The best thing of 2021

I recently conducted an AMA on Instagram about the best thing that had happened to people in 2021 so far.

The responses were surprising.

While I had expected people to say things like got a new job, promotion, etc., most responses went with:

1. Started prioritising myself.

2. Taking care of what I want.

3. Took up yoga to for myself.

4. Moved to a new city.

5. Learnt to live on my own.

And so on and so forth.

Loved it! When people take care of themselves, they are able to take care of others more. Which isn’t true vice versa.

Looking forward to having more of them and seeing people get more powerful.

Creativity and infidelity

Creativity is a weird companion.

Exactly 24 hours back, I was bursting with ideas to write blogs on.

Right now, I don’t know what to write.

Seems like creativity has been infidel to me and left me. Except that isn’t. Because creativity is a process. If you show up, it always does.

If you are reading this blog post till here, you know that creativity has kept up. Because I kept my promise of writing this post.

Creativity is always loyal. If we are.

The silent anger

There’s a wonderful woman I know of, who is living her life for a great social cause. She’s been doing this for the last thirty years, started at the age of seventeen.

She doesn’t get angry.
Always works to uplift people.
Cooks great food for them.
Listens to their problems.
Offers solutions.

All epic. Super-commendable.

But I can often sense hidden anger within her. Because the people she serves don’t live up to her standards.

That’s sad.

Because no one is going to live their lives as we suggest them to be, no matter how much good that suggestion holds.
As a matter of fact, if we force them, they might grow even more resistant.

The key is acceptance. And that is the entire journey all about. Acceptance that we can only guide them and bless them, everyone takes their own sweet time to get to a place of change.

Till then, they need our blessings.

The silent anger causes greater resistance.
And loss of trust.

I have finally arrived 😂

I have been creating content for more than five years now.

It was only yesterday that I realised that I have finally arrived. I wrote a post on LinkedIn that said:

“Changing WhatsApp DPs often is a sign of an unstable mind.”

Lo and behold, what trolling comments I got yesterday! My first troll series 🙂

And the best part is, there were bigger number of likes for that post. That is the nature of goodness. It is always in bigger numbers, just that it doesn’t need any evidence to back itself off.

On that note, if you don’t feel offended, let me ask you: How often do you change your WhatsApp DPS?

Don’t do it

Someone left a bike like this outside our building.

We leave our imprints wherever we go.

And it becomes a karma.

Imagine how many people are going to give opposite of blessings to such tiny aspects of what you do.

Earn blessings, not opposite of those.

Whatever you do…

Whatever you do, others draw an example from.

Whatever you do, becomes the barometer for others to function.

Whatever you do, determines your state of mind.

Remember this the next time you’re going to take a step your intuition refuses to.

Documenting NY habits

This year, I’m doing something different: creating habits instead of goals. While I do have some goals at the back of my mind, they’re all effective when we build systems around them.

So here are mine:

1. Create one IG reel + one LinkedIn post daily. And write a Twitter thread every Tuesday about lessons from the book I’m reading.

2. Sleep by 9:30 PM. Daily.

3. Have daily habits of reading and meditation, and check my chart daily at EOD.

The only person between you and your happiness and success is you, and let good habits nudge you away from the old you.

Happy New Year folks! I’d love to listen to your habits, DM me on IG/Twitter/ LinkedIn with the handle nishthagehija26.

See you then, and 2021 will be the best year of your life!

The best hack to be peaceful

In the last week of 2020, I removed the email app from my phone.

Little had I expected, my screen time went down drastically.

So, going to continue that in 2021 as well. Even if there is an extreme news of me making it to the best seller list, I’ll be able to enjoy it when I am peacefully sitting in a place to read that email. Quick notifications aren’t a great place to celebrate.

Maybe will try that will WhatsApp soon:)

Wouldn’t agree on this one…

I read somewhere that pain is just pain. Someone else’s intensity of pain doesn’t reduce your pain.

While most people may agree, I tend to disagree.

Someone else’s intensity of pain might be different from yours. And if we are unable to acknowledge that, it makes us more selfish and less empathetic.

If we are in pain and still can acknowledge someone else is in pain, we are truly a caring human being.

I almost forgot…

I almost forgot to write today’s blog post.

And now, while sleeping, reminded of that.

So, what is it about today?

Hmm, I’m thinking of charging for consulting as well over the call. Okay, the client is going to pay me beautifully when the work starts, however why do I behave like a fool and offer 2.5 hours of free consulting?

Nishtha, grow up!

No one will value you if you don’t do that to yourself.

That said, the last leg of brainstorming with the client is left, will seek guidance from God in meditation early morning tomorrow, if it is right to charge or be modest if the contract is already yours.

Chalo, good night peops!

O yeah, that happens with me too!

O yes.

It is weird sometimes.

People behave in strange ways.

They act as if they don’t care.

And more than anything else, they tell you that you matter however, that is the last thing you see.

So, what to do?

Take care of yourself buddy!

The advice is real, the execution in takes all the effort. And if you are you, there is no one that can shake you.

Nothing to say

Today there’s nothing much to say.

Lost a close Uncle. Had met him two days after Diwali, last month. Little did anyone of us know that this was the last one.

While we were cordial and cool in our last meeting, I do realise that we don’t know which one is going to be our last meeting.

Lesson: Treat every meeting with people like the last one. We never know.

Making a career move

Someone reached out to me on LinkedIn yesterday, and really appreciated my decision of moving from a well-established job of an Internal Auditor, to full-time content writer.

A lot of people remark that it is a courageous move, however here’s my take:

(PS: This is a stoic move, not the I worked really hard part. We’ll cover that part later:D)

– God moves in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform (Truly remarked Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich)

– If you have worked really hard and are doing it daily, the Law of thoughts will always be there for you.

– This also means, that the opposite of a good thought will also affect us, if we are really willing to listen.

If you don’t believe this, read it again. And you will see the difference.

Maa Papa 💖

All of a sudden, I’ve enjoyed being with my family now.

Now that vaccine is almost there, now that there is a job to look up to, now that I’ll be back to Delhi somewhere by the end of winter, I’ve already started missing my parents.

They’re (not so much) weird for me, and I guess so am I for them.

This moment, is all you have!

As a line from one of my favourite songs goes: “Reh jayengi, yeh nishaaniyaan, rahein naa rahein hum! Aa jee le ek pal mein sau janam!”

Today I’ll document my day

It is said that when you make something public, there are far greater chances of you getting back on course with things that aren’t serving you.

So, here’s me trying to document my day.

Not sure if I could document everything, but here’s the good and the parts to be changed.

To be changed:

  1. Checked phone @5:30. Bad choice Nishtha. If you check your phone before 8AM, it will be an addiction throughout the day.
  2. Did not like the baingan ka bhartha that Mom made. So made myself a gud ki roti and an ajwain parantha with curd for lunch. Though it was yum, no veggies means no satisfaction, so look for veggies in lunch next time.
  3. Boss had asked for social media content for next week. I got better from last week, but not up to the mark. Need to work more on it.

Good things that happened:

  1. Was able to reach halfway through the wall-headstand in yoga.
  2. Attended the YouTube team call and the inherent feeling of inferiority complex was resolved, because I work with a fab boss who thrives on giving respect to all:)
  3. Submitted client’s content for next week and did something he hadn’t expected. Fingers crossed:)
  4. Walking to the meditation center daily. Because it’s cold and the movement will bring in some heat, and it’s damn cold to ride a two-wheeler in winters.
  5. Had a video call with my sis and nephew. Don’t know why, but that’s good anyway!
  6. Made matar paneer + rice for dinner. Hadn’t eaten a veggie since the morning bruh…
  7. Yesterday’s IG reel was loved more than expected. Looking forward to more love.

Hmm…that was fun. I should be doing more of these. Makes life accountable.

Alright then, see you tomorrow.

Till then, take great care peops!

Do you know that popular kid?

You may be the popular kid. Or you may be not.

You may be the boss/teacher’s favourite. Or you may be not.

But there is something that could never be taken from you:

1. Hard work.

2. Beginner’s mindset.

3. Signing up to do the work that you could play politics on and get away with.

4. Taking responsibility.

5. Doing 1-4 even when it is difficult.

It’s not easy. That’s why totally worth it.

Met my love on Diwali

Had decided to not work today.

But opened up the laptop and did an hour of writing. Felt like bliss.

Up until last Diwali when I used to have a job I didn’t like, I never opened the laptop for the 5 days of Diwali. Now that isn’t the case, thankfully:)

This is what true love is 💖

Keep looking, and don’t settle.

– Steve Jobs

Lit 🔥

Looking at sunshine.

Looking at moonlight.

The light that you are looking for, is the light that is within.

The question is, do the clouds of the life that hold you back hamper your light, or your sunshine shines irrespective of anything else in the world?

A note to myself

Be patient.

It is coming.

It is right there.

Just be patient and let yourself know that all you wanted is already with you.

All you have got to do is remember who you are, and then straighten your crown.

Also, it is very veryyyy easy to get lost in the approval or hate of others. Be neutral and let things happen as you don’t change.

7 great things 2020 gave us

2020 is a blessing, if we see it!

While most of us have already named 2020 as the worst year ever, there are some incredible gifts that 2020 brought with it – something that we could have come into our lives had the pandemic didn’t occur.

Thus, 2020 in all its rights, is the year of these life lessons:

  1. It was never the lack of time: It is always about whether you really want the change, or whether you really want to cling to the way you were before. 
    Change is hard. And with so much time on our hands due to lockdown and work from home, we realized time was never the issue. It was all about making the choice. After all, how can we expect anyone to give us their time if we do not have time for ourselves?

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  1. How we were without pandemic was reflected in how we were with pandemic.If we look closely at the behaviours of people we admire – be it online or offline – their lifestyle, approach to life situations and happiness remained unaffected despite such major changes the world over. And if you see people around you that were suffering or in pain during the pandemic, they were suffering even before. This isn’t judgement, this is a reflection that the outer situations do not determine who we are or what we become.
  2. Meditation is a necessity: Since the response to external events is always dependent on our inner thoughts, meditation is not something to take up, it is something to imbibe in our lifestyles. Even five minutes between two tasks, 5 times a day works wonders. If you haven’t tried it, you have missed out on abundance of peace within you.
  3. Fitness isn’t just a hobby:I read a story of a 40 year old daughter, taking care of her Covid-stricken father. Her husband was out of city and her mother had passed away, so she, along with her father’s full-time aid started living in a room next to his. After some days, the help who was there to help also developed Covid symptoms. Meanwhile, the husband had returned, so they both started taking care. However, very soon the husband was also Covid positive. So she was there taking care of her father alone. Throughout that period of taking care of him, she was healthy and unaffected. Reason? She has been taking care of her fitness as well as diet. It is as magical as parents’ love, we don’t see it unless we see the absence of it in people around us.
  4. We have the power to heal others. However, how will we able to extend a hand if our own is fractured? Tell me in the comment section.
  1. Don’t delay giving love.You may never know the person may not be with you tomorrow
  2. It all begins and ends with only one person: YOU. No one, absolutely no one has the right to enter your space of mind if you have decided to make yourself stronger – not even family, not your colleagues, not your friends – no one. I understand it is easier said than done. However, my mental health issues also surfaced during this pandemic and made me realize the importance of being the master of my mind, instead of letting it control me. It takes efforts, but what’s a good thing without making the efforts?

Isn’t it?