https://shijuthomas.com Experiments in Growth — essays and reflections on personal growth, leadership, and the craft of leading well by Shiju Thomas. en-us Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:50:53 GMT https://shijuthomas.com/blog/just-one-more-hit-i-ll-stop-after-the-next-prompt https://shijuthomas.com/blog/just-one-more-hit-i-ll-stop-after-the-next-prompt Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Focus and Self-Discipline Building with AI has become the most potent cognitive drug available to founders, and if you run a neurodiverse brain—ADHD, dyslexic, autistic, any brain wired on a different dopamine economy—the compulsion is not metaphorical but pharmacological. AI tools deliver instant feedback, variable reward, and scalable challenge in an endless loop, exploiting the same reward-sensitivity that makes hyperfocus feel like flow but function like addiction. The rotation starts innocently: Manus for data, Lovable for builds, Claude for copy and design, GPT for research. Five tools, five parallel streams, no natural pauses. It looks like extraordinary productivity at 2 am, but the quality of decisions made under that cognitive load tells a different story. This is a piece about the loop, the crash signal that arrives days later, and why stopping has turned out to be harder than writing any prompt. https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-book-i-was-not-writing https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-book-i-was-not-writing Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Focus and Self-Discipline The book I was not writingR asked me how the book was coming.We were on his balcony, the third bottle open, the city doing that thing Bombay does at midnight where it almost quiets down and then decid... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-twelve-open-tabs https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-twelve-open-tabs Thu, 30 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Focus and Self-Discipline The twelve open tabs P stopped inviting me to coffee about six months ago. I noticed it the way you notice something that has quietly stopped happening, not a door slamming but a door that used to ope... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-art-of-surrender https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-art-of-surrender Wed, 16 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Resilience and Burnout The Art of Surrender, by Michael Singer she said. That's the one I'd recommend. This was a few years ago, pre-covid. I was catching up with a group of friends at the Opera Bar and ended up talking to ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/how-can-i-build-confidence https://shijuthomas.com/blog/how-can-i-build-confidence Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Confidence and Self-Worth There are a few different ways to build unshakeable confidence, and I'm going to list a few with a caveat*. ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-body-put-its-foot-down https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-body-put-its-foot-down Wed, 26 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Resilience and Burnout I had stopped being able to climb the stairs.Not in a dramatic way. I'd get to the third step and my legs would register that there were two more flights to go and they would just decline. Not pain, e... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/for-one-day-we-are-going-to-die https://shijuthomas.com/blog/for-one-day-we-are-going-to-die Tue, 23 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Resilience and Burnout It's something I hear often, and something I don't remember often enough – the irony of human life is that we go about our daily life as though we are going to live forever. So anything we want to do, is something that can be done later – my life is full of the daily… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/another-invitation https://shijuthomas.com/blog/another-invitation Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Resilience and Burnout What would be possible if we went through less to have more? ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-alpha-and-the-omega https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-alpha-and-the-omega Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing He sat in the darkness, stretched out over the chair – one leg across the arm rest and his back across the other. All the years of work had finally paid off – he had pierced the centre of the universe and discovered all it's secrets. He knew everything, he was all seeing, all knowing… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/hello-poppet https://shijuthomas.com/blog/hello-poppet Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing Think of this wide expanse we call life. Suppose reality was like a sheet and you and I are 'shapes' popping up in this sheet. We are like sock puppets –  Shakespeare could've been a little more specific – All the world is a stage, and we are merely sock puppets. ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/on-the-claude-makalele-conundrum https://shijuthomas.com/blog/on-the-claude-makalele-conundrum Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Leadership One of the greatest footballers ever. He won't be remembered, and he won't make many lists. And not many outside the game will know him – the way they know Messi, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo or Rooney. And arguably he made a bigger difference to the teams he played on, if not as big a difference as… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/rumi https://shijuthomas.com/blog/rumi Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing "A Thirsty Fish I don't get tired of you. Don't grow weary of being compassionate toward me! All this thirst equipment must surely be tired of me, the waterjar, the water carrier. ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/on-winning https://shijuthomas.com/blog/on-winning Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Leadership There's a certain duality to life. Apart from the usual quantum mechanical duality ie. Or maybe it's because of the quantum mechanical duality. Take winning for example. ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-question https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-question Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Focus and Self-Discipline It's the question that drives us. And when you lose your drive, maybe you can ask yourself the question. What question, you ask? Maybe one of these. Or you could come up with your own questions. One of the questions I love asking is what do you dream about? What do you want to do… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/inspiration https://shijuthomas.com/blog/inspiration Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing I sit staring at a blank screen, with the keyboard awaiting my touch patiently. Lacking the 'inanimation' of the keyboard, I wait for inspiration to strike with growing impatience. And a funny image fills my head – Inspiration in the form of one the Norse gods with a huge hammer waiting to strike. I think… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/i-have-a-dream https://shijuthomas.com/blog/i-have-a-dream Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Resilience and Burnout I dream about sleeping. Sleeping deeply. Soundly. Peacefully. And drifting out of it gently. Rising up from the mists of sleep, drifting into the waking world like a feather rising slowly on a hot summer day. Not being woken up by strange noises and alarm clocks or sunshine. Not by neighbors banging doors, or by my conscience… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/parallel-worlds https://shijuthomas.com/blog/parallel-worlds Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Resilience and Burnout So many choices available, and each option leads down a good road. When each road, and every destination looks good, and you know that any choice you make, you would make the choice work – how do you step beyond the choice and do what's really your choice? Analysis paralysis beckons, and the sheer plethora… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/making-a-point-a-letter-to-myself https://shijuthomas.com/blog/making-a-point-a-letter-to-myself Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Resilience and Burnout It's all pointless, isn't it? It really doesn't matter. Nothing matters. All the hopes and fears,we are so full of ourselves that we choke on the garbage we fill our minds with, and throw up before we can stuff anymore of ourselves down our throats. It's all pointless, and it doesn't mean a thing. We… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/headed-down https://shijuthomas.com/blog/headed-down Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Resilience and Burnout The sun was bright. In fact, it was dazzling. I couldn't look at it – it seemed like someone had set off a few flash bulbs in my face. I had to close my eyes and open them slowly. I couldn't remember the last time I had been so dazzled by sunlight. Hold that thought.… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/lines-and-shadows https://shijuthomas.com/blog/lines-and-shadows Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Confidence and Self-Worth Do you see your world in black, white and grey? The good, the bad and the necessary ugly? And you close out the bad, avoid the ugly and try to focus on the good, but get defeated by the very act of doing so, the conscious focus on avoiding and erasing that which you do… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/silence https://shijuthomas.com/blog/silence Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing I look out over the water and see nothing. I look back, and the only thing I can see is the pinpoint of light from the boat shed, and many smaller scattered points around it – from the houses, mine and those of my neighbors. I wonder how much time it would take for them… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/releasing-joy https://shijuthomas.com/blog/releasing-joy Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing Another morning. Another day at work. Smiling, chatting cheerfully, answering queries, guiding employees with only one objective. Making sure that the customer is happy. And the hotel prided itself on getting every customer to come back. And to keep customers happy, he made sure that his employees were happy. ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/cricket-for-a-cause https://shijuthomas.com/blog/cricket-for-a-cause Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Leadership This weekend, a friend organized a game of cricket at a park. He didn't allow his ignorance of the game or it's rules prevent him, and it didn't prevent most of his friends either – who although blessed with the good humor, irresistible good looks and the charming Irish accent, were singularly unequipped with cricketing… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-drama-queens-within-how-we-create-problems-to-escape-life-s-monotony https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-drama-queens-within-how-we-create-problems-to-escape-life-s-monotony Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Confidence and Self-Worth The Drama Queens Within: How We Create Problems to Escape Life's Monotony If we create the drama in our lives to escape boredom and dullness, what does this tell us about the human condition? So many ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-voice-in-my-head https://shijuthomas.com/blog/the-voice-in-my-head Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Confidence and Self-Worth 'Hi' Hey, haven't seen you in a while..' 'Yup, I know, you've been busy so I've been away. But looks like you finally have some time' Ah, well. You know how it is, the business of living takes so muc... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/mind-games https://shijuthomas.com/blog/mind-games Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing She: 'I don't think we should do it' He: 'What are you talking about?' 'I don't think we should get Junior started on chess' 'ummm, he's 4 years old, and it's as good a time to start as any – wasn't that when you started?' 'Yes, but I fear for what it will do to… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/going-with-the-flow https://shijuthomas.com/blog/going-with-the-flow Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Focus and Self-Discipline If you are familiar with the flow concept – you might also have been through a flow experience yourself, then you will recognise the symptoms of being in the flow – when time doesn't matter, distractions are absent and everything happens automatically – when excellence is within your grasp and things happen as they should.… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/ms-india-meets-dumb-jock https://shijuthomas.com/blog/ms-india-meets-dumb-jock Sun, 25 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing A tiara, the hushed silence followed by the applause, the sash, the arms raised in jubilation and those gorgeous lips making a big O as the reality of the triumph hits home– a lot of little kids, and some not so little kids, have this fantasy. Indeed some of these kids are little girls. And… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/aussie-aussie-aussie-2 https://shijuthomas.com/blog/aussie-aussie-aussie-2 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing We know that readers (ok, ok, the single reader – fine!) of this blog are very discerning gentlemen (if you are a lady please leave your number in the comments section) with refined tastes and superior intelligence. And therefore they take a strong interest in foreign affairs and stuff like the socioeconomic factors which impact… ... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/first-love https://shijuthomas.com/blog/first-love Tue, 22 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing The earliest memory I have of her is from ’82 or so (yeah, I am ancient – that’s where all the wisdom comes from) – someone in my society introduced me to her. The first meeting did not leave a very s... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/sir-do-you-have-an-apple https://shijuthomas.com/blog/sir-do-you-have-an-apple Mon, 25 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing "Sir, do you have an apple?" She said, waving an apple in her hand in case I didn't know an apple from an orange. She was wearing the frazzled but curt and serious expression worn by airport official... https://shijuthomas.com/blog/a-tale-of-two-kitties https://shijuthomas.com/blog/a-tale-of-two-kitties Mon, 20 Feb 2006 00:00:00 GMT Shiju Thomas Writing It's been some time since the urge to mother someone has been burgeoning (I love this word) within the bosom of my roomie, i.e. the urge to mother someone other than the his many child women and other than his employees (though mentor would be his choice of words – but he does mother them… ...