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Get Rid of It

Get Rid of It

Oct 23, 2022 | 0 comments

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I’ll be keeping this short and crisp because it’s festive season and I know everyone’s busy (and definitely not because I am travelling and didn’t write the post beforehand, thus showcasing my not-so-excellent time management skills :D)

By the time you read this, I’m sure you’d be done with Diwali ki safai. If not, what are you doing? Hurry up 😮

The annual cleaning is a great reminder for us to clear out the things that no longer serve us. We’re meant to clean what’s sitting in our cupboards for ages drains our energy. And it’s not limited to our homes. The same principle seeps down in our lives and mental space as well.

So this is your sign to get rid of that t-shirt you haven’t worn in 2 years, people that drain you and habits that don’t make you feel better.

This is also a reminder that the things (and those who) matter stay with you throughout life. Even if that means looking at them once a year, feeling all nostalgic and then promising to revisit the next year.

This post was written with the company of this view ;p

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The Best Ideas Are Found In The Most Random Places

The Best Ideas Are Found In The Most Random Places

Oct 16, 2022 | 0 comments

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It’s 1:32 am.

You’re tossing and turning in your bed when a fantastic idea pops into your head.

A device that can record your dreams and allow you to watch them like a movie.

Sounds familiar?

Well maybe you didn’t have this exact same idea but I can bet 100 bucks, you’ve had a sensational idea when you’re actually supposed to be sleeping.

Maybe you came up with a unique topic for your class presentation or maybe you thought of a laughing-until-you-can’t-breathe joke.

Whatever it was, I know we’ve all been in situations where we come up with amazing ideas in the most random places – in your bed when you’re supposed to be sleeping, on the toilet pot, while chopping vegetables or on a walk.

Do you realise there’s one thing common among all these situations?

Take a guess at what it is.

No, it’s not the fact that we either don’t do these things at all, or do them at the wrong time.

It’s the fact that all these activities allow your brain to be empty. These activities let you be bored.

What happens when you’re bored

When you’re bored, you begin to daydream.

And when you daydream, your subconscious mind is actually working hard to solve the problems we face.

It’s a way for your brain to take a break from the problem and come up with a better solution.

Your brain is like a pond. Constantly thinking about things stirs up the water, making things muddy and unclear. When you leave your thoughts alone for some time, the mud settles down and you begin to see things clearly again.

The subconscious mind works extremely hard to solve the problems you face and when you let your mind wander, it can surface and plant those ideas into your conscious mind.

Moreover, in all of these situations your mind is at ease, which allows you to make connections that lead to insights.

How to keep the mind empty

Being bored is keeping your mind empty in a nutshell. It just means you’re not actively paying attention to any particular thing and allow the mind to roam.

So what actually includes keeping the mind empty?

  • Eating your meal without any distractions
  • Taking a shower/bath, listening to all the sounds made by the water
  • Going on a walk
  • Taking a big dump
  • Taking a big brain dump – basically emptying out whatever is going on in your mind on a piece of paper
  • Lying down on your bed
  • Cook food

While I mention the things that count as keeping your mind empty, I feel like it’s my responsibility to also mention what isn’t included in this.

  • Doing any of the above mentioned with a screen or a gadget included, or with audio (yes, I’m talking about music and podcasts) playing in the background

I’m not against listening to music or podcasts while you’re doing mindless work, I do it too. I’m just letting you know that it doesn’t really give your mind the break it needs.

“The answers have been there all along–we just weren’t listening.” – Jonah Lehrer

Recap for memory

We all have those moments when we come up with amazing ideas in the most random places. It’s during these moments that our brains are allowed to be bored, and it’s because of this that our subconscious minds can work hard to surface better solutions. By keeping our minds empty, we’re able to make connections that lead to insights. So next time you find yourself struggling to come up with an idea, try being bored and see what happens.

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How to Use Deadlines to Your Advantage

How to Use Deadlines to Your Advantage

Oct 9, 2022 | 0 comments

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 Imagine this.

It’s a lazy day and you’re chilling on your bed when you receive a text from your best friend.

All it says is, “i’m moving”.

Hoping this text is just a prank you call them to talk about it.

Unfortunately, it isn’t a prank and they’re moving for real.

As soon as reality sets in, what’s the first thing that you do?

If you’re anything like me or my friends, the first thing you’d do is make plans to hang out with them before they leave. Suddenly all the cafes you haven’t visited and all the dumb shit you haven’t done yet comes to your mind.

You start planning trips and days out, trying to make the most of the time you have left.

But why is it that we only seem to appreciate people once we know they’re gone?

It seems as if you never really know what you have until you don’t have it anymore.

And this isn’t the only case.

You’ll miss your favorite restaurant way more after it has shut down, and think of that one road trip nostalgically the week after it has ended.

We all know how valuable time is, but often it seems like we take it for granted when we have an abundance of it. 

Even though deadlines seem like a limitation, they’re not.

With no deadlines or other restrictions to constrain us, we fill our days with distractions, allowing each moment to slip away without accomplishing anything of real value or meaning. However, this all seems to change once there is a deadline looming.

Suddenly we are much more purposeful in our actions, focused on making the most of this limited resource and squeezing every bit of value out of each day. We no longer waste time getting lost in trivial tasks or vapid activities that offer no tangible benefit.

Instead, we prioritize our efforts, knowing that every minute counts when we are working against the clock. And so while it may seem simple enough to just schedule our time better and set clear goals from the start, sometimes it takes an external constraint like a deadline to truly appreciate why these strategies are so essential for realizing our true potential.

Here are two ways I’ve learnt to use deadlines to my advantage.

Set deadlines for projects

When it comes to getting things done, one of the most important things is having a set schedule and sticking to it. Whether you’re working on a large project or simply trying to check off items on your daily to-do list, having clear deadlines is key. Without specific deadlines set out for a task, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks. But by identifying clear target dates and working towards them, you can stay focused and on track. So if you want to get more done and be more effective with your time, make sure that you set firm deadlines for everything that you do. With a little bit of planning and discipline, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Make time for activities your love

At the end of a long week, it can be tough to motivate yourself to keep working. However, by scheduling things that you love, you can turn this challenge into an opportunity. Whether you spend your free time reading a favorite book, playing your favorite sport, or even just relaxing with family and friends, these activities will give you something to look forward to. And by focusing on the positive aspects of your work in the meantime, you can increase your motivation and productivity. So if you’re feeling burned out, don’t hesitate to schedule things that you love – they will help keep you energized and focused throughout the day.

So the next time you feel like you want to get something without dragging for days, set a deadline to it.

P. S. Huge announcement – Starting now I’m sharing my blog posts in an email newsletter too (don’t worry you could still find them on the website if you want). This means you’ll have my blog delivered right to your inbox, no more missing it accidentally or getting lost in forwarded messages on WhatsApp 🤭
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The Input Determines The Quality Of The Output

The Input Determines The Quality Of The Output

Oct 2, 2022 | 0 comments

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Have you ever had freshly squeezed orange juice? You know, the one you make at home by juicing oranges? It’s amazing how much better it tastes compared to store-bought orange juice.

But, it can be a little disappointing when your oranges aren’t ripe. When the oranges aren’t ready, the juice can be sour, or worse bland.

While we know that the quality of the oranges decides how amazing your juice is gonna be, we often overlook the same principle in our life.

What you feed as an input determines the quality of your output.

We are what we eat – the food that we put into our bodies has a direct impact on our overall health

For starters (pun intended), let’s talk about our food.

The food that we eat has a direct impact on our overall health.

What we consume provides our bodies with the essential nutrients needed to function properly. When we eat healthy foods, we are providing our bodies with the building blocks it needs to stay strong and vibrant.

Conversely, when we consume unhealthy foods, we are doing damage to our bodies and setting ourselves up for health problems down the road.

The old saying, “we are what we eat,” is true in more ways than one. By making smart food choices, we can help our bodies stay strong and fight off disease.

The same principle applies to the thoughts that we think and the words that we speak – they all have an effect on our lives

We all know that our words and actions can have an impact on the world around us.

But did you know that the same principle applies to the thoughts that we think and the words that we speak?

Just as our words and actions can influence other people, our thoughts and words can also influence our own lives.

Every thought and every word is like a seed that we plant in our minds. Over time, those seeds will grow and blossom into full-fledged beliefs and attitudes.

So if we want to live happy and successful lives, it’s important to be mindful of the thoughts that we think and the words that we speak.

By filling our minds with positive thoughts and speaking kind words, we can create a bright future for ourselves.

Our external environment (including our social media) also plays a role in shaping who we are and what we become

Anyone who has ever scrolled through social media can attest to the power it has to shape our perception of the world.

We are constantly bombarded with images and messages that influence the way we see ourselves and others.

But it’s not just social media that has this effect; our external environment plays a role in shaping who we are and what we become. The people we interact with, the places we go, and the things we see all contribute to our individual identities.

Our experiences mould us into the unique individuals we are, and they also shape the way we view the world around us.

As we encounter new people and new ideas, our perspectives evolve, and we develop a better understanding of ourselves and the world we live in.

So while social media may be a dominant force in our lives, it’s important to remember that it’s just one part of a larger picture. Our external environment plays a role in shaping who we are too.

Conclusion

The old saying, “we are what we eat,” is true in more ways than one.

What we consume has a direct impact on our physical health, and the thoughts that we think and the words that we speak have a direct impact on our mental well-being.

Our external environment also plays a role in shaping who we are and what we become.

It’s important to be mindful of the things that we allow into our lives because they will determine the quality of our output. If we want to live happy and successful lives, it’s important to fill our minds with positive thoughts and speak kind words.

How To Make People Remember Something

How To Make People Remember Something

Sep 25, 2022 | 0 comments

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Let’s play a little game, shall we?

I’ll give you the beginning of a few sentences and you have to guess the second half correctly.

3… 2… 1… Go!

Kesariya tere ishq hai piya…

Neendein neendein rehti hain aaj kal…

Agg lavan majboori nu…

If you guessed them as ‘Rang jau jo mein haath lagau’, ‘bas uske hi khaabo ke libaas mein’, and ‘Aan jaan di pasoori nu’, you’re absolutely correct.

If you didn’t, well, that’s fortunate too. It just means you’re not spending a large chunk of your day scrolling instagram reels.

Most people my age and I, however, would fall in the first category.

So one day, one of my friends sent me a harmless reel where you had to answer a couple of question about your bestfriend to prove you actually know them well.

I answered all the questions that the reel asked. And spoiler – I only got 6 out of 10 right.

(PSA: things like these don’t actually say anything about your friendship. I know people who can’t spell their bestfriend’s surname. We just did that for kicks and giggles)

She sent that to multiple people and somehow everyone got the same question wrong.

It was – what’s my favourite colour?

Honestly, to me (and possibly to everyone else too) the obvious answer to that question was black.

I mean, she could never praise the colour enough, has various clothes in black colour and overall seemed to love it.

But that was not the case.

Her favourite colour turned out to be navy blue.

Navy blue.

I was shook.

It made me question if I actually knew anything about her.

But it also made me think about something else – how what we repeatedly say reflects on us, even if that is not entirely accurate.

You see, even though navy blue was her favourite colour, she would always talk about how much she loved black.

Over time, people started associating her with the colour black.

And even though that was not her favourite colour, they remembered it as such because she repeated it so often.

This kind of thing happens a lot in our day-to-day lives.

We might not realise it, but the things we repeatedly say become a part of our identity.

It might not be our favourite colour, or movie, or book – but people will remember it as such because we talked about it so often.

If you wanna make something stick in people’s heads, you gotta repeat it again and again, and then again. You might think they get the memo the first time, but trust me, they don’t.

This is the same reason you got the second half of those songs right. Because you heard them so often, you didn’t even have to think about what comes next.

It’s like your brain automatically fills in the blanks.

So the next time you want to make an impression or want people to remember something about you, just keep repeating it.

And another thing. You’re people too. If you wanna believe something about yourself, repeat it until it’s hammered in you.

One day it’ll become a part of your identity.

Recap for memory:

If you wanna make something stick in people’s heads, you gotta repeat it again and again, and then again. You might think they get the memo the first time, but trust me, they don’t.

5 Ways To Add Novelty To Your Life

5 Ways To Add Novelty To Your Life

Sep 18, 2022 | 0 comments

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Over the past few weeks, with all my important exams and results done, my days start looking dull. I didn’t know what to do with all this free time on my hands. I felt pretty frustrated and bored outta my mind. I had all this extra energy but absolutely nothing interesting to put it towards. Things started to feel pretty… bleh.

As we go about our day-to-day lives, it’s easy to fall into a routine. We wake up, go to school or work, come home and do the same things we always do. And before long, this can start to feel a little monotonous. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are plenty of ways to add a little bit of novelty into your life and make each day more interesting. Here are five ideas to get you started.

 #1 Try out a new recipe

Trying out a new recipe can be a fun and delicious way to shake up your usual routine. Who knows? You might just find your new favorite meal. If you’re not sure where to start, try looking for recipes that use ingredients you already have on hand. That way, you can test out a new dish without having to make a special trip to the store. Then, it’s time to get cooking! Maybe this is the beginning of a delicious new adventure. Trying out a new recipe can be a fun and delicious way to shake up your usual routine. 

 #2 Read a new book

There’s nothing quite like cracking open a new book and losing yourself in its pages. Whether it’s a thrilling mystery, a touching romance, or an epic fantasy, a good book has the power to transport you to another world. Reading can also be a great way to learn new things or gain a different perspective on the world. And with so many different genres and styles of writing out there, there’s sure to be a book for everyone. So why not pick up something new and see where it takes you? You might just be surprised by what you discover.

 #3 Take a new route to work/school or any other place you go regularly

Why not break up the monotony of your daily routine by taking a new route to work or school? It can be invigorating to explore new streets and discover hidden gems in your own neighbourhood. Plus, mix things up a bit and you may find that you get to your destination faster. Even better, taking a new route can help break the cycle of boredom that can accompany the same old daily routine.

 #4 Start following a team in a new sport you don’t already follow

There’s nothing like the rush of supporting your favorite team. Whether they’re winning or losing, watching them compete always gives you a thrill. And when they come out on top, it’s the best feeling in the world. If you’ve never followed a team before, now is the time to start. Just pick a sport you’re interested in and find a team to root for. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of following a team, so make sure to choose one you really care about. That way, you’ll always enjoy watching them play.

 #5 Visit a market

When things get dull, markets can really cheer you up. You don’t even have to buy anything. Luck for us, we have all kinds of markets in India – book markets, furniture market, antiques market, clothes market, general stores. There’s something for everyone. And even if you don’t find anything you like, it’s always fun to browse and see what’s out there. So next time you’re feeling bored, take a trip to your local market and see what treasures you can find.

I hope that at least one of these ideas has sparked your interest and given you the push to try something new. It can be tough getting out of a rut, but adding some novelty to your life is nothing short of exhilarating. So what are you waiting for? Pick one (or more!) of these activities and get started! Which will you choose first?