Duck Soup For The Soul

Welcome to modern success, where eyebags are a badge of honor and sleep is treated like an embarrassing childhood habit you should have outgrown by now. If you’re getting eight hours a night, congratulations—you’re clearly not trying hard enough. In today’s motivational ecosystem, success isn’t measured by happiness, health, or—God forbid—balance. It’s measured by how many cups of coffee you can inhale before your hands start shaking and how proudly you announce, “I only slept three hours,” like it’s an Olympic achievement. Gold medal for burnout, everyone clap. We’ve been sold the dream that if you just grind harder, wake up earlier, and reply to emails at 2 a.m., the universe will eventually reward you with wealth, purpose, and maybe a spine that doesn’t ache permanently. Sleep, we’re told, is for people who lack ambition. Or freelancers who haven’t discovered anxiety yet. The irony, of course, is delicious. We’re exhausted while chasing productivity tips written by peopl...

There is a quiet assassin that lives inside us. It does not carry a weapon, it does not leave fingerprints, and it never needs an alibi. It’s called your own mind. When left unchecked, it kills faster than failure, rejection, or misfortune ever could. Not through violence, but through overthinking, anxiety, self-doubt, and mental exhaustion — slow poison disguised as “being responsible” or “thinking ahead.” Modern life has turned worry into a badge of honor. People brag about how stressed they are, as if stress equals importance. But here’s a bitter truth: stress does not mean you’re strong — it means you’re carrying things alone that you were never meant to carry in the first place. Look closely at the things that keep you awake at night: the behavior of other people, the economy, political noise, gossip, who said what about you, past mistakes, future uncertainties. Ninety percent of it lies outside your control. And yet, it’s the cage most people live in. We try to fight storms with ...

The 'Do You Know Who I Am?' Delusion In the grand theater of modern retail, the curtain never fully falls. A chorus of smartphones zips through the air, a chorus line of loyalty programs and VIP lounges hums in the background, and somewhere between a scented candle display and a stack of glossy receipts stands a familiar creature that seems to have multiplied with every new app update: the customer who swaggeringly asks, “Do you know who I am?” If you’ve worked front-line service, you know this species by its distinctive aroma: entitlement with a hint of toxicity, wrapped in a smile that feels curated rather than earned. The demand arrives like a sudden plot twist in a soap opera you didn’t audition for. It isn’t about product knowledge, pricing, or policy—it's about status. The customer believes that their perceived importance grants them a special exemption from the ordinary rules that govern the rest of us, including simple human courtesy. The delusion wears many costume...

We love labels. They’re neat, they’re tidy, and they save us from doing the messy work of actually understanding people. “Oh, she’s an introvert.” “He’s such an extrovert.” As if one word could sum up the maddening complexity of human behaviour. But life has a way of blowing holes in these categories. The so-called “introvert” who avoids office chatter suddenly becomes the life of the party at a cousin’s wedding. The “extrovert” who thrives in meetings freezes into awkward silence at a dinner table of strangers. Which is it? The truth is we don’t have one personality—we have many, shaped and triggered by the situations we find ourselves in. Psychologists call this situational personality, but anyone with a social life already knows it intuitively. You act differently with your boss than with your childhood friends. You reveal one version of yourself on social media and another in private. It isn’t hypocrisy—it’s adaptability. Yet society clings to the introvert/extrovert binary as if i...

Why did you do that? No, really—why? Why did you buy that glow-in-the-dark yoga mat when you don’t even do yoga? Why did you text your ex at 2 a.m. with a message that could be summed up as “help me, I’m lonely and reckless”? Why did you order dessert after publicly declaring you were “cutting down on sugar”? Welcome to the land of human impulse—the split-second kingdom where logic takes a holiday and desire drives the car. We like to think we’re rational beings, but truthfully, we’re just overgrown toddlers with credit cards, smartphones, and enough self-awareness to regret things five minutes after doing them. And yet, here’s the kicker: these blunders aren’t random. Every “what was I thinking?” moment has a trigger, and decoding it can be more enlightening than a TED Talk. Stress, boredom, hunger, FOMO, or the universal curse of scrolling social media at midnight—each plays puppeteer with our behaviour. This is why you need a “Why Did I Do That?” journal. Not a glossy, Instagrammabl...

AI: How much of my life could it make easier, more creative, or more fun? In today's fast-paced world, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we live, work, and play. From personalized recommendations on streaming platforms to virtual assistants handling our daily tasks, AI has become an integral part of our lives. But just how much could it make our lives easier, more creative, or more fun? The answer is: quite a lot. AI can streamline mundane chores, freeing up our time for what truly matters. Automated scheduling, smart home devices, and AI-powered customer service reduce stress and increase efficiency. For example, virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa can set reminders, control household devices, or answer questions, saving us the hassle of manual effort. This allows us to focus on passions and relationships instead of routine tasks. Creativity is also being amplified by AI. Artists, writers, and musicians now use AI tools to inspire and generate ideas. AI algori...

Why Every Day is a New Opportunity The alarm clock rings. For some, it’s a jarring interruption to a peaceful sleep. For others, it’s the most powerful sound in the world—the starting gun for a brand new day. How you hear that sound depends entirely on your perspective. Because the truth is, embedded in those first few moments of wakefulness is a profound gift: the undeniable fact that every single day is a new opportunity. It’s easy to become trapped in the momentum of yesterday. A mistake at work, a harsh word spoken, a goal left unmet—these can cast a long shadow, making today feel like a mere extension of past failures. But this is a trick of the mind. Each sunrise is a hard reset. It’s the universe’s way of giving you a clean slate, a fresh 24-hour canvas upon which you can paint anything you choose. You are not defined by what you did yesterday, but by what you choose to do today. This daily renewal is the fundamental building block of all success. Massive, life-altering change r...