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Rajan shares insights from his own life journey to help you build better habits in yours.
Past Newsletters
An actionable roadmap to overcome lack of confidence
Whether it is making a presentation, talking to our boss, or socializing after work, some of us experience a serious lack of confidence or anxiety. We anticipate that we will fumble, make a mistake or do a really bad job. And when we are afraid of making a fool of...
You need a break – here is why
The harder you work, the more you get done, and the more value you create. Right? Wrong! It turns out that life is not that linear. Working long hours, non-stop, is not the recipe for value creation. Nor is working without a break for months and years. Every once in a...
You need consistency – but not 100%
This is going to be controversial. But read on… By now, you must have heard this a zillion times: To achieve even your biggest goals, be it building habits, becoming fit, or compounding your wealth – all you need is consistency. When you are consistent, small...
We underestimate meditation – here is how it can change your life
When we think of meditation, the mind often conjures up an image of monks sitting in a buddha-like pose, with serene calm, detached from the world, mind full of lofty thoughts. And that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Meditation is not a retreat from the world....
A practical approach to learning faster
Except for my early childhood in Bangalore, I grew up in an environment where English wasn’t used for day-to-day conversations either at home or in school. So my English vocabulary was limited mostly to commonplace words. But unfortunately, all the newspapers and...
The story of the most hated man
During my training at the National Police Academy, there was one man everyone was terrified of – Mr. Anil Kumar Raturi (the future DGP of Uttarakhand). At that time, he was the boss of our outdoor training at the Academy. Which means, all the physical torture we...
How to do in one day what may take months
Last December, a colleague and I were talking to my friend Ashish Chordia, who also doubles up as our startup coach. When we excitedly told him about the new program we were going to create (on journaling), he asked, “How long will it take?” My colleague said, “3-6...
Here is a simple way to create happiness every day
When writing this newsletter, the first thing I did was to switch off my phone. Once I let my team know that my phone was off, I now had only one thing to do – write with complete focus. But why am I doing this? Just for productivity? Not really. Productivity is a...
How to learn effectively
I am doing a 5-course specialization on Coursera and I finished almost 6 weeks' worth of material in 3-4 days. Impressive, no? Actually, not – in fact, I am regretting it. Initially, I was jotting down the key points and recapping as I learned. But I was in such a...
The neuroscience of addiction and why we get addicted
Neurosciences of addiction and why we get addicted. Are you addicted to something? Check out these techniques.
How to overcome fear
Learn how to overcome your fears. Are you afraid of public speaking or have a deep-rooted phobia? We have some tips that can help you.
How to stop sabotaging ourselves and other lessons
It is all about how we think about things. Learn how to stop sabotaging yourself and others with this story.
How to be consistent in building habits – here is what I found
Consistency comes not from some ‘iron-will’ personality trait, but from a system, which I am going to share with you today. Follow that system and you can stay consistent indefinitely.
How I stumbled upon the secret of motivation – here it is
Today let us demystify motivation. I am not talking about the transient spike of excitement but the obsessive commitment to a goal, day in, and day out, regardless of the ‘mood of the day.’
How I found the easiest shortcut to achieve even the hardest goals
In my IIT days, I was a total slacker, perpetually lagging in assignments, quizzes, and projects. I would neither go to classes on time nor take notes. The only time I would be focused was the night before the exams. That is when I would photocopy borrowed notes from...
How I nearly lost my focus and got it back – and you can too
In the early days of smartphone, I became an early victim of digital distraction. I was no longer able to build deep focus as I used to earlier. And I hated it. This is the story of how I got my focus back.
From a nail-biting crisis, I learned the futility of worrying
In 2002, I was facing a crisis that I thought would sink my career. And it taught me the futility of worrying. At that time, I was serving as the Trivandrum City Police Commissioner. The problem started quite innocuously – about 200 tribals came down to Trivandrum and...
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