mindset

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.

habits

My sweet tooth

When I buy it, I am in a lot more control of it. But when someone sends something across, it feels like "I have to eat it." Which might sound stupid, but that's how it is.

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.

discussion

The fun world of contradictions

All diets work. None of them works. You can eat doughnuts and burgers and lose weight.

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!

coaching

In the moment

I struggle with this. When I am watching a game, I am also pretending to be the coach. When I am training, I am also the world's greatest critic. But when I catch myself and chat my magic words and shut up and focus, the experience is completely changed.

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?

framework

How to solve the motivation issue

Motivation, unfortunately, is not a tap you can turn on when you want to. Wanting something really hard and a lot is not adequate. You have to do the work. Obviously. And to do the work, you have to want to do the work.

mental models

Escape velocity

Or why do you keep losing the same 5 kilos every few months?

challenge

how do you find the right method for you?

There are a gazillion options for fitness out there. There are umpteen diet protocols. And there are more and more people on the coaching side of things, as the fitness landscape opens up.

coaching

To heck with before-afters

If you are not able to keep off the darned weight, if you lose all the strength you worked hard for, if you are back to square one ... what a waste!

coaching

find your "me" time

9 times out of 10, you don't go to the gym. You don't do much about your nutrition. You don't get those results. You fail. You get angry with yourself or the gym. Or both. And you give up. You set yourself up for failure from the start.

mindset

What makes you tick?

The more perspectives, the more stories, the more we can grow our worldview. But more is not the answer. The idea, I think, is to see which strikes a chord deep within us. And to make our own weird concoction out of all that we see, and by listening to us deeply.

framework

the endless game

Fitness can be an infinite game, and I strongly believe it should. Because it is a great vehicle to grow, and push yourself, and also have a great quality of life.

guilt

The villain and the hero

Most of the time, I am an ass to myself. The amount of criticism, the self-doubt, the analysis paralysis - sheesh, it is overwhelming. If a friend did that to me, I would stop being friends with that ass****.

coaching

the ever-expanding universe

You realise that some things were scarier in your head than in the real. But now, with more years under the belt, you see better. And when you were bored, you were just not challenged enough.

framework

solving it yourself vs using an expert

Meeting a tax consultant meant paying more money. And interacting with people. And answering questions that I didn't want to answer - about savings, about financial planning, and about questions, I didn't know existed.

coaching

failing a diet is your comfort zone

Looks like you went on a diet last January as well. Oh, you lost 8 kilos then. Brilliant. And how much did you put on over the year? All of it. And then some. stop repeating the same pattern

coaching

just hold your nose and get through it

Instead of hating driving, I can drive. I don't have to love it. Instead of hating your physical activity routine, you can just do it. Armed with the larger theme of you taking care of yourself, you can just do that.

habits

learning to pause

Nothing good comes out of flying into a blind rage. A regrettable decision, a loss of mental peace, a few minutes/hours of agitation.

life

on crazy commutes and efficiency

To the couple that trains with me who also happen to be startup founders, the commute is when they get to de-stress and talk about their dayThe hour they train with me is the only part of their day that is solely about them.

coaching

pick one thing to get on the path of Mastery; 4/4

There are no shortcuts. The successful path to mastering anything is to practice for the sake of it, to enjoy it, and enjoy being on a plateau.

coaching

a fun night and a sucky morning-after

You wake up. And you start thinking about the weighing scale. Should you? Should you not? After a bit of back and forth, you just cannot take it. Everything you do is distracted by the thought of going and checking your weight. The more you try to push it away, the firmer it comes back.

coaching

meet The Hacker 3/4

After sort of getting the hang of a thing, he or she is willing to stay on the plateau indefinitely. He doesn't mind skipping stages essential to the development of mastery if he can just go out and hack around with fellow hackers