Starting afresh. A fresh start brings in a breeze of energy. Whether it's moving to a new city or the beginning of a new friendship or relationship or starting a new project, a fresh start feels blissful and exciting at the same time. A blank page, a blank canvas, all
Without a queue. It's challenging to be consistent with a blog, podcast or newsletter (or any other channel) if you are unable to build a queue. There would be days you are tired, or sick, or busy, or just not ready to deliver at the level of professionalism you seek. Heroic
Manufacturing non-urgency. Urgency comes from having an urge. It needs us to stop everything until we get the urge fulfilled. Important work rarely is urgent. Rather, when we try to make important work urgent, it might end up losing its importance. Important work requires us to be calm. Calmness helps us get
Two truths and a lie. Pretension may be a requisite for our social etiquette. We stay in meetings long after our body gives up. We go to parties that drain us. We hangout with people who make us miserable. We rationalise. We adjust. We cooperate. In short, we lie. We pretend to be comfortable when
Trying harder. My friend Sonja once came up with some useful advice for men who would like to improve their performance in the bedroom. “Here’s a hint,” she said. “If whatever you’re doing isn’t working, don’t do it harder. This applies in every area of life, but most
The ask. "Do you want fries with that?" "Should I pack this for you?" "Can I take you out for dinner?" If you make the ask, you may get a no. But if you don't, there's no yes.
White lies. We lose touch with the truth, our truth, when we start rationalising. These are our white lies. The ones we use to justify doing what we don't want to do, that our whole self doesn't want us to do. The thing is, when we start listening
Messy. It's going to be messy. Chaotic. Scary. It will bring out your fears, insecurities, anxieties. It will change you. It might even destroy you in a way. You would need to surrender and dissolve. It starts with you.
Fill in the blank. Once you have a blank, it becomes irresistible but to fill it. A daily blog creates a blank every day. So does an empty meeting room, a bookcase, a ticket for two to a play... And because there's a blank, it's likely to be filled. Mostly,
Self-compassion journey. It's tempting to continue on our journey of hustle, of our way of dealing with the world, without looking inward, without making space for the parts of us that need attention, love and compassion. Most of the world is doing that. It takes a lot of courage to
Sweet or salty? When ordering a lemon soda, you have to choose. Do you want it sweet or salty? You can also have both? Or none? Each person has their own preference. Same goes with your project. You have to make choices. Is it for the masses or people who want to go
Irreversible. What's the one thing that you can do that will move things irreversibly forward? That will give you evidence for the identity you desire? Not the larger, hairy goal, but the smallest action forward. Not getting healthy, but going to the gym ONCE. Not reading more, but reading
A few questions... ...worth asking yourself. Have I slept well? Have I eaten? Have I had enough water? The body is equipped to work even without them, but not very well and not for very long. A well-taken care of body takes care of us well.
The innocence of joy. I met a six-year-old a few days back. One of the most creative human beings I have met in some time. Out of nothing, she built a game for us to play using an A4 sheet and a pen. And it was so much fun. She used clay to build
Two signs of possibility. One, you stop distinguishing between yourself and the others. The We Story is all you can see. The question "what about me" takes a backseat, and "how can I be a contribution" is all there is. And two, you stop trying to seek control. You make
A rainy day. I took a flight a few days ago on a rainy day, half asleep. As we gained height, the plane started moving through the clouds. Suddenly, quite unexpectedly, sunlight hit my face. Sunlight? But wasn't it raining? It turns out that the sun is always there, shining as
Out of nothing. The work of the artist is to create something out of nothing. Start with a blank page or canvas and create magic. But that's not what happens, does it? We never start with a blank page. All our experiences, feelings, and emotions form the concoction that we then
With a grain of salt. "Don't take this personally..." "Don't take offense, but..." "Take this with a grain of salt..." These phrases let the speaker off the hook. They aren't asking for permission. They are simply assuming it. They know that what they
The opportunity of tired. Tired is a signal from the body, just like hunger or thirst. It gives us an opportunity to listen and allow ourselves to rest. Pushing through tired and staying on the desk might seem productive to you in the moment. After all, it's a badge to carry in
In the system. There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over
Tough knots. Untying a tough knot rarely happens through force. Rather force only makes the knot tighter. To untie a tough knot, you have to be patient, observe the different threads which are entangled with each other. Figure out which one you can pull at, with little force and see if it
Glass half full. Often, the person in the group who articulates the possible is dismissed as a dreamer or as a Pollyanna persisting in a simplistic “glass half-full” kind of optimism. The naysayers pride themselves on their supposed realism. However, it is actually the people who see the glass as “half-empty” who are
Harmless distractions... ...are rarely harmless. They take our focus away from what matters, what we need to make things better. And they are usually a slippery slope. One distraction leads to another until we are so deep in the rabbit hole that we forget where we were in the first place. What
Move slow and make things. Making things that matter, things that make things better, doesn't happen by breaking things. They happen with intention and care. When people who want to build them make the space that's needed for creativity and curiosity. This doesn't happen when we are rushing things,
