Self-Improvement

First published in The Hindu, 3 May 2026 The term ‘stress’ does indeed receive bad press. So much so that people deem all forms of stress as aversive and something to be avoided. In his book, 10 to 25, psychologist…

First published in The Hindu, 23 Feb 2026 While fragmented and dwindling attention spans are often discussed nowadays, another human quality, that is also on the wane, receives far less attention. I’m referring to the old-fashioned virtue of patience, or…

First published in The Hindu, 3 Jan 2026 Motivation, especially the intrinsic variety, is often touted as being essential for people’s success. The yearning to do something is what gets us going in the first place. Without this spark, we…

Nowadays, a plethora of apps purport to promote mindfulness and meditation. its ironic that the very devices that are fragmenting out attention are also being used to foster focus and calm. However, long before mindfulness and meditation become buzzwords, sages…

First published in The Hindu, 1 Nov 2025 You finally feel you’ve found your tribe in college. Whereas you always felt shy and awkward in school, you are glad that you aren’t the loner who eats lunch by herself in…

First published in The Hindu, 7 Oct 2025 Ironically, as I type these words on writer’s block, I hem and haw. Will I be able to write on this topic? Will it be interesting? Should I pick another theme? As…

First published in The Hindu, 31 Aug 2025  Many of us grow up feeling we’re lacking in one or more ways. Our sense of inadequacy may stem from multiple sources. We may not be smart enough, fit enough, fast enough, funny enough, rich enough, popular enough or…

First published in The Hindu, 2 August 2025 In an earlier piece in this column, I had discussed the pleasures and benefits of rereading a book. While it’s fairly easy to decide whether you want to revisit a book, a…

First published in The Hindu, 1 June 2025 For many of us, an internal judge resides within our heads and is busy from morning to dusk. Both trivial and significant events get parsed into categories of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ If…