cinderella_life

A Plan to Avoid Procrastination

Meet Me – A persistent procrastinator. I have procrastinated all my life right from whatever little I remember of my infancy. It feels another level of good when right after being assiged something at work, you take a break and put it right out of your mind – only to return 2 hours closer to the deadline in a panic.

How did I get into this habit, you ask? For that I will have to take you further back, to the time I was this gangly, bespectacled kid in school. I hated doing maths homework but absolutely loved Literature, so naturally I would start my reading in the bus journey from school to home and by the time I would eat my lunch my Literature work would be all finished. But then I would spend hours reading the Enid Blyton books borrowed from my library, go to play, finish all my other subject assignments, all because I had the fear of maths. Which meant that half an hour befor bedtime I finally would start doing maths, in a panic, after having been scolded by my mother. During this time I learnt that maths will get done if I begin it early or even late. But on starting late, I have to spend less time on it and my mother usually heps me out, so I get help. Hence, I made procrastination my friend.

Now came the time I went to college and my friends started calling me for evenings out. Now I come from a strict home and I started asking them well iin advance thinking I coiuld prepare them and convince them to let me spend my evenings out. But quickly I realised that the more in advance I tell them, the more time they get to tell me off for shirking my collegiate responsibilities and adopting the more frivolous ones. So I told them only half an hour before going out, that way I was able to enjoy time with my friends and I anyhow had to bear the brunt of my inobedience when I came home. Hence, procrastination became an even better friend.

Finally, cut to office work. I showed a presentation and got feedback comments to incorporate in the next two hours. I could start immediately after the meeting and be done with it or take a break, freshen my mind and get it done after. Guess which one I opted for? The second one of course! Why? Because I had worked non-stop before the meeting so obviously I needed a break. And having no respoect for time boundaries, I ended spending more than 15 mins for my break and now I have to spend lesser time on my dreaded work.

The invaluable lesson I learnt was that “I work the best under pressure” since the more I pushed deadlines, the less time I had to spend on the work I clearly detested and the more time I got to “relax” beforehand. Twisted but it worked.

Cut to the present time. After putting myself in a lot of stressful situations, spending sleepless nights and making myself believe “I am this way, I need time”, I have finally accpeted that I need to change my second-to-skin habit. I am from today till a week (for experiment’s sake) adopting the 5-minute rule. I got this from Ali Abdaal’s YouTube channel that we procrastinate because it is tougher to start the job that to stick to it. What I mean by that is if we can only get ourselves to work 5 minutes on the task that we hate, we are more likely to continue working on it and ultimately complete it. So modifying ita bit, I will follow the 5-5 minute rule – I will begin working within 5 mins of being assigned the task and will work for it for 5 mins. That way I anticipate more than 90% of my stress will vanish.

I will keep you posted about how my challnge goes, my friends! Ciao!

Should you try, try, try if you are not succeeding?

This is one question that I have been thinking about quite a lot recently. Maybe these introspective sessions are a result of working-from-home because of the ongoing pandemic or of this ‘dream’ of mine which I have not yet been able to achieve or maybe of the abundance of social media news of my acquaintances. I have nurtured this dream of doing Master’s for so long and even though it may not seem complicated in the least but my dilemma is to leave a much hated but well paying job that I have been doing for the past 10 years to pursue my dream. As you would guess, this is not an easy choice to make and especially not when I am not one to be taking risks.

Try, try, try until you succeed!

I decided around 2 years back that I would change my profession and I considered pursuing a Masters degree because my job wasn’t making me happy anymore. It had reached heights of mundanity and was horribly colorless. So, I had always thought that doing an MBA would be the best career for me since I am good at speaking and how hard could it be after doing MBA? The hard part comes next, you have to take an entrance test to get into a MBA degree and as it turns out that maybe doing an MBA in actuality is not as tough as it is to clear the entrance to get into the course. This is hilarious! I have been trying to clear the exam for nearly 3 years what I have seen others do in only 6 months. Naturally, the conclusion I have reached today is that I am superbly dense.

So the question that is in front of us is that “how many times should try doing the same thing if it is obvious that we are not succeeding” or even that “should we even pursue the thing that we are not succeeding at”? Notice that I used “not succeeding” instead of writing “failing” because I feel we should get even the little bit of sunshine from wherever we can get it and “fail” has a negative connotation to it. Now, my question has a multi-layer analysis to be done before we can even hope to reach the answer.

The Necessity Factor: How necessary is it to achieve this goal? This is one of the most obvious questions that we need to ask ourselves and this forms the base layer of the inverted pyramid we are hoping to drill-down on to get to the proclamation. If there is only this one goal that will make us happy or it is the only way forward, then of course, come what may, we must persevere in this attempt to glory. However, if there could be other curvy ways to our Mount Everest, those paths which may be less tiresome that the current one, then it would be worthwhile to try them. I would like to add a disclaimer here that it is absolutely imperative that we do some amount of research to compare the 2 ways and figure out whether the second path is truly easier or does it only seem so because we have been working on the current one for quite sometime and are looking for a change?

The Re-Strategize Factor – How much effort is required to attain the goal? Now that we have made sure that this goal of the only way to move forward, we must quantify the effort which has to be put in. To do this, we can either speak with peers who have already achieved the goal or listen to some interviews on YouTube. I find it best to list with clear timelines how much effort I would be required to put it this time around. To take my example, considering I have already been preparing for the entrance exams, I would have the theory in place. But clearly my current strategy has some flaws and I need to iron them out to proceed. So I can take another practice test to figure out the areas where I am going wrong and focus on those instead of wasting my time learning what I already know.

The Time Factor – How much time do we have to achieve this goal? Another massively important factor. Are there any dependent actions that can only be initiated after the completion of this one? Or if there any deadline by which we have to abandon this task? An example could be that do you have to get married or have children or any other factor that puts an invisible limit? At the risk of sounding morbid, after all, there is only limited time to do all we want to. If there is a limit then it only makes sense to drop the plan and take up another as you definitely would not want to miss out on life’s other adventures right?

Importance of Support Groups: I cannot stress more on the importance of this. It is __ to get caught up in the daily routines and not have many people to talk to and vent out. I can tell from experience that this pent-up frustration has the most annoying habit of bubbling up at the most inconvenient times possible. And it can break most attempts rather than fixng them. I can say this for certain because the time I was preparing for my exam the first time around, I got so caught up in the thought of how much money I would be wasting if I did not get it right the first time around that I completely screwed my score just by how much pressure I had burdened myself with. Be it friends, family, co-workers or even digital groups such as on Facebook, Instagram or Telegram, having someone to understand and listen to you is most essential, especially in such uncertain times as now.

Make it worth your while: In the end, since you are putting in so much of effort, why not make it fully worth your while – Manifest your dreams into reality. Okay, if you have just snorted or rolled your eyes, I totally get it but if this goal holds this much importance but you feel you are not getting anywhere, while being committed to making this plan work, why not try your hand at this as well? It may just be juju but believe me, this will help you in ways you never thought possible. For the ones who do not believe in “this crap”, let me explain it this way – in manifestation you only have to believe that your goal is possible, attainable and everyday you are getting closer to achieving it. This positive thinking tricks your brain into believing it to be true and “the mind can achieve what the mind can conceive” right?

In essence, you my friend and I, both have some introspection and assessing to do before we sit down to huff it out till we succeed!

45 days, 5 hours each day keeps me Healthy, Wealthy and Accountable

Here I am starting another challenge – the 5-hour study challenge, everyday for the next 45 days! Now you may ask me what is so difficult in that, we have been doing that for ages! I completely agree with you on that, however the only caveat to this challenge is that I have a full-time job as well, which has become ever so demanding after the Covid-19 pandemic began. I typically spend close to 10 hours doing office work everyday whereas the official timings are 8 hours. Okay, now that sounds more like a challenge than ever. You may have another question – ‘Why do you want to study for 5 hours? What are you trying to achieve?’. A very valid question. So, for that let me tell you some of my backstory which will put this more in perspective.

About 3 years ago, I was working in a different organization to this one and it has been almost 7 years since I was working there. Now there comes a time in everyone’s life wherein it seems to be the end of the creative path and there are dark clouds of monotony and despair all around. I was in that space and I decided to take a step back and attempt the GMAT. As I thought, it would lead me away from work for a year and during that I would have time to refuel my knowledge and replenish my energy reserves. With that in mind, I started my preparation. I did not realize how much of an effort it would be and considering I was mentally exhausted with work, I bombed my first attempt. But being the resolute person that I am, I decided to try again next year and I again did not succeed. Though this time I would like to attribute my failures to the pressures of starting a new job. However, I did not leave my preparation immediately after giving the exam like I always do and I have decided to attempt it one more time. So at this point in time, I have 45 days left before giving my exam and I would like to give it all that I have. Something that has not been the case with my earlier attempts.

For this I needed to keep my motivation high and what better than to start a challenge which would help keep me accountable for my actions! This is my version of my Accountability Mirror as named so aptly by David Goggins.

I tried to do so many things to fit in. But when you look in the mirror, that’s the one person you can’t lie to.”
-David Goggins

I intend to study for 5 hours each day because 5 hours are all that I can afford at the moment along with work. Also, I would be following a ‘Do-Check-Repeat’ approach to correcting my mistake, in which I solve questions, validate if they are right and if not then figure out where I went wrong, then revise that particular concept again. I would also be updating my progress here and would attempt to be as honest as possible about the number of hours I study for. This is my self-appointed last chance at my dream and I want to make it count. After all, the climax to the last 3 years of preparation should be a successful one!

Never let setbacks pull you down, Get back on track!

Law of Attraction – Day 23

I am back with a bang! It has been a while since I wrote anything, 13 days to be exact. I had such a good run and I was trying so hard to be positive and to think about my goals in order to manifest them. But the massive 13-hour days I was spending working, coupled with the housework, had started weighing down on me. And it was just a matter of 2 days of missing LOA affirmations that I felt everything starting to go downhill. Suddenly I was back to sleeping in till late, had only a tiniest urge to get up at 11 AM and spent my hours till work login watching series. It was just frustrating and worst of all, I knew that this is not the way I meant the days to go but I did not have even the slightest inclination to change that.

Meanwhile, late last week I started reading this book called ‘The Atomic Habits’ by James Clear and it is one thing that has helped me get back on track. It talks about making yourself better by just 1% each day so there no major changes to be made in the schedule or in our habits. By doing even such a miniscule change can aggregate into a thirty-seven percent betterment by the end of the year. I think there is none better than me to understand this! From the time I was a child, I have always believed in making it big, go big or go home! But the only problem to this spiffing slogan has been that for ‘going big’, I plan so many things at once that I end up following on up on none of them. My maximum streak probably has been this one.

Now I just have to wake up early and the rest of the day automatically falls into place. The day I sleep in is the day I get nothing done. It may seem odd or you may tell me that this is entirely in my head. I won’t challenge you, it is definitely a possibility but this is one thing that works for me and in turn keeps me sane. Especially in such times when none of us is mentally and physically equipped to dealing with staying such long durations at home, keeping sane is our rope while being trapped at the bottom of the well. It is that hope which brings back the lost zest into life!

Hence I am officially re-entering the challenge! I will be honest, when I first started writing this blog I was in the mood to end this challenge here and had even drafted this blog as such. But after a forced break for the household chores, I realized that even after the hiatus I took, I have 7 more days to continue and a lot to accomplish. There is no way that I am giving on the Law of Attraction so soon! I have found it to be the most useful method of living a stress-free existence. The mere thought that you have someone with you (the Universe) to shoulder the burden of your tensions is relieving. In due course of time, you will realize that the Universe is not conspiring against you, rather it is rooting for you to succeed, to be happy and relaxed. The only concept we have to grasp here is that “What we give is what we get”. So think positive everyone and you can do everything!

LOA – I am Grateful

Law of Attraction – Day 10

Towards the end of my high school , I was having trouble with keeping up with the course. I was losing my focus and subsequently, hope in a particularly important year. My Mom saw me struggling and told me that do not ask for your desires from the Universe, just Thank the Universe as if you have already received what you want. This sounded silly to me and I remember laughing at it and purposefully ignoring it as I did not think I could work. But as the times got tougher and I got more desperate, I decided to give it a shot. After all, what could go wrong? So when I would not be studying I spent time believing that I had already got my desired marks and thanking God for considering my wishes. This was almost 4 months before I was to take my exams and I was still at a dismal score. Anyway, I made it a habit to be thank God and feel happy every night before bed, thinking about achieving the perfect score. I was beyond happy when the results came out and I had scored above my target score!

Spurred on by my success, I tried it yet another time but then it did not work and I could not for the life of me figure out why. Maybe I was not saying it right, so I tried various different methods of framing and enunciating the same words but to no avail. Many years passed by and I still could not make it work.

Until last year, when my friend mentioned to me that he can get whatever he wants. After researching a bit more, I realized that all these years I was not able to manifest my desires was because a crucial part of the LOA is the Feeling you get while saying the words. If you are not in the moment and you do not feel happy as you would after your wishes have been realized, nothing is going to work. I will take out a minute here to point out again that this is not magic, no one has a secret Genie in a bottle. This is additional to the effort you are putting in. Nothing beats hard work, this just supplements it and increases the strength of your work to ensure that you reach the Summit set by you.

I was made aware of this fact again yesterday as I was riffling through my Gratitude journal. I tried my best to maintain it but instead I ended up writing in it only when my mind was absolutely overflowing with thoughts and I really needed the encouragement. I chanced upon this entry from early February when the office situation was difficult and it had been a while since everyone had been out to underestimate my abilities. I was getting too prolonged and I could not see any end to it in the near future. Then I wrote in my journal saying I was happy that the ordeal was finally over and praised how smoothly it had gone. Within 5 days, my seemingly-neverending task was complete and the gray skies gave way to deep blue ones. I registered only yesterday just how fast I received after writing my desires and keeping my faith in them. There was another occasion more recently when I received 10 days after believing in a better future.

These were the only 2 desires I had written in my journal and I received them both. Such is the immense power of the Law of Attraction. You can get anything too, just believe that you can get it, feel the uplifting feeling inside you, smile (stand in for a mirror to get that extra affection!) and be grateful for realizing your dreams! You know you are going to fulfill them !

LOA – Stop the negativity addiction

Law of Attraction – Day 7

Have you realized that when you say “I can’t do it” or “I am not good enough”, you instantly see yourself not doing it and not being good enough. Now you may not know it at that time but this gets caught in the machinery of your brain. And it is like that one rouge thought that not only refuses to leave but also creates more of itself till your entire brain is full to bursting with “I can’ts”. Even one tiny negative thought creates a chain reaction in our heads with such rapidity that you are already drowned in your thoughts before you know it.

This may seem counterintuitive but negative thoughts take greater mental energy to think than positive thoughts do. I have observed that however hard I visualize my goals and be optimistic, opposing thoughts still make their way in. Once they are in, it takes up all my focus to not them be blown out of proportion. While writing this article only, I have paused twice because since my focus is not strong today, my mind has got caught up in thinking “Oh I am not good enough to write this” . I swiftly correlate that with my the other spheres in my life and within 3 minutes I have thought of another career path for myself, since my brain says I am doing horribly in my current one. I’m confident this happens with everyone, I cannot be the only weird one around?

All this only points to one thing – negativity is an addition. Similar to a smoker who finds himself craving cigarettes after trying to quit, we also keep going back to negative thoughts. And the catch here is that once we start noticing negativity around it, it multiplies and we notice it everywhere. We note the gloomy news notifications in our phone, on the TV, even at our dinner table discussion. This is only because we have become more aware and our brain is filtering out the other information . It is Law of Attraction for Negativity and I say this from experience that it is one place you would not want to be caught in. The web of doom.

Furthermore, with coronavirus this widespread, the environment around us is so tensed that it is markedly tough to remain positive, I understand but that does not mean that give up in the middle of trying. I will share with you a trick that has helped me in tons of difficult situations and that I learnt from Headspace, which is a mindful meditation app. It is called Noting. Whenever you catch yourself suffocating in negative thoughts, just become aware of it and become aware of yourself getting caught up in the negative cycle yet again.

We do not need to note every single thought or feeling, but simply notice when we are caught up in something so completely that we have lost our awareness of the breath or whatever the object of meditation might be. In that moment of awareness, the moment we realize we’ve been distracted, we use the noting to create a bit of space, as a way of letting go, and to gain some clarity and learn more about our habits, tendencies, and conditioning.
Andy Puddicombe, co-founder of Headspace

You will immediately sense yourself coming back to the happy present moment and the negativity circle will be broken. Then we can safely go back to being positive and imagining us fulfilling our goals. The world goes back to being a happy and safe space! Remember all you have to do is smash the negative thoughts you are thinking right now and the chain will be broken.

LOA – I am going to be happier today

Law of Attraction – Day 6

Well so I took the first step towards embracing the Law of Attraction 6 days back and let me tell you there is immense joy in handing over your truckload of worries to the Universe while you just believe in your dreams. It feels really light and relaxed to not be constantly worrying for a change. Also sharing my experiences here, with you all, has been therapeutic for me.

I cannot believe it has been almost a week since I took the first, tiny step in being happy and it is already time for the next tiny step. Taking normal steps can sometimes be overwhelming for you, so start with tiny steps and before you know it, you are already halfway through! When I was pondering my decision about whether to experiment with LOA, I have had many changes in mood and so many internal battles of “Do I even want to do it?”, “Can I do it?” thankfully to the more certain “I am starting today”. Today I am happy to report that my stand has shifted to a joyfully progressive “I am going to be happier than I was yesterday”.

If you noticed, I have specifically framed this sentence in the present tense because it radiates the feeling of certainty, as if there is nothing which can stop me from attracting my wishes. I know this, you know this and the Universe also knows this. This exact conviction in the power of the Universe is going to manifest your desires.

Furthermore, always, always remember to structure your Law of Attraction desires (also called Affirmations) in such a way that they are forever in the present tense or atleast in the near future, never phrase them in the past or in the future tense. Never let it be conditional or based on something else and never have even the tiniest doubt in your head. Similar to a dog, the Universe, cooking your desires, is easily spooked and then good luck getting anything at all till that doubt lingers in your head.

Phrasing your affirmations in the present tense allows you to really feel them as if they are happening right now. You can imagine yourself bang in the middle of it. For instance, I am preparing for an exam and working full-time alongside, so I see myself finishing my exam and looking at the scorecard with my desired score on it. I can feel a wave of relief pass over me, I slump back into the pillows and thank the Universe for always having my back. This feeling is so real that it takes a moment to readjust coming back into the present moment. Now I am happier and supercharged to resume my study-session, knowing fully well that this time I am going to succeed. If that does not get you motivated, nothing can, trust me!

This is what the present tense does to the affirmations. On the other hand, had I decided to frame them in the past tense, it wouldn’t have given me the same feeling because it is equivalent to remembering a memory, something which has already happened. Likewise, framing in the future is planning for something out there, which is vague and you have absolutely no certainty about when it will take place or whether it will even happen.

Here’s a bubbly song by Marshmello to perk up your day – same words but a completely different context – “Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been thinking, I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier”

LOA – Take a day off

Law of Attraction – Day 5

Today is the start of my 4-day “vacation”!! I feels so good to not be thinking about work anymore, to realize that I do not have to think about work for the next 3 and a half more days!! An amazing feeling! What with the working from home and the stress about COVID-19, even a mini 4-day break feels like a vacation. Yesterday I had to literally sit and rack my brains to remember the last time I had 4 days off from work (which was last December by the way). Just imagine what my life has come to now, I am super excited for a 4-day break and calling it a ‘vacation’, a ‘staycation’, if you must. The longest leave I have taken in the last 6 months has been 3 days and that includes a weekend.

It has been in these 6 months that I have had extreme amounts of work load and the pressure of ‘work-hard-otherwise-you-won’t-get-a-promotion’ hanging over my head. Also, I decided to re-take my exam, which requires me to put in insane hours of effort, and with the COVID-19 spreading so rapidly all across the globe, my worries have shot through the roof. Of course this lead to overthinking to such an extent that I felt on the verge of depression.

Well, not everything has been negative, this situation has lead me to practice the Law of Attraction and let me tell you guys, I am able to sleep much better after having handed over my sack of worries to the Universe. My stress has been reduced by a great extent now that I believe that the Universe will give me exactly what I want. It is on my side! Believe me, that is indeed a comforting feeling.

Now visualization is a key aspect of the LOA and should not require any effort from my end but since I was substantially wound up in my own negativity that it has taken a considerable amount of effort from my end to visualize my dreams on a continual basis. Along with all my thoughts, my brain feels like a bustling, crowded marketplace all throughout the day. What was the worst part of this all? I had this notion set in my head that if I relax, even for a little while, I would be wasting my time. So I would abandon relaxing and get back down to business. After so long, I sensed being reallyy close to a burn-out. Besides, in my weekend off I had the added responsibility of cleaning and doing the chores around the house. I tried to utilize that time also and instead of listening to songs as I normally would have, I would tune into a TED talk. Because if I rested how would I be able to accomplish my goals??

So in all this chaos, today has been an especially energizing day. I have shut my brain down and taken a break from thinking altogether. I watched a chick-flick while binge-eating and gulping a jar of iced tea. I have not thought about work or studies or how I could be ruining my future by wasting 2 hours watching a rom-com. If I am honest with you, I may have a panic attack close to the evening when I realize how many priceless hours I have wasted, nonetheless today has been heavenly! It is today that I have fully registered the value of taking a day off from whatever you are doing. Even if it is something you absolutely love doing, if you have been sticking to a routine for really long now, I urge you all to take a break. Take five from your daily drill and just unwind. I am truly grateful for today!

LOA – Count your blessings

Law of Attraction – Day 4

You guys must be sitting in your bedroom, maybe next to a window, reading this on your laptop or iPhone or even an iPad. Maybe there is a coffee mug lying nearby still awaiting its turn to be washed. You walk out of you room into the living room and towards your family, who is sitting on the couch watching a show on your huge LCD screen. For most of us, this is how our daily life looks like and it is so familiar that we don’t even give a second thought about it. Without all these gadgets and the tons of food in our kitchen and the cartons of take-out food in our trash, our life is just no good! Sounds like you? Don’t worry, I also have the same thoughts.

Now, I am not going to be lashing out on you and telling you to control your thoughts, that would be torture. I just want you to take out a minute to imagine the millions of people all around the world who do not have this joy. They would kill (just an expression) for even a smartphone. For whom, even one single, proper meal of the day is a luxury. Or those who have to wake up at dawn just because they have to walk 20 kms to get to their place of work and they cannot afford a vehicle. They dream of a life that you are living, to have a constructed roof over their head and three full meals in a day.

We, on the other hand, already have all this but have we ever sat and thought how damn lucky we are? Probably not! Instead, we crib about not being able to buy the latest iPad with the Apple Pencil that so many of our colleagues have. We complain about not travelling to that new holiday destination. We whine about our families, our work, our bosses. Believe me, as a race humans are the only ones who instead of being thankful for what we have, focus on the negatives and ruin our lives. We are hardly ever grateful for our beautiful lives that we have become so accustomed to taking for granted. Look from the perspective of those less fortunate than you, every object, every situation is a blessing. Take nothing for granted.

Gratitude says to the Universe and ourselves how much we value our lives, the things in it and our families. Moreover, it put us on the frequency of positivity which makes us value everything a gazillion times more. Make it a point to be thankful to the Universe for the big, small things in your life and even for the tiniest ones like having a bed to sit on, having food to eat. It brings about an pinch of positivity, a dash of happiness and lots of lightness into our otherwise repetitious life. And when we are happy, we attract our desires easily and super quickly. To put this in effect, I have created a gratitude journal for myself and each day I write down the 3 things in my life for which I am grateful. Don’t make it too fancy, you can even write it in your phone’s notes as you are on the way to work or talking your dog for a walk. This brings about a renewed vigor and it feels as if we are seeing the world in a new light! Be grateful, stay blessed!

LOA – Take it all out

Law of Attraction – Day 3

The most important funda of the Law of Attraction is that we are using positivity , happiness and the tingly-feeling of achieving our goals to attract the good in our life. Being on the same frequency as that of optimism increases our chances of manifesting our dreams and desires. Of course, with the added bonus of remaining a cheerful cloud of candyfloss the entire day!

But sometimes there are days when we do not feel like being happy, even a tiny bit. Have you ever noticed that in the morning if you think that your day is not going to go well, it never will go well? Or if you argue with someone anytime in the day, the rest of the things in the following day also seem to topple one-by-one? We remain sour after the fight and constantly keep on thinking about it. This triggers a chain of similar discontented thoughts, with each one being a link in the now-growing chain, which strangles us for the rest of the day. Anger, frustration and bitterness set in and just do not leave. I can almost feel this unsettling feeling.

I was in this situation yesterday. As I got up in the morning, my overthinking woke up with me, stretched and got down to its business. So much so that I was not even properly out of my bed when I was already panicking over some stupid events of the last day. Let me reiterate this – the events I was obsessing over were completely irrelevant in my life. But at that time my brain begged to differ. I tried extremely hard to keep up my spirits and not get sucked into the black hole of gloom. But it just was of no help. Ultimately, I got so worked up that I argued with and screamed at a bird perched on my window and pondered the stupidity of the situation and cried my eyes out at how I was leading my life. Did you see how my thoughts escalated? After that, my day sort of just tanked. I had successfully placed myself on the tracks for the Doom Express to run me over.

What were the consequences, you ask? I was unable to think clearly at work and did not complete my assigned tasks, which means that today I have to login early to try and finish the mountain of work that awaits me. That also meant I logged off late and was a complete ass to my family.

But one thing I observed was that crying helps me a lot, it just takes the pressure off, I let it all out during those 15 mins and everything feels light and happy during that. This is one of the best things that has helped me during these times. It is definitely better than keeping all the emotions bottled inside myself as I end up biting someone’s head off a while later. Be thankful you have not faced that with me! Unlike what we are taught from when we were kids, crying is actually healthy and it can help you lift a huge burden from your shoulders. I am not saying that crying solves everything but your problems surely appear a little less formidable.