It's interesting how something familiar can suddenly make you feel like a beginner. In my music class today, my teacher introduced a new song. What was different this time wasn't the song itself. It was the approach. Instead of focusing on learning the lyrics, he introduced the song through its musical notes. I thought, "This is going to be a completely different way of learning." It made me realise how easily we can mistake familiarity for mastery. Sometimes we think we know something...

We've all done it. You press the elevator button. The light comes on, confirming your request has been received...and then, almost without thinking, you press it again. And maybe once more. As if the third press will convince the elevator to arrive faster. Of course, it doesn't. The button was never the engine. Its job was simply to send the request. Once that was done, the rest of the journey happened somewhere you couldn't see. It struck me that we often treat life the same way. You submit...

Every job has a version of the mute button. For me, it's quite literally the mute button. Since a particularly bad bout of coughing last year, I've found myself reaching for it during online counselling sessions whenever I feel a coughing fit coming on. Most clients probably never notice. They continue sharing what's on their mind while, for a few seconds, I'm trying to get the coughing under control before unmuting and continuing the conversation. It's become one of those tiny parts of my...