Pratima Shah

   We must learn from our mistakes rather than dwelling upon the situation and brooding over them. Mistakes are the stepping stones to success. Yet many of us have a tendency to feel guilty forever by the burden of our mistakes. We can always rectify our mistakes and move ahead in life. Let our mistakes be the force that enables us to mend them and make improvisations in our self. There are different ways in which people connect to their past - either they ignore it by pretending that they never committed those mistakes and some of them even try to forget it. The more one tries to forget the past mistakes; they become festering wounds which will never heal. These wounds will drain your energy and never allow you to do the good deeds of which you are capable of doing.    To get rid of this guilt of our past mistakes we can identify them and be firmly determined never to commit them again. Separate yourself completely from the situation of the past that led you to ...

   Listen to nature to learn and understand why day turns into night, the change in seasons, the sound of water / waterfall / waves and so many other natural things that happen around us. What is the teaching that Nature gives us through all these phenomena?    The teaching that is hidden in these is that nothing is permanent and everything that happens in our life is relative so we need to let go and free ourselves of those emotions and thoughts that make us feel stressed or nervous. Be a good listener to those who are always on the go to give us a variety of opinions / advice and what not. Learn to listen and respect all. One cannot be dogmatic if one wants to live with a happy mind without stress. Only a mind that is open and spacious can be a happy mind. It will be an accepting state of mind. A narrow mind will make you stressed and will never even allow you to accept the self. This leads to jealousy for others and the person struggles with all kinds of horr...

   We all get overwhelmed by our feelings at times. When overwhelmed a person either bursts into tears or just does things which will embarrass her / him later. These overwhelming emotions can be due to work load, too much pressure of anything or something that affects you. Sometimes it could also be because of being overloaded with many things to do. We are overwhelmed when we are not able to balance our life. It leads us to stress, anger, makes us touchy and depressed too. It is not necessary that all these could be because of professional reasons; a person can be in an overwhelmed state due to personal reasons too. Sometimes the uncertainties and ups and downs of life too can make a person feel overwhelmed.   We are in an overwhelmed state because we fear. We live in constant fear of what will happen if...or what will happen if not. Worry, anxiety, overthinking puts us in this state. Life is uncertain, we are always overthinking and sometimes we want quick result....

     There are so many out there in the world who feel it is their moral duty to advice and criticize others for their decisions or actions. These people are so disgusting that they never even realize what they are doing or what effect it has on the person. Some of them react violently, some remain silent and may be some of them even sever their ties with these so called "well wishers" in their life.    One can try using the 'FOGGING' technique with these well wishers in their life. It is difficult to see anything when it is foggy nor are we able to remove the fog by trying to clear it with our hands or by pushing it away. Fog never resists anything or anyone but still it is strong enough and remains where it is. Similarly be like fog when someone criticizes / advises you. First and foremost accept that with which you agree and appreciate the person's comment. By doing this the person's enthusiasm to criticize/advice you will automatically go down. Agree ...

   Humans possess many psychological barriers and due to these barriers they have pre-conceived notions, biases, difference of opinions and varied perceptions. All these if taken at the workplace will definitely affect the people with whom they work. People at the workplace are not able to get along with colleagues and feel trapped into a maze of internal conflicts. Due to this goals are side-tracked and the teams are not able to work productively.    Team building activities should be taken up by the leaders in organisations to enhance mutual understanding between the team members. All members should be on the same page with reference to the goals of the organisation, project or the leader of the team. This will boost a common understanding among all with respect to their roles as a person and as a team member. The achievement of the goals / targets becomes easy through common understanding.    Every member should display a responsibility / ownership ...

   Life is full of challenges; and we are unprepared most of the times in tough challenging situations. We never know when we may lose a loved one, lose our home / our job / or anything that is dear to us. We take care of our loved ones when they are ill for few days. But what if the illness lasts longer? Can we be cheerful and caring towards them then? No...the stress of the situation threatens our peace of mind and takes away our patience in this challenging situation. It is beyond our capacity to control an illness, prevent earthquakes/ volcanoes/ storms / any natural calamity. But what lies in our capacity is to stay away from despair and fear.    When in doubt we are opening the door to fear. If it is self doubt it is due to the fear of taking a wrong decision or committing a mistake. We fear that we may fail in an exam or in a competition because we doubt our abilities. When we have a fear of accidents / unexpected / unwanted situations, it proves that we ...

   How long can a person survive by being a people pleaser? You don't need to keep on living for others by pleasing them. Whenever one is into this vicious cycle of pleasing the other, the energy level of that person starts depleting. In pleasing others and making them happy you are inviting mental illnesses, frustration, anxiety and depression towards you. The reason is because you cannot say a "NO' when you want to say no. You cannot avoid helping because you feel its your duty to do so. This is detrimental to your peace, your growth and your life. You are not at peace because in doing things for others you put away your commitments / your wishes / your 'me time' and what not. How long are you going to allow others to count on you? It is good to help others and be their for your friends, family or relatives but this habit of pleasing others and being there for them builds an extremely unhealthy pattern in your psyche.    Trying to be there always for yo...