Pratima Shah

   An inadequacy that is very common in Generation X is low self esteem. This is more pronounced in cities where most of the city dwellers are rootless, faceless migrants; who all the time are busy pretending to be richer and better pedigreed than their neighbors. People are so inclined towards money making that they spend half of the life pretending that they hold better jobs, are very educated than they actually are and are far better endowed financially.     People with conscience very quickly get tired of this game and eventually lose belief in their self. These good ones are those with low self esteem because their honesty has thrown them out of the rat race as they were incapable of competing with the deceit of the rat pack. These honest people find it difficult to cope with the hype and hoopla of the strategies required to promote themselves. Be it a teacher, an aspiring writer, a struggling entrepreneur, a budding actor or a corporate executive all have to market themselves as

  Among all the feelings that every human being has the worst is the feeling of being unwanted. Being unwanted either at a place / situation / group / by a person. You feel crushed by the weight of this feeling and are depressed. Everyone longs to be loved, appreciated and feel secure in whatever situation he/she may be. This struggle is downright depressing and overwhelming. One is not in control of the self and cries / shouts / vents out in a wrong way. Some prefer to bear silence and gain strength through the struggle that makes one restless and uneasy. You seek solace and comfort through various measures but in reality there is no solace.  When this feeling of being unwanted comes from a person / circumstance / group where you least expected you find your self - worth crumbling and falling to pieces. What can be done in this tough situation? Either you pick yourself bravely and leave that person / situation / group or you put on a brave face and suffer. When you try to be brave and

  After the pandemic struck the world, things changed drastically around every human being. The men and children were at home free from their office work and school work respectively. Working women were confined to their homes but with double workload. The ubiquitous fear of the pandemic compelled everyone to be indoors. The working woman who fulfilled both the duties of her workplace and the home front now had to focus over the household chores. It was only when work from home was introduced that she began juggling with her work and home chores. Every home had a woman but barely did anyone notice her as usual. I say ‘as usual’ because that is what happens in the Indian scenario. It is expected of a woman to be submissive, meek and docile and to suffer and work silently. During the lockdown too, women proved their grit by managing the house without the help of maids / cooks / any kind of domestic help. There were rare places where the men in the house helped the women in doing the home

Why do humans seek the tingly excitement in pursuing the unattainable? Why do humans crave for that which is forbidden? Rightly said by Mark Twain, " There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable." By breaking the rules we have a sense of self - control and a taste of freedom. We enjoy the freedom that we gain by doing the forbidden. This feeling tempts us to break the barriers and go for that shot of adrenaline.  Some find this adrenaline rush in doing things like shouting on roads / drugs / drinking / having an extra-marital affair / eating unhealthy / cheating on your diet plan / doing things that are risky. We are all curious to do something that is forbidden since our childhood and this behaviour persists even when we are mature adults. This behaviour initiates when we are in the adolescence stage because this is the stage when we seek to reaffirm our persona by marking our space and fields of authority. Every person wants to be recognized in h

All of us have this problem in varying intensities: Either you are a person who can let go easily and refuse to stay in there, or you are a person who holds on and feels incapable of letting go. We are accustomed to holding on to situations, relationships, resentment and dreams. Many of us face situations wherein we require to make a decision - of staying where you are or letting go. Should I stay in this relation or get out of it? Should I look for a new job or remain stuck in the current job? Should I move on from someone / something or should I give it another chance? These are the questions that pop in our minds and trouble us until we make a decision. Life gives you signals to take charge of the situation. Say for example - it is expected of you to sacrifice your personal beliefs or become someone you are really not. You are unable to recall the time this made you smile. The situation / person made you feel depressed, broken and frustrated. When your trust is continuously broken;

 Forgiving a person who has hurt you is a very challenging task. One needs to forgive others for personal freedom, for releasing oneself from the burden of the emotions and live a happy life. But these statements are sugar coated. Forgiving someone is a mammoth task like every other challenging task that a person undertakes. There must be one reason why you want to seek freedom from these toxic emotions. One must comprehend what is at stake and why forgiveness is important for you, your peace of mind and for a happy life. Have we ever paid heed to the consequences of not forgiving? Most of the time people feel a resistance that keeps them from being willing to forgive. They have a misperception about the idea of forgiving and because of this they hold themselves back.  What Forgiveness is not - Forgiveness is not reconciliation with the one who hurt you. It is not living in denial of the actions of the person. It is not allowing the person to repeat the same behaviour over and over aga

 There is a huge population which is under the impression that surrendering at the feet of a guruji / a baba / a mataji or attending self - coaching classes would turn them into self - realized humans. An important aspect is to be awake internally and become conscious of every thought and action of yours. The key word is 'internal' because without 'internal will' nothing can make you realize the power within you.  Any success that you achieved in life always began by fighting the internal demons. After conquering these you took up the humongous task of conquering the external demons to achieve success. The internal demons include - fears, lack of confidence / self esteem/ worries / temptations / failures and your past experiences. The list could go on depending on what internal demons one possesses.  Have you ever taken into account the preponderance of '-ins' on the path of self - realization?  Why do we say in - trospect and not outer -rospect, in - tuition