Tag: Life
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From Conference Rooms to Bamboo Roads: Finding Purpose When Institutions Falter
Several budget freezes have occurred. Delayed fieldwork. The vacant posts were quietly absorbed into the budget as part of “efficiency savings.” The hallway talk shifted—from bold ideas to cautious speculation. “It’s just the cycle,” I was told. “Political winds. We’ve been through worse.” But this time felt different. Foundations were no longer shifting—they were splitting.
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Reflect on: What is the Oldest Thing You Are Wearing Today?
my Kyokushin Karate belt. Frayed at the edges from years of training, travel, and introspection, it is more than just a piece. It is more than just a piece of cloth. It holds stories of my journey. It symbolizes experiences far beyond its simple appearance. It’s become a physical chronicle of my path
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Mastering Leadership: Knowing When to Lead and When to Follow
For over fifteen years of work across three continents, a question has plagued me. It resurfaced recently. Am I truly a leader, or am I a follower? Through spectacular failures and occasional wins, I’ve discovered the answer hides in the messy middle.
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Redefining Freedom: Lessons from Everyday Life
Where in your life might you be measuring freedom through someone else’s yardstick? What would change if you redefined it as internal capacity rather than external circumstance?
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Redirecting Your Focus: Empowering Change in Your Life
I tried an experiment. For one month, I’d redirect all that mental energy toward things I could genuinely impact. These included my skills, my community involvement, and my actual relationships with actual humans
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Mindful Social Media: Authentic Island Living
My approach to social media is intentional, focusing on where my passions for island living, mindfulness, and wellness intersect. These, to me, are more important than chasing algorithms or metrics.
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Lessons Learned from My Aunt: A Story of Resilience
Living on our small island was akin to living in a closed environment. Everyone knew everyone’s business, and there were no secrets. As the child of a single mother in her early twenties, I had a label. I carried it before I even understood what it meant. Words like “illegitimate” floated around me like invisible…
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Finding Purpose: My Ikigai Journey
I never planned to discover my life’s purpose while hiding from the Port Louis, Mauritius rain. Yet there I was, ducking into a bookshop in Caudan one dreary Friday afternoon in October. I was shaking droplets from my shirt and wandering aimlessly through the shelves. At that moment, I saw the spine of “Ikigai: The…
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Unlocking Your Unique Identity: Beyond Personality
Introduction During my many years working as a national and international civil servant, I have led many initiatives. These initiatives have been in many countries. I’ve worked with hundreds of young professionals. One question consistently emerges during training or mentoring sessions: “How do I stand out in my field?” The assumption is that uniqueness is…
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At Five, I Didn’t Dream of Being a Statistician—Here’s How I Found My Calling
At five, I had no grand career dreams—just the simplicity of island life. Years later, I discovered statistics and built a thriving career. Here’s how embracing the unknown led me to a successful career. The Beauty of Not Knowing What You’ll Become When I was five, growing up on a small island, the idea of…
L J Padayachy 