Reflections of a restless eccentric

My regular readers will recall that I mentioned in my previous article that I'd be writing about re-framing and story building. Here comes that post! My previous post was intended to be an example of cognitive restructuring-- I narrated the same story with two diametrically opposite points of view, and you could see the humongous difference that made. For anyone who wants to read that, here's the link . I'd been thinking of calling this re-framing, but there's a technical term for it in psychology, and I'm going to use that here: Cognitive restructuring. All jargon aside though, I'm only trying to convey the importance of perspective . When I started out writing on this blog, more than 3 years ago, my very first hello world post was on perspective and how it can magically change things. I am of the same opinion today, but my thoughts have been distilled into a clearer and more articulate version now.  One morning a couple of months ago, I was scrolling ...

A couple of weeks ago, I was conducting a session on communication skills for my mentee, in which one of the exercises was to speak on an impromptu topic. Not wanting the session to get too one-sided in the sense that I pick the topic and she speaks, I asked her to try out the reverse as well. She immediately gave me a topic: 'your role model'. Instinctive responses are sometimes very insightful. They show us what we really think, unfettered by the filters that are normally in place. And that's what happened to me. I ended up speaking on the topic for a whole five minutes, and I heard from her that it was very inspiring. But most of what I'd said was new to me in that I'd never consciously vocalized it before. The feeling was weird. Anyway, I've decided to write about what I spoke, with two different perspectives. This will also be the foundation for my next article on re-framing and building a story. This dates back to my childhood. My parents were both wor...

It is that time of the year again--I turn a year older. As is my ritual, I introspect on the year that went by and write down all that I am grateful for. Previous years: 2016:  https://virtualramblings10.blogspot.com/2016/12/efmlthanksgiving.html 2017:  https://virtualramblings10.blogspot.com/2017/12/thanksgivingchangelog.html 2018:  https://virtualramblings10.blogspot.com/2018/12/thanksgiving-yesterday-today-and.html In my head, 2019 will be the year of my marriage, and that alone is enough to make it stand out in my life. This year has changed my life in several ways. I am extremely grateful to have found a partner as wonderful and inspiring as my husband. He has been and is crucial in reshaping my thinking. I've learnt several things from him. He taught me the difference between surviving and thriving, and that merely surviving wasn't enough. He is the opposite of complacent, and he has reinforced my tendencies to abhor the word "settle". He has taught...