From Within and Without: A Journey of Growth, Grounding, and Perspective Shifts

 

From Within and Without: A Journey of Growth, Grounding, and Perspective Shifts

Last year unfolded as a mosaic of opportunities, challenges, and deep personal transformation for myself. While a few moments may have slipped through the cracks, the path I walked was rich with purpose and learning. I found myself designing and executing meaningful interventions in Punjab and Delhi, and supporting Uttarakhand with training design, facilitation, state plans, research, and career counseling initiatives. Each experience added layers to my growth—not just as a professional, but as a person deeply committed to the system.

In Punjab, I stepped into an unofficial leadership role, drawing on my learnings from Anandam. Navigating the initial resistance from stakeholders was tough. They struggled to see the relevance of life skills training. But instead of pushing harder, I chose to listen—really listen. I heard their concerns, acknowledged their context, and then gently held up a mirror using an example they resonated with: the current state of the Life skills Classrooms. That was the turning point. They began to see how a mindset-based curriculum needed to be embodied by teachers, not just delivered.

This led to the organization of a five-day workshop for the content team—not just about pedagogy, but about lived experience. Today, 16 teachers stand as champions of life skills in Punjab, their understanding rooted in the belief that this work is not an “add-on” but a way of being.

While the liaisoning success was a milestone, the real struggle came in designing the closure for the workshop. I was uncertain, and I found myself grappling with how to end meaningfully. With support from design and development team, I experienced one of the most powerful learnings of the year—that closure is not an ending, but an invitation for continuity. It reshaped how I approached the design of any session that followed.

In Delhi, I took ownership of the School Mental Health Initiative (SMHI). The challenge? To make the program sustainable while transitioning ownership to the government. This involved training psychologists from a different organization and contextualizing an existing curriculum into a 35-minute classroom format.

So, I observed. I sat in trainings, visited classrooms, and dissected the curriculum. These observations gave birth to key insights—how to make the curriculum experiential, how to integrate Dream a Dream’s approach, and how to unlock space for life skills in a constrained timetable. One breakthrough was proposing the inclusion of government EVGCs as key stakeholders. With time, we co-created a six-day training where psychologists and EVGCs discovered not just facilitation tools, but the power of vulnerability and presence in the classroom. They recognized that being a psychologist-educator was about holding space, not fixing. It was deeply affirming to witness their shift.

When the time came to shape the D.El.Ed and B.Ed intervention framework, I suggested seeing it as a window within the system—an opportunity to showcase experiential life skills training, rather than creating another standalone program. That small shift in perspective built a bridge with the system, opening space for workshops with mentor teachers. These weren’t just trainings. They were invitations to pause, reflect, and reconnect with their “why.”

While there’s interest from funders to scale the program, I find myself advocating for a different approach this year—focusing on building the capacity of D.El.Ed and B.Ed lecturers, the educators who hold long-term influence within pre-service and in-service training. Their understanding and conviction can become the foundation of a truly sustainable life skills ecosystem.

My time with the research team was equally transformative. I saw, perhaps for the first time, how data isn't just about proving a point—it’s about shaping a narrative. In Uttarakhand, I supported the MEL process and discovered that Anandam hasn’t fully reached last-mile teachers. This insight raised questions and possibilities: Is Anandam what’s needed there? Or is a different approach waiting to be born?

In the Bal Mela, I stepped away from frameworks and reconnected with children directly. Their energy and clarity reminded me of why this work matters. Winning the Best Paper Presentation for the Punjab research initiative was deeply validating. It reminded me that I have the voice, the experience, and the insight to speak from the ground up—and that I must do so more often.

In Jharkhand, I experienced a fundamental shift in my facilitation style. I realized how much could be achieved by leveraging system stakeholders’ strengths instead of always filling in the gaps myself. It transformed the training experience—making it feel more collaborative, more grounded.

One of the most demanding moments was designing and facilitating the Step Insight three-day training—especially in the absence of direct, on-the-ground support from the D&D team. Yet, the months of mentoring and thoughtful engagement with them laid a strong foundation. Their guidance helped us understand how to hold complexity with clarity, remain anchored in our purpose, and respond with care and intentionality.

Drawing from what we had absorbed—whether it was their approach to designing for depth, the way they framed reflection questions, or how they modeled facilitation with presence—we stepped into the space with courage. My fellow facilitators and I held space for deep and meaningful engagement, constantly reminding ourselves that the collective “why” must always lead the way. This experience reaffirmed that real-time support is valuable, but the deeper mentoring we receive over time equips us to rise to the moment when it truly matters.

Through this journey, I came to see myself differently. I began to understand my facilitation style more deeply, recognizing where I shined and where I stumbled. I grew in areas like conducting powerful debriefs, and I allowed vulnerability to become a strength, not a fear.

What Shifted Inside Me

This year taught me that impact isn’t always loud—sometimes, it’s in the silent moments when a teacher smiles with recognition, when a stakeholder says, “This makes sense,” or when a facilitator feels seen and heard. My journey was as much about creating systems change as it was about changing something inside myself.

From being unsure of how to close a session to confidently navigating government partnerships…
From striving to prove myself to allowing the work to speak through me…
From seeing life skills as a subject to embodying them as a way of being...

This was my inside-out journey. And I carry it forward with gratitude—for every challenge, every mentor, every opportunity, and every child who reminded me that change begins with presence.

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