Making-up for missing the A to Z challenge!!

I sometimes get forgetful and lazy. It happens more when I have too much on my mind and on my plate. My book is progressing great which is a huge positive, for even if I feel like procrastinating, the very thought of the book, sends me scurrying back to my desk. Its quite a boon you know, for apart from meeting up with some really nice people, its also telling me that there are miles to go before you can sleep.

With the book, I am growing too. I am learning the ropes of writing, planning, publishing, getting strangers to write testimonials which they are rightly refusing to even acknowledge. For folks, why should the poor souls respond to a complete stranger? Who has got the time to ‘waste’ on reading some synopsis which isn’t about them? Everyone’s busy with their life, philanthropies, conferences, meetings, running the nation or rather letting it run itself (for it is doing a good job of it anyways!). But it’s been fun till now. And I am looking forward to the launch and the program to go with it. Programs never scare me, and the adrenaline rush drives me more.

Thus, in the scheme of things, some of my other writing or following of happenings in those fields led to me missing out on the blogger’s A to Z challenge. When I finally found time to read about it, I had missed the deadline bus by over a week. Being new to this kind of ‘formal’ blogging, though I am probably still a novice with the skills, the pop-up reminders missed my inattentive & untrained eye, as I wobbled my way through the world wide web. This was when I seriously thought of giving advise to the powers-that-are in the field of software and programs that they should give cognizance to the fact that there exist some beings who are intellectually very smart but aren’t ‘digital natives.’ I am learning fast!

It would interest you to know that I have become several Icons smarter now from before, for my interactions with them have made me tarry a while and marvel at the focus, drive and dedication which these individuals possess, not to forget the patience to make everyone believe in their philosophy of success. With this acquired smartness, I thought I’d do my A to Z challenge for myself. You see, I do not like to miss something which is good, if I have an interest in it.

A is for Anxiety – which comes from apprehension and aggravation of annoyance when there’s much ado about nothing. It’s antidote: Acceptance (of situations with own solutions)

B is for Blame – which comes from betrayal and bad-mouthing when we hold everyone except ourselves responsible for everything. It’s antidote: Balance (of emotions & thinking with our own mind)

C is for Complain – which comes from criticising and charging when there’s incriminating evidence against our own attitude. It’s antidote: Change (of attitude & thought process)

D is for Discredit – which comes from disapproving and decrying for no reason when its our own insecurities which we fear. It’s antidote: Demonstration (of appreciation & credit where due)

E is for End – which comes from expiry of emotions as we erase our feelings when faced with a destroying of trust. It’s antidote: Energising (of our thoughts & expunging of ill-feelings)

F is for Fake – which comes from false and fabricated imagery of oneself when we pretend to be someone we are not. It’s antidote: Feeling (of credibility & realism of staying true)

G is for Graceless – which comes from gauche and grave disregard for manners and feelings for others. It’s antidote: Generosity (of opinions & approaches towards all around)

H is for Hatred – which comes from heavy-handed and hostile viewpoints about people around. It’s antidote: Honesty (of feelings and stances by keeping them genuine)

I is for Impatience – which comes from intolerance and impetuosity towards the views of the majority. It’s antidote: Independence (of thinking from callousness & disrespect)

J is for Jealousy – which comes from jeeringly and joylessly being fraudulent with emotions for someone. It’s antidote: Jubilance (of contentment and delight at everyone’s skills)

K is for Kill – which comes from knotty and kinky judgement which snuffs out the enterprise from everyone. It’s antidote: Knowledgeable (of the rationale and decision behind supporting acumen)

L is for Loathsome – which comes from loutish and ill-bred behaviour which smothers all pleasantness. It’s antidote: Levelheadedness (of decision making to get the desired results)

M is for Melancholy – which comes from moping and mournful mentality regarding everything around us. It’s antidote: Memorable (of approach and action when dealing with situations)

 N is for Nasty – which comes from negativity and nefarious outlook towards settings & circumstances. It’s antidote: Noteworthy (of thought & opinion about things which matter)

O is for Offensive – which comes from opinionated and objectionable reflections about people and things. It’s antidote: Outstanding (of belief and initiative about processes and individuals)

P is for Pessimistic – which comes from patronizing and pitiful reactions to difficult situations. It’s antidote: Polished (of responses and rejoinders while dealing with different outcomes)

Q is for Quarrelsome – which comes from queer and questionable reactions to situations with people. It’s antidote: Quiet (of retorts and responses of all the unnecessary kind)

R is for Restless – which comes from rash and reactionary outcomes of a weak character towards every day. It’s antidote: Respectful (of actions and feelings of groups & societies around them)

S is for Scornful – which comes from smug and snooty attitudes which make people arrogant about their perceived talents. It’s antidote: Sensitive (of feelings and emotions making sure they do not hurt)

T is for Talebearing – which comes from tactless and toxic talking ability of people behind everyone’s back. It’s antidote: Talented (of ability and action about work)

U is for Unhappy – which comes from unambitious and uncheerful rendition of all every day chores. It’s antidote: Unique (of emotions which take you beyond the normal realm of ecstasy)

V is for Vindictive – which comes from venomous and vicious thinking to just harm someone’s legacy to suit one’s ego. It’s antidote: Vivacious (of conduct and demeanour which endears to all)

W is for Whiney – which comes from a wackiness and winning manner of forever playing victim to one’s own creation. It’s antidote: Warm-hearted (of behaviour about all around them)

X is for Xenophobic – which comes from xeric attitudes which take away all love from relationships. It’s antidote: Xenial (of being hospitable and friendly between each other)

Y is for Yelling – which comes from yelping without reason and for no purpose. It’s antidote: Youthful (of thought, perseverance and action)

Z is for Zero – which comes from zilch and insignificance of any novel thought process. It’s antidote: Zestful (of response and ability about everything one does)

I love the English language for it offers me the immense scope of expression and interpretation. I love looking for the right words, phrases and verbalization of my thoughts. Love it when words are played along to mean such wonderful things. Have seen this in great abundance in recent times in my work.

Haven’t worked within the formal IB structure of curriculum but heard of the terms as an over-kill from my son and his school for more than a decade. In fact, he would tongue in the cheek tell his grandfather that he was a risk-taker, each time he’d refuse to finish his glass of milk as I coaxed him too. He’d use the terms with such élan and finesse that I was not being ‘caring’ when I refused him his umpteenth helping of his favorite ice cream. I was not being ‘open-minded’ if I did not understand his need for a longer break in-between his ten-minute-at-a-stretch study time! While he was being ‘knowledgeable’ if he related his grandfather’s observation in an official interview on Alzheimer to a scene in the film ‘Black’. The list gets endless.

Like the Learner profile of the IB curriculum, I hope my A to Z Learner Antidote challenge will motivate most to junk the meanings and go for the antitoxin, instead.

And, I am hoping I shall be classified as a ‘reflective risk-taker’!