LIfe Skills
Anoop Verma
Many medical researchers believe that the brain is the most modifiable part of the body. The brain is capable of adapting to new ideas or stimuli very quickly. By changing the way by which you use your brain on a daily basis, you can have stronger, healthier, and more productive.
Here are some tips for improving the most important organ which encompasses your entire sense of identity:
Apply your mind before taking decisions
Rash decisions often lead to bad outcomes. You should develop a system of weighing in the pros and cons before taking any important decision. If you are prone to moving this way or that without bothering to apply your mind, your brain will become stagnant. You can be in a better position to solving complex problems if you step away to reflect on ideas. A halt in constant thinking slows your mind’s rhythms, allowing it to refresh.
Develop your sense of observation
When you enter a room, what do you see and what are the things that you miss? When you go to the garden, do you manage to notice every facet of the natural beauty? If someone asked you to describe the garden that you had recently visited, would you be able to paint a realistic picture? To boost brainpower, you have to develop your sense of observation. You have to learn to look beyond the obvious and the mundane.
Give up on Multitasking
The digital world has brought many new conveniences to our life, but it has also made us prone to multitasking. You will be checking your emails while having breakfast, browsing for news on the tablet while taking care of work at office, and the like. You seem to be moving faster through your day. But such multitasking prevents your brain from developing the power of concentration. You won’t be able to focus on anything important for even 15 minutes and this has effect on your productivity and creativity.
Exercise regularly
Aerobic exercise stimulates positive brain change. Adding regular aerobic exercise that elevates your heart rate to your routine at least three times a week for an hour won’t just help with physical health, it will also increase brain blood flow to key memory centers in the brain and improve our memory for facts. When you combine complex thinking with aerobic exercise, brain health benefits are amplified.
Tech View
Safeguard your credit card with a chip
Anoop Verma
Several leading credit card issuers in India have now started offering chip based credit cards, which contain an embedded microchip that stores card member information in an encrypted format, thus providing enhanced level of security against possible misuse in the form of counterfeiting and skimming. The chip cards are complaint with global EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) Standard.
You can, in most cases, get your credit card replaced by a chip card free of cost. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already asked banks to replace the existing magnetic stripe credit and debit cards with the more secure chip-based cards. Once you get a chip card, you will not have to swipe the card at the Point of Sale (PoS) terminal. Instead, the card will have to be dipped into the PoS device and the cardholder will be required to key in a unique PIN to complete the transaction.
If you are planning to travel abroad and use your credit card for non-INR transactions, you will certainly have to get your credit card replaced by chip card. As per the guidelines, banks will automatically replace the existing magstripe cards with chip cards for those customers who have conducted at least one international (non-INR) transaction in the past. As of now domestic customers have the choice to retain their magstripe cards or go for chip cards.
It is more prudent to opt for chip cards, especially since the extra layer of security is coming for free. Most banks are not charging an additional fee to upgrade to the smarter chip-based system. (Bureau Report)
Comedy of errors—II
Prepone
This is perhaps the best example of a word from “Indian English”. In India, it is very common and is understood by every English speaker. However, world at large does not really understand the meaning of this word.
Prepone is used as an antonym of “postpone”. Indians cleverly ask “If something could be postponed; why can’t it be preponed?”. I support the usage of this word because it’s logical and there is a situation that this word can easily convey.
Although, I guess, prepone was recently included in the Oxford English Dictionary –but still it is considered an invalid word by most of the native English speakers.
A month back
To say that something was done before such and such time elapsed –the right word is “ago” and not “back”.
Incorrect: I bought this house two years back
Correct: I bought this house two years ago
Do the needful
Although, there is nothing wrong with this phrase but it is now considered obsolete and therefore it has become part of the archaic English. Its use should be avoided.
Discus about
You just “discuss” something –“discuss about” is wrong because “about” is implicit with the word “discuss”
Incorrect: I want to discuss about your tour
Correct: I want to discuss your tour
Out of station
This phrase is also obsolete –although it used to be of significance during British rule. The officers of East India Company used to be posted to particular “stations”. When they used to be out from there for some work – the officer used to be called “out of station”
Incorrect: The CEO cannot meet you because he is out of station.
Correct: The CEO cannot meet you because he is out of town
Passing out
In India, the meaning of “passing out” is taken as “to graduate” or completing studies from an institution. However, the real meaning of “pass out” is to lose consciousness. So, we should hope, no one actually passes out upon knowing that he has successfully completed studies.
In military context, “pass out” is considered as a valid term for completing training. That’s why we get to see passing out parades.
Incorrect: He has recently passed out of college
Correct: He has recently graduated from college
Order for
Here, the preposition “for” is unnecessary. You order something–not order for something.
Incorrect: Let’s order for a pizza
Correct: Let’s order a pizza
Kindly revert
First of all, use of the word “kindly” has been antiquated. You should use “please” instead. The second problem with the phrase is that the word “revert” actually means “going back to an earlier state”. For example, if you press a sponge pillow –it reverts to the original shape when the pressure is removed.
Incorrect: Kindly revert at the earliest
Correct: Please reply as soon as possible
Do one thing
Saying this is entirely wrong (especially if you are going to ask the other person to do more than one thing). “Do one thing” is understood only in India. This phrase is somewhat meaningful if you are going to give exactly one instruction. But that’s rarely the case. Therefore it’s better to avoid using it.
Acting pricey
When someone is not paying attention –you tend to say he is “acting pricey”. Instead of this you should use “snobbish” or “arrogant”
—Lalit Kumar
Leave a Comment