life

discussion

Friday Thought: Is That Your Idea?

Understanding why the idea feels important to you though is something you can look deeper into, as part of exploring the idea.

coaching

How to find the right direction for yourself

We are all searching for something. Deep down, something does not feel quite right. We know what brings us joy. But too often, a quick glimpse is all we can afford because there are a zillion things to do, and there's rarely a moment to pause.

coaching

Friday Thought: Write Less

In both these anecdotes, the outsiders do not get the import of what the protagonist is saying. Because it does not match the climactic moment.

dont quit

The Most Important Thing

Don't forget the power of compounding. Warren Buffet made 95% of his wealth in the last 15 or so years.

life

A wake-up call

I think we are all being pulled down a bad path. It is on each of us to reject it and fight the current. Swimming upstream is awfully hard. Or get out of this river and find another one.

coaching

You never know what they are going through

You never know if the person in front of you spent all week at the hospital, taking care of their ailing parent. But they showed up. Because this is their "me" time. This is where they can switch off for a brief hour.

coaching

Against the Current

You need to start swimming against the current. You need to arm yourself for that swim by curating the barrage of information and snake oil around you.

coaching

Learn from yourself

Have you learned something fundamentally true about yourself from someone else? Something that you could not have come up with by steadfastly sitting with yourself and your organised thought? I seriously doubt it.

life

Friday Thought: Best Friends

You look at it on paper, it makes no sense. You want to be your best friend. You understand you better than most. You know all the great things you are doing. But yet, you behave like anything close to a friend.

discussion

Finding Balance and Pillaging the Earth

When you focus only on one aspect or metric, you lose sight of the whole picture. The past 100-ish years, from the Industrial Revolution, the human race has been caught up in its own bullshit and pillaging the planet and going forward. But is forward really forward?

daily9

Measure the Effort

it is straightforward to recognise that it is a dumbed-down tool. A tool designed to solve a problem - sift through a large number of people and rank them. Then, put them into appropriate buckets.

diet

Even Magic Needs a Little Bit of Help

it is a ritual. It is a daily reminder that they are focusing on their health. Starting the day off with this is a great way to check-in with their mind and body.

habits

Whose Permission Do You Need?

It keeps coming up but you keep finding excuses not to do it. You keep shoving it away. It comes along with a slightly queasy feeling in the belly. And you push it away some more. Coz it is not practical, you say. You have too much work. You have responsibilities.

habits

Bleary-eyed and sleepy

You went to bed late, only after midnight. You woke up at 5.30 am, thanks to your alarm. Do you go to the gym? Or do you turn it off and sleep in?

challenge

A Place to Recalibrate

If your exam went well, then your prep is on track. Your technique is solid, the amount of work you are putting in is ample. If your exam goes poorly ...

dont quit

Highlight reels and your actions

The best part is everyone has it as great and as sucky as you do. The worst part is everyone has it as great as you do and as sucky as you do. This means if you aren't getting towards your goals, it all comes down to your actions.

quotes

Friday thoughts. Jan 21, 2022

Being lost in the past versus introspecting the past with your foot firmly in the present.

training is my sandbox for life

Just do your best

Your best is NOT about quantity. Your best is not about output. In fact, your best on a not-so-great day might not even be high on quality.

challenge

Don't listen to the specifics

your problem is uniquely yours. Because the solution has to work for you, and cannot be generalised. Dropping out of college is generally a bad idea, except when it is not.

discussion

Rocks, Pebbles, Sand 2.0

But its fundamental flaw is in fooling you that you can fit everything in. And in telling you that you should aim for that. You cannot. You should not. Fuck this hustle culture.

discussion

Choosing experiences

you could choose to have coffee in Blue Bottle in SF in the morning, go to your favourite dive bar in New York in the evening, and watch football in the Bernabeu - all from your home, and all in the course of your day.

dont quit

Solving the maze

Do you remember trying to solve a maze? You start and then you come to a place that forks. You have a choice to make. You make a choice. More forks, more choices. You are deeper into the maze. And then, a dead-end!

challenge

Friendly fire

Your family and friends are not sabotaging you because they are secretly jealous. They are not in alignment with you. Because you are disrupting the homeostasis of how things are going - of the party, of an evening out, of regular family life.

life

Traditions and Celebrations and Deepavali

As I think about uncomfortable things (finally!), it comes down to what helps me sleep at night. As self-centred as that might seem, that's what it is. What are my values? What is my stance? On what all?

coaching

Your fitness journey as a mass movie

It does require a hero's journey to make it here. You have to conquer your demons. You have to solve your problems and solve them well. You just cannot keep running away from them and hope it will go away. And so, when you step up, you find that you can beat it.