Reader's Views: Fitness, success and more, readers send their views

Now, more than ever, you have access to numerous tricks and tips online that helps one keep fit. There are many products available in the market that one can buy to look “perfect”. From face lifting creams, tummy tucks to age erasing techniques, the market is full of options one can avail to make themselves look good.

We fall for such products because everyone wants to look younger and better. But do we need these products? The excessive indulgence of food and failing to discipline my mind kind of led me to gain a lot of weight and my tummy reaches just about anywhere before my brains does. Eating plenty of soluble fiber, not eating a lot of sugary products, exercising regularly, and cutting down on desserts didn’t appeal to me, so I went for quick fixes, with better results.

I used waist trainers to reduce belly weight. Drank green tea, did colon cleansing, tried the keto diet, vegan diet too.

As American business magnate Warren Buffett puts it, your next-door neighbour is smart and knows the stock market trade meticulously and makes millions day after day. You, by just being envious, cannot jump in without any understanding of the business. That’s foolishness. Similarly, if something works for someone, it doesn’t mean it will have the same effect on you. Just because the keto diet is working well for one person, it does not mean that it will get everyone their desired results and make people fitter.

So, to begin, it’s all in a person’s mind. If you are dedicated to losing weight and being fit, no matter what route you take, you will achieve that goal. Being a beautiful architect of life calls for balance, courage and determination. To top it all, one needs to have meaningful thoughts and take life a day at a time. We need to learn to enjoy everything we do in a single day, even working if we aren’t too fond of it. Hopefully, this year’s Dubai Fitness Challenge 30x30 helps me bring in the permanent mindset that I need to have a permanent exercise régime.

- The reader is a resident of Dubai.

Approach exams with the right strategies

By Serah Saju Jacob

Exams are a student’s worst nightmare. A time filled with stress, hard work and most importantly, studying. Studying this and that, a rush of math equations, a quick recap on all the questions in the revision worksheet and finally, a method which a lot of students opt for is last minute studying. You will have every single book of every subject lying in front of you on the table, waiting for you to take it and start memorising the notes. As a student I have tried everything, and I have come up with the following tips, which I now find very useful.

Connecting what you have learnt is key to understanding it. If you have connected with a particular topic, you will surely remember it. For history dates, it is easier to associate the number with something from your life. For example, the battle of Panipat took place in the year in 1761, the first part of the number is my sister’s age and the second part of the number is my grandma’s age.

Another easy trick to remembering facts is using mind maps. Learning the key points to the topic and elaborating and understanding the points in the paragraph, labeling it in the mind map is a good way to remember.

Practice also makes perfect. Practicing gives you the confidence you need as it is clear that you have sustained the information. Focus is also key. Do not have any distractions around you, as this can divert your attention and may make you forget what you have learnt.

Lastly, children must not learn without interest. Learning without having the mood will have an adverse effect. If you don’t feel like learning, taking breaks to get back one’s focus is important.

Lastly, have faith in yourself and do not compare your marks to your peers. Everyone has different aptitudes and methods with which they function. You are a unique person and you should be proud of it.

- The writer is a student based in Dubai.

Why do CEOs fail?

By Nasir Zaidi

It’s a given fact that someone who has reached a top position in a company is qualified for the job. They would have to be educated for the position and have to be experienced, knowledgeable, and ambitious, with a burning desire to excel.

One cannot climb to such a high position, and be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company without such qualities. However, CEOs also fail, and it is not because they are not smart and lack vision.

CEOs fail because somewhere down the line they lose their way. They become so immersed in their dream that they sever ties with reality. They think they can do it, forgetting that, they cannot do it alone. Getting alienated from the core team, believing in or creating a strategy that no one else understands, refusing to accept facts, are just some of the reasons why CEOs fail.

But I think the reason CEOs stumble is because they do not have the right people in key areas to help them. An article that Fortune published some 19 years back on ‘Why CEO’s fail?’ written by Ram Charan and Geoffrey Colvin states that ‘intellectual seduction’ is a major cause. A CEO believes that by hiring a highly talented person in a key position, failure is impossible, but he fails to remind himself that what happens if that key person fails. And when it happens, he is too shocked to react, so stunned he is by the occurrence.

And then comes the biggest factor; the inability to exercise emotional judgment. They know that a problem exists but they are unable to take the right decision at the right time, to fix it.

As American CEO Jack Welch, one of the most successful CEOs ever, says, “we spend all our time on people. The day we screw up the people thing, this company is over”. And then who will need a CEO?

- The reader is a Dubai-based banker.