Husain Journal

I used to think boundaries were for other people — the ones who were strict, disciplined, or assertive. Me? I just went along, said yes, and tried to keep everyone happy. It started small. A family member would ask me to spend a little extra on something “important,” a friend would expect me to be available at odd hours, and colleagues would slip tasks onto my plate without asking. I didn’t mind at first. I shrugged it off, telling myself, “It’s fine. I can handle it.” But over time, I noticed something. That quiet tension in my chest, the subtle frustration that I couldn’t shake, the evenings I spent worrying instead of resting — it was all piling up. And I realised, slowly but painfully, that I had no boundaries. The Wake-Up Call The moment that changed everything was simple. I was tracking my monthly expenses and savings — something I had been doing for years — and I noticed how often I was giving away money or energy without thin...

“You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.” — Marcus Aurelius Earlier, it was Facebook. Before that, Orkut. Then email. Even the daily horoscope. And now? It’s Groww. The stock market. I feel a regular itch to check my portfolio—whether my shares have gone up or down. I know this urge is a waste of time. Monitoring the market’s tiny daily movements doesn’t help. Experts say the same, and their reasoning is solid, grounded, unarguable. And yet? I still give in to the impulse. I keep checking, even though I know it steals my time and attention—leaving less room for real, productive work. But if productivity is my aim, I must be ruthless about weeding out habits that hold me back. If I clearly know that a certain activity doesn’t contribute to my growth, there’s no excuse for continuing it. I need to kill my base impulses, however intense they feel in the moment. Doing that would fr...

Why I Challenge Myself to Write 500 Words in 10 Minutes Every Morning Every morning, before the market opens, I sit down and write. It’s not always easy. In fact, I deliberately make it a little hard. My goal? 500 words in 10 minutes. It might sound intense—and it is—but I’ve done it before, many times. And every time I do, I get a little better. A little faster. A little more confident in my ability to express myself, even when the words aren’t flowing perfectly. The Power of Tough Daily Challenges I believe in pushing boundaries. Not to the point of burnout, but enough to feel discomfort—the kind that signals growth. If I always stayed within my comfort zone, how would I improve? So I set tough, time-boxed goals like these to sharpen my skills. But I also keep it realistic. Writing 1,000 words in 10 minutes? That’s just chaos. But 500? That’s my sweet spot. It forces me to think, to focus, and—most importantly—to let go of perfecti...