

9. Believing that all friendships will last forever

Do you think your college friends will be your lifelong friends? Some will always be there at 40, but the majority will be busying in their lives doing what they do. When your mates are really not altogether in the same town or in the same school, you will know which ones are perhaps the most important to you and which ones are worth the time of keeping in touch with.

8. They're on the lookout for their soul mate

Some people want to spend the majority of their twenties single and emotionally detached. Others are on the lookout for the right partner. The latter category is prone to fantasizing about meeting someone with whom everything just works, and the relationship is uncomplicated. However, in fact, the most successful long-term relationships necessitate effort and commitment. Here's some helpful advice: You must constantly make compromises, changes, embrace and justify your failures, but know what? This is what makes it interesting!

7. Believing that relocating to a new place would fix their problems

Traveling and living in a new place can both be culturally enriching experiences, and your twenties are the ideal time to do both. But, heading to the opposite coast does not guarantee that you can immediately find sense and purpose.

6. Seeing things in black and white

Many people in their twenties are fixated on absolutes. For example, some people believe they must choose between a future career that benefits them and one that benefits others, despite the fact that self-interest does not have to be synonymous with doing good for the community.

5. Planning years ahead of time

One of the major mistakes that you probably made in your twenties was that you tried hard to plan years in advance. We know that it is good to plan and sort things out, but long-term planning may result in failure. It isn't easy to guess where you will end up and what you will do. So, instead of obsessing over five-year plans, concentrate on achievable and doable short-term objectives.

4. They assume they are the only one of their mates who is having difficulties

It may seem that your peers or colleagues are more competitive and optimistic as you navigate the world, assessing who you are as an adult and pursuing a career. However, regardless of income, jobs, or living conditions, every 20-something is still finding things out as they go.

3. Adhering to bad advice

Bad advice will sneak up on you. You may want to check it out to see if it really works. When it doesn't, you feel compelled to give it another shot just to be sure. That's how bad advice will devastate your career and personal relationships. It's likely that your mentors and friends were providing you with bad advice. You thought it was wrong the second it crossed their lips. It would be best if you had not listened to them in the first place. Instead, you continued to act as though they were fully aware of their actions. You continued to give them money for further advice, despite the fact that it had failed to help them. It failed each and every time.

2. Believing you must be the best at one thing

There could always be someone better than you, no matter how good you are at something. Choose one thing, and you'll find 100 more talented people who have been doing it professionally for a long time. Right now, you need to be exceptional at four to five things, figure out where your strengths overlap and then create a business around them. You can build your own personal brand and have something completely special that only a few people in the world can match. We need to master a few before coming up with something completely different because creativity is the new secret to success.

1. Accusing others of being responsible for your plight

Our present situation is not the fault of our parents. Accepting responsibility for being the authors of our own lives and beginning to write a story that we want to read is important. Stop blaming others for your issues and start taking responsibility for your choices; the more you know that you are solely responsible for your actions, the sooner you will get behind the wheel and drive. Here is a quote here at MM we love: “You are the captain of your ship, and the master of your fate”.

Bonus One!

Thinking that money is the answer to all life’s problems

Many people in their 20s think money is the answer to life’s problems. But it’s not. I’ll share with you a story of someone I knew once who thought this, he was a greedy person, and also a lonely person. He thought money would solve his loneliness; and so he hustled hard, and had a successful breakthrough with his business. It made him millions. He got married, even had a few kids, yet he still felt lonely. He had millions, but he felt it wasn’t enough, he felt he needed more money to solve his loneliness. So he hustled more, several more businesses, long days, long nights, it cost him his wife, a divorce, he lost his kids, but he made his money into a Billion. He had so much more money. Yet he still felt lonely. He now feels that if he makes more billions his life problem will be solved.

The truth is, it won’t. Money is an amplifier, like a magnifying glass it only amplifies your true self. This man was greedy and lonely and money only made him greedier and lonelier. It amplified him. What this person should have done was solved the loneliness part first and the greed first by finding happiness in the little things in life. Only when he found happiness, should he have sought the secondary goal of making money. Only then would he have been happy.

Comment below about your thoughts on this!

What shall I write about next?

Top 10 ways you can make money from home in 2022

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Setting up your own business is quite difficult and, most of the time, quite expensive as they require lots of capital. What if we tell you that you can offer your services and become your own boss without getting out of your home? That's right! You can build your own working hours according to your personal timetable. If you want to know about some of the ways, then make sure to read until the end.

Stay tuned until the end of this video for a BONUS way, and how you can get a free company share worth up to £100. ( Disclaimer contains affiliate links)

10. Reviews and surveys:

The software developers and service providers develop new things for the ease of people. Initially, the amount of accuracy in the service provided is not as the final product is expected. But how they come to know about the defects in these goods or services? Who knows what improvements are required? Well, that’s the point where we all come in who want to make some extra side money other than the 9-5 jobs.

After the development, people are hired to test the service they are providing, check out the features and give these developers feedback. Sometimes they are required to fill out a questionnaire. In software, the same strategy is used that gives them an overview of improvements needed in their software or services. In the end, freelancers are paid according to the task they perform.

9. Translations:

If you were good in your school studies and during your language class, this gig is for you. Becoming a translator brings great opportunities for you as big companies need good translators for their companies when visiting other countries. If you are fairly able to understand and translate any two languages, then congratulations! You can earn big.

Many companies are looking for energetic young minds ready to pay you for your talent. Just need to show proof of your abilities by showing degree or experience of translations. There is a strict requirement that you need to be fluent in both languages before applying for this job as you cannot use the translation tool; you just have one tool to use. That's your mind! Fiverr is a great place where you can do this, and offer this service in exchange for money. Sign up below today and start at your journey from home, link is in the description below.

8. App development:

Got a knack for coding? Among the success stories related to IT, there are people with IT skills like app developers who make money by creating small yet powerful applications that keep generating money for them every time someone downloads it and uses the application. But for those who are not developers and looking for ideas to make money by applications, well, there is an optimal solution to this problem even if you don't have any knowledge of programming.

People online are ready to make applications for us without development skills, who charge cheaply and apply your desired requirements. Once your application is ready to use, many platforms can help publish your application around the world. For attracting customers, you can add different attractions such as basic and premium versions with different capabilities.

7. Virtual Assistant:

A Virtual Assistance is any remote assistant that offers administrative or technical support services for online business owners. Is there something that you can do remotely for small business owners? As a virtual assistance, this is what you will be doing. There are literally hundreds of services that you can offer as a virtual assistant. The most common ones are, returning Email and posting on social media, Blogging, Invoicing, calendar management, research, and appointment setting.

So, what services do you think you could possibly offer as a Virtual Assistant? When you start working as a Virtual Assistant, you will be working like a boss. You can set your hours without any limitations. You can set your own rate for your Virtual Assistant services.

6. Social media management:

Social media management is one of the best ways to generate an income from home. What is social media management? Well; Social Media management means creating content to post on Facebook, posting something on Twitter or YouTube. This is what we are thought until now. But Social media marketing is not limited to this.

If your customer wants to ask you this question and cannot come to your store, he can use social media. He can ask you questions on Facebook and can tweet you on Twitter as well. Social Media is the modern way for brand Awareness, and businesses will pay you to help them.

5. Affiliate marketing:

What is Affiliate Marketing? Affiliate marketing is essentially the monetization of the word of mouth marketing. It's a marketer getting a commission in exchange for referring a product or service to another customer. How has affiliate marketing changed? The number of channels has evolved everything from social to Email.

We have seen people, very novice beginners, give it a go and start sending emails out, and today, people are building entire audiences around specific industries. They have become experts around those particular niche markets. We're seeing influencers evolve that are recommending products and services that are not their own. Still, they have other companies, but people go to them to get that information.

What are the benefits of Affiliate Marketing? Affiliate marketing is one of the most efficient forms of advertising because you're only paying out and only giving that affiliate marketer commission when a sale has already been made. It's fantastic for them from the affiliate perspective because they may not be capable of building a product or offering services. Still, they are good at building audiences and selling other people's products.

4. Online courses:

This need for information, instruction has created a great opportunity for you to get paid for your knowledge. People have done this by starting a blog or writing books; an online course is another method of selling what you know. One of the best ways to earn money remotely is to create online courses. Now, this does take an upfront investment of time. As with any other passive income-generating activity, you do the work once and get paid repeatedly for it.

Many people think they don't know enough about a subject to teach it, but the truth is, you don't need to be a specialist in designing and selling an online course. You simply need to know enough things to teach it. The topics you can teach are vast, including technology, art or photography, language, and more.

3. Trade crypto currency:

Things from the past are evolving. So is our payment method due to the introduction of virtual currency, that is, crypto currency! The unknown thing is now the reason for many peoples' existence. People used to buy and sell things, and all their transactions were done with paper money. With the passage of time and the introduction of crypto currency, people are moving towards the money that they cannot keep in their pockets. A (Management consulting company) Gallop poll performed research and found that in 2016, 10% of people use cash as their preferred payment method

For some of us, crypto currency is still a relatively new payment method, which is likely to become the standard. Bit coin might be the primary crypto currency platform today, but the US Dollar will soon become the Digital Dollar. People take advantage of the ups and downs of the crypto currency. These ups and downs depend on the rate of the dollar. Also, some online applications can help to trade your assets.

2. Blogging:

Another effective way to earn a handsome amount of money is blogging. But unlike other businesses, it's a passive income. It needs extensive research and a good amount of knowledge. No investment is needed other than your time because it takes time for the blog to earn for you. Blogging is a passive type of income as you need to write content, and people will visit your link. People worldwide are blogging, and the best thing about it is that you don't have to leave the comfort of your home.

With this come extra advantages like once your link gets powerful, people offer to write for you, and the advertisers try to link up their products with your website. But the story does not end. You can start affiliate marketing. You just offer different products from different manufacturers and get the percentage as they are sold. Talking about content creating, we cannot forget about YouTube.

1. Starting a YouTube channel:

YouTube is a great platform for both enjoyment and earning points of view. There are hundreds of success stories around the world. This platform is a turning point for many people includes some of the billionaires with a massive amount of money and fame. Your channel can contain any type of content, including games, funny videos, technological tutorials, prank videos, or any kind of content you can think of, depending on what kind of audience you want to engage.

As everything needs some type of investment in one way or another, YouTube involves a great amount of time and effort as you have to put multiple hours in it… but after watching the fruit of your hard work, the time that is put to it is worth it. Well, of course, you can outsource many things needed to run a channel. Once you reach 1000 subscribers, you become eligible for being monetization, and that's the start of a successful journey.

Bonus Part: Stocks & Shares

The average annual return on the stock market is 10%, which is higher than that of a bank account or bonds. So, after investing in the stock market, why do so many people struggle to gain 10%? Many people do not invest for long enough. The best way to make money in stocks is to stay in the market; your total performance is best predicted by your "time in the market." Unfortunately, investors frequently enter and exit the stock market too early or too late, thereby missing out on the best returns.

We will recommend you to stay in the market and wait for the right opportunity. Let's see the example of those who invested in Tesla. A person who invested $100 in Tesla in March 2020 would have earned over 600% on their investment. Yes, this is a big return on investment, but it is true! That’s $600 from your $100 from last March alone. Take another example of TechTarget. If you had invested in TechTarget during June 2020, you would have earned around 200% on your investment. That’s double your money. Better than putting your money in the bank. That is what Stock and Share Markets offer you.

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Top 10 weirdest facts about Nowruz – The Persian New Year

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Discover insights about Nowruz, you probably DIDN'T know

The end of winter as we see it is the start of the most cheerful season of the year. For all of us, it’s the start of the new season but for Persians, the joy becomes double as the New Year joins with it. Yes, the New-year! Unlike other countries that celebrate the New-year at the start of January, Persians celebrate it with the start of the spring season. Come on board with MM news when we dive into the top 10 weirdest facts about Persian New-year.

Read until the end where there will be a BONUS fact.

1. Happens exactly on Vernal Equinox:

With the farewell of winter, the new season of spring brings new joys with it. Persian calls this arrival of freshness in the shape of New-year on the exact moment of Vernal Equinox.

Are you wondering what is Vernal Equinox? The vernal equinox is the name of two periods during the year when the Sun is close to the Equator and day and night are of similar duration; it is also one of two points in the sky where even the ecliptic (the Sun's annual path) and the celestial equator meet.

Like the Chinese New-year, Persian New-year is also an occasion that isn’t celebrated on one date. This year it will be celebrated on 21st March 2021. It is celebrated at the end of winter and the start of the spring season.

2. Persian New-year or Nowruz a religious fact?

Unlike other countries, its dates vary as it was celebrated on 20 March of last year. Now this year Nowruz will be celebrated on 21 March 2021. This event has nothing to do with religion. The determination of the date of Nowruz is based on the astronomical celestial events. This ritual is as old as 3000 years and was started from the traditions of Zoroastrians before Islam’s advent in the 7th century A.D.

3. Nowruz and the seven Ss:

A major feature of NowRuz is the preparation of “Haft-Seen,” (seven “S’s”); a special display of seven specific offerings each beginning with the letter “S” in Farsi. Typically, the “Haft-Seen” includes the following: “seeb” or apple (to promote beauty and good health), “seer” or garlic (to ward off bad omen), “samanou” (a sweet pudding, symbolizing affluence), “sabze” or wheat-germ (representing rebirth) grown in a flat dish a few days before the New Year, “sek-keh” or coin, preferably gold (for wealth and abundance), “senjed” (dried fruit from lotus tree, symbolizing love), and “somagh” or sumac (color of sunrise). There will also be a mirror (symbol for the sky), a goldfish in a bowl (a symbol of life force), lit candles symbolizing fire and promoting enlightenment, colored eggs (symbol of fertility corresponding to the mother earth), sweets to spread sweetness and a book of poems by Hafiz or Rumi.

4. Goldfishes a sign of perpetual life:

For many years the goldfish are caught present at the dinner table. To the Iranians, goldfish is a symbol of perpetual life. They gather seven things comprising of the word “seen” or “S” a letter of Persian language. But due to the increasing rate of catching of goldfish every year and animal rights activism, this chain has become less common. And by the end of this festival they were required to free up all the fishes into the rivers and ponds.

5. Iranians aren't the only ones who rejoice.

Iran is one of ten countries that observe this holiday. It is a national holiday in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. An unofficial holiday is also observed in a few other countries to celebrate Nowruz.

6. It’s like several western holidays wrapped into one:

It’s not just Iran that celebrates the holiday but Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq Kurdistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan also celebrate it with Iran. It’s a day of joy which is expressed as a holiday in the above-mentioned countries. Also, the UN General Assembly Proclaimed on 21st March 2010, the International Nowruz Day for Iran.

7. Bonfire and other pre-Nowruz traditions and festivities:

The Nowruz ritual starts with a bonfire night, which is also called Chahar-Shanbeh-Suri, which also means the eve of the Red Wednesday is the introduction to Nowruz. Here jumping on fire, singing and ritualistic phrases are done.

The home is also cleaned to welcome the Nowruz. This event is also very cheerful as people sing and dance proclaiming their joy. These families pay a visit to the elder members of their families. It is a symbol of respect.

8. Traditional New-year meal:

Nowruz’s list of the meal is quite long. Which include mainly Sabze or wheatgrass which symbolizes the new start of prosperity growth and rebirth of the traditions. Similarly, garlic or Sir also represents good health. There is also other food like sabzi polo, reshteh polo, kuku sabzi which is made of vegetable and is a vegetarian dish with a light and salty taste. Eid Deedani is the general period to visit loved ones – both family and friends. And with that sweets and confectionaries are a must thing.

9. Fire jumping:

This dangerous act is a part of the Persian New-year festival. A small bonfire is lit around which everyone gathers around. According to Persians, the fire is of great significance. This began on the last Wednesday of winter with the evening of Chahar- Shanbeh-Suri when people make the bonfire and jump over it as the sun sets. It is a family tradition which means to make the darkness go away and inviting the light to come for the upcoming year. Also, it it’s believed to fade away the negativity by chanting:” Offer me your lovely red hue and take away my sickly pallor.”

10. Minstrels, Troubadours, and Mischief-making

There is another tradition known as Haji Firuz. This tradition Is celebrated by wearing bright red dresses and dancing around on the street. It’s almost like Halloween because people dress like in disguise and go from door to door raising raucous, loud noises, chanting. This spreads joy and cheer among each other.

Bonus Fact - Prevent bad luck by going out on the 13th day

On the exact 13th day all leave their houses and go to the mountains and parks enjoying the clean and pure environment to rejoice with family and friends. They like to enjoy greenery all over the place. This is also a symbol of leaving the bad luck of the past year behind and moving on to the new beginning where some of the couples are engaged. The reason for proposing their vows in this place is to create a green future for them.

The sabzee table sprout which absorbs the negative energy and is thrown into the flowing water. By doing this they expect to find their soul mate in this year ahead.

Comment below what intrigued you the most about Persian New year?

References

https://theculturetrip.com/middle-east/iran/articles/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-iranian-new-year/

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/uk-now/read-uk/nowruz

http://persianfoodtours.com/nowruz-persian-new-year/

https://acei-global.blog/2014/03/20/8-things-to-know-about-nowruz-persian-new-year-celebrations/

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/156855/Interesting-facts-about-Persian-New-Year-Nowruz

Failure is that which you accept, success are mistakes you learn from

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 20:59:14 GMT

Edison failed a thousand times before making his first success.

Thomas Edison : "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps." "Great success is built on failure, frustration, even catastrophy."

Great success is built on failure , what an amazing line that is and it came from Thomas Edison. Lets pretend if he was wrong at this and failure was as bad as people believe it is

I believe failure is that which you accept, and success are mistakes you learn from. I believe failure is when you stop trying, when you give up or worse still when you never try at all. And success is growth, and when you take lesson from your mistakes, you learn from them, and when you learn, you grow. And growth is power.

The whole fear of failure drives people to inaction, drives people to seek safety, safety of what ? Safety from what ?

… Safety from failing because if you never try, you never fail. But let me ask you a question, where is the fun in that? If you never talk to a girl, or guy, you will never face rejection. Correct! But you will also never find love, never feel affection, never find marriage, never have children to call your own, where is the fun in that? And let’s switch angles to business since most of you will be aspiring or perhaps already successful business people… If you never try to start a business, you will not end up in debt, you will never fail at business. Correct! But you will also never become rich, you will never feel wealthy, you will not drive that car you always dream of, live in that house you want to have, and solve that problem people really have. Business is about solving a problem people really have and finding the best way to monetize on it. And doing this takes risk, because there is a chance you can fail, but it is how you respond to that failure that defines you. If Edison stopped at his first failure , we would have called him a ‘ failure ’ but because he continued to re-invent to reattempt, we now call him an ‘ inventor ’ and praise him for his success .

The question thereon lies would you rather live 100 years of safety, somewhere in a corner of your home, safe. Or would you rather live 30 years of adventure, living these 30 years to your fullest? When it is worded like this, most people would choose the 30 years of adventure, because quality of life is so very important to people, that is why people work hard, earn more than they need just to simply splurge on an expensive restaurant, an exciting holiday, a relaxing weekend away, or even an expensive watch (comment below with YES if this is you and NO if it is not).

People don’t want life, what they really want is to LIVE in life. It’s not important how long you live, what’s important is how you live. But why is it that in real life, these same people who would choose 30 years of adventure in this analogy would choose safety in real life, which is inaction, which is fear of failure? Why?

Let us shift gears again and ask you THIS question…

Who is causing you the most pain?

Sadhguru, famous mystic, yogi and author says this person is YOU. He says most people are guilty of being only 50% alive. If you are dead, you are 0% alive, there is nothing you can say, nothing you can do, nothing you can change, because you are dead. But if you are alive, wouldn’t you want to be 100% alive? It’s in the mind, and it is the power of your thought. Most people who are guilty of being only 50% alive, they are not living their life to their fullest, they are avoiding making the choices that would make them happy, that would make them healthy, that would make them wealthy and that would, change their life. Are you going to be one of them people 50% alive? And if this is you? You are the reason you are 50% alive in your life, and if you asked Sadhguru what is worse than being dead, he would tell you, being 50% alive, because when you are dead, you are not suffering, but being 50% alive, everyday is suffering, the three questions, I believe you must ask yourself are:

1. Where am I at now?

2. Where do I want to be?

3. What is the one obstacle I must overcome to get to where I want to be?

If you keep failing, I believe you shouldn’t continue failing hoping that one day you will succeed. No that is insanity. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing, and making the same mistakes over and over again, and expecting a different result. Are you insane? Heck no – you’re just thinking to yourself: AMIRRRR then what do I do?

What I tell you is, you need knowledge, you need that something extra that would reduce your rate of failures. They say knowledge is power, why? Because take two people who are determined, perseverant people; it is the person with the knowledge who gets it right first time and grows and the person without knowledge who keeps making the same mistakes, and never stops. Ask yourself which one right now is you?

Knowledge is power, and the question I ask you is, what knowledge or skill do you need to acquire right now to overcome the hurdle or challenge that you have in your life? That is what is stopping you from reaching your promised land and what you must obtain. And once you have it and you succeed, there is always more knowledge, and more skills that you could learn so that you can grow because remember growth is power too!

For example in marriage, studying communication, studying love life, finding a mentor, dedicating time to get to know each other’s family can significantly improve your success rate in having a successful marriage. And a good book I would recommend is Crucial Conversations: tools for talking when the stakes are high.

For school, studying subject material, having a plan to review can increase your likelihood to pass, but if you did not study and you fail, at least you now know that to pass you need to study. A good book I would recommend is The Power of HABIT by Charles Duhigg.

For business studying business books, workshops, seminars – Dan lok’s materials reference to it. FU Money, Unlock It, The Lean Startup, Selling The Invisible, Rocket Fuel to name but a few. Comment below with ‘TOP 10 BIZ BOOKS’ if you want to write about my top 10 books on business.

For health, however, is one of the areas you don’t get a second chance, because you are only 18 once, 22 once, and once you are 45, or 55 or 65 or 75 whatever choices you have made about your health, become very difficult to fix. That cigarette you started smoking at 15, those Friday night drinks you used to always have, and then those gym sessions, that bicycle, even those running shoes, you used to skip or avoid, they all put a toll on you, on your health. And then there’s also your diet, all the salt, hamburgers, sausages, processed food, crisps, soda you used to eat, they all put a toll on you, on your health and when your body begins to ache and hurt all over, who should you blame? As a Pharmacist, I know this all too well, and knowledge is power, I would tell you to speak to your Pharmacist, your Doctor, your fitness coach, your dietician to learn and build your knowledge. And the better and deeper the knowledge you learn about your health, the brighter, better and healthier your future. But if you reading this and feel it may be too late? I want you to read this next sentence out loud at least 3 times and write it down somewhere and place it on your wall and repeat this exercise every night before you go to bed and every morning as soon as you wake up. Each time I want you to imagine yourself, picture yourself as that healthy person, that better version of you, that you always knew you could be. I’ll share you the line: “The best thing, I can do right now is change myself, and I commit today to become the better person I know I can be”. You can still change now, but you must take action, not tomorrow, but today.

True failure is that which you accept, and success are mistakes that you learn from.

I will end on this by Edison.

If Edison had accepted his failures as failures and stopped what he did, we would all now be living in the dark, THE DARK AGES because light bulbs might not have existed today.

Comment below what were some of your failures? Successes and Edison moments? I would love to hear

Poor People...

183:764758715 (Amir Amraie) — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 20:47:17 GMT

Save yourself from being poor. Read on to find out HOW

This post is about the mindset of poor people

Poor and broke are states of the mind, while poor is eternal , broke is only temporary . Poor people ask why life is unfair, whereas broke people ask what is the obstacle I must overcome to get to where I want to be.

To understand what it means to be poor, let us look at some philosophies; the philosophies of the poor.

Poor people usually spend their money and then invest what’s left. That’s the philosophy of the poor. Now here is the philosophy of the rich: rich people usually invest their money, and spend what’s left. What’s most interesting is what is not important is the amount, but what is important is the philosophy so before reading anything else ahead, I would ask you to adopt this philosophy. Invest first, then spend.

Then we have pessimism.

Pessimism is the deadly human disease of always looking on the bad side, the deadly side, all the problems why something won’t work or that it would fail.

The poor pessimist leads an ugly, ugly life. The poor doesn’t try to figure why something is right, the poor tries to figure why something is wrong. The poor doesn’t try to figure out why something is true, the poor try to figure out why something is false. They don’t look for the virtues, instead they look for the faults. And when the poor find them, they are delighted!

This is the same person who looks through the window and doesn’t see the sunset, instead he sees the specs on the window. This same person looks at a solution and says I have 3 good reasons why it won’t work, instead of 1 reason where it will work. To the pessimist the glass is always half empty, but to the optimist the glass is always half full. Why is it that the same measure if perceived in two completely different ways? Our lives are affected by the way we think, by the way we think we are, and by the choices we think we should make, not the way they actually are…

Poor thinking habits are what keep the poor, well poor. People work hard yes, but not all people think hard. And I’ll share with you, the mind is like a factory, a mental factory, and whatever you think about all day long, it pours the ingredients into your mental factory that builds and creates the four determinants of success, longevity and happiness in life that I teach about.

1. Financial literacy

2. Emotional literacy

3. Personal development

4. Self-control/clarity/focus

A question the poor often ask, is why is life so unfair? But a question they could ask instead, is how do I live the good life? And the answer well is simple, it’s not easy but it’s simple, the mind like a factory, a mental factory and here’s how you build anything, select the right ingredients, keep out the wrong ingredients and it starts with thought, everything starts with thought, so you must be wise, and you must be careful because what you think about starts everything. What you read about, who you listen to, who you follow, dictates how you think, and how you think starts everything. They say show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future, and I say show me what you read, show me your friends, and I’ll tell you how you think…

Let me give you an analogy, what if you had a cup of coffee, and someone put sugar in it, what would happen? You’d be ok.

What if that same someone put poison in there? Well you’d be dead

Now what if your worst enemy put sugar in your cup, then what would happen? You’d still be ok.

And what if your best friend by accident put poison in there? Well again you’d be dead.

Another lesson, life is both sugar, and it is poison. When it comes to your mind, it doesn’t matter who puts garbage in there, it is still garbage, and it will still do its harm. You got to be careful.

A wise man once said, “everyday stand guard at the door of your mind”. How important is that. You decide what enters the door of your mental factory, and you should not let anyone make that decision for you.

Another disease of the poor is complaining, crying, moaning… You could spend ten minutes complaining, then that’s ten minutes you will never get back. You have wasted ten minutes and you have began what’s known as economic cancer of the bone. Indulge in this disease long enough and you will never reach your destination, never get that promotion you want, that home you dream of, that car wish you had, that girl you always want. Instead of complain, why not take massive action? Only you can take hold of your own future.

#1 blog post - The Mission

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:51:52 GMT

Are you on a mission? Are you working to achieve something? Comment below with YES, and if you’re not, comment below with NO

This post is about missions, why we have them; how we find them and how you can accomplish them too.

Can you look back to your earliest moments, your first memory of a mission? Your eyes locked so hard you would win at every staring contest, your mind re-purposed for success you would run 20 miles a day, every day like Rocky Balboa from the Rocky Movie franchise, pushing your very human limits to the tip of your breaking point, and then you would go that extra bit further, just that extra bit further. Why? Because you have a goal, and you know this is what you must do to accomplish your goal. Then when your hands begin to bleed, your body starts to shut down, what do your emotions do... they go ballistic, you are at your breaking point and the voices in your head are telling you to stop, to give up. To quit. Those 5 letters. To quit. What do you do? You ask your self ‘What would Rocky do?’ Hell, he’ll tell to F*ck your emotions, tell them ‘NOOOOO’. And remind yourself why you are here, and your purpose for your mission at it’s core. For Rocky it was to be the best. Now imagine that time, your first time when you had your mission? what did it look like, how old were you? Like most young little bundles of joy, your mission might have gone a little like THIS…

Neville: Mum Mom, I’m going to be a caterpillar when i’m older… so with your new found mission, you convince dad to buy you all the books from the ‘hungry caterpillar’ series, and you pledge to read all of them. You study in depth the caterpillars and you learn how caterpillars eat leaves, and go through cycles of growth where they eventually cocoon in on themselves and grow to become beautiful and colourful butterflies. This inspires you. And now that you have read all the books, you step up your mission and begin now the field work. You visit gardener Ned’s beautiful flower field and study the caterpillars in their natural habitat, you watch how they eat leaves, you watch how they cocoon, and you watch as the cocoons break, and out comes the beautiful butterfly, you ask gardener Ned all the important questions, like which one of these leaves should I eat to become a red and yellow butterfly? You eat the leaves, and even-though they taste like ‘blughhhh’ you persist, you persevere and remind yourself of grandma Nyla’s advice: ‘all great things are built upon struggle and struggle and struggle’. This is your mantra as you eat these icky, yucky, nicki, leaves. Because WHY? why all it is you want is to become a caterpillar. This is because you are inspired at how beautiful they become and that they fly, and you believe that once you can fly you can see the whole world. You want your freedom, your independence. Missions often become re-purposed and change, and this is the earliest times you experience such changes. You realise that after all that ground rolling, leaf eating, newspaper wrapping around your body to create a cocoon, you can’t become a caterpillar…

Comment below, if you or anyone you know has ever wanted to become a caterpillar?

Mine was a little different… I actually wanted to become a tree, because you see when you are 3 years old, you are pretty short right? And when your parents put the chocolates on top of the fridge or on a table where you can’t reach, it sucks right? So what do I do, I commit to becoming a big tall tree… And how did I do that? I found out trees need water, and I joined the likes of trees and started drinking more water. I drank all the brands, the Evian, the Buxton, and even the tap water. But you see, flustered, annoyed and needing to pee, it wasn’t working, and I wasn’t growing fast enough. It finally hit me, you see trees they don’t drink bottled water, how silly of me for not realising. Trees drink rainwater. EUREKA, that was when I stumbled on the gold mine. I went full commando and sought out all of mum’s saucepans and buckets and pots and spread them out in the garden and started collecting rainwater. Then THIS happened… I drank this water and went to my parents with butterflies in my eyes, annoyed, upset and disgruntled at the rain. I learned a lesson here that growth takes time and people do not grow as trees do.

My next mission grew from a pre-historic obsession with dinosaurs between 4-6 years of age, and this is one hell of a story. Believe me, you are one of the lucky ones who I didn’t imprint as a stegosaurus, or pterodactyl, or in other words FOOD, and... guess who, I identified as a tyrannosaurus Rex. Comment below if I should interview some of the casualties who I ended up treating as Dinosaur food.

The mission thereafter, as I grew, it grew with me, and it took a turn when I was 6 and visited Dr Farhad, my dad’s friend who owns a farm and private jungle. For the first time in life, imagine you experience life with all the animals from the nursery rhyme ‘Old McDonald had a farm… yeeya yeeya ho’, the chickens, the cows, the ducks, the sheep, and the dog. My hope and heart were to become a zookeeper, and my life became forever changed and took the direction to the place I am today. You see, being with these animals, especially the dog Sammy, who was a young black Doberman, made me feel care and love for these animals. I felt a connection with them, especially Sammy. Let me tell you a story... I was lost that day alone, and cold while playing with Sammy, in the scary and silent formidable forest. You see, I hadn’t realised we had run too far out and imagined you are in a forest, every look you take looks the same, trees, treeees, treeeeeees, like a tall cage, and you a small lamb, trapped, and without a guide, you don’t know how to find your way. But Sammy knew, Sammy could feel, Sammy felt how I felt and gestured to me ‘mhmmmhmmhm’ and led me through the forest back to the farm. I grew a power within me, and this power was care, and this feeling of care only strengthened when I went back home to London. At first my feeling of care guided me to a mission to become a zookeeper, and I would visit the animals at Syon Park, West London (back in the day when they had animals) to feed and care for the animals there, I would visit every zoo and safari park I could (one of my favourite experiences was visiting Woburn Safari park when I was 7 and being up so close to the lions, and giraffes and the cheeky monkeys. Although I truly wanted a dog, my mum would never get one for me, instead she bought me two cute little green bodied and purple-headed love birds.

As I grew more to the feeling of caring, I started better seeing my surroundings. I started to pick up on my parents and grandparents and how much water they were drinking, and as you know water is important for good health… I would bring them water and monitor how much water they were drinking. Then and there I would learn that my grandfather was unwell, he had Parkinson’s disease and I would learn that my grandmother, she had breast cancer and fast forward six years at age 14, on Eid Newrooz, while on vacation in Cornwall in a holiday caravan, the phone rings, a voice speaks, and my uncle Faramarz is dead. You see I never had a brother, and to me, he was not just an uncle but a brother to me. He was also a professional wrestler with many gold and silver medals and should have become a world champion in wrestler but life took a terrible turn for us, and he died from a stroke while playing football. He was aged 33. My family lost a gem, and I lost a brother, and an uncle, just like that.

Missions grow from breakthrough moments, and breakthrough moments are painful, they hurt, but they make you grow as a person.

Age 16 was when my mission took to commit to care for others and help make people better and that is where I set to become a doctor. And I nearly did. But life is a road trip with traffic, roadblocks and countless detours, and I ended up becoming a Pharmacist.

I am going to go off-topic here and tell you tweens, and teens and young people today are struggling with finding own mission, or as Simon Sinek and the media call it ‘finding their identity’. Why? Social media, Instagram and smartphones are mostly to blame, but poor parenting and school education are part the culprit too. These groups are seeing lavish lifestyles of celebrities, the money, the cars, the party and with online money making education, and get rich schemes such as E-commerce, drop shipping, High Ticket Closing, influencer marketing, YouTube, many of these young people are making big money, alike to their celebrity role-models. What they thought they were looking for was money, fame, cars, success, but what they really need is purpose. To find their why. And become their who. And this is the purpose of this last part.

Mission Find Your Who am i?

Have you seen that Jackie Chan movie? Who am I? Hit with a horrible helicopter crash and a cauldron of amnesia, he sought to find his ‘Who am i?’. Story has it, he finally found his identity in a fortune cookie and his story had a happy ending.

This last part is about finding your mission, or as I call it your Who Am I?

Who am I?

I am a British Pharmacist, and Marketing and Branding Professional for Healthcare Companies on a mission to impact, help and improve the health of a billion people.

It has taken me a long time to become this. And this is who I am now, and missions do evolve and I promise you in five years time, my ‘Who Am I’ will be someone different to who I am today.

The reality is most people truly never do find it, and while some only become comfortable and familiar with who they are and never find out or become who they could be, others die and fail in the struggle to pursue their ‘Who Am I’, never quite finding it. And frankly it is young people who struggle the most: the tweens, teens and young adults who live within micro and macro celebrity cultures. What do they see? Lavish travel, fast cars, expensive toys and exclusive parties. They want a piece of it too and seeing people they know, and other young people ‘making it’ and becoming rich idols on social media, this creates high expectations and puts a lot of pressure on these young people in their struggle to ‘make it big’. Social media and social pressure of this celebrity and fame obsessed generation creates the illusion of money and success and fame as the bringers of happiness. But what really happens when these young people after working so hard reach this success, what they really feel is emptiness inside. Why?

I’ll tell you a story about one of the most successful people I have spoken too, he has as of now a net worth of $1.4b, yet he still feels empty, why?

You see I believe money is not what you want, but rather a vehicle to help you achieve or realise something far greater.

‘Success is getting what you want, and significance is getting what you got’

-Dan Lok

Summing it all up!

What is my mission? I commit my life’s work and journey to help, impact and improve the health of a billion people. And I believe once I have reached this goal, there are still the other 7 billion more people left. And speaking of money? It's the vehicle that might help me get to helping 1 billion people faster .

What’s your mission?