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Anyway, what is life?

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The on-going COVID19 crisis has upended every notion of our familiarity with science and well laid out human processes. What was considered a success yesterday is no longer helping us navigate the difficult times of today. The deadly Corona virus has brought most of the developed nations to its knees — a feat which wasn’t achieved by all the scheming and stockpiling of nuclear weapons of their enemies. The rest of the world meanwhile tries to figure out what life is all about — as even the little they enjoyed so far now seems wafer thin. A wise man once said, “ when life throws you a lemon, use it to make a lemonade. ” But what are you supposed to do in an indefinite lockdown — surrounded by a looming economic crisis? Convert your home into a lemonade factory? Well, for a starter, this doesn’t sound to be a bad idea, as summer approaches and a million more returning to bed hungry every night. However, the right approach during unprecedented times like this would be to retrospe...
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How to manage time when you have lots on your plate?

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" Eat a live Frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day,” quipped Mark Twain. Hmmn….but the very thought of a Frog* scares the daylight out of many of us! We try to avoid it like the dainty Princess from “the Princess and the Frog” fairy tale. We often postpone big tasks, repeatedly. Big tasks look unappealing and meaningless at present. On the other hand, we love working on small, bite-sized tasks. Completing small tasks provides us with a sense of achievement. If you observe the working day of an average individual, it consists of ticking small jobs/tasks from a never ending to-do list. While completing small tasks provides a sense of accomplishment, the flurry of small tasks coming one’s way never seems to end. It is as if the to-do list is another “pimple episode” we fought off during our teenage years – the more we plucked it out, the more it appeared on our face. And in moments like these, time just flies, leaving behind a tra...
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Are we really free OR controlled by fate?

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The debate whether man is free or determined is eternal and still rages on. Whether this debate is motivated or mechanical is what will aid in finding an answer. Recently, a good friend of mine responded in utter dismay " this is a fate factor, [as] if you have the option to choose the type of people around you " to one of my thoughts " surround yourself with people who see the greatness in you...people who believe in you will push you to reach higher. " It would be flippant on my part to dismiss the disappointment & a sense of betrayal behind the words of my good friend. Life, especially during a pandemic, is hard. Some have not just lost control of their life, but loved ones too. And still many have been forced to swallow this [life] pill in its crudest form, leaving little options otherwise. While it may certainly look as if life (or some higher power) is scheming against us, the truth is for every 1000 who go to bed wishing never to wake up again, there is a...
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The Problem of Truth

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Macmillan Dictionary defines "truth" as  "the actual facts or information about something, rather than what  people  think, expect or make up."  Now, this is interesting. Who gathers facts? Who interprets facts? Who disseminates facts? It is  people,  of course. Did it ever dawn on you that "truth" has been caught in a vicious cycle, off late — as long as [mortal]  people  are involved in it? Today, there is no end to the war on the "monopoly of truth." Mainstream Media, Politicians, Scholars, Celebrities, Shifty Shiffff (Ooops, I was referring to WHO's changing health guidelines) and Layman claim to have the truth on their side on any particular subject. Everybody is eager to prove the veracity of their truth claim by sharing evidences and appealing to logic. And then everybody also have different evidences to disprove the truth claim of another. So, who is correct, actually? In light of such confusion and chaos, COVID-19 pand...
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Are you able to help yourself ? - Part 2

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If only self-help books could help us find what it promises, that genre would eventually self-disintegrate or wouldn’t be required anymore. On the contrary, ever since Dale Carnegie wrote the bestseller “How to win friends and influence people” in 1936, we know for a certainty, the self-help genre has not only grown into a 10 billion dollar worth industry, but has also captured the hearts and minds of every human being. But questions still linger even as our hearts remain restless — are we really happy, notwithstanding those dancing emoticons on our Facebook post? Are we at peace with our neighbors, if not with our Boss? Can we unabashedly say we are free from the fear of death? Did we really make those quick bucks and if so, did they really stick with us and more importantly, helped us overcome the challenges during COVID19 lockdown? Or can we say, without batting an eyelid, that we aren’t worried about our future? Self-help books like “You can win,” “The art of happiness,” “The mill...
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Can your productivity be affected by your company culture?

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How Much Does Culture Enjoy Eating Strategy For Breakfast? ( first published in Business World on 6th April 2019) Company culture is often described as the personality of a company. While some management experts prefer to call it the backbone of a happy workforce or the glue which keeps a company together, it can also be compared to that of a ‘compass’ which keeps a company’s strategy well on its course. Ever since Peter Drucker, Father of Modern Management theory, coined the phrase “Culture eats Strategy for Breakfast”, there has been a lot of debate in the corporate boardroom on what needs more focus – culture or strategy. However, reports on hyper-job-hopping witnessed among Gen Z and some high-profile exits due to sexual misconduct allegations, only allude to the fact that culture has a voracious appetite, and in particular, is fond of devouring ‘strategy’ which is cooked in a toxic oil of ‘constraining behaviours and beliefs’. A research by Deloitte states, that 94% of execut...
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Are you able to help yourself ? - Part 1

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Since the invention of sliced bread, there has never been a time where we were more technologically and intellectually advanced than we are today. And yet the same time, Suicide, Depression, Divorce, Social fragmentation seems to have hit an all-time high. Oh, yes! we have invented a quick intellectual solution to counter these issues of 21st century also  – –  Self Help ! In 2016, the U.S. self-help industry was worth about $9.9 billion dollars, according to a report from Research and Markets . Market researchers have predicted that the industry will be worth $13 billion dollars within the next three years, by 2022. What is "Self Help" industry? This industry generates tons of self-help books (like "You can Win", "The power of positive thinking", "You can heal your life" , etc), blogs, TV Shows, Positive TED talks, social media GIF's  – –  all produced and directed by Self-help Guru's, Life Coaches and sometimes by digital APP...
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