Mariyam Mohamed

Posts

When We Call It Ego: Understanding Judgment, Perception and the Many Faces of the Self

As I was sitting and listening to conversations, I found myself reflecting on how quickly we are to judge another person based on their actions without taking a moment to step into their shoes. We see a behaviour, interpret it through our own lens, attach meaning to it, and very quickly create a label: “She is proud.” “He has an ego.” “She thinks she is better than everyone.” “He is arrogant.” Yet we rarely know what is happening beneath that behaviour or what experiences have shaped the way a person responds to a particular situation. This made me wonder: how much of what we call ego actually belongs to the person we are observing, and how much belongs to the person doing the observing? The Human Tendency to Label Our minds naturally try to make sense of people and situations. We observe behaviour and immediately try to determine what it means. This can help us navigate relationships, but it can also become problematic when we mistake our interpretation for reality. Someone may ...

Part Two: When Love Becomes Safety

In my previous reflection, I found myself sitting with a simple but uncomfortable realisation: I came into this world with nothing, and one day I will leave this world with nothing. Yet, so much of my life, and perhaps much of human life, is spent wanting, holding on, expecting and becoming attached to people, places, possessions and experiences. That thought stayed with me because if everything is temporary, why do we find it so difficult to let go? As I continued reflecting on this, another question began to emerge: why do certain people become so important to us that their presence makes us feel safe, while their absence can make us feel as though a part of us is missing? Why does losing a relationship sometimes feel like losing our identity? Why can leaving a familiar place make us feel as though we no longer belong? And why do some attachments feel much deeper than the situation itself seems to explain? ...

The Night I Lost My Presence on Stage

Last night, I delivered a keynote lab speech. For those unfamiliar with a keynote lab, it is one of the most challenging speaking environments because you are evaluated by experienced international speakers on every aspect of your performance. They assess your stage presence, speech pace, body language, audience connection, vocal variation, content, delivery style, flow, and the overall experience you create. You have just seven minutes to demonstrate your expertise and leave a lasting impact. Every second matters. I have been speaking for many years and have stood on countless stages. I have spoken to thousands of people, trained leaders, and coached individuals to become confident communicators. Yet, for the first time in my speaking journey, I felt something I had never experienced before. I felt it in my stomach before I even stepped onto the stage, and as my speech progressed, I felt myself slowly losing my presence. Most people in the audience probably never noticed. However, a f...

Inside the Grateful Brain: What Happens When Gratitude Changes Us? (Part 2)

Last week, we explored why gratitude sometimes brings tears. We discovered that gratitude is much more than simply saying 'thank you.' It is an emotion that connects our memories, relationships, struggles, hope, and meaning into one deeply human experience. Interestingly, only a day after publishing that article, life allowed me to experience the very science I had been writing about. After finishing my workout at the gym, I picked up my phone and noticed a message waiting for me. It wasn't long or dramatic. It was simply someone expressing genuine gratitude. As I read it, I smiled. Then, almost unexpectedly, my eyes filled with tears. The organisational psychologist in me became curious. What was happening inside my brain? How could a few heartfelt words create such a powerful emotional response? The answer lies within one of the most complex and fascinating organs we possess, the human brain. The Brain Doesn't Just Read Words, It Creates Meaning When we receive a hear...

What If the World Hasn't Recognised You Yet? : A Reflection Inspired by Vincent van Gogh

The Person Behind the Masterpiece As I entered the immersive Vincent van Gogh experience in Singapore, I expected to admire beautiful paintings. Instead, I found myself reflecting on the life of the man behind them. Today, Van Gogh is celebrated as one of the greatest artists in history. His bold colours, expressive brushstrokes and masterpieces such as The Starry Night continue to inspire millions across the world. Yet, what struck me most was not his paintings but his journey. He lived through poverty, rejection, loneliness and emotional struggles. He depended greatly on his brother Theo's support and never truly experienced the recognition we now associate with his name. It made me pause and ask myself a simple but profound question: how does someone who struggled so much during his lifetime become one of the most admired artists generations later? The answer isn't simple, but it reminded me that the value of our work and the timing of its recognition are not always the s...

Who Are You Without the Titles? A Reflection on Equality, Ego, the Mind and the Soul

As I sit here today reflecting on life, I find myself returning to one thought: beneath everything we acquire and become, we begin as equals. This may be a concept some disagree with because much of the world measures people through material success, education, profession, appearance, family background, influence, and social position. Yet I have always wondered: if these things determine our worth, why do we enter this world possessing none of them? We arrive without wealth, qualifications, status or even a piece of clothing belonging to us. We are completely dependent on another human being for survival. At the end of life, there is another stripping away. The possessions remain behind, positions are filled by others, and eventually even the body through which we experienced life returns to the earth. Somewhere between our arrival and departure, however, we create an entire system of labels and begin using them to decide who matters more. From my perspective, Allah created us wi...