Life hacks: Just one step can transform life

Depression has sadly become an epidemic on its own. Earlier, mental health concerns were swiped under the carpet, while fortunately today we have learned to acknowledge it and share with others. Acknowledging the problem in itself is the first successful step towards recovery. It is time to take the next steps by building a healthy environment around and inculcating healthy habits to fight depression.

It is easier to fight depression naturally without medication in the initial stages…

1. Depression can be cured. Just be regular with positive intake.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This is not just about apples, but is about how a good thing done daily can help mitigate larger health concerns. Just like walking daily counters weight gain.

Nowadays, many authors are talking about the exponential benefits of daily activities. A dollar a day can save only 365 dollars but then it changes when there is compounding effect with interest. Similarly, a positive act a day or less of a negative activity a day has its own compounding effect in making life fuller.

You must be wondering, what does a positive act entail?

A positive quote a day, a benevolent act, a good book, an hour of comedy. Anything that makes you smile or laugh, just do it every day. Positive psychology, a branch of psychology deals with developing an optimistic view and shifting negative outlook, for a more flourishing life.

Considering that people are trustworthy in general, or good things can happen anytime, etc. helps a lot in managing negative thoughts. Looking at life in a positive way is a habit that one need to build.

Don’t underestimate this seemingly simple, zero cost habit, it can help save your life one day.

2. Change the ratio to fight the depressed thoughts

If till now you were being sad the whole day, make 30 mins of it funnier with your favorite comedy series. Spend an hour chatting with your best friend, after a bad exam. Play your favorite sport, after a fight with the boss.

Just change the ratio of fun to sad moments. It would be difficult at start, but first focus on 30 mins a day and gradually increase it. I make it a point, to do something I like when I am having a bad day. Even listening to my favorite song, tends to reverse my day.

Having a fun playlist and a dance sequence, a favorite dish/recipe and friends on fast dial. All these need to be in your toolkit for a rainy day. Prepare a list of things you enjoy, in fact preparing the list itself can be fun.

3. Be around good people and share it with others. Depression leads to loneliness.

There is a famous Hindi proverb – “Khushi baatne se badhti hai, aur dukh ghat ta hai” (happiness increases when shared, and sadness reduces). Try it, and you will know the efficacy of age-old adages. Yeah, Pluses and Minuses of maths work differently in real life.

Surrounding yourself with good people is a very important life skill. People think that we should be near more intelligent people or more rich people, but the truth is when you are near people with beautiful hearts, you learn the goodness in humanity.

Life seems more beautiful when you are around good people. And goodness does not even need to be shared, just being around makes you feel better.

4. Write about it. Journaling through grief and happiness helps.

Write a journal daily, about what you feel good about, bad about, your fears, worries.

When you write you cleanse the stuck emotions and let it flow again. Also, writing gives you a better perspective. Once you write down your thoughts, you can look at it with an outsider’s view. And thus, it gives you more clarity, sometimes makes us realise that the matter is not as serious as we make it to be.

The break-up may after all not be so bad.

Hmmm… that’s more of a bluff, just one write up will not make you see it, but a few will definitely help.

5. Engage in a hobby.

Any hobby be it painting, dancing, cooking, sculpting, star gazing, anything. Every hobby in the world has the power to get you out of depression.

When you do something with passion, with a continual focus, it is like meditation. And that is the science behind it. When you focus on something you like or you are good at, you have

1. replaced your sad thoughts during that moment,

and 2. you now know you are good at things.

A real boost for your self esteem. A good self esteem can help you walk confidently through the murky paths of sad incidents in life.

6. Hormones are linked to depression. Exercise daily to keep the positive hormones flowing.

Depression can be automatically taken care of with a healthy lifestyle, healthy diet and healthy body.

Even though exercise feels most unnatural during these times, it has the most immediate benefit. Just 15 mins of workout will make you feel euphoric. Even gentle exercises like yoga and tai chi helps.

It is scientifically proven that exercise stimulates your mind and releases positive chemicals called endorphins and reduces stress. Refer to the Harvard article here for more on ‘The exercise effect’ – Exercise is an all-natural treatment to fight depression

7. Take medication, if required.

When you fight depression for long but still not able to win over it, it is time for medication.

Anxiety or depression happens because there are too many or too less chemicals in your brain and they are out of control.

What do you do when your stomach has a similar problem, you treat it, right? First at home and if severe, then with a doctor.

It is so surprising that we invest so much in our skin and hair while giving the brain zero priority.

Don’t worry, medication is a temporary tool, it just helps you clear the mess created in your brain. And after the prescription time is over, the other tools will help you stay on track for a flourishing life.

p.s. Clinical depression need to be treated by a psychologist. If you are being overwhelmed by depressive thoughts or it is too long now since you are battling these thoughts, visit a professional. If someone can help you resolve this issue within a few days, why not solve it at the earliest.

Tackling the problems at the first stage before it gets bigger and unmanageable is the biggest hack of my Life coaching techniques. It is the simplest solution for a flourishing life, but surprisingly very few reckon with it. Hope this article serves as a reminder that solutions for big problems can be very simple.

Feeling Stuck? Let’s Figure It Out Together.

Life can feel overwhelming at times—whether it’s work, decisions, or just finding balance. You don’t have to figure it all out alone. If you’d like a space to reflect, gain clarity, or move forward, feel free to explore my coaching page. I’d love to support you on your journey.

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Life Hacks Series.

I feel disappointed whenever I hear the phrase ‘life is monotonous’. Many complain that the same things happen to them every single day, even the frustrations and irritations are the same. The sad part is, even a fulfilled life can be poisoned by monotony.

Do you realise what you are missing?

It is not money, not power, but a passion. No, I don’t mean here the passion you felt for your first crush. Passion for life when every atom in your body feels alive. When you just feel blessed to be a human. Yes, the same feeling which has become elusive to our generation due to the mundane office-home-office lifestyle.

I unknowingly hit the jackpot, when I discovered my passions. I realized I feel passionate when I write for people, I feel passionate whenever I help someone live their life to the fullest. Fixing problems, finding out solutions, are my passions. I feel passionate when I’m immersed in a masterpiece of a book, movie, or series. Stories spellbound me. I now comprehend that magic is about becoming part of something beautiful, like a perfectly crafted movie. To explain in spiritual terms, all things have energy, when we watch something beautiful we become part of that beautiful energy, it starts flowing through us.

But books, movies, and series cannot sustain this kind of energy for long. The numerous options available online, make this rich energy scatter fast. Hence this also causes monotony after a time.

The best solution out there is to ignite a spark within. When you are on fire the whole world seems exciting. You wake up in the morning ecstatic. The whole day there is a bounce in your step, and a satisfied smile while sleeping.

Wow, how to ignite this spark?

Find something you really like to do, an activity that is meditative for you. It can be cooking, painting, strumming guitar, dancing, sometimes it is not even performing. Even appreciation of art can feel passionate, just like watching a movie. Just go a layer deep, learn the art to appreciate it. I always used to wonder, don’t people find paintings in museums boring? Surprisingly, it seems otherwise. To those who know the art, it lits them from within. When a connoisseur looks at a painting it is about the brush strokes, the color mixing, how a hue establishes a point. How sunset in different shades has a different meaning envisioned by the artist.

It is never a painting of a sunset, it is the story of a sunset. Those who know the rudiments of painting, feel the thrill in knowing how the artist layered his colors, how darkness represented light, the art and science of it are exhilarating.

It need not be painting for everyone. How when you start cooking as a hobby, you start noticing the chemistry between ingredients everytime you eat. It becomes a round-table conference on the deliciousness of the dish. Scientists never feel monotonous, for them, mathematics, physics… is their passion. Their perspective towards everyday things is different.

And that is what passion does to you, it changes your perspective. Life is already beautiful, you just need to experience it with the right perspective.

Masters in Literature is not required to appreciate great books. Just an hour a day is enough to learn the craft. Try taking this one step and see the big difference it brings. And if you’re a couple, try finding a common passion.

Find your passion, and live a beautiful life from today itself.

What passion are you planning to explore? Sometimes sharing also ignites the passion, so feel free to share in the comment section.

Hi, I am a Life Coach and Blogger. I feel passionate about my work and like sharing it with others. Life is too beautiful, to let it get boring, so enjoy and live it well. Feel free to join my community on social media to be a part of this journey towards self-empowerment and growth.

Feeling Stuck? Let’s Figure It Out Together.

Life can feel overwhelming at times—whether it’s work, decisions, or just finding balance. You don’t have to figure it all out alone. If you’d like a space to reflect, gain clarity, or move forward, feel free to explore my coaching page. I’d love to support you on your journey.

Take a Small Step—Visit My Coaching Page Now.

Tags: I am a lazy bum, how will I learn new skills?

Life Hack Series.

Yes, I am confessing my shortcomings today, I am a lazy bum and I get horrifyingly jealous of the Facebook photographers. Not only have I learned that photography is super technical, but it needs patience as well. One may assume that lazy people would be more patient, but sadly laziness and patience do not gel well. And hence this jealousy. 😐 I am sure you are not here to learn photography skills, however, if you stay, I can give you a sound tip on how to learn it.

What is the way out?

Did you notice every post in this series combines a useful and entertaining skill? The essence is to balance them. This is also the key to a productive daily schedule, otherwise, we will end up entertaining at our own cost. When we include an invigorating activity, our plan for the day gets more tempting. And that’s the secret.

The confession.

I had Lynda.com free access, and of course Course era, but don’t remember ever completing a full course there. Started many, dragged through a few, and ended up none. Isn’t that a usual cribbing point? Despite the innumerable free resources available online, we tend to let the chance pass. One fine day I will. 😎

In our intensely competitive world, we need multiple talents to thrive. However, laziness, procrastination, and lack of motivation multiply the problem. Even when we try to overcome these, we trudge for a week or so and then give up. Forget the famous 40 days rule, even a week is monumental.

My solution as a lazy bum.

Use one weakness to counter another. For example, I am blessed with ‘curiosity killed the cat’ syndrome. No wonder, I have got my fingers in every pie. Fortunately, I realize this and I use this sticky trait of mine to form a lesson sandwich. Whenever I continue with a topic and lose interest within a month, I initiate a fresh one and get enchanted with the newness of it. Always packaging it in a fresh way, looking for interesting angles, is the other key. One week I’ll be reading material on Virus and Immunity, next it is the turn of photography, then Interior Design, and then a few interspersed days of Sci-Fi related Physics theories.

You got it right, naturally, I’ll learn nothing by reading all kinds of topics. It is just me whetting my curiosity. But did you deduce by now? This is where my lesson sandwich comes into picture. When I repeat my Photography lessons every alternate month, I at least become a jack of one trade. Agreed, mastery is yet too far but the months and years go on, no?

This idea of a lesson sandwich, between enticing activities, is for someone like me. Continuing at one topic for eternity, hmm, not my cup of tea. Yes, I do waste a lot of time this way, but better than staying dumb forever. If you have already tried this with no results, try it again. The trick is to cut the cake in a delicious way, the right amount of frosting to offset the dryness of crumbs. Balancing entertainment with eruditeness. Take care of the ratios, though. 😃 May be a month of dancing can offset a week of HTML mark up language. It all depends on you.

Guess what, photography is not that interesting when it comes to learning aperture and shutter speed. So instead of considering it an entertaining skill, pair it up with one. Understanding which is entertaining and which is not can be tricky at times.

We should focus on one thing at a time, we should form habits, we should prioritize important things… blah blah blah. I agree. But to even reach that level, some extraish ordinary people like me face hurdles. Sorry! but not everyone is born with monk-like steadiness. Thus, tricking the mind is the go-to tool, whenever I need to learn or unlearn something.

If you are too lazy to even start something, then another article is coming soon for you.

Let me know in the comment section, what is that one weakness of yours which you use to counter another.

Hi, I am a life coach and simple tips like these are a part of my arsenal. There are 100s of fixes for every problem, the art is in knowing what goes where. Isn’t that also the difference between knowledge and wisdom? I guess learning this difference is my lifelong dharma. I am passionate about improving people’s lives through coaching or blogging. Feel free to connect with me.

Life Hack Series.

We have never been isolated like this before, courtesy pandemic. All our friendships have gone long distance. But it is not just pandemic, we have always been leaving behind our close friends, be it school, college, or an old job. Continuing with the same set of friends throughout life has always been tough. Social Media has definitely been a miracle in finding long-lost friends. But have you ever felt, like me, that the relationships have not remained the same? There is something lacking, it is no more as free and easy as before, feels a bit forceful.

We all have friends, now distant, may be over neighborhoods, cities, or even countries. And we all know how assured and protected a group of friends can make us feel. Needed now much more than ever before, I decided to not let the distances stop me.

My friends are over different time zones and we try hard to manage through Whatsapp groups. But for some reason, I feel a strange disconnect with forwarded messages. Whatsapp is ok for a group of not-so-close friends when you need to share not-so-personal messages. For personal thoughts it seems too trivial to type and send, this is how we end up being friends over unrelated stuff. For bonding we need heartfelt discussions, a passionate argument on a match lost or a cribbing contest over bad bosses. When we are closer, it all flows naturally without any extra effort. This flow of feelings is exactly how a bunch of people come together and become friends in the first place. I decided to modify this same technique to suit our group chats by experimenting with common passions, like in this instance – music.

I and my friends have started sharing songs. It is a great way to continue bonding. We share only songs that we like or suddenly remember, sometimes 2 or 3 a day. Many of them are nostalgic and this makes us share a piece of our mind. It is like sharing your cached memories. Many a time after listening to a song we even start some random discussion. Being in touch, no more feels forceful. As music is a part of our daily life, many old song-linked instances keep swarming in my mind and it feels good to share and reminisce together.

I won’t suggest this idea with large groups as then there will be too many songs and noone will be able to watch and comment on all. Even for small groups of 3 or 4, first couple of days there will be too many songs. But over the week it will trickle down to just the right number for our busy schedule. Try it yourself and see… if not music then sports talk, or books or daily episodes. Just like a forum, but little more involved, with little more feelings. The trick is to leave it trickling always.

Hi, I am a life coach and I believe in simple tips to life’s many problems. Relationships can be cherished with these simple tips, not much is needed. I am passionate about working out small changes to manifest bigger miracles and share the same through coaching or blogging. Feel free to connect with me.

Feeling Stuck? Let’s Figure It Out Together.

Life can feel overwhelming at times—whether it’s work, decisions, or just finding balance. You don’t have to figure it all out alone. If you’d like a space to reflect, gain clarity, or move forward, feel free to explore my coaching page. I’d love to support you on your journey.

Take a Small Step—Visit My Coaching Page Now.

Tags: I am a lazy bum

Life Hacks Series.

The earlier post on feeling lonely & isolated was about laughter and learning. Having fun is scientific, it is about increasing our dopamine levels. This post is about increasing dopamine by being passionate and learning new things. Tricking our minds is a sure shot way to that elusive happiness.

Identify what you are passionate about.

Motivation levels are low and laziness levels at an all-time high? Identify things you are really passionate about or can get immediate gratification from. And once you do, even lockdowns will not slow youdown.

Let’s take cooking as an example. During the pandemic, we were craving for our favorite dishes but unable to order them. The luxury of restaurants was not available. Even the ingredients were not there. Wasn’t that the best time to search for new recipes and try them? Isn’t this often the case, craving for home-cooked food. I have always believed that no one can be a bad cook. Either follow the recipe fully or use ingredients intuitively (if you have a natural talent for it). If you focus on the food you are preparing instead of the mobile, it will surely be yummy. Just need to know a few tips and tricks. First-timers just need to start with lesser quantities and not too much experimenting with the ingredients (advice from a scapegoat, who had to eat too many cakes gone wrong 😒)

Now time for what is essential…

Cooking is done, what is now the other most essential thing? Many people do not realize this but the most satisfactory job in the world is cleaning. Absurd, but true. Try it out now, take a small area – even one rack in your wardrobe is sufficient, and then clean it fully. It will automatically enhance your mood. Seems Unbelievable? But I can bet on its impact.

Just don’t overdo it. Your pains should not be more than your gains. Basic maths, right? Just try it with your favorite music on and see the difference. Make sure you start with a small goal. I assure you, you will love it.

Cleaning when becomes a daily routine seems obnoxious, but once a week chores always help. For the daily routine jobs let’s discuss some other time. For now… enjoy finding your passions.

Hi, I am a life coach and I believe in simple tips to life’s many problems. Finding your passion is the magic mantra for every trouble. Don’t believe it? Try and let me know. I am passionate about working out small changes to manifest bigger miracles and share the same through coaching or blogging. Feel free to connect with me.

Feeling Stuck? Let’s Figure It Out Together.

Life can feel overwhelming at times—whether it’s work, decisions, or just finding balance. You don’t have to figure it all out alone. If you’d like a space to reflect, gain clarity, or move forward, feel free to explore my coaching page. I’d love to support you on your journey.

Take a Small Step—Visit My Coaching Page Now.

Tags: Feeling lonely & isolated? other ways to have fun

Life Hack Series.

Let’s talk today about the magic of ‘living with yourself’. All you people feeling lonely and isolated living alone or even while living with people around, I assure you it can be a super fun time. All you need is just to change your perspective. I have never understood how people get bored living alone, may be they haven’t yet learned the art of living alone.

During the lockdown, it was a very common rant of my friends. I am getting bored with this lockdown, what should I do? Hmmm, let’s see what are the magical options available.

Wow, I am rewatching the friends’ episodes. Every time I watch it, I laugh at the same pitch, at the same jokes. All the episodes are still as funny as the first time. Yes, you know the story. Yes, you know the jokes. But still the build-up delivers beautifully.

For many, it is not easy to laugh alone. But why do you need someone else to laugh with? You found something funny and you laugh, isn’t that a very logical thing to do? You should immediately get out of that self-restricting mindset of when and how to laugh. This one small change will lead to the epiphany – life is fun every moment. It is not about ‘Friends’ anymore.

Still lonely & isolated? Let’s move ahead.

I want to learn astrology but I have reached a roadblock, so for an hour everyday I watch any astrology related youtube video. Well, I may not be learning anything exactly but it is all getting into my mind. And when I sleep the junk in my mind is sorting itself out. This is another scientifically proven way of learning. I may still not be learning a lot as I am not being diligent and studying it systematically. Instead I am grasping a lot and letting myself immerse into the topic. Every few days there automatically comes a time when for an hour or so, I learn in a proper manner by writing it down and practicing it.

If you really like to learn something it is better to listen to the topic continuously. There comes a moment always when your procrastination and laziness give up. Saying from experience….It is not about astrology anymore.

I am not asking you to watch Friends or learn astrology. I am instead suggesting you watch something that makes you laugh every day and find a way to learn your favorite topic even if you are a lazy bum.

Try it and let me know at what phase of fun you are now. Part 2 of this series includes some more pointers for having fun.

I believe in simple tips to life’s many problems. Having fun is just about changing one’s perspective, and it has nothing to be with being alone. I know this because I am a Life Coach and have witnessed it many times. As a Life Coach and a Blogger, I am passionate about working out small changes to manifest bigger miracles and share the same with others. Feel free to connect with me.

Feeling Stuck? Let’s Figure It Out Together.

Life can feel overwhelming at times—whether it’s work, decisions, or just finding balance. You don’t have to figure it all out alone. If you’d like a space to reflect, gain clarity, or move forward, feel free to explore my coaching page. I’d love to support you on your journey.

Take a Small Step—Visit My Coaching Page Now.

Tags: Feeling lonely & isolated? what are the other ways to have fun?