My Musings – Page 18 – Not your ordinary tales

Prisoner to the Elements Against Which I Have No Defense

I thought I had prepared. Layers upon layers of fleece and down. Gloves thick enough to smother my fingers into numbness. A balaclava that left only my eyes exposed. Yet, none of it mattered. At 12,000 feet, the wind didn’t just cut through me—it claimed me. It howled through the valley, slapping my face raw, seeping into every gap I had failed to seal. I tried to walk faster, to generate warmth, but the air was thin, and my lungs had turned against me. Every breath felt like drinking through a straw. This wasn’t the first time I had …

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The Never-Ending Loop of Almost Getting There

I break promises to myself. I make plans, get excited, see results, and then somehow end up back where I started. It’s a cycle so predictable that I could set a calendar reminder for it. Get ambitious. Do well. Push harder. Fall apart. Feel like a failure. Reset. Repeat. The worst part? I see it happening in real time, and I still let it happen. It’s frustrating to watch myself create my own misery. It’s like I’m walking in circles, wondering why I’m not getting anywhere new. And at the core of it all, I keep looking for validation. If no …

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The Odd One Who Made It Anyway

I left home at 18, alone, from a small town in Rajasthan to study in Gujarat. I wasn't the kind of student anyone expected much from. School had been a battle—supplementary exams, barely scraping through. But something clicked in college. I went from being just another student to the best computer programmer in my batch. Not because I was a natural, but because I refused to be the person my past suggested I was. Then came Chennai. Another city, another fresh start. But this time, I was different. I wasn’t the underdog anymore. I was the …

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On Call in the Arctic: A Doctor’s Survival Guide to Miracles, Medicine, and Mayhem

Life has a way of sending curveballs, but few can rival the one thrown at Dr. Thomas Sims in 1971. Just as he was about to begin his pediatric surgical residency, Sims got the kind of letter that could derail even the best-laid plans: a draft notice for Vietnam. Instead of stitching wounds in a battlefield M.A.S.H. unit, Sims was offered a different type of war zone—Nome, Alaska. With his very pregnant wife, young daughter, and a van full of pets, he traded the temperate halls of California hospitals for the bone-chilling barrens of the Alaskan …

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Mastering Success in 2025: Action, Patience, and Letting Go of Perfectionism

The new year always feels like a clean slate. I used to think it was the perfect time to make bold plans. But if I’m being honest, those plans often got sidetracked by distractions. One minute, I’d be ready to tackle my goals, and the next, I’d be scrolling through my phone or zoning out to the latest Netflix show. Sound familiar? For the longest time, I couldn’t break that cycle. Every year, I set grand resolutions, only to get caught up in small, short-term rewards. I felt frustrated when nothing seemed to stick. The solution didn’t come …

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Keep Going: Why Obsession and Persistence Are the True X-Factors

When people talk about success, they often dress it up in shiny words. It sounds like they’ve cracked some magical code, an exclusive secret only a few are lucky enough to possess. But the truth? Success is far less glamorous than we think. What separates those who make it from those who don’t isn’t some ethereal "X-factor" or once-in-a-lifetime talent. It’s the relentless willingness to stick with it. Not for days. Not for weeks. For as long as it takes. The Illusion of Talent Ever noticed how people downplay their efforts after …

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