Let’s start by acknowledging something really important: people are living longer nowadays. We’re talking about outliving our parents and even our grandparents. And guess what? Our kids and grandkids are likely to live even longer than us. It’s a big deal, especially, when we are discussing deliberate living. This presents us with a great opportunity to plan for a longer life and to make our lives more meaningful and full of possibilities. It means we have more time to spend with our loved ones, pursue our passions, and create meaningful legacies. But here’s the thing: despite having all this ..read more

Many of us are caught in the relentless hustle of modern life, racing through days without savoring meaningful moments. From endless emails to urgent requests, it’s all too easy to lose sight of the true significance of our daily existence. At a general level, our daily agenda often boils down to this: Wake up, Survive through the day, Go back to sleep. This is especially true in January when we put a lot of pressure on ourselves with all the ‘shoulds’ and ‘have-tos’. We tend to lose out on the joy of deliberate living. We measure success against societal milestones and judge ourselves continu ..read more

Sometimes, the dreams we hold dear are not the ones we are meant to live. They are merely stepping stones to something even greater, something beyond our wildest imagination… I read this profound message in one of the weekly newsletters sent by one of my mentors. And it instantly took me back on my own journey. For two decades, I pursued a dream that wasn’t meant for me, shaping my career choices around it. Letting it go was challenging, given the substantial investment of time and money that I had put into it.  Society’s influence led me to conform to a path that was not my destiny. The ..read more

We often hear a lot about consistency. Yes, it is a critical driver for success. Yes, it means dedicating yourself to goals and pursuing them with all your resources. Yes, it means that you are required to have a long-term commitment along with some sort of sustained and regular effort. That’s all good. Yet, consistency has a more profound meaning. As I often ask my private coaching clients, let me pose this question to you – “What does consistency mean to you?” Take a moment and answer this question for yourself. What does it mean to you? On your work front, does it mean having daily and mean ..read more

Recently I was having a chat with a friend. Amongst the other things we were talking about he mentioned, “I don’t know about you, but I have always grown up believing that I have to ensure my future is secured.” And knowing his lifestyle, putting 2 and 2 together, this guy has grown up to be a workaholic. He keeps himself available to ensure that his job is safe. He invariably takes on other people’s work and keeps himself open even on weekends and vacations.  Do you have someone similar in your life you can relate to? You see, the future isn’t real. It is never is. It is always ..read more

“?? ???? ?? ?? ??????,” he said… …in response to my question, “How are you showing up in life every day?” Many years ago, I interviewed Ninad Tipnis, the founder of JTCPL Designs, an author, and an avid runner. He deeply reflected on this question and continued ..read more

Before you discard this post thinking that it’s not applicable to you, chances are that you are a perfectionist, at least to a degree. Social components such as academic performance, professional competition, parental expectations, and personal standards, combined with internal pressures of avoiding failure, judgments, criticism, and disapproval from others — all drive our need to be perfect — in one sense or another! From various bodies of research, there are five styles of perfectionism: #1 — Self-oriented perfectionism: Folks falling under this style have extremely high personal standards a ..read more

In which areas of your life would you like to spend more quality time? Whatever area you wish to spend more time in, let that not be spent with a comparison mindset. A 2008 study found that comparative thought accounted for 12% of all our thoughts. Roughly translated to about 2 hours per day is what we spend comparing ourselves to others. Social media has only intensified this pattern even further. In India alone, people spend just under 3 hours per day (that’s about 18% of our waking hours) on social media. Almost 90% of all posts across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are reels highlighting ..read more

Investing in a book is a rule that I default to. And so, I have so many books in my library that I know I possibly might not be able to read all of them in my lifetime. Yet, I default to buying the book, always. If a decision has to be made about a book, any book, it’s bought. Done deal. When I first saw the book Becoming Flawesome, I was enthralled by its title “Flawesome.” Then I looked down at the author’s name. It was Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani, the co-founder of Mindvalley and Vishen Lakhiani’s former wife. While I must admit, I haven’t followed Kristina’s work as much, I have been a member o ..read more

American writer, Rita Mae Brown said, “Life is too short to be miserable.” I would rather say, “Life is too short to be miserable, but there’s more than enough time to create a much bigger future than you ever thought.” Feels quite a paradox, right? That’s where personal development comes in. It is a lifelong process that helps you assess your life, take charge of your vision and goals, and holistically uplevel to fulfill your potential.  While working with my one-on-one coaching clients, most of whom are quite successful already, the common theme that outlines all of them is that they ar ..read more