I recently rewatched "Miracle in Cell no7(7 Koğuştaki Mucize)" a Turkish movie, an official adaptation of a Korean movie, and is based upon a true event. So here goes my thoughts.

The movie is set in 1980s rural Turkey under martial law. The story revolvs around Memo, an intellectually disable man, and his 6-year-old daughter Ova. It portrays a heartwarming father-daughter relationship. Even though Memo is handicapped, it doesn't get in his way to live a normal life with his daughter and grandmother. By a cruel twist of fate, he is falsely charged with the murder of a commander's daughter and sent to prison. If you get accustomed to the peace and serenity of the first 15 minutes then it's time to buckle up cause it's going to be a rough roller coaster ride.

In the beginning, Memo's inmates find it hard to accept him as he's labelled as a child murderer. But soon enough, Memo's kindness, childish remarks, and display of gentle fatherhood melt their hostility. It takes no genius to figure out that he's obviously framed by the higher-ups, yet none can fight the system that has everyone in its cluctches. I once read in a book: "In a world too often governed by corruption and arrogance, it can be difficult to stay true to one's literary and philosophical principles." This statement couldn’t be more accurate.

Along with Memo other characters also get their spotlights. Their stories unfold naturally, and characters develop spontaneously. In the case of his inmates, their remorse and intent to make up for their sins are vividly expressed. In my humble opinion, a peek inside the mind of the commander wouldn't have been bad. At least we could get some insight into those who holds the absolute power and authority. It is not a thriller or suspense genre , but I remember with each passing moment I was holding my breath in and anticipating the next turn of events. The movie doesn't forget to provide comic relief, giving me a chance to exhale.

Cinematography, dialogue delivery, and costume design leave no room for disappointment. The soundtrack and background music are not at all exaggerated. They are used when necessary to bring out the proper reactions of the audience. Lastly, hats off to the cast and crew. With their polished performance, it hardly felt like i was watching a movie . I empathized with them and shed tears as the poignant story went on.

from the novel The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

ELLA: The Other Side of the Coin

The kaleidoscope has started rolling and there we see Ella making her way to the kitchen. Before everyone wakes up she prepares a distinct dish for each. After breakfast, the sound of loneliness echoes exclusively for her to listen to the melody. Motherhood suppressed her qualifications, making her talent in literature a rusty sword. Slowly and steadily her clock ticks, and with each tick emptiness grows more impatient, rebelling to break away from everything she has ever known. In the afternoon, she cooks again. At night the dining table represents a picture-perfect family. After dinner, Ella makes her way to bed. Preparing herself for another upcoming monotonous day.

Exceeding beyond her limit Ella breaks free from her paramour. She no longer lives a transparent, monochrome life but rather a colorful one with intricate feelings. This might be stomach-churning to someone. However, in the end, love will always find you one way or another. So, don't make love find its entrance the hard way because LOVE will always avenge its toil most inexplicably.

Rebirth featuring Desert Rose: THE HARLOT

A repertoire of excruciating experiences, she has seen misery beyond her years. It wasn't always like this - she wasn't always this sullied. She was part of a harmonic family, living her days in a humble abode. However, following one incident her life plunged into the unknown abyss of darkness unable to resist the course of ominous, overpowering pull; abandoning her youthful innocence. She was desired by men at night, yet rejected when dawn broke. As time passes her innocence becomes tainted correspondingly. Her belief in God and her religiosity were stupefied as to "what can be done". And then, comes a mysterious dervish whose powerful words struck Rose in such a way that she was conscious of the "self".

Ultimately, She was not in her primitive pristine stage but she was ready to change, courageous enough to make amends and embark on a journey to rediscover herself.

David: The Philanderer

Be a Leader Not a Boss- Aspire to Inspire Before You Expire

After joining a workplace, many climb the corporate ladder with hopes of taking charge.The amount of effort one puts is definitely praiseworthy. This post is to aid them in reaching their goal.

Skill Set

Humans, created impatient, want quick remedies. Capitalizing on that, the how-to industry is skyrocketing in business but it's ineffective in bringing about a refreshing change. Many believe a leader must have authenticity, empathy, truthfulness, and inspiring trust. He should be second to none. Analyzing powerful and economically successful leaders similarities found are-

Effective decision making

Accountability 

Wise yet adventurous

Patience in dealing with people

Creative director

Career counselor

Knows when to cut losses

Observant - paying attention to minor details may not seem much but it has its own charm

Passion, honesty and being able to motivate teammates. 

Humbly revealing weaknesses

Using languages of appreciation and love - people remember when you call them by their names, praise their small efforts, look out for them

Psychologically manipulative

Am I Worthy? Feedback Time 

Can Everyone Be a Leader?

Leadership is not always a built-in feature, it can be learned too. However, not everyone is cut out to be a corporate leader. This thought is freeing in a sense. Some people actually work better under supervision/mentorship. Many are not comfortable taking risks, responsibilities and being the herald. 

Goal

Leaders are action-oriented. They have a specific vision in mind. Building emotional intelligence, high-performance teams, strong connections, fostering confidence, adaptability, macro management skills, emphasizing inter-personal growth makes an efficient leader.

A positive work environment has two components: work design and work culture. Work culture, a subset of organizational culture, is the beliefs, customs, and behavior of a group of people within a work environment; influenced and shaped by the physical environment, interactions, attitudes, beliefs, traditions, and values. Having dynamic features, it can be positive, outdated, or toxic.

The purpose of this article is to briefly explore positive work culture, its importance, how to ensure it and the downside of toxicity in the worksite.

Some words associated with positive work culture are-

Meaningful Connections

Remarkable Transparency

Nurturing and motivating Mentors

Job Autonomy

Relaxed and rewarding

Welcoming

The Importance of Positive Work Culture

A positive work culture inspires empathy, kindness, trust, mutual respect, loyalty, provides support, prioritizes the welfare of employees. Positive social interactions at work are essential for employees' health, according to studies. A person who has positive social connections feels fewer illnesses, recovers quickly, demonstrates happiness, better cognitive function and competency. 

Leaders can lower turnover and encourage staff loyalty by regularly displaying empathy.

Research shows when a team leader can create strong connections with the members, they tend to be considerate of others.

Well-reputed organizations such as software company Adobe, Google, Microsoft, multinational technology company Apple, Amazon, multinational automotive and clean energy  company Tesla, apparel provider Zappos utilize the perks that come with a fine-structured work culture. This is one of their secrets to success.

Ensuring a Positive Work Culture  

Creating explicit core values and hiring those who share them

Using transformational leadership and skilled facilitation

Modeling ways of working that are flexible, collaborative, challenging in a friendly manner, appreciative, and innovative

Openness to experience, adapting to emerging changes and demands

Employers can also use the PERMA model(Martin E. P. Seligman). This looks after the wellness of a person.

Introduce job crafting, autotelic personality

Toxicity vs Productivity

Needless to say, there is a negative correlation between these two variables. Dysfunctional behavior, poor management, power struggle, cold war, interpersonal drama, unpleasant communication brew toxicity. It may seem a minor issue at first, but an organization suffers for a prolonged period.

Stress triggers our fight or flight response. Often times, short-term stress helps us overcome crises thrown our way, but a prolonged period of fight or flight mode takes a toll on our body. Sometimes it takes a serious wakeup call for a stressed-out person to respond to their erratic behavior-drastic health damage, alienation by family members or friends, or dissatisfaction with life. While the World Health Organization has published "Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide," and authors have written countless books on the subject, there is no exact manual for dealing with stress. Physiologically and psychologically, we can change our coping with stress. There is a spectrum of things that have been proven to be effective in managing stress.

 In this post I will write about some of them.

 A healthy work-life balance can go a long way to helping us shine as employees. Taking sufficient breaks, unwinding from workplace stressors, decluttering, and allowing us to reflect on ourselves, creating a fine line between occupational life and private life, recharges us. Instead of being so hard on ourselves, we should embrace our imperfections, limitations and stop sweating over everything.

Many a time, we overlook simple tasks that can relieve stress. After completing a difficult task, taking a small break to meditate, doing some jumping jacks or breathing exercises, checking up on colleagues, having something to drink, sit back and relax, or maybe watering the plant on our desk can put us at ease.

Spending our energy wisely is also an important aspect. By getting enough rest, prioritizing tasks at hand, doing one thing at a time, keeping planners, and taking advantage of our physical, psychological, mental, and spiritual ability, social support, and cognitive flexibility, we can prevent burnout.

Being stressed out is not an ideal condition. But changing our mindset towards stress really does make a difference. Rather than treating stress as our worst enemy, we can view it in a positive light. A term, Stress-Related Growth (SRG), is introduced that looks for positive outcomes resulting from stressful experiences. Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal says in her book "THE UPSIDE OF STRESS" that embracing stress positively helps us thrive. Viewing stressors as "good stress," or what psychologists refer to as "eustress," blocks threat-based stress response and that is vital for a healthy life.

Employers can assign a stress consultant or a counselor in an office, keeping the mental well-being of the employees in mind. Employees can benefit from seminars, workshops, and group consultations held at regular intervals.