I Am Asif

We face decisions all the time. Maybe it's a sudden opportunity knocking, or a new business idea that needs action pronto. Sometimes it's as simple as a friend suggesting we ditch work for a spontaneous day trip. But here's the thing: should we always just go with our gut? Probably not. Being grown-up means thinking things through before jumping in. Whether it's a big decision or a small one, taking a minute to really think about it is key. And the bigger the deal, the more we should take our time. So, before deciding, stop and think. Consider the good and bad.  Who else might be affected by what you decide?  What am I saying ‘no’ to by saying ‘yes’.  This is something I’ve always found in my dad. He would never rush to decisions. He would take his time, and tell others to ‘sleep on it’.  That's the way to make choices—thoughtfully. Considering the impact of the decision. On yourself. On your family. On your work. And on everything else that’s important to you.  Tha

So, when I kicked off my master's journey in Malaysia, there was this big push to churn out papers. Everyone, from research students to supervisors, was all about getting as many papers published in top journals and conferences. It got me thinking: is research just about paper counts now? Are we only doing it to snag a degree or a promotion? I always figured research should be the other way around. It's about tackling real-life problems, making lives better, easing suffering. Once we focus on that, the papers will naturally flow. But the problem starts early on, when we're picking research topics. As supervisors, we're telling our students to hop on the trend train. Look for what's hot, what's getting published a lot. But are we telling them to think about how their research can actually help the world? Nope, not really. We need to flip the script on how we approach research. It should start right from the get-go, when we're brainstorming ideas. Instead of a

Behavioral psychology তে একটা কনসেপ্ট আছে যে, আমাদের শারীরিক আর মানসিক অবস্থা খুব strongly connected. একটা আরেকটা কে affect করে। এটার একটা সাইড খুব সহজেই বোঝা যায়। যেমন কেউ যদি খুশি হয়, তার চেহারায় সেটার প্রতিফলন ঘটে. মুখ হাসি হাসি হয়ে যায়। গলার স্বরেও পরিবর্তন আসে। শরীরে এনার্জি ফীল  করা যায়। আবার মন খারাপ থাকলে, মুখটা গোমড়া থাকে, শরীর দুর্বল লাগে। মেজাজ গরম হলেও তার প্রভাব শরীরে পড়ে। এটা আমরা খুব সহজেই বুঝি।  কিন্তু মজার ব্যাপার হলো, উল্টো দিক থেকেও ব্যাপারটা ঘটে। Body language পরিবর্তন করলে সেটা মনের উপর প্রভাব ফেলে। খুব ইন্টারেষ্টিং কিছু এক্সপেরিমেন্ট এর মাধ্যমে দেখা গেছে এই effect . বিখ্যাত behavioral psychologist Amy Cuddy তার গবেষণায় এরকম কিছু এক্সপেরিমেন্ট করেছেন। তিনি দেখিয়েছেন, একজন মানুষ যদি মাত্র ২ মিনিট কোনো না কোনো 'Power Pose' অর্থাৎ খুব পাওয়ারফুল বা আত্মবিশ্বাসী মানুষের মতো body language নিজের মধ্যে নিয়ে আসে, তাহলে সে আসলেই আত্মবিশ্বাসী হয়ে ওঠে , এবং অন্যরাও তাকে সেরকমই মনে করে!  একইভাবে আরেক পরীক্ষায় দেখা গেছে, খুব নোংরা কোনো কাজ যখন একদল লোককে করতে দেয়া হলো,

We're always careful about where we spend our money, time, and effort. It's natural to look for good opportunities to invest our money so it can grow over time. We also worry about whether we're wasting time or not. But if we look back, we often see that we're spending our resources on things that only benefit ourselves or our close family. It's important to look for opportunities to put our efforts into things that are bigger than just our own group. We should spend time, money, and energy on things that go beyond personal pleasure or fulfilling our own needs and our family's needs. Let's try to include people from our neighborhood or community in our circle so that our time, effort, or money can benefit others who are not directly related to us. Maybe you're helping just one person from the neighborhood or one family from the community, or supporting a cause that benefits your society or the Muslim Ummah. This way, some of the effort you're putting