I am the Centre of the Universe, No You are Not

Nov 9th,2014

From the time of our birth until we die, all of us learn to understand the world from our point of view. After our birth we imprint our experiences on our brains which act as template to see further changes in the environment.This leads to awareness of self  as a separate entity and also we learn to influence the world around us by our actions.This understanding of self as separate entity,self awareness and will to exert ourselves is a life long process of experimentation and learning.

However we are social beings and our survival and well being depends on our relationships in our society.We have to learn to think about other people’s needs as well as we need to understand from others view points.

The concept of decentering originated with Piaget, who defined decentering as a feature of operational thought, the ability to conceptualize multiple perspectives simultaneously. Feffer applied Piaget’s concept of decentering to the cognitive maturity of social content.

Various techniques are available  for people including children to learn to look from various view points and perspectives.

Edward de Bono in his book ‘6 Thinking Hats has described the technique of

looking at a Decision From All Points of View

debono1

Six distinct directions are identified and assigned a color. The six directions are:

  • Managing Blue – what is the subject? what are we thinking about? what is the goal?
  • Information White – considering purely what information is available, what are the facts?
  • Emotions Red – intuitive or instinctive gut reactions or statements of emotional feeling (but not any justification)
  • Discernment Black – logic applied to identifying reasons to be cautious and conservative
  • Optimistic response Yellow – logic applied to identifying benefits, seeking harmony
  • Creativity Green – statements of provocation and investigation, seeing where a thought goes

A variant of this technique is to look at problems from the point of view of different professionals (e.g. doctors, architects, sales directors, etc.) or different customers.

Donald Klein in his workshop teaches people to understand how other person feel depending on your answer by playing  3 types of games 1]Yes game 2] Yes But 3] No in a group.

Charlie Munger says that “developing the habit of mastering the multiple models which underlie reality is the best thing you can do.”

Those models are mental models.

They fall into two categories: (1) ones that help us simulate time (and predict the future) and better understand how the world works (e.g. understanding a useful idea from like autocatalysis), and (2) ones that help us better understand how our mental processes lead us astray (e.g., availability bias).

When our mental models line up with reality they help us avoid problems. However, they also cause problems when they don’t line up with reality as we think something that isn’t true.

Make it a life long habit to view things from others perspective to make  this world a better place.

Dr Katta

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In Martin Amis’s 1995 novel, “The Information,” we meet a character who aspires to write “The History of Increasing Humiliation,” a treatise chronicling the gradual dethronement of humankind from its position at the center of the universe, beginning with Copernicus. “Every century we get smaller,” Amis writes. Next came Darwin, who brought the humbling news that we are the product of the same natural laws that created animals. In the last century, the formerly sharp lines separating humans from animals—our monopolies on language, reason, toolmaking, culture, even self-consciousness—have been blurred, one after another, as science has granted these capabilities to other animals.

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COHEN FOR CREATIVITY

I have made this acronym to make it easy for people to understand and remember the components of Innovation,Creativity and Entrepreneurship [ICE].

C for Curiosity

O for Observation

H for How and other questions

E for Experiment

N for Networking

 

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3M / MIND,MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

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Children are like Candles and Adults are like Spot lights

Posted November 5th,2014

Children’s minds are like Candle Lights  seeing and learning in all directions unconditionally.

As we grow up to be adults our minds are like Spot Lights learning thru focusing our energies in one area conditionally.

Children’s learning is like imprinting in high definition.As we grow up imprinting of our experiences becomes less and less high def and more and more like low definition even with all our focused efforts.

You will be successful entrepreneur and life long learner if keep nurture  both   Lantern and Spot light mindsets .

Dr.B.B. Katta

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3 I / Imitation,Imagination and Initiation / 3i

2014,October,22nd

Primitive responses of unicellular organisms to complex responses of Humans and other mammals involve above 2-3 processes.

Unicellular organisms respond reflexively to changes in environment.As the organisms became more complex they needed higher level of cell organization to respond.During this process cells developed mechanisms to imprint the experience so the cells can respond better,quicker and with less energy.

Organisms not only learn from memory of imprinted experience,but also from the experience of other experienced  organisms by watching how they respond to novel situations.This IMITATIVE response had tremendous advantages and survival benefits .

With IMITATIVE power, mammals brain needed to expand and develop to cope with  handling of extra information .This lead to explosion of Brian development mainly Neo Cortex to handle extra cognitive load and Cerebellum to handle extra dexterity.

Human’s have tremendous reverse of visual cortex to facilitate  visualization.So you can use creative visualization to foresee the  changes that you want to achieve.Here brain acts a Master virtualizer.

At some point in people lives you have to initiate actions otherwise your dream remains unfulfilled.

“SO LEARN BY IMITATION,PRACTICE IMAGINATION OF WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE AND INITIATE ACTION TO FULFILL YOUR GOALS AND MAKE A WORLD BETTER PLACE” BB KATTA

 

 

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Katta’s Scale of Self Awareness

St. Augustine reflected, “People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.”

An early philosophical discussion of self-awareness is that of John Locke. Locke was apparently influenced by René Descartes‘ statement normally translated ‘I think, therefore I am’ (Cogito ergo sum)

Self-awareness is the capacity for introspection and the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals.

5 levels of awareness Bio,Psycho,Socio,Economic and Spiritual

Scale of 1-5 for each area /Self rated vs coach rated

 

Scale of 1-5 Bio/Body Psycho/Mind Socio/Relations Economifeargreed Spiritual Total Score
Action Emotions Thoughts Relationships Bias Mindfulness
Self rated Max 25
Observer rated Max 25

 

0- denial,1-minimal,2 some,3 good ,4 excellent, 5 supreme

 

Self Awareness= 25/25 =1=100% fully aware ,

 

 

Try this challenge

Think about describing yourself to another person without mentioning anything about the external things that are in your life, your friends, family, studying etc. Concentrate only on yourself, how you feel and behave, perhaps recognizing some of your strengths and weaknesses.

Did you manage to explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviors?

 

Known Self

Things we know about ourselves and others know about us.

Hidden Self

Things we know about ourselves that others do not know.

Blind Self

Things others know about us that we do not know

Unknown Self

Things neither we nor others know about us.

 

The Stages of Self Awareness

These stages include:

Denial/ Blame

Awareness of Action

Awareness of thoughts and beliefs

Awareness of values and principles

Awareness of our Identity

Awareness of our Higher Self

And

Awareness of Atonement – our divine connection.

Types of Self-Awareness

Psychologists often break self-awareness down into two different types, either public or private.

  • Public Self-Awareness: This type emerges when people are aware of how they appear to others. Public self-awareness often emerges in situations when people are at the center of attention, such as when giving a presentation or talking to a group of friends. This type of self-awareness often compels people to adhere to social norms. When we are aware that we are being watched and evaluated, we often try to behave in ways that are socially acceptable and desirable. Public self-awareness can also lead to evaluation anxiety in which people become distressed, anxious, or worried about how they are perceived by others.
  • Private Self-Awareness: This type happens when people become aware of some aspects of themselves, but only in a private way. For example, seeing your face in the mirror is a type of private self-awareness. Feeling your stomach lurch when you realize you forgot to study for an important test or feeling your heart flutter when you see someone you are attracted to are also good examples of private self-awareness.
  • Here are seven signs you may be heading down the latter path and not self aware
  • You’re a bully
  • You’re defensive
  • You’re controlling
  • You’re passive aggressive
  • Your behavior changes
  • You’re a bully
  • You’re grandiose
  • You make excuses.

 

The direct relationship between leader self-awareness and organizational financial performance

it is helpful to have a relative scale for awareness.

Self awareness is one of the attributes of Emotional Intelligence and an important factor in achieving success.

This ability to empathize facilitates better personal and professional relationships.

Develop Self Awareness

Self awareness is developed through practices in focusing your attention on the details of your personality and behavior.

Coaching to Develop Self-Awareness

Helping People Get to Know Themselves

TEST/ TALK/ WRITE/ ROLE/  COACH

Approach 1: Using Psychometric Tests

Approach 2: Sampling New Experiences

Approach 3: Telling Your Life Story

Approach 4: Daily Writing

It’s often said that to write well, you have to write every day

Approach 5: Defining Your Role

We all play many roles in life

Approach 6: Using the Coach as a Mirror

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Conscientiousness means Sticky and NOSEY [Neat,Organized,Systematic,Efficient You]

2014 ,October,20th

Conscientiousness means NOSEY and Sticky  Neat,Organized,Systematic,Efficient You (of a person) wishing to do what is right, especially to do one’s work or duty well and thoroughly./relating to a person’s conscience.

Research is pointing to conscientiousness as the one-trait-to-rule-them-all in terms of future success, both career-wise and personal.

Conscientiousness is one of the five major dimensions in the Big Five model (also called Five Factor Model) of personality, which also consists of extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, and agreeableness

Recently, conscientiousness has been broken down, further, into two “aspects“: orderliness and industrious.

Conscientious individuals are generally hard-working and reliable. When taken to an extreme, they may also be “workaholics“, perfectionists, and compulsive in their behavior. People who score low on conscientiousness tend to be more laid back, less goal-oriented, and less driven by success.

A person’s level of conscientiousness is generally assessed using self-report measures, although peer-reports and third-party observation can also be used. Self-report measures are either lexical[2] or based on statements.

Through most of the rest of adult life, there is relatively little change in the average level of conscientiousness. Individual differences are strongly preserved.

 

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What it means to be a girl by Anjali Katta

Posted on October 13, 2014 by unavancouver

One of the great pleasures of being a part of the UNAC-Vancouver team is having the chance to discover our talented Lower Mainland youth and the difference they are making in the world.  The following is a submission by 17 year old Anjali Katta, a student at York House School, on “What it means to be a girl”.  Anjali delivered her message directly to the United Nations in New York this past weekend.   

People tell me that girls are brought up to believe that they are less than. People also tell me to speak the truth. So that is what I will do.

I believe that girls are born believing they are equal but every single thing around them tells them they are less than. Don’t get your dress dirty! You can’t do that you’re a girl. If you’re a girl please jump off the smaller ski hill. You can’t debate, you’re a girl and girls get too emotional. These are all phrases that I’ve heard in my life and I can’t imagine what girls hear all across the globe. Heck, I was gifted bangles while my brother was gifted land—he was basically told to build, to leave his mark in the world and I was told to decorate myself.

And even though there is so much against a girl, she will persevere. Because a girl is just as capable and just as strong in ways that you can understand and in ways far beyond your myopic abilities of perception. A girl is, in essence, equal. Every girl is beautiful and smart and kind and clever and strong and unique and has an equal right to happiness, safety, and freedom. If we give a girl a chance, give her the tools to believe in herself and that she truly is just as capable, imagine how different the world would be. How many mothers would be able to teach their children to value an education. How many girls would be able to stand up in class and not care about the way she looks. How many girls won’t have to have their beauty equated to their intelligence.

Gender should not define opportunity and we owe it to the daughters of tomorrow to take a step back and look at each and every flaw in the system, be it major or infinitesimal, and do whatever we can to take down this inequality that is so fundamental in all systems across the globe. So the next time you see a girl, don’t tell her how pretty she is—tell her how smart, kind, clever, interesting, or the millions of other adjectives out there she is.

Happy International Day of the Girl!

Anjali Katta Posted on October 13, 2014

http://unavancouver.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/what-it-means-to-be-a-girl-by-anjali-katta/

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DAD’S ADVICE FOR LIFE LONG HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS by Dr B B Katta

2014 Feb 27th,

  • GET A MENTOR TO SMOOTH-EN THE PATH
  • WORK HARDER BUT SMARTER
  • PERIODICALLY UNPLUG
  • REBOOT
  • FEEL THE GRATITUDE
  • ENJOY AND TAKE IT EASY
  • THINGS WILL WORK OUT IN THE END
  • IN LIFE YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT BUT PEOPLE ARE UNHAPPY BECAUSE OF MOVING GOAL POST/ SO WRITE DOWN
  • REMEMBER RED REVOLUTION [ READ, EXPLORE AND DO SOMETHING]

In life you get what you want but only if you work  for it with single minded determination.

Success as I understand is getting what you want.But the problem is people change what they want as they go. This leads to profound unhappiness.To achieve something , you have to aim for something that can make a difference in your life and life of others, dent in the universe as Steve Job put it. Also set your bar high enough to challenge your self.

To be visionary leader and entrepreneur you should be able to function in VUCA world — Volatility, Uncertainty, Complex and Ambiguous,with a internal compass and external stars[of values and goals] to  reach the destination .

We are the product of our circumstances, but more than our circumstances if we want to be.

More than Einstein’s equation of E=MC2, equation for personal development  would make all the difference in the world. E+R=O, EVENT+RESPONSE=OUTCOME. YOU CAN CHANGE THE OUTCOME BY CHANGING YOUR RESPONSE MORE THAN CHANGING YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.We have to stop blaming circumstances and take responsibility for our actions.

We have to change ourselves before we change the circumstances. You need a Success mind set and growth mind set to achieve something .You need to have have positive belief about yourself and your capacity like Alexander the Great who believed that he was born to rule.

With the belief you need the right attitude  to get what you want. You need the passion to  change the world. With the belief,attitude and passion you need to Initiate the change your self. Ideas are worth nothing if people don’t act on it. Majority don’t act. We don’t want to be one of them.Remember people to bet on the jockey than the horse.

After we initiate very few would persist and dedicate to complete the task,most  due to fear of failure and ridicule.You can never succeed if you are afraid of  failure.They are like 2 sides  of a coin.Failures will sculpt you into a final product that you want.Failures help to sculpt a granite bust which take a lot harder work but can last longer than a marble bust which chips easily with any bumps.

We are all social animals, easily influenced by social group. There are powerful  conscious and unconscious forces trying to keep us the same and resist change and can manifest in different forms including procrastination,rationalization etc.Warren Buffet mentions “INSTITUTIONAL IMPERATIVE”  as the main reason for poor investment returns as one investor trying to outbid others using same techniques.We have to learn to think independently and act independently.Sometimes people paid a a heavy price for the same. But there is no other time in the history for freedom of speech  and action and entrepreneurship. Galileo was killed when he said we are not the center of universe. Morse was taken to psychiatrist when mentioned that we can communicate without wires thru tele waves. Kondratieff of long wave cycles was given a death sentence  by Stalin when he said western countries were on economic upswing.Spinoza was ostracized by Jewish community for his independent views.His body was stolen and disposed of without any trace.

It took 1400 years to prove that heart pumps blood not air as it was impossible for people to go against church as well as against Galen even though they saw people bleeding. It took 80 years for electricity to become a utility. Humans have been innovative and creative for thousands of years from discovery of fire to modern day internet.You don’t need to think about world changing ideas all the time. You have to work on the ideas you have access to  and develop as you go. and keep the broader context in mind.Sometimes simple ideas have profound impact on the world. eg Standardization of containers increased productivity by 2%, more than introduction of  computers.Think about Facebook or whats app or Google. Humans always learn by analogy and combinatorial knowledge to develop domain expertise.Learning earlier,more and longer and deeper than anyone else gives you that edge for you to succeed.Learning and serving should  a lifelong commitment. Material benefits are secondary.

As you develop  as a person ,you also need to develop to lead and work with the group to be a true leader and entrepreneur. You have to inspire and motivate people around you by your example of values and behaviour and commitment.

Remember katta’s acronym COHEN  for entrepreneurship [ Curious, Observation, How [questioning],Experimenting and Networking].

You need a mindset and a framework to manage your success otherwise as you can see majority of lottery winners who own  hundreds of millions were all broke in few years and some were on streets and others killed themselves due to broken families.

You need to set  example to yourself and to the world  with your integrity,honesty,trust and commitment like Warren Buffett, who earned a lot of dough. He also set an example of donating  his hard earned money for betterment of the world.

I will keep updating as  my hot springs get hotter .

Love

Dad

Feb27,2014

“If you perceive the universe as being a universe of abundance, then it will be. If you think of the universe as one of scarcity, then it will be.”

Milton Glaser

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Successful and fulfilling medical practice by Dr B B Katta

2014 September,12

Successful and fulfilling medical practice at its heart has doctor patient interaction. It is as much Art as Science.

Foundation for good practice starts with good practice set up, which includes physical set up,of the office staff and access.

Doctors competence and interpersonal skills as well as ethical practice matters a lot for long term success.As a physician you have to decide what you want from practice,money ,name and fame and service.

Depending on the setup and physician skill set you have to decide what kind of patients,how many you want and can handle,what kind of long term relationship you are expecting.

Do you want to build practice with repeat customers or new ones all the time.What kind of impression you leave on the patients.Can they be your ambassadors of goodwill.

How do you attract certain number of patients to succeed. To start with media to reach large number of people.

Once patient makes a contact it is different set of variables.First impressions matter a lot.Placebo effect plays a lot.Group effect plays a lot.

Whether a patient becomes a repeat customer and a grand ambassador depends on whether he got the satisfactory relief of symptoms,understanding of the problems and subjective impression of fairness and honesty and likes the physician .

It is a process of fine tuning and work in progress.As I mentioned it is Art as much as a Science.

Dr B B Katta of Katta Academy

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