Mariyam Mohamed

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...

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...

  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...

  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...

This morning, I found myself sitting in silence, listening to my morning fortune tune. As the music played, I closed my eyes and felt as though I had been transported into the heart of a forest. I could hear birds singing in the distance, the gentle dripping of water, and the rhythmic sound of waves meeting the shore. It was one of those rare moments when the outside world disappeared, and all that remained was stillness. In that stillness, a thought entered my mind so quietly that it almost whispered. I came into this world with nothing. And one day, I will leave this world with nothing. For a few moments, I simply sat with those words. They carried a strange sense of peace, yet they also challenged something deep inside me. If I own nothing in the beginning and nothing in the end, then why do I spend so much of my life wanting? Why do I sometimes feel hurt when people do not give me the attention I hoped for? Why do I become attached to relationships, achievements, recognition, or ev...

  "Have you ever found yourself crying while saying 'thank you'? Perhaps someone showed you unexpected kindness, you reflected on how far you've come, or you paused to appreciate the blessings in your life—and suddenly, tears appeared. You weren't sad, yet you weren't simply happy either. You felt something much deeper." For many people, gratitude is expected to feel warm, peaceful, and joyful. Yet gratitude often comes with tears. It may happen while praying, hugging a loved one after a long separation, receiving help during a difficult time, graduating after years of hard work, or simply reflecting on life's journey. These tears can be confusing because they seem to contradict what we believe happiness should look like. The truth is that gratitude is far more than a pleasant emotion. It is one of the most complex emotional experiences the human mind can produce. It intertwines memory, emotion, relationships, survival, hope, and meaning. When all of t...