My first film-set experience

I love movies, this love started in childhood and still going on strong. Movies were the only entertainment that was available for free. India's national TV channel, Doordarshan, the only TV channel back then, used to telecast three movies per week, one in Hindi, one in Marathi (because we lived in Maharashtra where most people speak Marathi), and one in any other regional language. I tried to watch all three, even though we did not have our own TV set until my teenage years. I watch all kinds of movies, thanks to Doordarshan days as we could not select which movie to watch whatever was telecasted was a movie of our choice and we enjoyed it. 

However, I never got a chance to visit a movie set to see how actual movies are shot. I always wondered why there is a long list of people in the end credits and why moviemaking needs to involve so many people. My dream was fulfilled and most questions were answered this month. On May 23, I got to participate as an extra on the sets of a movie called ReEntry. My daughter, Sara, is working in the production unit of this movie and she told me that they needed some extras for a scene, I gladly volunteered and I am glad that I did. It was such an amazing and unforgettable experience to see the process and hard work that goes into moviemaking from such close quarters. We got to interact with the writer, assistant directors, production assistants, and other extras. Even though moviemaking is a group effort, movies are the director's medium. The director controls shots on the set, of course, there is a team to support the director, but the director is the captain of the team. There are so many things going on on the sets starting from arranging chairs to managing expensive camera units, food also has to be arranged for all people working on the set, it is amazing to see how all this works and how there is some system in what looks like chaos from the outside. Without passion and love, apart from actors I don't think people can work longer in the moviemaking profession. There is too much hassle and mental and physical work, without all the fame and love that only actors and a few others like really successful directors, producers, and writers get. Most people who do all the hard work are mentioned in the end credits the audience hardly cares to watch, but now I know that their contribution is equally important and many times is the reason why the movie looks so great. These are the people who make errands to get the mint that actors need before their intimate scene, they make sure that the lead actor's demands are fulfilled so that they are focused on giving a great shot, and they make sure extras are there on the set and are ready whenever a shot is ready, they make sure retakes are taken without any problem or boredom. A film set is an amusement park in itself, where many things happen and one can feel like being in a wonderland. My experience of witnessing filmmaking was great. This experience has made me appreciate the movies even more. Now, even after watching a bad movie, I can appreciate the efforts behind making it. Now, I feel that every movie deserves applause just for all the hard work the entire film crew puts in to make that movie and bring it to the audience.  

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

©Vinay Thakur,  Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com

We may never know the truth

We all need some basic ideas to build our principles and values. We strongly believe that our values and ideals are based on the truth and we base our entire value system on that perceived truth. In reality, the truth can change, and new evidence can counter or even prove them wrong, what is considered true today may not be true tomorrow in light of new evidence. This has happened in the past and may happen in the future too. Only religion can afford to have this rigid attitude and survive, most religions propagate things as eternal truths, things that cannot be questioned, and people believe them without any evidence. The interesting part is that people always want religions other than the one they follow to demonstrate their belief system with evidence but don't expect the same from their own religion. Another funny thing is that all religions claim that they are based on scientific facts without even providing any verifiable evidence about them. However, no matter what any religion says or what our belief system is, we should appreciate the fact that we may never know the real truth. We can only base our judgment on all the evidence and data we have today and be ready to accept new evidence if it counters our current set of values. This approach is what scientists take when they are performing their research, there is a hypothesis, but it may or may not be true based on the data collected after performing related experiments. Rigidity with our values causes polarization, hurt sentiments, and even communal riots. Why? Just because someone feels my belief system is better than someone else's, people kill each other just because of a difference of opinion. Humans are supposed to be intelligent and thinking creatures, and such acts challenge this notion. Whoever claims to know everything is the most ignorant person, no book on this planet has answers to all questions, there are many great books and many more will come, but they all are books, written by some human expressing their ideas or opinions, nothing more. Therefore, please accept the fact that we may never know the truth and be humble and kind. Be amenable to the fact that what we believe so passionately today may be proven wrong. This will be our greatest contribution towards preserving humanity and evolving our species one more step ahead of animals.

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

©Vinay Thakur,  Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com

Human fetish for permanency

Since smartphones have become integral parts of our lives most of us have got into the habit of capturing every moment on camera. Even people who go to watch stage shows, concerts, or movies try to take pictures of the show or theater to capture those moments with their cameras. I was trying to do the same while watching a beautiful sunset, the place is immaterial as we give too much importance to places, but it was a beautiful sunset. While clicking pictures I realized that nature doesn't try to keep anything permanent, this beautiful sunset will last for a few minutes and will fade away permanently and there will be again something equally stunning tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. It is we, humans who try to fix things and define beauty by those fixed standards, nature doesn't care, every day it creates something new, and every moment it erases something permanently. Nature doesn't have a Monalisa portrait because it doesn't need it, it can create a new beauty every day, every moment. What we see today didn't exist a few thousand years ago and what will exist after thousand years we can't see today. Human fetish for permanency has created so much chaos that we try to memorialize every moment of our lives as if there won't be another equally wonderful moment. One can understand capturing a few special moments like both, weddings, funerals, and a few more, but we try to capture our lunches, dinners, and even breakfasts. Even after knowing that we should be enjoying the present moment to the fullest, we get busy creating memories for the future while that magical moment is happening right in front of us. Photos and videos are nice, but they are not a substitute for enjoying the present moment. Enjoy many and capture few, capture first and enjoy letter rarely works, just check how many photos and videos that you recorded by spending countless hours you rewatched. 

Please take a pause and enjoy the surroundings, look at it without the camera lens and try to capture it in your mind, smell the air and feel light, experience the atmosphere, and feel the warmth of love and joy of having people around you.

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

©Vinay Thakur,  Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com  

Restless mind

The human brain is a complex organ. We still don't understand it completely, but we know about it much better than any of our previous generations. Many of us have a restless mind, I am one of them. Often, it is hard to control our thinking, the more we try to control the more mind resists, and the more we try to stop, the more it persists. A restless mind or a continuous unending stream of thoughts can be a challenging and exhausting experience. This affects our ability to focus or concentrate and may induce a feeling of being overwhelmed and stressed. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with the restless mind, it's not a one-time fix or a permanent cure, we need to practice whatever works for us regularly. 

One of the main reasons for a restless mind is stress. Stress could be a result of lack of sleep or some other factors. When we experience stress, our body releases cortisol, a hormone that prepares us for the fight-or-flight response. This hormone and the corresponding response are very necessary for our survival, this is how humans survived many attacks in the past and prevented our species from getting extinct. However, in today's world, this can lead to a racing mind as our thoughts become focused on perceived but not actual threats or problems. Our minds can become overstimulated and unable to focus on a single thing. Racing thoughts are not easy to handle. 

A chronic restless mind could have far-reaching effects. It may affect our ability to focus on work or study effectively, as our concentration and attention span are affected. It can also lead to anxiety and depression as we may become overwhelmed by the constant stream of negative thoughts and emotions. It may also affect our personal lives by affecting our relationships as we may struggle to be present while being with others, this may cause us to become irritable or easily frustrated. Also, we may need something to constantly distract our mind so that it doesn't get trapped in a negative stream of emotions, this can lead to more restlessness.

Fortunately, there are some strategies that we can develop that can help us to manage a restless mind. One of the strategies is to focus on the present moment and observe the thoughts without judgment. As I mentioned, the more we resist, the more it persists. So, allowing our thoughts to flow without getting affected by them results in some calmness as we are not trying to react to every thought that comes to our minds. This can help to reduce stress and calm the mind. Thoughts will come and go, but we just observe them without any judgment. It is difficult to do, but one can learn this by practice. Many also benefit from mindfulness meditation, it is basically the same thing, observing our mind without any judgment, but is a different setting with some set routine. People who try to control their minds by controlling the flow of thoughts often fail to get the benefits of meditation. I agree with the fact that meditation does not work for everybody, but if you are struggling with a restless mind, it is worth a shot. Another strategy is physical exercise. It doesn't have to be a gym workout of tracking, a simple half an hour walk is enough to reduce stress and improve clarity. Getting enough sleep is also an important factor, but if we work on other aspects sleep pattern automatically improves as lack of enough sleep is most of the time related to some other habits that impact our sleep directly or indirectly. If there is no change in the restlessness of the mind even after trying all this, then it is important to get professional help. There are many options like wellness counseling, therapy, and mindfulness sessions, that can help. A mental health professional can also provide some additional strategies that are not listed here to manage the symptoms of a restless mind and improve overall mental health.  

A restless mind can become challenging and exhausting if no attention is given, it is important to acknowledge it and take suitable steps to manage it. There is no one size fits all solution for this, humans are very complex organisms and we need to find what works best for us. All of us face some mental health-related issues, there is nothing wrong in acknowledging them and taking necessary steps to manage them, it helps to improve our overall mental health.     

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com 

Effect of gender equality on relationships

Like our society, our personal relationships are also heavily influenced by patriarchal traditions. As feminist movements are pushing for more gender equality, it is bound to affect our personal relationships. Exploitation, domestic abuse, and toxic relationships are all results of gender inequality where one partner dominates and exploits another partner. Due to the patriarchal nature of our world in most of these cases victims of exploitation are females. 

Patriarchy is a default setting for all of us, we all are born in patriarchy, it is the system that has been prevalent in all cultures, societies, and countries for centuries. Generations have lived in patriarchy and there is a strong social, cultural, and religious culture that propagates it in various ways. We don't have to do anything special to propagate patriarchy, it exists around us, and we all become part of it as that's the culture we inherit in all societies. Individual families sometimes may differ, but even those families live in societies that are patriarchal. The patriarchal mindset has been challenged by the gender equality movement, also called feminism. Feminism has challenged gender discrimination at every level and in this process, it has also affected the dynamics of male-female relationships. For most men, it is not easy to live with a strong-minded and/or opinionated woman. Men not only feel threatened but also feel the loss of power and control of the relationship that they had for centuries. At the same time, it is a big challenge for women to find a partner who understands the changed dynamics and is comfortable with the situation that none of our previous generations encountered as far as male-female relationships are concerned. This is also why many men are hesitant to say that they are feminists, they mistakenly feel that they are subscribing to some ideology like communism or capitalism, they completely miss the point that feminism is not about any ideology but it is about gender equality, nothing more. 

When one partner shares his/her complaints and expresses what he/she expects the other partner to improve or do, this should be treated as an invitation to make that relationship stronger, not as a sign of a dysfunctional relationship. Ignoring this invitation is a sign of the dismissal of the other partner's feelings. Couples argue over many things, and the more candid the relationship more arguments as two reasonable people can have different views on many subjects. This is also why many couples go for counseling. There are increased rates of divorce not because couples are fighting more but because females are more aware of their needs and rights. The current generation of females is more financially independent than any other previous generations of females in the history of humankind. As females are getting more independent they are less tolerant of misogynist and patriarchal behavior. They object more and take firm stands, and they are not hesitant to walk out of a toxic relationship. This has resulted in more standoffs between couples, and I don't see this necessarily as a bad thing. Previously, females had no bargaining power in a relationship because of their financial dependence. Women were forced to stay in a relationship devoid of any love and respect just because there never used to be an option to leave. Feminism and financial independence have provided more independence for women, they don't have to be in a relationship where there is nothing but exploitation for them. The shift of bargaining power, increased financial independence, and the ability to walk away if the situation doesn't improve are three of the biggest effects of gender equality on relationships. 

Candid conversations in a relationship and expressing each other's concerns and complaints is a good thing. This is a sign of a functional and breathing relationship where partners are not silent over things that matter to them. As females are becoming more vocal, more debates happen in any balanced relationship. However, this exchange requires some amount of maturity and understanding from both sides. No one likes to have endless arguments and go in circles. When two people feel that they both are right and the other is wrong, there is a need for a third objective person who can help to decide which direction to move, hence therapy and counseling help in these situations. Even after seeking professional help and giving their best, if a couple can't find any common ground, then it is better to move on rather than stay together and resent each other. Expressing our complaints and what we need from our partner is not nagging or putting a strain on our relationship, rather it is an invitation to make that relationship stronger. If we can't accept this invitation then it is better to have an open discussion to see if there is any common ground or if both need to go in different directions. Not all things need to work, but at the same time, not all breakups need to be ugly and messy. Life is a beautiful gift from nature, if we can avoid resentment and grudge we should choose that path rather than moving on with bitterness. Respect disagreements, learn to listen and understand before you speak and counter, try to get an objective opinion before you conclude, and move on with a positive note before you slam the door shut. It may be hard to deal with gender equality but if you give it a chance you won't regret it.   

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

© Vinay Thakur,  Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com   

Guddu and Vinay

Having a nickname used to be a common thing in our neighborhood. Rarely anyone was addressed by their actual or official name, that is, the name of their school certificate. I also had a nickname "Guddu." My entire neighborhood, my family, and other relatives knew me by this name, many of these people didn't even know my real name, Vinay. Many of these people still know and address me as Guddu. But in my school, college, and beyond life, I am known as Vinay, very few from this circle even know my nickname. When I look back, I find it interesting how Guddu and Vinay were two different versions of the same person and how I struggled to find any common ground between these versions. Somehow Guddu was more like a boy from the hood, living in an underprivileged neighborhood, a chawl, roaming and playing with kids that belonged to the same underprivileged socio-economic background, and who was very comfortable in clothes like lungi and banyan, I even used to play cricket wearing a lungi. On the other hand, Vinay was more like a school-going, intelligent, studious guy, whose college friends never or rarely visited the place where he lived. I think I consciously tried to shield my neighborhood and nickname from my more privileged friends for many years until I realized that my own insecurities and self-doubts were the reasons behind it, most of my friends never cared about where I came from or what was my nickname. Since then, my identities merged, Guddu is no more different than Vinay, and I don't mind which name people use to refer to me, for my chawl, I am still Guddu, and the rest of the world knows me as Vinay. This may not be a very interesting topic for many, but I decided to write about it as I know that there might be many like me who struggle with their identities when they enter into a more privileged world. If you are one such person, please remember that people who really love you and care about you, do this for who you are, this is irrespective of your background, social and economic status, or your name. If they don't want to associate with you because of where you come then it is better to stay away from such people. Embrace your identity and be proud of yourself for what you are, we don't need any borrowed or concealed identity to get accepted. Let's create our own space with our own terms and conditions, this is a simple message I want to convey in this short post. 

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com 

Reminiscing and overthinking

Who doesn't like to make a well-informed decision? Since the internet invaded our lives, we have most of the information we need available on our phones and laptops. This has its own pros and cons. Because of all the information at our disposal, we are more prone to ruminate (or reminisce) and overthink more than our ancestors used to do. Reminiscing and overthinking are two different mental processes that often get confused with each other because both involve thinking about past events, but they differ significantly in their purpose, focus, and impact on our mental health.

While reminiscing, we recall and reflect on past experiences or relationships. We try to analyze them and gain some perspective from our past experiences. Often, this is a healthy and normal process that helps us to make sense of our behavior and lives, gain some perspective, and derive meaning from our past experiences. Reminiscing if done occasionally, is typically a positive and nostalgic experience that can bring us joy, comfort, and a sense of connection to our past. It can be triggered by various stimuli, such as a song, a smell, a photo, a letter, a thing (souvenir), or a conversation. It can lead to positive emotions such as happiness, gratitude, and contentment. At the same time, if we ruminate only about negative experiences like trauma or tragedy, it can also increase our anxiety and deteriorate our mental health. Depending on what is the trigger, reminiscing can be an extremely rewarding or frustrating experience.

On the other hand, overthinking refers to the tendency to obsessively ruminate on past events or worry excessively about the future. It is a negative and counterproductive process that can lead to anxiety, stress, and even depression. Overthinking rarely involves any positive thoughts, it often involves dwelling on negative thoughts or feelings, such as deep regrets, mistakes, fears, loss, or uncertainties. It can lead to a cycle of self-doubt, second guesses about decisions already made, and can lead to a cycle of self-doubt and self-criticism. It can also be triggered by various factors such as a traumatic event, difficult decisions, buyer's remorse, or any other challenging situation. It can result in negative emotions such as sadness, guilt, self-doubt, and shame.

So, how to differentiate between them. Overthinking and reminiscing both involve ruminating about past events. One way to differentiate between them is to look at their purpose and focus. While reminiscing is focused on gaining insights, wisdom, and positive emotions from our past experiences; overthinking is focused on avoiding or fixing negative outcomes and is often driven by fear of failure, rejection, or loss. Reminiscing helps us to appreciate the good things that have happened in our lives and learn from the challenges we face. In contrast, overthinking leads to a cycle of worry and self-doubt that can be hard to break. Another way to differentiate them is to look at their impact on our mental health. Reminiscing is generally a positive and beneficial process that can improve mood, boost our self-esteem, make us feel good and nostalgic about the past, and enhance our social and personal connections. It can also help us to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression by providing us a sense of continuity and stability in our lives. In contrast, overthinking is generally a negative and harmful process that can worsen our mood, lower our self-esteem, increase self-doubt, and damage our relationships. It can also lead to physical symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, and fatigue. Reminiscing is focused on appreciation and learning, whereas overthinking is focused on avoidance and fixing. These are two distinct mental processes that we confuse, but it is important to differentiate them as they differ in their purpose, focus, and impact on our mental health.

Can we avoid overthinking and just stick to the positive aspects of reminiscing? No, it is not possible, otherwise, our brain would have adapted to do that to avoid self-harm. All we can do is understand the difference between them and try to cultivate a healthier and more balanced relationship with both processes. It will help us to improve our focus on our past by learning to focus on the positive and let go of the negative. It's not easy as we often fall into the trap of overthinking, and as I already mentioned, we are more prone now as we have so much information fed to us. Nowadays, even the simple process of booking an airline ticket or a hotel reservation can be mind-boggling. Try to reminisce about good memories of the past and avoid falling into the trap of overthinking. All the very best.  

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

©Vinay Thakur,  Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com

Gender equality and parenting

Parenting is a tough job. Ask any parent living in a nuclear family, and they will attest to how demanding this job is. Not only it's a 24/7 responsibility, but it is also a job where you yourself may become the biggest critic of your own performance. The job has become more challenging as families have become nuclear. In joint families, due to the presence of extra human power, there was more help and advice available for parents. It not only made their job physically less demanding but also reduced anxiety related to making mistakes as there used to be an ample dose of unsolicited parental advice. However, this is not to comment that joint families are any better than nuclear families or vice versa. Whether people want to live with their parents or siblings is entirely a personal choice, there are pros and cons for both arrangements, but the reality is that the world is moving towards a nuclear family structure. 

Another important aspect of today's parenting is increased gender equality compared to the parenting methods of the past. Even though it is true that our society is still heavily influenced by patriarchy, we have made tremendous progress toward gender equality, and today's parents practice a much more gender-neutral parenting approach compared to the parents of my generation. This has added challenges for parents like me who have to play a balancing act of challenging our own parent's values and beliefs while defending our gender-balanced approach to parenting. Let me accept that gender-equal parenting is not easy, especially when you come from a heavily gender-biased and patriarchal culture. People around you not only question your methods but also question your intelligence and sanity. It would have been fine if the questioning stopped at you, but it doesn't. These people question your kids, comment on their behavior, and taunt them for living a life with a different set of values than what the gender-biased society commands. In the beginning, this is worrisome and it puts a lot of pressure on parents. They question their own judgments. It is easier to subscribe to traditions and cultures than to question them, that's why most don't try to question them. Parents who dare to take a different path face a lot of uncertainty as there is no example within their own family or community that can assure them that their approach will work. Such parents often ask themselves, whether it is worth putting their kids through this and expect that the kids will be able to defend their values and remain committed to gender equality or cave into the pressures of patriarchy and family pressure. 

Despite all these anxieties and challenges, I feel gender-balanced or gender-neutral parenting is worth a shot. I don't regret it. Yes, the challenges are there, but the satisfaction that you did not become a hurdle in the life of your own child because of their gender trumps all challenges and uncertainties. Also, in this process, your own children teach you a lot about subtle gender discrimination that still remains within us. It is not always a pleasant experience to get exposed to our own biases and prejudices, especially, when we try hard to eliminate them, but it is necessary if you want to improve as a human being. If you are thinking about challenging gender stereotypes within your own family, culture, or society, please go for it, you may face many hurdles, but you won't regret your efforts.      

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

©Vinay Thakur,  Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com  

Old and beautiful

Getting old is a privilege. Not everyone gets an opportunity to get old and live a fulfilling life. Of course, aging causes many changes to our bodies and minds. Our looks change, we don't look the same as we used to during our younger age, and our health also starts getting affected depending on how much attention we pay to it. We may become more fragile and forgetful, and no matter how careful we are our health may not be the same as it was in our twenties, and we may suffer some personal losses as older people around us die. This may make us more aware of our mortality. While this can be a very daunting realization, it can also act as a powerful motivator to do things that we like and live our lives to the fullest. Our increasing age can encourage us to take more risks and pursue our dreams, knowing that time is precious and not to be wasted.

Getting old offers some more privileges. We have a chance to use our acquired knowledge and wisdom for the benefit of our society. Through a lifetime of experience, we learn valuable lessons about how to navigate the world, and we can share this with others so that they benefit from our experience. If we keep our minds open, we develop a better and deeper understanding of ourselves and others and become better equipped to handle life's challenges. Passing on this wisdom to our younger generation can be a great source of satisfaction and fulfillment.  Many of us spend our younger years rushing from one thing to another, working like crazy to establish ourselves, always striving for success and accomplishment. Depending on our social and family background our struggles take very different paths, and many of us have to charter unknown paths to establish ourselves. But as we age, we learn to appreciate simple things in life and spend some quality time with our loved ones. As we age, we can also try to give back to our communities by volunteering, mentoring young people, or working toward causes we care about. For many, the realization that simple things in life can bring the greatest possible joy can be the biggest privilege of getting old. This sense of purpose and self-realization can be incredibly rewarding and can help us stay engaged and connected to others.

Old age also comes with different looks. Actually, we are supposed to look different at every stage of life, that's a natural process. As we grow old, we are supposed to become more comfortable in our skin. However, with constant brainwashing and stereotyping, most of us have been convinced that looking old is not cool. Most of us are convinced that we should consistently look younger than our age until we die, and looking old means looking sick or weak or whatever but not beautiful. This taboo associated with looking old has forced many to conceal their old-age looks. Especially, women are targeted for aging-related medical or cosmetic procedures. Because of all this, people go for cosmetic surgery or use medications to look younger than their actual age. I am not against using makeup or the desire to look beautiful, but I am against the notion that old is not beautiful and only the young can be beautiful. If this is not stereotyping age-related looks then I wonder what it is. People don't hesitate to display their wealth, knowledge, or heritage but they shy away from showing their age when there is nothing as natural as aging. So, be old and beautiful, and be comfortable about your own age and looks, after all, the world is moving towards more natural food, a natural way of living, then, why not more natural looks. 

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com 

Take a break

We all struggle to find free time in today's fast-paced world. Now with the added dimension of the work-from-home option in our professional life, it is easy to fall into the trap of constant productivity and busyness. With the advent of social media, everyone seems to be happy and rich. We often feel pressure to work long hours, take on additional work, and always be available to others so that others are happy with us and we keep our good professional standing as many things in our life depend on it. In all this, we neglect one thing, "taking a break," even though we all know that it is necessary to take a break regularly for our overall well-being and productivity. 

Many of us know that taking a break is necessary for us to recharge and renew our energy, but we fail to practice this in our daily lives. When we are constantly working or doing anything without a break (like binge-watching TV shows), our physical and mental energy levels get depleted. This can lead to burnout, stress, and even physical health problems such as fatigue, anxiety, headaches, and insomnia. Energy drinks, tea, coffee, or any other stimulants can help a little but they can add their own complexity and it is best to avoid getting dependent on any stimulant. A regular break from our routine work gives our bodies and minds a chance to rest and recover, it allows us to return to work with renewed energy and focus. 

Taking a break can improve our creativity and problem-solving abilities. It may sound like a stretch, but think about it. When we are constantly working on any given task, our minds can become stagnant and saturated, making it difficult to come up with new ideas or solutions thus hampering our creativity. A simple occasional break allows us to step back from the problem and approach it from a different angle, a fresh mind can lead to fresh insights and creative solutions. There is another unintended benefit of taking a break, it can improve our relationships with others. When we are constantly working, or are busy with some personal stuff, we may unintentionally ignore and neglect our relationships with friends, family, and colleagues. Taking a break allows us to spend time with our loved ones. It allows us to participate in more social activities, catch up with the lives of others, and build stronger and mutually rewarding relationships with those around us. This can lead to a sense of connection, belonging, and fulfillment that can improve our overall well-being. I don't think everyone appreciates this aspect of taking a break, but I feel this is one of the important benefits that is often ignored.

Taking a break also improves our overall productivity and well-being. While it may seem counterintuitive, taking regular breaks can actually help us to get more done in less time. Working continuously for long periods is not always the most efficient way to finish a task, it often leads to fatigue and stagnation. By taking regular breaks, we can avoid burnout, maintain our energy levels, and maintain our creativity. This often leads to a more productive outcome by increasing our focus and allowing us to accomplish more in less time. Therefore, taking regular breaks is essential for our overall well-being and productivity. Please take a break. Allow yourself to rest and recharge. This will improve your physical as well as mental health. It will also improve your creativity and strengthen your relationships. Take a break. 

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

© Vinay Thakur, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com