Pratima Shah

   On my way to the college I came across a woman who was seated on the footpath on the crossroads. She was selling balloons. She looked fresh as it was the beginning of the day around 9 a.m. It was the time when everyone is rushing to their workplace or dropping the kids / family member. There was a jam at the crossroads due to the RED signal. Everyone was waiting for the signal to turn GREEN. I looked out of the window and my eyes fell on this balloon seller who was grooming herself. She was applying vermilion on her head holding a mirror in her hand. I was all smiles as she was completely unaware of what was around her and was engrossed in herself. After applying talcum powder on her face she looked in the mirror and checked if she looked okay. The immediate thought that struck me was that we women always need time to groom ourselves / to dress up as per the occasion. Here was this lady so unaware of people around her. When at home we dress up and make ourselves ready w...

   It is really very difficult to break our habits and adapt to changes. Each one of us is not capable enough to break the shackles of old habits and form fruitful new habits. In trying to break a habit we are tempted many times to give up and most of the times we give up. According to research and many of the psychologists - it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. Still most of us give up while we are in the process of creating a positive life change as we are in pain due to the stress that follows in repairing our old habits. In the initial phase every one is in great enthusiasm to do everything that it takes but gradually the enthusiasm with which one began the journey subsides. Forming new habits is like wearing new shoes which feel uncomfortable in the initial phase. Once your feet get used to the new pair they become like a second skin.    According to the timeless words of Publilius Syrus, "Powerful indeed is the empire of habits." Yes, habits are very p...

    There are people in the world around us who are experts at using us when required and once their needs are met, they completely ignore us. Many of us may have experienced this. A colleague of mine was narrating one of her experiences which left me aghast. But with the advent and extreme use of social media this has become very common. People ignore very cold bloodedly and even disappear for a long time. This kind of ghosting leaves the other party shattered because he / she is very much attached emotionally. In relations where someone is attached emotionally and deeply involved, it becomes rather difficult for the other person to cope with this traumatic experience. There are a variety of ways to ignore someone like not replying to messages / just sending bull shit emojis but not responding / being busy for that particular person but sparing time for the shittiest stuff / not meeting the other person / ghosting / showing and conveying that 'I am tired' of the same stu...

We have the potential to create and recreate our  life but still we are bound and governed by our thoughts. The thoughts we think determine our life. Thoughts that arise in the mind have the power  to destroy our peace as well as give us peace. Too many thoughts may sometimes create a void in the mind. They may make one lose track of the path of life or may put someone back on track.    It doesn't take long for a person to accept defeat due to the thoughts and the pressures that they create. Your thoughts can make you lose your self esteem / become depressed / feel hopeless / become suicidal and lose interest in life. When these things happen due to thoughts there is a sense of utter despair and hopelessness that prevails upon the person. There is no direction nor any interest in living life. Nothing pacifies the thoughts nor does the person feel peaceful.    Nip these thoughts / this state of your mind in the initial process. Do not wait for time...

   The women of my generation might be considered naive and the generations that followed us is too practical. We knew too little compared to the what the girls of today know. The girls that are growing up today may not be the first to encounter equal opportunity but they are definitely the first to learn that all the opportunities may not ever translate in professional achievement. These girls have watched their mothers sacrificing something by trying to "do it all". The something that women gave up / sacrificed was actually their careers.    Women have the skills to lead in any position at the workplace. In some of the elite institutions in India women are outnumbering men at the workplace. The gender gap in academics is a threat to the men as women have outnumbered them here. Yet the tragedy is that the pipeline that is choked with educated women at the entry level is enormously filled with men who are into the leadership positions. The reasons for this winn...

   Have you ever felt that there is a kind of tension in your body due to which you have a tight neck / tight shoulders / upset stomach / headaches / or anything like a heavy weight on your body? Due to these symptoms one feels as if there is a huge burden on the body; like a heavy backpack on you. This backpack is filled with nothing but the emotional baggage that one carries throughout the life. This baggage may have come into your life due to childhood problems / familial issues / workplace issues / issues of the society. Sometimes one is so stuck in the old habits that these old habits are responsible for adding a load to the existing emotional baggage that you have stuffed your backpack with.    The emotional baggage one carries interferes with many of the phases of one's life - personal / professional / societal / ambitions / relations / satisfaction in life and many others. This happens because we are very much influenced by our past experiences - solved ...

   There are a variety of techniques through which the candidates can answer the questions during an interview. Techniques like compelling story technique, parroting technique, re framing technique, mirroring technique and the Abraham Lincoln technique. One particular approach that can be used to answer the behavioral questions is STAR (situation, task, action and result). It helps a candidate to answer the questions related to his / her behavior by structuring it as per the situation, task, action or the result. This technique helps your to deliver your responses in a simple yet powerful manner and gives an idea on how he / she has dealt with specific work situation and its challenges.     STAR is also known as CAR (context/ challenge, action, result. Both are same in its approach; context here in the CAR relates to situation and task of STAR. Both these methods are similar to the PAR (problem, action, result). The plus point of STAR is that it allows to ...