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5 inspiring stories with profound life lessons
None of these stories or parables are new. They have been told and retold countless times, yet they never lose their moral appeal....
Sep 293 min read


What we can do with the time we have left
I learnt to read time back in elementary school, as I’m sure most of us did. If I remember correctly, it took me less than an hour to...
Jul 66 min read


5 micro-habits to stay positive amid bad news
Paramahansa Yogananda, the renowned yogi, once said, “Blessed are those who do not indulge in sensational news.” To that timeless wisdom,...
Feb 262 min read


5 effective ways to bounce back from job loss
Nobody likes to lose a job—it’s never a pleasant experience. But many of you, at some point in your careers, have been fired from a job...
Feb 173 min read


10 reasons why stoics believe we can be happy
Everyone deserves to be happy in their own way. But is happiness really the purpose of life? It's a matter of personal belief or choice,...
Jan 95 min read


Why failure is a catalyst for success
Actor-director Woody Allen once said, “If you're not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”...
Dec 16, 20243 min read


3 ways nostalgia can trigger hope and joy
Until the turn of this century, nostalgia—a sentimental longing for something good that happened in our past—often dominated...
Nov 18, 20245 min read


5 ways to free yourself from imaginary worries
Picture this. You’re on cloud nine because you nailed a job interview. At least, you think you did. But then, you start having doubts and brood over how the interview might have actually gone; maybe you didn’t leave a good impression. Before long, you’re convinced that you’re not going to get the job. Then, a week or so later, you get a call saying you’ve been hired. Here’s another scenario. You catch the flu bug and your doctor recommends routine blood tests as a preca
Oct 26, 20243 min read


How to navigate mental traffic jams
Our thoughts —some 60,000 to 80,000 per day, as studies suggest—are like bumper-to-bumper traffic with vehicles tailgating one another and getting nowhere. At least not anytime soon. Rush-hour traffic, day in and day out, leaves us stressed and traps us in a mental gridlock. We find ourselves stuck, unable to move forward or backward. As it is on the road, so it is in the mind. While we can do little about traffic jams, we can, however, control our tailgating thoughts by slow
Oct 1, 20242 min read


How a tricky faucet taught me the value of simple instructions
The faucet at a public washroom I visited appeared quite ordinary. I turned the knob both ways, but nothing happened. I moved my hands under the spout half expecting a sensor to activate it. Still nothing. Somewhat embarrassed, I looked around. The guy next to me seemed to know a thing or two about tricky faucets. He noticed my predicament and pointed below the basin counter. “Step on that thing,” he said. I looked down—and lo!—there was indeed a metal foot lever. I stepp
Sep 16, 20241 min read


5 reasons readers are turning to self-help books
Banner photo: anotherxlife on Unsplash/Post image: www.freepik.com My wife and I visited a popular book fair in South Mumbai. Like the circus, we look forward to the book sale whenever it comes to town. The book sale was held in a large assembly hall where hundreds of thousands of books —fiction and nonfiction, paperbacks and hardbacks—were tightly stacked front to back with their spines up, in rows upon rows that stretched longer than a bowling alley. The place was bustlin
Aug 22, 20243 min read


How facing your fears can unlock your potential
Real achievement and satisfaction comes from doing things we have never tried or done before — because we think we lack confidence or we...
May 1, 20242 min read


Finding Happiness: 3 questions to ask yourself
Are you happy? What makes you happy? What does happiness mean to you? These are questions that we, including this Blog , frequently ask...
Apr 25, 20242 min read


How doing nothing can improve our well-being
Actor Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribbiani in the hit sitcom Friends, once said in a television interview: “My favourite thing in the...
Apr 14, 20242 min read


12 motivational quotes on the writing process
As a journalist many years ago, I was intrigued by the writing process and referred to writing guides such as The Economist Style Guide,...
Apr 3, 20243 min read


The eternal, and often elusive, quest for fulfilment
In his presentation speech at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards in 2016, actor and comedian Jim Carrey famously said: “Thank you. I'm two-time...
Apr 1, 20242 min read


How to live each day and be happy
“Don’t waste time – it’s precious!” or “Time is passing and you’re doing nothing worthwhile!” How often have you been the recipient of...
Feb 19, 20241 min read


Growing up with the Archies
Watching the Indian film The Archies brought to mind the start of the school summer holidays and the last day of the final exams. My sister and I would make a beeline for the library where we’d pick up a stack of Archie Double Digests. The first two days were spent in Riverdale following the antics of the good-natured but clumsy teenage boy, Archie, his best friend Jughead, his two loves, Betty and Veronica, and his arch rival, Reggie. Of course, Archies would be incomplete
Feb 10, 20242 min read


4 things to ask ourselves before we speak (or write)
Greek philosopher Socrates, spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran and American radio host Bernard Meltzer have variously said: Before we...
Jan 31, 20241 min read


Don’t let the Sheldon Coopers pull you down
Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg): Give me a compliment. Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons): Fine. You have very tiny hands. Howard Wolowitz: No....
Jan 29, 20242 min read
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