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

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

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

Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Vietnamese Buddhist monk, famously wrote about mindfulness:   Tea is an act complete in its simplicity....

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

12.30 p.m. is usually the time I leave my workstation and head to the office cafeteria for a quick lunch at my favorite table....

Real achievement and satisfaction comes from doing things we have never tried or done before — because we think we lack confidence or we...

Are you happy? What makes you happy? What does happiness mean to you?   These are questions that we, including this Blog , frequently ask...

Actor Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribbiani in the hit sitcom Friends, once said in a television interview: “My favourite thing in the...

Every day, an estimated 60,000 cars use the 94-kilometre (58 miles) six-lane Mumbai-Pune Expressway linking the two bustling cities in...

As a journalist many years ago, I was intrigued by the writing process and referred to writing guides such as The Economist Style Guide,...

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...

Monks and sages have been saying it for ages – mindfulness has a remarkable ability to boost our mental and physical well-being, and...

“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...

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

Greek philosopher Socrates, spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran and American radio host Bernard Meltzer have variously said: Before we...

Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg): Give me a compliment. Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons): Fine. You have very tiny hands. Howard Wolowitz: No....

In the Generative AI: Steam Engine of the Fourth Industrial Revolution session on Day 2 of Davos 2024, speakers broadly agreed that AI...

Generally speaking, you know when people have a common cold, a limp or a skin rash because it's noticeable. But you might seldom identify...

Appreciation matters. To anyone who has a job and takes home a salary. But appreciation doesn’t always come easily. Even when we’re...