Zaid Ismail
@zaidie@zaidismail.com
Author, life coach, and mental health activist. We need to change the narrative from disorders, illnesses, and survival to accountability, understanding, and thriving.
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Where lies peace?
Moments of pause used to offer a breather, but of late, it has smothered the breath within. A calm mind is sometimes drawn towards contemplating the deeper anguish of life after the busyness of it all comfortably protected me from focusing on the urgency of the demands of the day. Urgency became my standard pace,…
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The meandering twists of fate
Betrayal is not always a result of harsh words, lies, or cruel action. We’re often so focused on what we’re not getting from others, that we don’t pause to consider what they may not be getting from us either. The deepest cuts are those that are inflicted when we trust someone to be there, but…
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The demon child of ingratitude
Disrespect only ever becomes an option when we disrespect ourselves. We don’t always disrespect ourselves because life is fluid, demanding different things from us at different times. In those moments when we are expected to be more than we believe we’re capable of, or when we are corrected for something that we do because we…
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Embrace your demons
Relationships fail when the demons of both don’t play nicely with each other. But demons are not so easy to recognise. What feels like a right or a legitimate expectation is often underpinned by a demon from the past when those rights were denied, or those expectations dismissed. Our innate need to be of significance…
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Surviving sucks
I see too many people take pride in being a survivor, which in itself is not the biggest problem. The problem arises when that act of survival defines you for the rest of your life. When a traumatic event, or an abusive relationship, defines you beyond the immediate impact of experiencing it, you keep it…
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Well intended bad methods
Good intentions coupled with a bad method will result in bad outcomes. When that happens, fixating on our good intentions won’t make any difference to the consequences of our actions. The merit of what we do is always more important than the intention with which we do it. The moment we flip that around, we…
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Raising adults
Just like we don’t blame the fruit for the tree from which it came, we can’t blame our children for their character before they reach an age of self-awareness and critical thinking. If we find the fruit of a tree to be lacking in sweetness, we pay attention to the tree and what it needs…
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Self-indulgent self-loathing
Self-indulgence leads to self-loathing because there are too many who think that contentment lies in putting yourself first. Putting yourself first is easy. Look around and see how many self-indulgent people you have in your life, and then consider how it is that they may really just be trying to take care of themselves because…