Nirish Shakya
@nirish.bsky.social
Human-centred designer on a quest to enhance the human experience with self-awareness, creative courage and meaning
What you believe:
- "Time is scarce."
- "I need to earn my worth."
- "I need to squeeze every ounce of worth from the limited time I have."
What is true:
- Time isn’t scarce. Presence is.
- Worth is not something you earn, it’s the soil you grow from.
- Don’t squeeze time, feel it.
- "Time is scarce."
- "I need to earn my worth."
- "I need to squeeze every ounce of worth from the limited time I have."
What is true:
- Time isn’t scarce. Presence is.
- Worth is not something you earn, it’s the soil you grow from.
- Don’t squeeze time, feel it.
June 30, 2025 at 4:09 AM
What you believe:
- "Time is scarce."
- "I need to earn my worth."
- "I need to squeeze every ounce of worth from the limited time I have."
What is true:
- Time isn’t scarce. Presence is.
- Worth is not something you earn, it’s the soil you grow from.
- Don’t squeeze time, feel it.
- "Time is scarce."
- "I need to earn my worth."
- "I need to squeeze every ounce of worth from the limited time I have."
What is true:
- Time isn’t scarce. Presence is.
- Worth is not something you earn, it’s the soil you grow from.
- Don’t squeeze time, feel it.
I once “lost” £17k of client work because I chose presence over productivity.
I took a soul trip even though cash flow stopped.
But in that time, I comforted my grandma, saw a mentor for the last time and gave talks that inspired students.
It hurt my wallet.
It fed my spirit.
I’d do it again.
I took a soul trip even though cash flow stopped.
But in that time, I comforted my grandma, saw a mentor for the last time and gave talks that inspired students.
It hurt my wallet.
It fed my spirit.
I’d do it again.
June 29, 2025 at 5:15 AM
I once “lost” £17k of client work because I chose presence over productivity.
I took a soul trip even though cash flow stopped.
But in that time, I comforted my grandma, saw a mentor for the last time and gave talks that inspired students.
It hurt my wallet.
It fed my spirit.
I’d do it again.
I took a soul trip even though cash flow stopped.
But in that time, I comforted my grandma, saw a mentor for the last time and gave talks that inspired students.
It hurt my wallet.
It fed my spirit.
I’d do it again.
Keep skipping calendar events you booked for yourself?
(Like journaling, reflection, visioning...)
Try scheduling to-feels, not just to-dos.
🧠 Your brain understands tasks.
🧘♂️ Your nervous system needs emotions.
Not: “Review notes”
But: “Review notes to feel clear & calm”
(Like journaling, reflection, visioning...)
Try scheduling to-feels, not just to-dos.
🧠 Your brain understands tasks.
🧘♂️ Your nervous system needs emotions.
Not: “Review notes”
But: “Review notes to feel clear & calm”
June 26, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Keep skipping calendar events you booked for yourself?
(Like journaling, reflection, visioning...)
Try scheduling to-feels, not just to-dos.
🧠 Your brain understands tasks.
🧘♂️ Your nervous system needs emotions.
Not: “Review notes”
But: “Review notes to feel clear & calm”
(Like journaling, reflection, visioning...)
Try scheduling to-feels, not just to-dos.
🧠 Your brain understands tasks.
🧘♂️ Your nervous system needs emotions.
Not: “Review notes”
But: “Review notes to feel clear & calm”
Rest isn’t just recovery from today’s fatigue.
It’s how your body digests decades of internalised fear and pressure.
If you still feel tired after resting, Maybe your rest is performance-driven too.
Try letting go of the “shoulds.” Rest without expecting to feel better.
Healing isn’t linear.
It’s how your body digests decades of internalised fear and pressure.
If you still feel tired after resting, Maybe your rest is performance-driven too.
Try letting go of the “shoulds.” Rest without expecting to feel better.
Healing isn’t linear.
June 25, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Rest isn’t just recovery from today’s fatigue.
It’s how your body digests decades of internalised fear and pressure.
If you still feel tired after resting, Maybe your rest is performance-driven too.
Try letting go of the “shoulds.” Rest without expecting to feel better.
Healing isn’t linear.
It’s how your body digests decades of internalised fear and pressure.
If you still feel tired after resting, Maybe your rest is performance-driven too.
Try letting go of the “shoulds.” Rest without expecting to feel better.
Healing isn’t linear.
Why doing nothing can feel terrifying (even if you're burned out):
This is one of the most invisible traps high performers fall into.
Let’s break it down: 👇
This is one of the most invisible traps high performers fall into.
Let’s break it down: 👇
June 9, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Why doing nothing can feel terrifying (even if you're burned out):
This is one of the most invisible traps high performers fall into.
Let’s break it down: 👇
This is one of the most invisible traps high performers fall into.
Let’s break it down: 👇
When you feel that discomfort, stand by the kid in you.
- The kid who was punished for being imperfect.
- The kid who felt unsafe speaking up.
- The kid who thought love had to be earned.
Stand by the kid.
Always.
NO. MATTER. WHAT.
- The kid who was punished for being imperfect.
- The kid who felt unsafe speaking up.
- The kid who thought love had to be earned.
Stand by the kid.
Always.
NO. MATTER. WHAT.
June 7, 2025 at 5:30 AM
When you feel that discomfort, stand by the kid in you.
- The kid who was punished for being imperfect.
- The kid who felt unsafe speaking up.
- The kid who thought love had to be earned.
Stand by the kid.
Always.
NO. MATTER. WHAT.
- The kid who was punished for being imperfect.
- The kid who felt unsafe speaking up.
- The kid who thought love had to be earned.
Stand by the kid.
Always.
NO. MATTER. WHAT.
You’re not avoiding hard work.
You’re avoiding the feelings of:
• uncertainty
• imperfect knowledge
• potential failure
Avoidance isn’t laziness. It’s emotional self-protection.
Don’t fight it. Make it feel safe to start.
Ask: What’s one tiny safe step I can take right now?
You’re avoiding the feelings of:
• uncertainty
• imperfect knowledge
• potential failure
Avoidance isn’t laziness. It’s emotional self-protection.
Don’t fight it. Make it feel safe to start.
Ask: What’s one tiny safe step I can take right now?
June 6, 2025 at 4:19 AM
You’re not avoiding hard work.
You’re avoiding the feelings of:
• uncertainty
• imperfect knowledge
• potential failure
Avoidance isn’t laziness. It’s emotional self-protection.
Don’t fight it. Make it feel safe to start.
Ask: What’s one tiny safe step I can take right now?
You’re avoiding the feelings of:
• uncertainty
• imperfect knowledge
• potential failure
Avoidance isn’t laziness. It’s emotional self-protection.
Don’t fight it. Make it feel safe to start.
Ask: What’s one tiny safe step I can take right now?
Where you are in life is shaped by the discomforts you’ve avoided.
But you can train yourself to stay.
Next time discomfort rises:
• Zoom in on the discomfort in the body
• Amplify the sensation
• Release and relax
Like reps at the gym, the more you lift, the more you can lift.
But you can train yourself to stay.
Next time discomfort rises:
• Zoom in on the discomfort in the body
• Amplify the sensation
• Release and relax
Like reps at the gym, the more you lift, the more you can lift.
June 3, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Where you are in life is shaped by the discomforts you’ve avoided.
But you can train yourself to stay.
Next time discomfort rises:
• Zoom in on the discomfort in the body
• Amplify the sensation
• Release and relax
Like reps at the gym, the more you lift, the more you can lift.
But you can train yourself to stay.
Next time discomfort rises:
• Zoom in on the discomfort in the body
• Amplify the sensation
• Release and relax
Like reps at the gym, the more you lift, the more you can lift.
You didn’t just inherit your family values.
You inherited their fears.
And those fears still drive you every day.
Most people never see these fears or dare to confront them.
Because following the script feels safer than freedom.
Notice whose fear you're acting from.
Naming it breaks the spell.
You inherited their fears.
And those fears still drive you every day.
Most people never see these fears or dare to confront them.
Because following the script feels safer than freedom.
Notice whose fear you're acting from.
Naming it breaks the spell.
June 1, 2025 at 5:34 AM
You didn’t just inherit your family values.
You inherited their fears.
And those fears still drive you every day.
Most people never see these fears or dare to confront them.
Because following the script feels safer than freedom.
Notice whose fear you're acting from.
Naming it breaks the spell.
You inherited their fears.
And those fears still drive you every day.
Most people never see these fears or dare to confront them.
Because following the script feels safer than freedom.
Notice whose fear you're acting from.
Naming it breaks the spell.
A seed doesn’t grow in motion. It grows in rest.
May 31, 2025 at 4:48 AM
A seed doesn’t grow in motion. It grows in rest.
You don’t need to be more productive.
You need to redefine your relationship with time.
Untangle your identity, safety, control and worthiness
from the ticking clock.
You’re safe even when you feel behind.
Because there’s no behind.
And no ahead.
You need to redefine your relationship with time.
Untangle your identity, safety, control and worthiness
from the ticking clock.
You’re safe even when you feel behind.
Because there’s no behind.
And no ahead.
May 30, 2025 at 4:38 AM
You don’t need to be more productive.
You need to redefine your relationship with time.
Untangle your identity, safety, control and worthiness
from the ticking clock.
You’re safe even when you feel behind.
Because there’s no behind.
And no ahead.
You need to redefine your relationship with time.
Untangle your identity, safety, control and worthiness
from the ticking clock.
You’re safe even when you feel behind.
Because there’s no behind.
And no ahead.
You’re still waiting for permission.
To play.
To fail.
To rest.
From the same authority figures and institutions
that never gave it to you.
Stop waiting.
Write yourself the permission slip you seek.
To play.
To fail.
To rest.
From the same authority figures and institutions
that never gave it to you.
Stop waiting.
Write yourself the permission slip you seek.
May 29, 2025 at 5:36 AM
You’re still waiting for permission.
To play.
To fail.
To rest.
From the same authority figures and institutions
that never gave it to you.
Stop waiting.
Write yourself the permission slip you seek.
To play.
To fail.
To rest.
From the same authority figures and institutions
that never gave it to you.
Stop waiting.
Write yourself the permission slip you seek.
You were a lion born to roam the jungle.
But they taught you to jump through hoops in a circus.
When you missed, they called you a failure.
A lion failing to jump through hoops is still a lion.
Strong, brave and worthy.
The hoops are irrelevant in the jungle.
Reclaim your freedom to roar and roam.
But they taught you to jump through hoops in a circus.
When you missed, they called you a failure.
A lion failing to jump through hoops is still a lion.
Strong, brave and worthy.
The hoops are irrelevant in the jungle.
Reclaim your freedom to roar and roam.
May 24, 2025 at 5:32 AM
You were a lion born to roam the jungle.
But they taught you to jump through hoops in a circus.
When you missed, they called you a failure.
A lion failing to jump through hoops is still a lion.
Strong, brave and worthy.
The hoops are irrelevant in the jungle.
Reclaim your freedom to roar and roam.
But they taught you to jump through hoops in a circus.
When you missed, they called you a failure.
A lion failing to jump through hoops is still a lion.
Strong, brave and worthy.
The hoops are irrelevant in the jungle.
Reclaim your freedom to roar and roam.
Are you stuck in performative self-care?
Yoga. Journaling. Meditation.
Not to be present
But to earn it.
Try skipping them for a day.
If your nervous system panics...
It wasn’t self-care.
It was spiritual hustle.
You're not healing
You're chasing it.
Yoga. Journaling. Meditation.
Not to be present
But to earn it.
Try skipping them for a day.
If your nervous system panics...
It wasn’t self-care.
It was spiritual hustle.
You're not healing
You're chasing it.
May 22, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Are you stuck in performative self-care?
Yoga. Journaling. Meditation.
Not to be present
But to earn it.
Try skipping them for a day.
If your nervous system panics...
It wasn’t self-care.
It was spiritual hustle.
You're not healing
You're chasing it.
Yoga. Journaling. Meditation.
Not to be present
But to earn it.
Try skipping them for a day.
If your nervous system panics...
It wasn’t self-care.
It was spiritual hustle.
You're not healing
You're chasing it.
Growing up between East and West means you inherit double the pressure.
East says: “Be good. Obey. Don’t embarrass us.”
West says: “Be big. Hustle. Don’t fall behind.”
But the body? The soul?
They just whisper: “Be real.”
East says: “Be good. Obey. Don’t embarrass us.”
West says: “Be big. Hustle. Don’t fall behind.”
But the body? The soul?
They just whisper: “Be real.”
May 20, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Growing up between East and West means you inherit double the pressure.
East says: “Be good. Obey. Don’t embarrass us.”
West says: “Be big. Hustle. Don’t fall behind.”
But the body? The soul?
They just whisper: “Be real.”
East says: “Be good. Obey. Don’t embarrass us.”
West says: “Be big. Hustle. Don’t fall behind.”
But the body? The soul?
They just whisper: “Be real.”
Not everything you write has to be worth sharing.
Not everything you collect has to be stored forever.
The real art is moving through the cycle:
Collect → Connect → Create → Contribute
Flow > Perfection
Not everything you collect has to be stored forever.
The real art is moving through the cycle:
Collect → Connect → Create → Contribute
Flow > Perfection
May 18, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Not everything you write has to be worth sharing.
Not everything you collect has to be stored forever.
The real art is moving through the cycle:
Collect → Connect → Create → Contribute
Flow > Perfection
Not everything you collect has to be stored forever.
The real art is moving through the cycle:
Collect → Connect → Create → Contribute
Flow > Perfection
You don’t need a better slide deck.
You need to trust yourself more.
Preparation can be a disguise for fear.
Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is show up,
not perfectly polished,
but wholly present.
You need to trust yourself more.
Preparation can be a disguise for fear.
Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is show up,
not perfectly polished,
but wholly present.
May 14, 2025 at 6:58 AM
You don’t need a better slide deck.
You need to trust yourself more.
Preparation can be a disguise for fear.
Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is show up,
not perfectly polished,
but wholly present.
You need to trust yourself more.
Preparation can be a disguise for fear.
Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is show up,
not perfectly polished,
but wholly present.
Too scared to share your idea?
Shift from:
“What if they don’t like me?”
to
“What can I learn about who this is AND isn't for?”
You’re not here to be universally accepted.
You’re here to be unmistakably you.
Act before you’re validated.
Shift from:
“What if they don’t like me?”
to
“What can I learn about who this is AND isn't for?”
You’re not here to be universally accepted.
You’re here to be unmistakably you.
Act before you’re validated.
May 13, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Too scared to share your idea?
Shift from:
“What if they don’t like me?”
to
“What can I learn about who this is AND isn't for?”
You’re not here to be universally accepted.
You’re here to be unmistakably you.
Act before you’re validated.
Shift from:
“What if they don’t like me?”
to
“What can I learn about who this is AND isn't for?”
You’re not here to be universally accepted.
You’re here to be unmistakably you.
Act before you’re validated.
A gentle reminder as you enter another Monday:
Your nervous system doesn’t care about your to-do list.
It just wants to know:
• “Am I safe?”
• “Will I be punished if I rest?”
• “Is it okay to do nothing?”
Your nervous system doesn’t care about your to-do list.
It just wants to know:
• “Am I safe?”
• “Will I be punished if I rest?”
• “Is it okay to do nothing?”
May 12, 2025 at 3:04 AM
A gentle reminder as you enter another Monday:
Your nervous system doesn’t care about your to-do list.
It just wants to know:
• “Am I safe?”
• “Will I be punished if I rest?”
• “Is it okay to do nothing?”
Your nervous system doesn’t care about your to-do list.
It just wants to know:
• “Am I safe?”
• “Will I be punished if I rest?”
• “Is it okay to do nothing?”
When you feel stuck, ask: “What would 8-year-old me do right now?”
May 10, 2025 at 4:07 AM
When you feel stuck, ask: “What would 8-year-old me do right now?”
There are two kinds of work -
One that drains you
One that energises you.
You don’t resent either.
You resent not having a choice.
You resent misalignment.
You don’t need to quit your job.
Start with one tiny act of realignment today.
Watch your energy follow.
One that drains you
One that energises you.
You don’t resent either.
You resent not having a choice.
You resent misalignment.
You don’t need to quit your job.
Start with one tiny act of realignment today.
Watch your energy follow.
May 9, 2025 at 4:07 AM
There are two kinds of work -
One that drains you
One that energises you.
You don’t resent either.
You resent not having a choice.
You resent misalignment.
You don’t need to quit your job.
Start with one tiny act of realignment today.
Watch your energy follow.
One that drains you
One that energises you.
You don’t resent either.
You resent not having a choice.
You resent misalignment.
You don’t need to quit your job.
Start with one tiny act of realignment today.
Watch your energy follow.
Your self worth ≠ your net worth
Your self worth ≠ your work
Your self worth ≠ your likes
Worth is not earned.
It isn’t measured.
It just is.
Create from it, not for it.
Your self worth ≠ your work
Your self worth ≠ your likes
Worth is not earned.
It isn’t measured.
It just is.
Create from it, not for it.
May 7, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Your self worth ≠ your net worth
Your self worth ≠ your work
Your self worth ≠ your likes
Worth is not earned.
It isn’t measured.
It just is.
Create from it, not for it.
Your self worth ≠ your work
Your self worth ≠ your likes
Worth is not earned.
It isn’t measured.
It just is.
Create from it, not for it.
You don’t fear criticism.
You fear being misunderstood.
You fear being unseen.
You fear being invisible.
Validation is not proof of existence.
You are. Your work is.
Witness yourself.
You fear being misunderstood.
You fear being unseen.
You fear being invisible.
Validation is not proof of existence.
You are. Your work is.
Witness yourself.
May 6, 2025 at 3:03 AM
You don’t fear criticism.
You fear being misunderstood.
You fear being unseen.
You fear being invisible.
Validation is not proof of existence.
You are. Your work is.
Witness yourself.
You fear being misunderstood.
You fear being unseen.
You fear being invisible.
Validation is not proof of existence.
You are. Your work is.
Witness yourself.
You overthink each step because:
• You were rewarded for achievement
• Punished for mistakes
• Never allowed to be in the messy middle
No wonder your nervous system flinches before action.
Listen to it. Thank it.
Then act anyway - to prove it’s finally safe.
• You were rewarded for achievement
• Punished for mistakes
• Never allowed to be in the messy middle
No wonder your nervous system flinches before action.
Listen to it. Thank it.
Then act anyway - to prove it’s finally safe.
May 5, 2025 at 7:25 AM
You overthink each step because:
• You were rewarded for achievement
• Punished for mistakes
• Never allowed to be in the messy middle
No wonder your nervous system flinches before action.
Listen to it. Thank it.
Then act anyway - to prove it’s finally safe.
• You were rewarded for achievement
• Punished for mistakes
• Never allowed to be in the messy middle
No wonder your nervous system flinches before action.
Listen to it. Thank it.
Then act anyway - to prove it’s finally safe.