We live inside the raw footage. The unfiltered, unpolished, unedited reality of our days. The mornings we wake up tired. The arguments that go unresolved. The moments of doubt, of boredom, of quiet desperation. The meals that burn. The conversations that disappoint. The plans that fall through. This is our life. It is messy. It is imperfect. It is real. And then we look at the lives of others. We see their carefully selected moments. A photograph of a perfect couple on a beau

Watch a mother dog with her puppies. A stranger approaches. The mother does not hesitate. She bares her teeth. She growls. She places her body between the threat and her young. This is defensive anger. It is a response to a clear threat. It is protective. It is preservative. It is a line drawn in the sand that says, "You will not cross this." Now watch a different scene. Two dogs see a single bone. Neither is hungry. Neither needs the bone. But one dog approaches, growling, p

𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. We cling to things long after they have ceased to serve us. We hold onto past hurts. We replay old grievances. We keep longing for outcomes that are no longer possible, for relationships that have run their course, for a version of reality that simply does not exist. We know we should let go. We sense the weight of what we carry. But we do not release our grip. We hold on. Why? Because letting go feels like losing. It fee

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. We all have moments when we surge forward with full force. A new venture, a new relationship, a new passion. The energy is electric. The vision is clear. We are moving at full speed, and nothing can stop us. We are over committed, over invested, too much into it too soon. The end point is all we can see. The destination is the only thing that matters. But when we move at full speed, we often miss what is right in fron

Most of our conflicts, disappointments, and frustrations boil down to one simple thing - 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. We want them to think like us, feel like us, behave like us… and when they don’t, it feels 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈. Think about it— You text someone, and they don’t reply as fast as you’d like. Annoying, right? Your thought is “𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡” You expect your sibling/friend to be as excited about your success as you ar

We spend years, sometimes a lifetime, taking inventory of a relationship. We catalogue what the other person is. Their kindness. Their steadiness. Their humor. We also catalogue, with a quiet and growing weight, what they are not. They are not adventurous. They are not emotionally expressive. They are not a partner in the particular dream we hold. We understand, on a rational level, that they are being authentic. This is who they are. They cannot fundamentally change, and it

Most criticism stings because it attacks a person's identity. It does not describe an action. It applies a label. Lazy. Selfish. Cold. Irresponsible. Uncaring. These words land like arrows because they seem to define the very core of who someone is. And when a person feels their identity is under attack, their only instinct is to defend. They raise shields. They counterattack. They shut down. The conversation dies, and the problem remains untouched. But there is another way.

We fall into the fairness trap when we are on the losing end of a bargain. We feel a sharp, personal sting when our hard work goes unnoticed, when our honesty is met with deception, when our good faith is met with betrayal. In that moment, we make a declaration: "The world is unfair." We expect a balanced equation where effort yields reward and virtue meets justice. When the balance tips against us, we feel a profound sense of injustice, a cosmic letdown. But the world is nei

We often get paralyzed when we have to make decisions. What is the best option for me? What if I make a wrong decision? These thoughts stop us from making decisions from the mundane to the vital ones. We suffer from decision paralysis and often postpone decision-making itself. Not making a decision is also a decision and there can be a cost for it. This is something we don’t realize. We erroneously believe not making a decision is playing safe. There could be a price to pay f

When someone puts money into buying the shares of a company, they generally have the idea of a stop loss in their head. If I have bought something for Rs 100/- I will sell it for a loss also if it goes below 80 because I don’t want to suffer a bigger loss. I can bear a Rs 20/- loss but not more than that. The stop-loss level decided by me saves me from greater pain. It is the pain point at which I am willing to accept my losses and move on. In the same way, I can have a time-

There are many times in our lives when we have to make a critical decision - quit a job, take an unknown opportunity, move out of a relationship, try a new cuisine etc. We are not sure of the outcome if we take a call to make the change. At that time a good question to ask ourselves is, “What will I lose if I do this?” It brings into perspective what we have that we won’t have if we make the decision. “I want to move out of this relationship,” she said hesitantly. “What is st

Enhancing our emotional intelligence (EI) is vital for both our personal and professional growth. It involves mastering the skill of recognizing and managing our own emotions, as well as empathizing with others. By developing our EI, we can create stronger relationships, improve communication, and enhance our overall well-being. To jump-start your journey towards emotional intelligence, here are five actionable ideas you can implement today: 𝟏. 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐨�

There is a delicate balance between caring for your loved ones and smothering them with overprotection. Can excessive care and protection cross the line into abuse? Imagine a child, whose mother is overly protective. Initially, it appears heartwarming, but it soon becomes stifling. The child’s life is tightly controlled by their mother, who constantly scrutinizes their actions and decisions. This overbearing behaviour stifles the child’s independence and autonomy. True caring

“I want my son to take up a course/profession that other are not. I want him to be an independent thinker not be influenced by what others do” “Sure, That looks a good strategy. You want him to pick an education stream not being followed by most people” “Yes. I want him to follow the road less travelled and not be influenced by what others are doing” “That seems great. But how will he know which is the path less travelled unless he observes what path others are taking?” “He c

“How many times should I ask you to finish dinner. Then I can clear the table” 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐬 “If you have dinner now, I can clear the table. If you want to eat later, you should clear the table. Which do you prefer?” “Have a bath now, there is water in the geyser” 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐬 “If you have a bath now, you don’t have to switch on the geyser, if you want to have a bath later, you have to switch the geyser on and also switch it off. What is your choice?” ‘Talk to your mom now, yo

“I wish I had not married at that time; it was a foolish decision” “I wish I had gone abroad for studies; my life would have been different” “Why did I bring kids into the marriage. I should have known better” “I was an idiot to quit my job to raise a family. Don’t feel good about it today” When people look back in their lives, there is always a graveyard of regrets. Multiple regrets on studies, career, relationship, money, hobbies etc., buried in their memories. Regret for t

Time blindness is a term that is sometimes heard with people with ADHD. All ADHD people don’t have it and all who have it are not ADHD persons. Having said that time blindness can hit a lot of people around us. People who have time blindness measure time in a different way than most people. They are aware of time but not with the sensitivity of other people. Here are some ways we can be time blind: *Difficult to estimate the time for a given work. *Get so absorbed in what we

"Why can’t my husband be more organized? Why can’t he keep things in place? Why can’t he keep his desk and cupboard organized? Won’t it make it easier for him and others around him?” “True that would be of big help. What does he criticize you for?” “He gets irritated with the amount of time, I take to get ready. He finds it frustrating that I cannot estimate my time to complete a task. He gets frustrated with my ability to read maps” “Are you doing it deliberately?” “No, I am

When someone puts money into buying the shares of a company, they generally have the idea of a stop loss in their head. If I have bought something for Rs 100/- I will sell it for a loss also if it goes below 80 because I don’t want to suffer a bigger loss. I can bear a Rs 20/- loss but not more than that. The stop-loss level decided by me saves me from greater pain. It is the pain point at which I am willing to accept my losses and move on. In the same way, I can have a time-

The report card arrives. It is a piece of paper, a collection of letters and numbers. Yet, in many homes, it becomes a trigger for an explosion. A parent scans the grades, their eyes locking on the low marks. Their stomach tightens. Disappointment rises, fast and hot, followed by a lecture, a berating, a slanging match. The child shrinks, defends, or explodes back. The paper is no longer a report; it is a verdict. On the child’s effort, and silently, on the parent’s worth. In