Pay attention. What do you mean by paying? And does giving attention differ from paying attention? And what if it's stolen, not paid, not given? Attention is the torch you carry in a dark storage room. Wherever you point it, that thing gets the spotlight. Everyone wants your torch pointed
If you do this... ...then you are loved. Then you belong. Then you matter. This is false love. You are loved. You belong. You matter. Now go do what you need to do.
Nervous system regulation. When we are anxious, one thing that helps is the company of people where we feel calm. The body responds. It becomes lighter. The breath becomes deeper. Our nervous system mirrors theirs and we move from a fight-flight state of mind to "I am safe, I am loved&
Angry solutions. They are rarely effective and mostly not even solutions. Angry voices tell us where the problem is, not how to fix it. See what the problem is. Then calmly design a solution. Without anger. Whether the voice is outside your head or inside.
Context-switching cost. AI can work on multiple things at the same time. Open a new session and off it goes. But you can't. Every time you switch context, your brain gets drained. Multiple rounds and your mental capacity is significantly reduced. It's better to focus on one thing,
The gift of suffering. "What? Gift? Suffering is not a gift, it's a curse." - You might be thinking this as you read the title. And I'd agree with you, for some part. Suffering isn't pleasant. It's the absence of joy. So how can it
Smallest shippable project. There is always something more you can do before your work goes out. This is how our work becomes a series of never-ending projects. What if, instead, you found the smallest version of your project you could ship? How would it feel to ship it rather than trying to
Yes or no? It's a simple question with a simple answer. It seems harsh. But it is kind. A 'no' helps everyone move forward. A 'maybe' or 'later' doesn't. As Brené Brown says, "Clarity is kindness".
Caught in a loop. Breathing happens in a loop. Thankfully. Every out-breath follows an in-breath without needing much from us. Same with the heartbeat. Virtuous loops that keep us alive. But there are not-so-virtuous loops all around us as well. Some by default, many by design. You eat one processed
Missed workout. If you miss a workout, what do you do? How do you make up for it? Should you do three workouts in the week instead of your usual two? Should you work out harder in the next one? The answer is to simply do the next one, as if you
What if it was a gift? What if the work you do was a gift? How would you show up then? What if the payment you receive was also a gift? How would you show up then? Transactions don't delight us. Gifts do.
One thing at a time. That's how it works. We all know that. But a reminder helps every now and then. What's the one thing you are working on?
Angry dogs and bears. The fight or flight (or yellow) mode is like an angry dog running after you, trying to hurt you. And you are either running or fighting it to get to safety. (This is also called sympathetic activation in the polyvagal theory of the nervous system.) If that's the
Good, bad, ugly... ...and beautiful. Everything happens if we let it. Sometimes if we make it. And when it happens, we can let it. Instead of fighting it. Or wanting it to stay forever. Joy is there if we allow it.
A hundred times over. If you eat a pizza daily for a hundred days, you will soon become sick of pizzas. Not so much with eggs. Exceptions seem harmless because we think they are one-offs. But then the one-off can happen a hundred times. We are what we do over and over
AI ping pong. Ping pong is fascinating to watch. So much happens so fast. But also, nothing gets done. It's brilliant as a sport, not as a workflow. Async long-form writing beats instant messaging every time. Whether you are working with humans or AI.
Feet in the air When we learn to cycle, we focus mainly on getting our feet back on the ground... not so much on moving forward. Not to fall - that's what we care about. But once we get good at it, we don't even think of not falling. We are
Finding lions. Take a deep breath and slowly scan your surroundings from left to right. Did you see a lion? If not, slowly exhale. Now, close your eyes and do the same thing again. Keeping your eyes closed, scan your mental surroundings from left to right. Lion? No? Exhale. A zebra'
TMM (things on my mind) Take a sheet of paper or open a new note. Keep noting down things that come in your mind in a numbered list. Don't analyse. Don't do anything. Just keep noting them down. The first step for tackling overwhelm is to make it visible.
Rent without living. Guilt is the old frame collecting rent. ~ My Possibility Coach (powered by Claude and The Art of Possibility )! What a beautiful way to put it. What's collecting rent where you don't even live? Or don't want to live? How can you move out?
A recurring yes... ...is not one yes. It's infinite. Same with a recurring no. Which recurring yes do you want to say no to? Which recurring no do you want to say yes to?
Sunset mode. It's easy to confuse a sunset with a sunrise. The view is similar, but the feeling isn't. Sunset is about shutting down, ending the day, going home, getting rest. It's not the time for beginnings. It's the time for endings. A wave
Cheap and fast! McDonald's is an expert at cost and speed. They have been optimising these for decades, to the detriment of everything else. Making things (it's tough to call it food!) faster and cheaper. And we have somehow inherited this culturally... we want everything to be faster and
The city you live in. I have been living in Goa for almost four years now. I know that it would rain heavily from June to August during the monsoons. I know that there will be multiple art festivals from November to February. Not only that, I know where there is a peaceful spot to
The off switch. We know how to turn our stress switch on. Just watch, listen or even think about something stressful. And then it just stays on. We think that once we resolve the stressful thing, we would go back to no stress. But that's not how it works. Our body