Understanding Human Psychology

We live in a world that seems to reward speed. The faster you respond to an email, the better. The faster you finish a report, the more productive you are considered. The faster you solve a problem, make a decision, submit a form, prepare a household budget, complete school homework, or crack an interview, the smarter you appear. We learn speed in school may be, where solving your exam paper in a given time before others are done with it, it's considered smart, winning a race is amazing- it becomes more about speed than fitness.  Somewhere along the way, we have started believing that speed and smartness aka intelligence are the same thing. But are they? Back in 2009-10, I used to teach the Introduction of a Learning Organisation to MBAs, that's when I read the concept of Systems Thinking. And I was fascinated that although everything in the world is dependent on each other, yet I never had seen the world this way before. Then I kept deducting how actions take shape and snowbal...

  Most of us don’t stop because we can’t do something. We stop because we are scared of failing . We don’t take that exam because what if I don’t clear it? We don’t apply for that role because what if I’m not good enough? We don’t start learning a new skill because what if I can’t keep up? We don’t say yes to a project because what if I mess it up? Slowly, fear starts deciding our life choices. What we forget is this simple truth: failure is not the opposite of success . In many cases, it is a part of it. Most people who succeed don’t do so because everything went smoothly. They succeed because they tried, failed, learnt, adjusted, and kept going. I’ve experienced this very personally. When I decided to pursue my PhD, I was scared. Not because I didn’t want it — I really did — but because I didn’t know if I would be able to manage it. The fear was very real. What if I can’t complete it? What if I’m not capable enough? Then, after I got admission, life threw another curveb...

Many times in a coaching journey, I see a familiar look on my coachee’s face—the unspoken “Why is my coach telling me to take action?” They hear me say that certain actions will need to be taken, that we’ll evaluate them each time we meet—maybe once a fortnight, maybe once a month. And they wonder, Why? Won’t change just happen on its own? And honestly? They’re not wrong. Change will happen. Life moves forward, things shift, and we evolve—whether we plan for it or not. But here’s the thing: when you take action with intention, when you make purposeful choices instead of waiting for change to unfold on its own, you take control of your direction. That’s when you tap into your personal power—your ability to shape the outcome, rather than just being carried along by it. I often hear, “It will happen anyway.” Yes, it will. But wouldn’t you rather be the one steering the ship instead of drifting wherever the waves take you? Change is inevitable, but purposeful change is a choice. This doesn...