NihshabdBlog

Tag: Self Growth

  • The Risk No One Claps For

    The Risk No One Claps For

    Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.

    I once took a very dangerous risk.

    .

    No, not skydiving.
    Not quitting a job dramatically.
    Not even cutting my own bangs at 2 AM (which, honestly, is the real danger😅).

    .

    I chose myself… in a situation where it would’ve been easier to stay quiet.

    .

    You know that moment… when you rehearse a hundred responses in your head🤯,
    but in real life, you just smile and let it go🙂?

    .

    Yeah. That time—I didn’t.

    .

    I spoke. Calmly. Clearly. Without over-explaining😌.
    (Okay fine… maybe slightly over-explaining. Growth takes time.)

    .

    And I remember my heart racing like I had just run a marathon💓…
    while the other person just said, “Oh… okay.”

    .

    That’s it.
    No explosion💥. No drama🎭. No background music🎶.

    .

    And I stood there thinking
    “Wait… THAT was the thing I was scared of?”

    .

    Funny how the risks we avoid aren’t always big, loud ones.
    Sometimes, it’s just saying what we feel…
    setting a boundary🚧…
    or choosing not to shrink ourselves to fit someone else’s comfort.

    .

    Was it uncomfortable? Yes.
    Did I overthink it later? Also yes😅.
    Would I do it again? 100%.

    .

    Because for the first time, I didn’t walk away thinking
    “I should have said something.”

    .

    And honestly… that peace?🕊️
    Worth the risk.

    .

    But here’s what I didn’t expect
    not every situation deserves a response.

    .

    Silence carries a different kind of power🤫.
    The kind that doesn’t argue, doesn’t chase, doesn’t perform just to be understood.

    .

    Being loud might win you a moment…
    but silence? It protects your peace and your pride—quietly, but completely.

    .

    And once you step into it,
    it doesn’t just feel good… it stays.

    .

    You get used to not reacting.
    You get used to letting things pass without making them your responsibility.
    You get used to not explaining yourself to people committed to misunderstanding you.

    .

    And slowly… it becomes a habit you don’t want to break.

    .

    (Warning: highly addictive⚠️. Side effects include emotional stability and fewer unnecessary arguments.)

    .

    And then comes the part no one really enjoys admitting—
    what isn’t meant for you… simply doesn’t stay.

    .

    No matter how gently you handle it,
    how long you hold on,
    or how many chances you give like it’s some kind of clearance sale🛍️.

    .

    Some people? Not yours.
    Some things? Not yours.

    .

    And for once, instead of overthinking it, fixing it, or forcing it…
    you just lean back and think

    .

    “Ah. Not my circus, not my monkeys.”🎪

    .

    .

    A woman sitting quietly by the water at dusk, reflecting in silence.
    Some risks are quiet… but they change everything.

    .

    —Rajeshwari 🧿💕

    © Nihshabd by Rajeshwari. All Rights Reserved

  • I Didn’t Know Saying Yes Could Cost Me This Much

    I Didn’t Know Saying Yes Could Cost Me This Much

    How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?

    No one warned me that always saying ‘yes’ would slowly erase me.

    .

    I’ve always had a complicated relationship with the word “no.”

    Not because I didn’t understand it…

    but because I rarely used it.

    .

    It would sit quietly on my lips,

    while “yes” walked out… confidently, repeatedly, almost habitually.

    .

    And I told myself it was kindness.

    Which, to be fair, it was…

    just not always towards myself.

    .

    So I said yes

    to people, to plans, to moments that didn’t quite belong to me.

    And somewhere in all of that,

    my own time started slipping through the cracks… very politely.

    .

    The strange thing is

    nothing ever broke.

    Except a little bit of my energy,

    a little bit of my space,

    and sometimes… my mood, which deserved better 😄

    .

    I didn’t realise when “being nice” quietly turned into “being available.”

    (And no, there was no official announcement… just a very silent transition.)

    .

    But life, in its own subtle way, started nudging me.

    In those tiny pauses…

    where I began to wonder,

    “What if I don’t say yes this time?”

    .

    And recently… I tried it.

    A small, gentle, slightly nervous “no.”

    .

    No drama.

    No disappointment worth mentioning.

    Just… a little more room to breathe.

    .

    Almost magical, how one word can return you to yourself ✨

    .

    So maybe this is a reminder

    especially for every girl who has ever felt guilty for choosing herself

    you don’t have to earn your rest, your space, or your boundaries.

    You’re allowed to keep some parts of your day… just for you 💛

    .

    And as for me…

    let’s just say, somewhere between habit and healing,

    a new version is quietly making its way

    No 2.0… still gentle, still kind, just a little less “yes” by default 😉

    .

    —Rajeshwari 🧿💕

    © Nihshabd by Rajeshwari. All Rights Reserved

  • Life Didn’t Give Me One Teacher… It Gave Me a Full Faculty

    Life Didn’t Give Me One Teacher… It Gave Me a Full Faculty

    Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

    Who was my most influential teacher?


    I wish I had a simple, respectable answer.
    Like a name. A subject. Maybe a life-changing lecture.

    But no.

    My life clearly didn’t believe in “one teacher theory.”
    It went for a full faculty.

    My two sons?
    Oh, they are my senior professors —
    unpaid, unpredictable, and permanently unsatisfied with my performance.

    One teaches me patience.
    The other makes sure I practice it. Daily. Intensively.

    And then there are others…

    Some people came into my life just to test my emotional stability —
    and left after completing their assignment.

    Some taught me practical things…
    like where files are saved.
    (Let’s just say… that lesson had to be repeated. Multiple times.)

    Some introduced me to recipes,
    and some to reality checks.

    A few taught me how not to overreact —
    which, honestly, felt like a very personal attack at the time.

    Someone taught me to laugh loudly,
    without worrying about who’s watching.

    And someone else had the audacity to prove
    that it’s never “too late” to start again —
    which is inspiring… but also mildly inconvenient.

    Some held my hand when I needed support.
    And some didn’t —
    which, in hindsight, was their way of saying,
    “Welcome to the advanced level. Figure it out.”

    From embroidery threads to iPad tools,
    from breakdowns to breakthroughs —
    my education has been… extremely hands-on.

    So no, I don’t have one “most influential teacher.”

    I have a whole syllabus.
    A slightly chaotic, emotionally charged, occasionally uninvited syllabus.

    And life?
    It didn’t ask me to enroll.

    It just started the class.

    —Rajeshwari🧿💕

    © Nihshabd by Rajeshwari. All Rights Reserved
  • Pretty, Talented… But This One Stayed

    Pretty, Talented… But This One Stayed

    What was the best compliment you’ve received?

    Have you ever wondered which compliment stays with you the longest?

    Honestly… I can’t pick just one.

    I’ve received quite a few—
    some said, “you write beautifully,”
    some said, “you think deeply,”
    some looked at my work and said,
    “you make such beautiful illustrations,”
    some said, “you cook really well,”
    and so on…

    and then there are people who look at me and go,
    “You’re so beautiful.”

    And I’m just there like…
    “Okay… thank you… I’ll pass this feedback to my mirror, it deserves the credit.” 😌

    I mean, I’ll take it—of course I will.
    I’m not that humble.

    Compliments like these come with a smile you don’t even try to hide…

    and sometimes a confidence boost that lasts exactly 2.5 business days.

    But at the same time…
    I feel no compliment is really greater or lesser than another.
    Each one carries its own little warmth.

    Still, if there’s something that keeps finding its way back to me—
    through different people, at different times—
    it’s this:

    “You’re a good human being.”

    And I know, it sounds simple…
    almost too simple.
    No sparkle, no dramatic shine.

    No “wow”, no “omg”, no screenshot-worthy moment.

    But maybe that’s exactly why it stays.

    Because creating art can be learned,
    being impressive can be practiced…
    but being a good human—
    that’s not a skill you show,
    it’s a pattern you repeat.

    In the small choices,
    in how you respond,
    in the way you treat people
    when no one is watching…
    and especially when you’re in a bad mood and still choose not to be a terrible person.

    So yes…
    “you’re beautiful” makes me smile,
    “your illustrations are beautiful” makes me a little proud,
    “you cook really well” makes me slightly overconfident in the kitchen…

    But “you’re a good human”?
    That one… stays.

    Not the loudest,
    not the fanciest—
    just the one that quietly checks
    if you’re actually living right.

    And maybe… the most important.


    —Rajeshwari🧿💕
    A young woman standing on a hill at sunset, looking toward the horizon in soft golden light, creating a calm and reflective mood.
    Not everything that stays… needs to be loud.

    © Nihshabd by Rajeshwari. All Rights Reserved

  • My Failures Did Something My Success Never Could

    How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

    Man sitting on a rooftop at sunset reflecting on failure and success with the title “My Failures Did Something My Success Never Could”.
    Failure did the real work

    I once tried to win at life

    on the very first attempt

    because obviously,

    I thought destiny had prepared

    a red carpet for me.

    .

    Life laughed.

    Not politely.

    The full-volume kind.

    .

    Doors didn’t open.

    Plans collapsed like cheap furniture.

    My confidence packed a bag

    and quietly left the room.

    .

    Failure arrived instead

    uninvited,

    overdressed,

    and extremely comfortable

    staying longer than expected.

    .

    At first I hated it.

    Naturally.

    .

    Nobody throws a party

    for the day they discovered

    they were spectacularly wrong.

    .

    But failure has strange habits.

    .

    It sits beside you

    when the applause disappears.

    It points at your excuses

    like a strict teacher with a red pen.

    And it whispers,

    .

    “Try again.

    But this time

    maybe use your brain.”

    .

    So I did.

    .

    I learned how to fall

    without announcing it to the entire world.

    How to rebuild quietly.

    How to laugh at my own dramatic disasters.

    .

    Turns out,

    failure wasn’t the villain

    I thought it was.

    .

    It was the unpaid internship

    that secretly trained me

    for the job I wanted.

    .

    Because the truth is

    success didn’t arrive

    when everything went right.

    .

    It arrived much later,

    wearing the clothes

    my failures stitched for me.

    .

    And honestly?

    .

    Looking back,

    those failures did most of the work.

    .

    I just showed up

    for the success interview.

    —Rajeshwari🧿💕

    © Nihshabd by Rajeshwari. All Rights Reserved

  • My First Computer (Actually, My First Laptop)

    My First Computer (Actually, My First Laptop)

    Write about your first computer.

    I never had a computer growing up.

    No bulky monitor in the corner of the room, no keyboard clicks, no late-night curiosity glowing on a screen.

    What I had instead was distance.

    Distance from technology, from access, and from the quiet belief that computers were meant for other people.

    My first laptop came much later during my fashion designing days.

    Not in childhood, not out of curiosity, but out of need, courage, and a growing dream.

    And oh, it was beautiful.

    A touchscreen.

    Smooth.

    Shiny.

    Mine.😍

    The kind of happiness you don’t post about immediately

    because you’re too busy opening and closing it like,

    “Yes… it’s still mine.”😍

    By the time it arrived, the world had already moved fast.

    People spoke in shortcuts, updates, and “it’s so easy.”

    I smiled, nodded… and secretly Googled, “What is Ctrl+C?”😎

    But maybe that delay was a blessing.🙏🏻

    This laptop wasn’t about games or fun experiments.

    It became my creative partner helping me design, learn, fail, retry, and grow.

    Every file saved felt like a small win.

    Every new skill learned felt earned

    sometimes after asking Google the same question three times.

    I didn’t grow up with a computer.

    I grew into one.

    And sometimes, starting late doesn’t mean starting behind.

    It just means you start with intention, clarity,

    and a browser permanently open for help 😄

    —Rajeshwari 💕🧿