Posts

Enabling Habit Ecosystems

Image
(4 mins read)  In last week's article we talked about how you can build habits into your life.  But I often wondered if there was a way to go one up on that and build an ecosystem of habits to perform on a whole different level?  In this article, we will cover how some of these habits, coupled together, create exponential impact. Let's begin to understand this ecosystem beast slightly better. What is a Habit Ecosystem? An ecosystem is defined as an area where organisms(Plants, animals, other creatures) as well as externalities(weather and landscape), work together to achieve an end result (form a bubble of life). We will take this exact analogy and replicate what an ecosystem represents in habit terms. Let me take the liberty to define a habit ecosystem. A habit ecosystem manifests itself as a mental model(area) where a set of habits(organisms) as well as optimizations(weather) and processes(landscape) work together to form an achievement of expertise(bubble of life). Simplif

Habit Formation

Image
  (4 mins Read) Based on collective feedback from the previous article , I have decided to focus on anecdotes within this article on how I built some habits into my life. Let's start by defining a very interesting concept called the utility function. The Utility Function In Economics, the utility function represents the satisfaction that consumers receive for choosing and consuming a product or service. D uring my B-school days, just like many of my batch-mates, I decided to define my own personal utility function. Hence, I want you to think of the utility function as something that you wish to define your own life with. It consists of variables one may wish to maximize/minimize in life. For example - one may wish to maximize their happiness and wealth while minimizing stress. Your own utility function may contain more than just one variable. Mine would read something like this: My aim in life is to maximize these. With this in mind, I have defined the habits that I need to get

Glorification Of Passion

Image
3 mins read I have regularly been intrigued by things that people are passionate about. It could be travel, photography, art, or something quite eccentric. Often times, I have dwelled on the extent to which people should project, showcase, dramatize or even monetize their passion(s). I feel there should be a certain way we deal with our passions. We should take it easy and not get carried away by influencer-speak. At the same time, I do acknowledge that this is easier said than done. Let’s explore this, shall we? Oh Passion, my passion! Passion can be many things.  Simply put, passion is a powerful desire for an activity, an object, or a concept. Passion motivates and inspires you to take action.  I'm a passionate person. I passion-hop (I might have just invented the term, Sahil ™) ! It's natural for me to be passionate about multiple things at once and to pursue these. Most people I know have passion-hopped throughout their lives. Almost everywhere - online as well as offline

The Deal With Meditation

Image
3 mins read. Last year, around Covid and perhaps, even slightly before it, I took a conscious call to reflect and build some habits into my routine. Mediation was one habit I'd read a great deal about - particularly the fact that it helped regenerate grey matter and also made you calmer in the process. I thought, why not? Most top leaders recommend it, our forefathers sing praises of it so why not give it a shot?  Reflecting today, after a year of regular practice and as passionate as I have now become about the topic - I recommend people to try and see the benefits of meditation. While discussing with people on this topic, I have gotten some interesting questions/thoughts and my attempt below is to document these and provide my humble viewpoint.  What is meditation? Wikipedia defines meditation as "a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and ach

UNSOLVED

Image
Unsolved is that math problem from ten years ago That geometry problem with triangles of torment and angles of anguish I tried this formula and that random trick I’d learnt Tallying those equations and reaching a dead-end every time The problem remained unsolved for days at a stretch Until I gave up on it and forgot about it completely I found other easier problems to solve meanwhile Pleasing myself, inflating my ego, giving me a solver’s afterglow I solved many a problem over the years hence Not all mathematical - some matters of the mind, some problems of the heart But one fine day I encountered what looked like a similar problem Those same triangles of torment, those same angles of anguish My hands trembled with an eerie sense of familiarity – it was the same problem It seem like I’d seen a long lost love, that I knew so much yet nothing about I picked up the pen as I did resolve and gave it what would be my one last try To my utte

Distance

Image
Distance makes the heart grow fonder, they all say and proclaim Yet the same distance when violated could now make the heart sicker We live in these social distancing times, socially distraught and disturbing times But is my distance from you only physical or social and not emotional in nature? It took a disease for us to distance ourselves socially from our fellow beings Yet it had already been a while since we distanced ourselves from the ones we so loved These night-outs, drinking, dancing and the endless noise to drown the inner voice Has not only distanced me from you but from my own true naked self These hollow days of endless reflection only embolden these feelings further That this distance would make the heart grow fonder only if the heart was ever there. . . . Peace!

HOW TO NOT BE BUSIER THAN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD CAT 101

Image
(5 minutes read) With over 6 months to the last post and 2.5 years to the last article, I’m making a habit of spacing out  writing. Spacing out writing gives you large pockets of time to think about anything under the sun. The result, often, is a mature point of view after covering multiple perspective or sometimes just a bag of crap. I hope I avoid the fate of the latter option. So, I read this article recently on how busy life is getting and how we’re over-burdened to the point of exhaustion ( Link here ). As a closet workaholic whose reaction to organized chaos is delight on most occasions, I tend to agree that we’ve driven ourselves away from the basics and towards the idea of success/achievement at alarming Usain Bolt speeds. To justify my expensive MBA degree, I have explored this issue using a framework which can otherwise be communicated in a simpler manner. The list below is not exhaustive and possibly not a compilation of the most logically sanitized arguments. Hav