Note: I wrote this as a student of performance psychology — someone who studies what happens inside the mind during high-pressure moments. This is not an analysis of any player's ability, character, or temperament. Every cricketer who represents their country at the highest level has my deepest respect. What I observe here is the universal human experience of performing under pressure — something that applies to all of us, on any field, in any profession. The moments I refere

Many leaders I've met says the same thing: "My door is always open." But here's what I've learned studying performance psychology: The door being open means nothing if the people outside it don't feel safe walking through. Think about your team right now. Not the confident ones. Not the ones who come to you easily. Think about the quiet ones. The ones who nod in meetings but never challenge. The ones who say "everything's fine" when you ask. The ones who've stopped bringing i

He was Bhallaladeva. Then his body failed. Then he became something the film industry had no template for. His journey reveals the most dangerous mistake professionals and students make with their identity — and how to escape it. The Girl Who Said "I Want to Be a Doctor" She was seven years old. Someone — a parent, a teacher, an uncle at a family gathering — asked her: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" She said: "I want to be a doctor." Everyone smiled. Everyone appr

I watched the T20 World Cup final on Sunday like millions of you did. And the moment that stayed with me wasn't the winning moment. It was a two-second moment in the 11th over that most people have already forgotten. Arshdeep Singh had just been hit for two back-to-back sixes by Daryl Mitchell. The next ball, Mitchell played it straight back. Arshdeep fielded it, threw at the stumps, and it struck Mitchell. What followed was tense. Mitchell was upset. Arshdeep walked back. Th

She was brilliant. I could see it in the way she listened — not passively, the way students are trained to listen, but actively, the way engineers listen when they are reverse-engineering a system. She was taking things apart in her mind. And when she finally asked her question, it wasn't a student's question. It was a scientist's question. The kind that reveals not just curiosity, but the architecture of a mind that sees deeper than its surroundings. She was in the eighth gr

You’re working on something — maybe a code review, a design, or a late-night journaling session — and suddenly, hours disappear. No fatigue. No distractions. Just effortless focus. That’s flow  — the state where effort disappears and excellence emerges. But here’s the catch: while we all crave that state, few of us truly live in it often.Let’s explore why — and what we can do about it. The First Time I Experienced Flow Years ago, I was debugging a piece of code late into the

You don’t need research to tell you that people open up and express themselves freely when they feel safe to do so. Just observe children — they’re at their most authentic when they’re home, with friends, or playing in the park. But when they enter a new or unfamiliar environment, they hold back. They test the waters first, watch for cues, and wait until they sense it’s safe to play, laugh, and be themselves. Adults are no different. At work, people instinctively assess wheth

Dr Karl Friston is one of the world’s most cited neuroscientists, best known for the Free Energy Principle —the idea that our brains are...

One of the greatest things I’d love to embody from my kids and our pet dog is their effortless ability to reframe emotions . Kids don’t...

Today, I had one of those unexpected conversations that leaves you thinking long after it’s over. I was heading home and got into a cab....

Many of us know what a personal coach is.We’ve seen sports coaches on the sidelines.But how often do we pause to think about having a...

I recently read an article by Bill Gates where he spoke about the extraordinary generosity of Chuck Feeney. The name sounded familiar,...

This morning, we took a family trip to our uncle’s mango farm. The air was fresh with early drizzle, the leaves lush and green, and my...