Category: Mind Sciences

My Readables > Mind Sciences

Do We Really Know the Meaning of Paying Attention to Something?

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

Do We Really Know the Meaning of Paying Attention to Something?
By Ahmad Amirali

Recently I watched a movie ‘Sherlock Holmes (2009)’ starring Robert Downey Jr. as Mr Holmes and Jude Law as Dr Watson along with a couple of other Hollywood stars. The plot of the movie spun around a character of Sherlock Holmes who is a fictional consulting detective in London 1880-1914 created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (GoodReads). Holmes is a master of disguise, reasoned logically to solve mysterious cases through his remarkable sense of observation and analytical skills. However, I am not writing this article to share you with my reflections about the movie; instead, I started wondering what the true art of paying attention to anything is? Or to be precise, do we really know what it means when we say ‘we are paying attention to something’? Continue reading “Do We Really Know the Meaning of Paying Attention to Something?” →

Why Self-Affirmation is Important to Support Struggling Adults and Students

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

Why Self-Affirmation is Important to Support Struggling Adults and Students
By Ahmad Amirali

Yesterday, I had a small conversation with one of my colleagues, discussing her future career goals she is looking out nowadays. As discussion precedes, I observe that she is too insecure and unmotivated for her future goals. She kept criticising her skills, education, things that turned around in her life and the way she is living her life right now. I confess that I’ve been observing her since months that something bothering her, even she looks normal to people, but her daily routine keeps on saying that she might be depressed or something. The similar kind of behaviours can also be found in students as well. Throughout the term, students come and discuss their anxiety and the way they feel when they encounter some sort of failures in their daily lives (Previous article: Why Should We Celebrate Our Failures?). The question is why such thoughts sometimes overcome our all the abilities and our achievements of our lives? Why do we start forgetting all our struggles whenever we encounter any drawback in our lives? Why suddenly we start feeling to end this life due to any failure? Continue reading “Why Self-Affirmation is Important to Support Struggling Adults and Students” →

Why Some Students Seem Smarter Than Others?

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

Why Some Students Seem Smarter Than Others?
By Ahmad Amirali

Finally, the new term started last week, and I welcomed the fresh batch of students. What motivates teachers to achieve their new term’s goals is the curiosity students brought with them in the form questions. However, not all students show curiosity or even show any interest to participate in classroom activities. I believe, every teacher encountered similarly kind of experience as I do every year that some students perform well, engages and achieve good grades in assessments but some perform brilliantly and show remarkable development in learning skills. However, last week one of my students didn’t respond to the puzzle quest for which she replied ‘Sir,  I am not smarter than Ali (another student) who can solve any puzzle’. That was the moment when a question struck my mind that why some students seem so smart and perform well than other students in the classroom? Or it is just a myth that existed only in kids mind as an excuse to any problem they encounter? Continue reading “Why Some Students Seem Smarter Than Others?” →

Why Do We Expect from Others to Act Like Us?

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

Why Do We Expect from Others to Act Like Us?
By Ahmad Amirali

Today, I visited my old high school to attend a parent-teacher meeting with my niece, who is also studying there. I heard and met teachers; they were fascinated to see me as some still remember me as their naughtiest kid. They shared their observations and reviews about my niece’s academic performance. During that conversation, one teacher told me, ‘She is quite a remarkable student, but she does not participate actively in some activities. I am now expecting more from her.’ Different children have different abilities and levels of understanding, multiple intelligences, and the list of such theories goes on in my mind. However, the thing that puzzled me more than anything when she said, ‘I expect…’. I heard many parents giving valuable advice to their kids and reminding them how they should fulfil their parent’s expectations. The first question that exploded in my mind was, why do we expect others to act like us or think like us? Continue reading “Why Do We Expect from Others to Act Like Us?” →

Why Is Being Emotional Necessary for Our Children’s Better Future?

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

Why Is Being Emotional Necessary for Our Children’s Better Future?
By Ahmad Amirali

I still remember the day when I seriously injured myself while playing with a toy. I was nine at that time and I was crying horrendously in front of my relatives. At that moment my mum kept reminding me that ‘You are a boy; boys don’t cry, be brave and don’t cry.’ We usually say these words to our children to comfort their panicked feelings as they might have encountered such emotions for the first time. we shielded them through our phrases from the emotions like anger, guilt, sadness or even grief, making them realise that these are ‘Bad Emotions’. Why we don’t want our kids to experience certain feelings? Is there anything like ‘Bad Emotions’? As a human, we do have an emotional response to every situation and instance. It means every emotion has a specific meaning or importance in our lives. So why we start believing that being emotional is a sign of weakness and unnecessary for our kid’s personality development? Continue reading “Why Is Being Emotional Necessary for Our Children’s Better Future?” →