The Mental Compass

February is the shortest month of the year, with just 28 days and sometimes 29. It often feels quick and “incomplete”. But its short length is not a plain coincidence or calculation mistake. February’s extremely short duration comes from ancient calendars, rituals, and the ways people first estimated time using the sky. To understand the basis of this, we have to go back to the moon. A moon cycle is the time it takes for the moon to change from a new moon to a full moon and back to a new moon again. This takes about 29 and a half days. Since a cycle repeats itself, it wasn't long before people noticed and mapped the patterns shown during the cycle, creating a calendar. A calendar based on the moon is called a lunar calendar. In a lunar calendar, each month begins with a new moon and follows the moon’s phases. Twelve lunar months make up a year in this system. Many early societies used these lunar calendars because the moon was easy to observe, before and after the sun would come. I...

In the remote village of Longwa in Nagaland stands one of the most extraordinary homes in the world, the house of the Angh, the traditional king. Unlike any other residence, this majestic wooden structure sits directly on the international border that separates India and Myanmar. The line isn’t symbolic; it literally runs through the middle of his home, dividing rooms and spaces between two sovereign nations. Villagers often say, “We cook in Burma and eat in India,” a simple sentence that captures the fluid coexistence of two identities, two cultures, and two ways of life within a single household. This rare reality offers a powerful metaphor for the way emotional borders and internal landscapes work within us. The Angh’s house is built in traditional Konyak Naga style, massive, carved beams, wooden pillars etched with ancestral patterns, and a roof that feels both protective and commanding. From its hilltop view, the structure overlooks vast stretches of both India and Myanmar, remi...

The story of Phineas Gage is one of the most fascinating in the history of neuroscience. His accident not only amazed doctors at the time but also changed the way we understand the brain and personality changes, making it an important discovery in the field of Psychology. What We Know About the Phineas Gage Incident Phineas Gage was born in 1823 in Grafton, New Hampshire, US. He grew up in a rural environment and worked on farms and small construction projects before becoming a railroad construction foreman. By the time of his accident, he was known to be responsible, hardworking, and well-liked by his colleagues. In 1848, while working on the Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Cavendish, Vermont, Gage was preparing explosives to blast rock when an iron rod accidentally shot through his skull. The rod entered below his left cheekbone and exited through the top of his head. Remarkably, against all odds,  Gage survived. Many textbooks emphasize that the accident changed his personali...

In the digital age, identity formation has undergone a radical transformation, particularly for Generation Z, those born from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z has grown up with the internet and social media as omnipresent influences, shaping their perceptions of self and the world around them. This generation experiences identity as a fluid and multifaceted construct, shaped by a complex interplay of personal, social, and digital interactions.  One of the most significant aspects of identity formation for Gen Z is the prevalence of social media as a platform for self-expression and feedback. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and similar platforms enable young individuals to cultivate their identities through curated images, videos, and narratives. The desire for acceptance and validation in these digital spaces can foster a sense of belonging but can also lead to anxiety and pressure to conform to idealized standards. As they present different facets ...

When Achievement Feels Uncomfortable Success is typically viewed as something beneficial. We assume that when we achieve our objectives, we will be proud, serene, and confident. However, for many people, success evokes a peculiar sense of terror rather than delight. Instead of rejoicing, they start to worry. Instead of feeling capable, they feel vulnerable. A student who receives great grades may suddenly feel pressured to maintain that level. A young professional who is promoted may be concerned that others may realize they are not fully capable. An artist who receives praise may wonder if the next work will fail. Success becomes heavy. This experience is more common than we think. It shows that achievement does not always heal insecurity. Sometimes it reveals it. Understanding Impostor Syndrome Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern where a person doubts their abilities even when there is clear evidence of competence. They believe their success is due to luck, timing, or extern...

  There’s a quiet superpower we don’t talk about enough, our emotional vocabulary. Not the big, flowery words we use in essays, but the tiny, everyday ones that slip into our conversations, arguments, apologies, and even the way we speak to ourselves. We underestimate how much damage or relief a single sentence can carry. But the truth is simple: emotional vocabulary shapes the way we connect, the way we cope, and most importantly, the way we understand ourselves. Most of us grew up in homes where emotional language was… well, limited. If you were sad, you were told to “stop overreacting.” If you were anxious, you were asked to “be strong.” If you were angry, suddenly you were “disrespectful.” Many of us didn’t learn the difference between frustration and rage, worry and fear, disappointment and rejection. So we ended up mislabelling everything as “I’m fine” until our bodies started screaming what our words refused to say. Emotional vocabulary didn’t fail us, we were simply never h...

Gen Z has officially entered its villain era, and by villain, I mean the generation that finally decided to stop suffering in silence just to look “hardworking.” They want soft lives. Soft routines. Soft friendships. Soft everything. But is it really softness, or a quiet rebellion disguised as candle-lit self-care? Let’s be honest: Gen Z didn’t choose the soft life. The soft life chose them the moment life started throwing plot twists that even Netflix wouldn’t approve of. They grew up with economic instability, global panic, rising expectations, and that constant pressure of “Do what you love, but also earn 6 figures by 23.” So yes, if Gen Z now wants an evening cup of chamomile tea instead of crying into their laptop at 2 a.m., maybe… just maybe… they deserve it. The term “soft life” often gets misunderstood. People think it means laziness, entitlement, or vibes-only attitudes. But if you actually talk to a Gen Z adult today, half the time they’re multitasking six emotional breakdow...

Love isn’t just an emotion. It is a nutrition that physically shapes a child’s brain, influencing their emotional, cognitive, and social development. From infancy to adolescence, children’s brains are constantly forming neural connections based on their past experiences. When a child receives quality love, care, and support, their brain develops in a way that fosters resilience, confidence, and emotional well-being. Neuroscience studies show that children with consistent parental love experience the release of oxytocin, known as the “bonding hormone,” which strengthens emotional regulation and trust. Love also reduces cortisol; if stress hormones take over, it can impair brain development and may lead to anxiety, depression, or difficulty in forming relationships. Emotional nutrition provides not only mental well-being but also physical well-being. For healthy emotional nutrition, children need emotional validation, a healthy environment, good peer groups, and appropriate parenting sty...

Health Optimization Within recent years, the search for optimal health has become an increasingly mainstream culture. Enabled and driven by scientific and technological advancements and readily available knowledge on health and wellness, an ever-growing number of people are fervently dedicated to bettering and optimizing their own personal health.  Although well-meaning and initially driven by good intentions, some individuals might soon discover that the obsession with optimal health becomes an addiction, an obsessive and addictive behavior with potentially detrimental effects.  In this article, I would like to share my curiosity about this recent obsession: health and fitness trends. Here, I will discuss health optimization addiction, its implications, motivations, and modern tendencies surrounding it. Comprehending Health Optimization Addiction Health optimization addiction can be described as an obsessive preoccupation with enhancing overall health and longevity through he...