What steps can someone take to become more humble in life? Is humility something that can be learned, or is it a trait that one is born with?

The thing to do is to meditate on it, and practice it.

Do humble things.

If they are invisible, even better.

Minoo Jha

 · 8mo

What small acts of kindness are easy to integrate into your every day life?

Hi Brandon, You asked, What small acts of kindness have you tried to incorporate in to your daily life? Here’s one that comes to mind… I used to be very self-centered. I have become less and less self-centered in recent years. I now try to be more aware of situations that affect other people. If I can remove a source of discomfort for other people, through some small action, I try to do it. I am very proud of these small actions. Here’s an example… A few years ago, I went to office on a Sunday evening. I had to go into office on a Sunday, because we had a commissions program that was only available on a desktop computer in my boss’s cube. I went to run this program and generate an output batch to send to my boss. When I went to my boss’s cube, I saw her walking shoes on her desk. The weekend cleaners had taken the shoes from under her desk and put it on her desk to vacuum the carpet. I saw the same sight in the next cube which belonged to another team member. Her shoes, which should also have been under her desk, were on her desk instead. I knew how upsetting it would be for my boss and my coworker to come into office on Monday morning and be greeted by their dirty walking shoes on their desks. So I took the shoes off from the desks, and put them back under the desks. Then I got some cleaning wipes and wiped off the desks. Till today, my boss and my coworker do not know about this kindness. Nobody knows about this small invisible act of kindness. Other than you. Shh……..

Respond in humble ways, even in situations where you are the loser.

Minoo Jha

 · 2y

How can someone with a negative effect become more positive?

Hi, You asked, How can you turn a negative situation into a positive one? I went to see the movie Winchester with a friend. Seated next to us were 2 people, an older lady and a young man. After the movie started, the lady would turn to her companion every few minutes and speak in a foreign language. This was terribly distracting. My initial thought was to turn to her and say “Could you please stop talking”, or “Do you mind moving to some other seats where we won’t be disturbed by your talking”. But my better self prevailed. I turned to her and said in a soft and neutral voice, “I am not able to follow the movie.” She said, ‘Oh, I am so sorry. The person I am with doesn’t know English, so I was translating for him. I will stop.” This was when I turned the moment into a real growth opportunity. Moved by her predicament, I turned to her again, gave her a comforting pat on the arm, and said, “It’s okay, go ahead and translate, I think I can manage”. And I really meant it. She did not take me up on it. But by recognizing her need and giving her the go head, she knew I cared about her predicament and that’s all that mattered. Yes, this was one time when I definitely turned a negative situation into a positive situation, and I am proud of it, even writing about it now.

Be willing to say sorry, when you are in the wrong. And even when you are not in the wrong. And use big thinking to overcome challenges to the ego.

Minoo Jha

 · 7mo

What are some challenges you have faced in your previous role, and how did you overcome them?

I was a freelancer, so there were many. I will list 2, and how I dealt with them: Challenge example 1: Boss scolds me for something I haven’t done: Challenge example 2: Something I put in a lot of effort to create, was disregarded and shoved aside:

Finally, reflect on your thoughts, words, and actions.

Self-reflection can teach you a lot.

It certainly taught me a lot.

Minoo Jha

 · 3y

Why do some people have a hard time with self-reflection?

Because you will find out that you are not as smart as you think you are, as nice as you think you are, as ethical as you think you are, as honest as you think you are, I could go on and on…. In this piece I wrote, I share my own humbling discoveries about myself - I Thought I Was A Flower I thought I was a flower. Silly me. In so many respects, I am still a bud. And have growing to do. In spite of the sunlight. In spite of the soil. In spite of the water. In spite of the many years I have been on the stalk. I am still a bud. In this respect and that respect. In so many respects. I am still a bud. And I still have growing to do. __ That being the case… Be patient with me. Be patient with me. __ I thought I was a tree. Silly me. I now see. I am just a branch. Of a very big tree. Called humanity. It will take some time. To shake off the idea. That I am not the tree. I have to chip away at the bark. That kept me in the dark. That kept me from seeing all this time. That I am just a part. Of this very big tree. Called humanity. __ Which is why, I ask... Be patient with me. Be patient with me. __ I thought I was the ocean. Silly me. I found out I am just a drop. Among drops and drops and drops. In a vast expanse. That's as wide as it is deep. Beyond what my naked eye can see. When I think about that. I pause. And lift up my hands. And express awe. And then some more. At this amazing vastness I was not aware I was a part of. Isn't it amazing, to think. This little drop that's me. Is part of drops and drops and drops. So vast, it's more than my naked eye can see. And to think I have been living in a bubble that was so tiny. I am glad my eyes have opened. But I have to get used to this. __ So please… Be patient with me. Be patient with me.

How can you turn an obsession into a life-giving activity that grows and develops, without any negative impacts on your life?

 

It depends on the obsession.

You can have an obsession with any of the following:

• Mindfulness
• A field of study
• A field of work
• Hobbies
• Interests
• Social Media

I will talk about the ones in bold, starting with mindfulness.

Mindfulness

If your obsession is with mindfulness, no amount is too much.

While some hobbies and interests can be illegal, criminal, or destructive, or cause you to neglect important areas of your life, mindfulness has none of those qualities.

Monks spend 5–7 hours a day in prayer ( a form of mindfulness).

Many non-ordained people, with time on their hands (such as retirees), do that as well.

If they are not praying, they are reading the scriptures.

Or going about their day, striving to bring mindfulness, prayer, and the spirit of the scriptures, into all their thoughts and actions.

In this way, a person can safely advance in their spiritual pursuits, without any negative impacts.

In fact, mindfulness has increasingly positive impacts, making you a simpler, better, wiser, and more caring person, the more you practice it.

Hobbies

The impact of a hobby can be negative or positive, depending on the stage of life you are in, and the money and time you spend on it.

I answer a lot of Quora questions.

I blog at least once a week. 

Both of these obsessions are healthy obsessions.

What is a healthy obsession to my mind?

A healthy obsession is one, which does not have any of the following negative impacts:

Make you lose money

Make you lose your job

Make you lose, or weaken your relationships

Make you do something immoral, or make you do something illegal

Clutter up your house

Make you lose your mind, or your peace of mind

When I answer Quora questions, or blog, none of the above happens.

You should be able to say that about your hobbies.

If there are no negative impacts, you should be able to list positive impacts.

Here are the positive impacts I can list for answering Quora questions and blogging:

Minoo Jha

 · 2y

What is your biggest project or goal as an artist right now? Why is it important to you, and how do you plan to achieve it?

Just to keep going with my blog. My blog helps me clarify my thoughts and ideas, develop my thoughts and ideas, and memorialize my thoughts and ideas. I have been writing on Minoo Jha Life Strategies since Dec 27, 2010. I publish a post every Sunday. My readers (family and friends) keep me going with their likes and comments. Since 2018, which is the year I discovered and joined Quora, I have an added incentive to keep writing and publishing blog content. I find I am able to repurpose my blog content to answer some questions on Quora. Repurposing my blog content helps me reach a wider audience than family and friends. Often, a way, way wider audience. Here’s an example: I published The Empty Seats at Our Table on Dec 25, 2022 on my blog. Total of Family and Friends views: 50. I then repurposed the post to answer the question below. And it already has over 700 views on Quora. Quora is a lab for me. I have put a lot of content out on Quora - both questions and answers. I have learned a lot from doing so. And I keep learning. I get bouquets and brickbats. I have content deleted and collapsed. Some of my content - questions and answers - pass like ships in the night, some generate teeny ripples, some are rippling still - what Sean Kernan calls evergreen answers. Sometimes an evergreen answer will cause ripples and ripples, only to be collapsed by Quora down the line. Quora is an extremely good test of my ability to be humble, and a test of how I react when things don’t go my way. It’s a humility test and an annoyance test. But when all is said and done, I am glad for Quora and my ability to share my thoughts and ideas with a wider audience…

If you spend a lot of time on a hobby, and it has life-giving impacts on your life, keep doing it.

If however, it has any of the negative impacts I have listed above, perhaps you should do less of it, even give it up.

Social Media

One obsessive hobby for many people in the last decade and a half, is being on social media constantly.

On the positive side, being on social media constantly, can do the following for us:

Gain us an audience

Help us stay connected with all the people we know

Help us get answers to our questions, or something we are trying to solve, or accomplish

Discover new artists and musicians and recipes and fashions and movies, and so on

Make us aware of new interests and hobbies that we can take up, new groups we can join, or new events we can go to

Make us money, if our posts are crucial to our business

On the negative side, being on social media constantly, can have the following impacts…

Give us FOMO

Make us feel that everyone else is having a better time, and enjoying more success, and favor, than we are

We can be criticized, bullied, harassed, or exposed on social media - something than can destroy our reputation, our peace of mind, and more

Also, if we gain friends and connections through social media, we can also lose friends and connections through social media. It is a double edged sword.

Clearly, social media is one of those activities, we should approach mindfully.

So it all comes back to mindfulness.

If you are mindful, you will be able to recognize whether an activity has positive impacts or negative impacts.

You are less likely to go overboard, and not realize that , until it is too late.

Your obsessions with things, will not make you a hoarder.

Your obsession with making more money, will not make you lose money.

Your obsession with ideas, will not make you lose friends.

Your obsession with winning, will not make you make a fool of yourself.

I will end with the wisdom that has worked for me.

Which is to stay on the safe side, in the choices you make, and how much time, money, and energy you spend on those choices.

Minoo Jha

 · 3y

How many blog posts do you write per week?

One a week - published every Sunday. Here’s a recent one… Stay On The Safe Path Stay on the safe path The safe path is where there is ambition without greed __ Stay on the safe path The safe path is where there is eating and drinking without excess __ Stay on the safe path The safe path is where there is work and there is rest __ Stay on the safe path The safe path is where there is concern without paranoia __ Stay on the safe path The safe path is where there is passion without obsession __ Stay on the safe path The safe path is where there is optimism without over confidence __ Stay on the safe path The safe path is where there is tradition with tolerance __ Stay on the safe path The safe path is where there is trust with verification __ Stay on the safe path __ Stay on the safe path, my friend, Stay on the safe path!

Yes, stay on the safe side, my friend.

Stay on the safe side.

May you be mindful, all through 2026, so you live well and thrive.

Here's why I recommend you create a motivation list for 2026, and not just a resolution list...

You have shopping lists, to do lists, wish lists, bucket lists, resolution lists.

Since a new year is already two months under way, I recommend you create a motivation list, as well.

A motivation list to underpin all the activities and goals you have planned for this year...

...Serious important activities and goals, such as getting a new certification that will benefit your career, kicking a habit that isn't serving you well, or taking steps to improve your most significant relationships...

And light, fun activities and goals, such as watching all the Oscar nominated movies.

Your motivations, simply stated, are your reasons for choosing your activities and goals.

Example 1: one of your plans for this year might be to continue to bake bread (something you started during the pandemic).

Your reason might be that it makes home more homey, or it reminds you of your childhood, and the bread your mother used to make, or it has become a cherished activity that you and someone you love do together.

Example 2: one of your plans for this year, may be to continue to be part of a group you are involved with - whether a choir group, a book club group, a hula group, a Toastmasters group, a Bible Study group, a volunteer group, and so on.

Your reason might be that you enjoy participating in shared activities, and it costs little or nothing to participate.

Example 3: one of your plans for this year, may be to continue to cook, craft, write, garden, read, take on exercise challenges, .......(fill in the blanks, with any of the things you have been doing, and plan to continue to do this year).

Your reason for continuing might be that it's relaxing, or it gives you an outlet for your creativity, or the challenges invigorate you, and give you something to focus on.

There are at least 3 advantages to listing your reasons for your plans, activities, and goals:

1. It will make you feel surer that you are doing the right thing for the right reasons.

2. It will help you do the things you want to do, and more importantly, it will help you do the things you don't want to do, but should.

3. Finally, it will help you keep going, even when problems and challenges get in the way. For instance, if your goal for this year, is to walk for 30 minutes, at least 3 days a week, listing your reasons (for example, to keep your blood sugar down), will help you stick to your schedule, even when things such as the weather, or aches and pains get in the way. If you have more than one reason to do anything, list all the reasons. 

Yes, it's good to have plans, activities, and goals, but also reasons to support them, and keep at them.

You are choosing to live a certain way. Why?

You are choosing to spend your time doing certain things. Why?

You are choosing to spend your money on certain things. Why?

Without reasons, you risk jumping from one thing to another, spending on one thing and another, and when December 31st rolls round, you might have a profound sense of another year wasted, plus lots of extra clutter, and less than satisfying memories.

This needn't be the case.

So don't delay.

Get out that pen and paper.

List all your plans, activities, and goals for this year.

And then, as I suggested, write your reason for each one of those plans, activities, and goals.

Wishing you the very best for 2026.

May you live well and thrive.

What are 10 examples of delayed gratification to live a more satisfying life?

 

Doing a long course of study, such as is required for a medical career, is an example of delayed gratification. The advantage: You will earn an income later than people in your age group, but it will be a much higher income.

Waiting to date, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: You will be able to make better choices, being physically and mentally less impulsive, and more more mature, with the additional advantage that goals such as an education, or being in an established career, will be behind you, rather than ahead of you.

Waiting till you are older to drink, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: Career and family responsibilities, plus the natural maturity that comes with being older, will put guard rails (natural restrictions) around the frequency of your drinking, the money you spend on drinking, and the risks you take while drinking.

Waiting till you’ve built up your savings, before buying a nice car, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: Debt will play a smaller role in your life, than it does for debt-dependent people. You will use debt more strategically, and only for big things such as a mortgage, or a business.

Waiting to get married, or have children, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: You will be physically and mentally more mature, you will have made progress in your career, and you will be more comfortable to take on the additional financial responsibilities of getting married and having children.

Waiting till you’ve built up savings for life emergencies, such as illnesses and loss of job, before making lifestyle changes such as upgrading to a better house, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: You will have a safety net for whatever circumstances life throws at you, including unemployment, or other life emergencies.

Waiting till you are the legal age, before taking money out of your IRA and 401K, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: You will have more money for your retirement years, and if you decide to keep working beyond retirement age, it won't be because you need to continue working to earn money for your expenses and bills.

Waiting till your children are on their feet, before living it up, or relocating to your retirement paradise, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: You will be able to support your children, in big ways and small, experiencing the satisfaction of doing things out of love, rather than responsibility.

Waiting for your grandchildren to grow up, before relocating away from your children, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: You will experience the joys of the grandparent-grandchild relationship, which is a unique pleasure, and have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping your children with their most important life needs. Plus you being there for your children, and they being there for you, is a comfort and value, by and of itself.

And, number 10 on this list, if you are on a low-carb diet, like I am, waiting till the weekend, or a cheat day, to eat a carb heavy meal, is a form of delayed gratification. The advantage: eating that dosa-idli-vada combo, or that Mylapore thali meal brings less fear or guilt.

Mmmmm! Mmmmm!

Minoo Jha's answer to What is a thing you didn't know you wanted until you knew it existed? - Quora