When it comes to sharing our own opinions, many of us get in a pickle.
On the one hand, we feel our internal psyche telling us something that needs to be said. Sometimes this might not be particular popular or welcome.
On the other hand, we are wary of becoming like those people who say things to the point of obnoxiousness. I think we all know people who perhaps are a little too confident.
So how do we get to the sweet spot of sharing an opinion clearly, especially when it goes against the grain?
Tag: #diversity
I don’t believe that I should be authentic
I was at a work party once a number of years ago. We were speaking about ourselves, so cue a moment of self-effacing humour.
I uttered the words ‘I think people like me, until they get to know me’.
Although I’ve left the UK, one thing that will never leave me is my dry British humour. It can be a little funny when this takes people by surprise, particularly now living in the continent.
Yet no joke is funny unless it has some level of truth hidden underneath.
How to stop feeling tired all the time
Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. When did life become such a grind?
The amount of people who are constantly tired and overwhelmed is staggering. And it feels like it’s only getting worse. We seemingly cannot manage the amount of things that are pulling us left, right and centre.
The paradox here is that we have more modern day conveniences than ever. Washing machines for our clothes. Takeaway apps for our dinner. ChatGPT for our work reports.
A lot of us also work less hours than our parents or grandparents did too. So why is it then that we so many of us end up using our evenings and weekends to simply crash into our beds?
On the challenges of creating a community
One thing I’ve noticed recently is how people seem to be crawling out the woodwork. After a long period of post-COVID isolation, I’m noticing more efforts to unite together. Perhaps this is just my view in Brussels. Perhaps it’s because people are feeling driven to be more active due to the politics. Or perhaps it’s […]
The fool’s search for a sense of belonging
We all want to belong. Even the most reclusive, Grinch-like people we know deep down desire it.
The modern day message is that when we do not belong, we should simply move on. The magical land of belonging is just beyond the hill, over the rainbow.
Yet what if searching for such sense of belonging is just but a fool’s dream?
Insights for finding meaning in the modern world [new book]
Next week, I’m releasing my second book, Become Your Best Self: Insights for finding meaning in the modern world. The book is a compilation of my writing here.
If you’ve been reading my articles over the last four years, I would love for you to consider buying my book – either for yourself or as a Christmas gift.
I have been freely giving my labour for thousands of hours. I am very unlikely to make substantial money in any case, but it will at least help support me as I continue on my path of learning. This way, I can ensure I can continue providing more value in the years to come.
Where there is discomfort there is growth
Yesterday I had the authentic German experience.
I woke up after an overnight coach in Hamburg. I had a few hours to kill before the train arrived.
Well, it turns out I had longer than that. My train was delayed. At the beginning it said by 30 minutes. No big deal I thought. Until it got delayed again, by 20 minutes. And again. Eventually it came 80 minutes later.
The experience was a testing one for my level of zen.
Getting clear on what you really want
I don’t doubt you do a lot of different things in your life. But have you ever stopped to ask why you’re doing them?
Whilst it may sound obvious, if we’re not clear about what we want, the chances of us getting it are nigh on impossible. We can easily end up meandering through life. We get ourselves into activities, relationships and jobs without really knowing why we ended up there.
But to have a truly meaningful life, it’s so vital to get really intentional about what the ‘why’.
Navigating the challenges of being different
I’ve known for a long time that I’m different.
Growing up in the UK from a Bangladeshi background, I was one of the few non-white faces within school.
But it was only until I got to my first office job that I first realised that my differences would provoke additional challenges. Before that, I naively thought that the workplace was a space that was genuinely open, and driven towards the most effective way of working.
With my recent autism diagnosis, I feel like I’m having this experience all over again
On the search for a quietened mind
My recent weeks have been plagued with fatigue. It got to the point where popping out to the supermarket a few minutes down the road would leave me struggling, and I found myself frequently needing naps during the day.
I’m in the midst of understanding what being neurodivergent means in practice. It’s a lot to navigate – there’s certainly many things that make a lot more sense now, but I’m also cautious to jump to conclusions too quickly.
I went to my doctor this week who recommended I tried antidepressants. In an ideal world, I would have had a bit more time than a short consultation to think about it. In the end I decided to give them a try.