Write What Disturbs You

 

From time to time, we get pissed out, we feel slighted, we get offended OR worst, we feel aggrieved.  Then things will pile up.  Respected American author Natalie Goldberg says it all:  WRITE WHAT DISTURBS YOU, WHAT YOU FEAR, WHAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WILLING TO SPEAK ABOUT.  BE WILLING TO BE SPLIT OPEN.  But psychologists always remind us to realize that life is crowded with stress, demanding work, gloomy circumstances and the potential for aggravation from others, both in person and even online.  So, HOW do handle things when ANGER goes beyond boiling point and overflows???

YES, allow me to share HOW I did handle things from my end from way back till now.  I got this peculiar habit of resorting to my notes WHENEVER I feel that I'm in distress and that made me improve myself [by at least a notch or two] to be masterful enough of my self-awareness and admittedly, that has worked wonders in almost all aspects of my life.  Especiall these days WHERE you DON'T have that lame excuse that you DON'T have a pen and paper.  You got your NOTES App right on your phone!!!

Many times in the past, anger, fear and resentment kept building up within me UNTIL I would realize that it's festering my body.  WHAT I always did and invoked was to summon my own mental clarity that was needed to process my pent up emotions flooding and overflowing even within me.  And those overworked thoughts were one too heavy for me to handle and I CAN'T imagine WHAT could have happened next IF I didn't managed to unload it💚💛💜

WHAT did all these bring me in [through the years]?  It brought me peace gazillion times and even strengthened my respective relationships both at work and at home.  And here's the thing.  There's something transformative about forcing myself out of an aggravated situation and into a self-reflection mode.  I admit that it made me resilient, reflecting and level-headed.  On the side, I realized that, over time [and NOT instantly], I shed off that misplaced cockiness WHICH I sometimes manifested.  And if this works for you as it did for me, it will likely result in yu becoming a more compassionate, more understanding and more forgiving person [UNLIKE prior to that, I just treated things as either a black OR white, a correct versus wrong kind of thing].  And YES, you might have people coming up to you wondering HOW you are so 'chill', having ceased to take anything personally OR too seriously ever again❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  If there's one harsh lesson I learnt the hard way [many times in the past], it is a fact that keeping things to yourself will eventually cause it to  blow up and out [even if sometimes it will blow up and out deep within you].  So, IF we're into this dilemma, let's consider it, finding an outlet, an avenue to pour things out and writing privately is NOT just about writing [BTW, you DON'T need to have dreams to become a writter/blogger] BUT making yourself a better person.  YES dude, WRITE WHAT DISTURBS you😡😡😡

Keep Chipping Away

 

In the most recent Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and OKC Thunder, the latter were leading for more than 47 minutes of the game until Indiana's Tyrese Hyliburton unleased a jumper with 3 tenths of a second for Indiana to steal Game 1 from OKC Thunder.  HOW the latter could have led by as much as fifteen points in the final quarter and yet still allowed the Indiana Pacers to steal Game 1 from the OKC home court can only be explained in 3 to 4 words. Indiana kept CHIPPING AWAY until it was really GAME OVER💚💛💜

Much as in life, we DON'T get buried under the bushel of oblivion all instantaneously,  NOT UNTIL IT'S GAME OVER, then the game is NEVER OVER.  It is as simple as that.  You could have flunk your latest academic final exams OR suddenly you were given the pink slip with you NOT having the slightest inkling OR your partner/spouse pulling a rabbit by filing for divorce WHEN you were absolutely clueless.  BUT until that GAME IS OVER, until everything has lapsed OR expired, then you should never forget that you will always have that Chinaman's chance to pull the trick and steal the game even similarly to the jump shot by Tyrese Haliburton with 0.3 seconds left in their NBA Finals Game 1 playoff with OKC Thunder💥💥💥

Such is life exactly.  You can be penniless now.  OR suddenly jobless.  OR even homeless or abandoned by your family [even if it's your fault after all] BUT the thing is, the GAME IS NOT OVER TILL IT'S OVER.  NOT until the game's over.  Sadly, many of us would raise the white flag even before the game's buzzer sounds off.  BUT WHAT explains HOW stories like this NBA Finals Game 1 ended up being decided in 0.3 seconds out of the 48 minutes of the game?  Plain and simple.  The Indiana Pacers team kept CHIPPING AWAY [even if they were so down deep by 15 points right on the final quarter of Game 1].  This does NOT differ much from the games we face in our life❎❎❎

I remember the numerous times WHEN I was like in that situation of the Indiana Pacers.  WHEN I was penniless.  WHEN I was jobless.  WHEN I was facing challenges adjusting to live and work in an entirely new culture.  I could have easily given up WHEN my back was against the wall.  BUT I reminded myself, TO HELL, I've gone and reach this far ONLY TO GIVE UP?  No way Jose!  Instead, I told myself, I got enough time to rally up BUT if I needed to be CHIPPING AWAY, the time is NOW😕😕😕

Our takeaway:  Of all things, be fully conscious of your ballgame.  If you're into football, it's 90 minutes.  If it's the NBA professional game, it's 48 minutes.  If it's all about your life, then you got to figure out as to HOW much time you'll play on your hands before it's GAME OVER.  Forget about those technical 5-minute extensions in an NBA game OR the football penalty kick.  DON'T even wait for that last gasp of a second because that could be a hair-raising last gasp for survival BUT if at all that's WHAT remains in your active clock time, so be it, continue CHIPPING AWAY.  WHO knows you can still steal a 'W' from a foregone loss!!!

Those Double-edged Biases

 

All the while, I simply shrugged off that mile-long list of cognitive biases.  NOT until I had these realizations as to HOW they indeed help us, albeit in a low-key no-frills way.  Although we like to believe that we're rational and logical, let's accept the real truth that we are constantly under the influence of the multiple cognitive biases.  Alas, most of these biases do distort our thinking, and influence our beliefs and sometimes sway our decisions and judgments that we make.  Frankly, many of those are negatively impactful📗📙📘

Sometimes, these cognitive biases are fairly obvious as we might even find that we end up recognizing those tendencies within us.  BUT in many other cases, these biases seem so subtle such that they are [almost] impossible to notice.  One particular precious BUT limited resource we have is ATTENTION WHICH means we CAN'T possibly evaluate every possible detail WHEN forming thoughts and opinions.  SO HOW?  We then rely on mental shortcuts to speed up💥💥💥

Ironically, in the end, that becomes a trap for us because we end up with a bias.  BUT many of these biases are perilous at the very least.  LIKE CONFIRMATION BIAS where we only pay attention to information that confirms our beliefs about issues we thought we're correct.  LIKE agreeing in social media only to people WHO share your viewpoints.  So, WHAT traps people to incessant FAKE NEWS???

WHAT happens next?  People fall prey to FAKE NEWS WHEN they only choose online FEEDS or news sources that support their views.  If you are a Putin fan, you'll subscribe to the Russian FEEDS.  Of course, if you're an Arab, likely you'll subscribe to Al-Jazeera.  Experts explain that there are practical reasons WHY this happens and it's because by confirming existing opinions, it helps limit our mental resources needed to validate OR make decisions😌😌😌

Our takeaway:  Oh Oh Oh, I love this brutally honest poster telling us straight through our eyes:  DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK.  And that's our deep-seated problem lying underneath near the incognito bedrock.  So, UNLESS and UNTIL we correct the very biases we succumbed to, there's just NO other way for us to remediate and RIGHT THE WRONGS.  Those Double-edged Biases!!!

When Our 'HUMAN-side' Is Not a 'Big Ask'

 

Time for light exchanges dude!  So, what are some tricks used by waiters that most people never notice?  A businessman was dining at a new restaurant and knocked his spoon off the table.

He was wondering whether to pick it up himself or leave it, when seconds later a waiter appeared at his side. In what seemed like one movement, the waiter stooped to pick up the dropped spoon, and placed another spoon on the table.

“How did you manage that? How did you know I would drop a spoon?” the businessman asked.

The waiter smirked and said, “Sir, we've been trained in efficiency and done many studies. The most common dropped utensil is a spoon, so we keep a spare up here,” as he patted his top pocket.

“Amazing” said the businessman, whose gaze dropped from the top pocket, to the waiter's fly, where a length of string was hanging. He continued, “But did you know you have some string hanging from your fly?”

The waiter smirked again, “Sir, in our endeavours to be most efficient, we seek to minimise our time away from the restaurant, so if we need to urinate, we can speed things up by not having to wash our hands, by not touching … those parts. We use the string for that purpose.

The businessman nodded as he considered this, then looked puzzled, then asked “I can see how the string helps in … pulling it out. But how do you … put it back in, without touching it?”

The waiter proudly stated “Sir, yet more efficiency. We use that same spoon that we keep in our top pocket, and is now on your table!”

On a different note, this reminds me of that subtle reminder to us all to be NICE to all.  BUT if you handpick as to WHICH ones should you prioritize, here you go.  Of all the service providers, let us be NICE [and NEVER be RUDE]  to ALL BUT most especially to food attendants and health care service providers.  Let us NOT forget that at top of the totem pole is our HEALTH followed by our FOOD intake

Sadly, WHILE these are outliers, there were reported incidents when a hospital patient eventually got injected NOT with the correct prescribed injectible.  WHILE that incident DIDN'T cause the tragic death of that patient, can we imagine the worst things happening if one day, just because we offended a health care frontline service provider, they caused something more serious OR worst, tragic to the hospital patient.  Another incident was at a restaurant WHEN a guest somehow became emotional, ending up to offend the restaurant personnel.  Sadly, that incident ended awry because the restaurant guest ended up experiencing some symptoms of possible food poisoning BUT WHICH CAN'T be substantiated that time BUT when the restaurant guest was rushed to the nearest hospital, it was unfortunate that he was diagnosed with food poisoning although there was NO direct evidence to confirm with finality the complicity of the restaurant personnel.  Long story short, maybe this snafu could have been avoided in the very first place😌😌😌

Our takeaway:  Regardless of our standing in society, WHETHER you're at the C-Suite level OR a typical rank & file personnel, there is a commonality we share and that's the fact that we are all human, living our own separate lives, grinding through every day with UPs and DOWNs much as we want to put up the happy and funny face [and aura] of a clown OR entertainer, we humans we have our unique vulnerabilities and as much as we want to put up a HAPPY FACE when we go on with our daily schedules, let us manifest that empathy IF and WHEN circumstances will call for it.  After all, we're all humans, and we got to co-exist BUT stretching a bit to be more mindful of folks around us WON'T be too much to ask for, right dude???  When Our 'HUMAN-side'  Is Not a 'Big Ask'

Will You Give Up The Farm [JUST FOR THAT]?

 

In life, we dream about having and acquiring a farm.  Farms?  YES, because that's one reflection of one's success.  THEN, along the way, here you are again, running a full circle and nursing to achieve another success BUT the biggest question is, WILL YOU GIVE UP THE FARM [just for that]?  There's this story about Pablo Picasso, the famous Spanish painter. Legend has it that he was sketching in a park WHEN an audacious woman approached him.  And she insisted that he must sketch her portrait, right there and then📗📙📘

So, Picasso agreed to sketch the woman.  And after studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her protrait.  He handed her his work of art.  And the woman blurted "It's perfect!.  You managed to capture my essence all in one stroke, all in one moment.  Thank you.  How much do I owe you?".  Picasso replied, "Five thousand dollars".  BUT the woman protested WHY Picasso is asking for so much WHEN it took him a very short time to do that sketch.  Picasso calmly replied, "Madam, it took me my entire life" [to come up with that sketch for you].  How's it?  Have you struggled with the value you bring to the table?  Picasso had NO such trouble in this story💥💥💥

Truth to tell, in our life, more often, it's NOT just the face value BUT its intrinsic value as well.  It's NOT just tit for tat.  It's NOT bread for bread all the time.  When we're tapping on the services of people, it's NOT just the end result that matters because you are leveraging on that person's capabilities and competencies.  A fortnight ago, we treated our 'on call' handyman and his wife to a sumptous meal in a 'top-rated' restaurant and from there, we brought them to the supermarket and advised them to 'cart in' WHATEVER consummables they will find in the supermarket [and we'll just wait at the Checkout Counter]💚💛💜

NOT to defend the behemoths in the multiple vertical industries, I always believed in free enterprise such that companies should sell based on VALUE [and NOT simply the cost of the product].  The key here is to think about WHAT one is providing by identifying the value one is offering as a proposition.  The key here is for the 'seller' to think about WHAT he is providing and identify the value so that he can present his offering in a way that becomes NOT just acceptable but 'palatable' to the recipient he is offering his services😊😊😊

Our takeaway:  Regardless if the engagement or interaction is on a 'commercial' basis OR purely personal [within your family], let's consider all these:

• Understand your VALUE PROPOSITION.
• Understand someone's pain and value you're offering
• Understand WHAT IF you're in the shoes of that person
• Understand your 'true' costs before any 'mark ups'
• Understand to focus your efforts for that person to appreciate the value you're offering BUT WILL YOU GIVE UP THE FARM [just for that]?  No way dude!!!

Life is Never 'CUT & DRY'

 

Oh NO, LIFE IS NEVER A 'CUT AND DRY' stuff.  WHO says it is?  Just a few years ago WHEN we all got hit hard by that Covid-19 Pandemic, our world turned upside down and our whole world just ended more than just topsy-turvy.  True, literal things like meat, flowers and wood are all 'CUT and DRIED'  BUT dude, there there are many more things in life WHICH is NOT 'CUT and DRIED'📗📙📘

Issues?  Answers?  BTW, even phone-cleaning is certainly NOT as CUT and DRIED as you thought.  Far from CUT and DRIED, science is dynamic and messy and, like a great novel , filled with changes in plot.  As such, science has always been peddled as the best example of NOT being CUT and DRIED because it's always fresh.  That's the parallelism when we get drawn in our daily lives. And even we do a mapping with technology, there is NO 'PLUG and PLAY' in our daily lives💥💥💥

In real life terms, we heard heart-rending narratives from the Third World WHERE a parent works damn hard overseas and sends his financial help to his family every month or so.  UNTIL the beneficiaries got so used to it.  UNTIL the recipients [wrongly] believe that that was the 'DEFAULT SETTING' in their lives and therefore, without lifting even a finger, $$$$$$$ will trickle in come next month and in this age of digital wallets, one DOESN'T even need to go to the bank.  $$$$$$$ would just trickle in effortlessly into their digital wallets.  One day, those $$$$$$$ DON'T get into the digital wallet and people 10,000 miles away start to get anxious and yes, damn worried.  WHY?  It's because they [wrongly] thought that life is a 'CUT and DRY' thing, WHICH is NOT.  BUT alas, people's perspectives get mixed up❎❎❎

Over at the workplace, typically, if you've got those 'wet ears' straight from university, you are so enthused and excited to plunge into work.  BUT down the road, some of us would [wrongly] thing that life becomes 'CUT and DRY' at the workplace environment.  THAT salary increments will happen.  THAT job promotions are no-brainers.  THAT variable bonuses are a given.  Until, someone gets hit by very unpleasant things LIKE that salary increment NOT happening, that JOB promotion never coming into fruition and that variable bonus becomes nothing more than just a figment of one's imagination😕😕😕

Our takeaway:  Life is NOT a point-to-point thing, NOT akin to that tourist Hop-IN Hop-OUT buses.  While the parallelism is consistent with the START and END of that journey, once the engine in our life gets ignited, expect a road with potholes, with gaps, with some hard gravels and sometimes with slopes too steep for the inefficient engine to struggle upwards.  Yes dude, to set expectations, LIFE IS NEVER 'CUT & DRY'❗❗❗

That Unwritten Rule That Our LIPS SHOULD BE SEALED

 

These days, WHEN our communities are wired seamlessly with almost NO boundaries, the magic words most we hear most often are collaborations and interactive, a far cry from those times WHEN technology and the internet for that matter was light years away.  BUT in our life, we often think about our UPs and DOWNs, the HIGHs and the LOWs and also we tend to contemplate about WHO we can share it with.  BUT alas, there are also some things in life that should be kept under wraps and kept private at all times, in fact.  It may be an unwritten rule BUT it resonates the loudest because we should NEVER breach the unwritten rule for some things in life WHERE our lips should be sealed💚💛💜

Topping the list is our FINANCES.  NO sirrrrrrs, contrary to the skewed understanding that only the impoverished OR those with financial challenges should keep their lips sealed, that's only one half of the unwritten rule.  And the other half is that even if you Elon Musk OR Jeff Bezos, keep your finances under wraps as well.  WHY flaunt it?  OR WHY SHARE it like an open book? There is NO single compelling reason to do so.  BUT if ever you breach this unwritten rule, WHAT happens next?  If you're awash with wealth, either you will be besirched as flaunting your wealth OR you can up risking the safety of even yourself💥💥💥

If you are conscious enough as to HOW people will look upon you, build up your credibility, your track record, your standing BUT finances?  Shut off the windows.  Coming close to the heels are family matters.  Regardless of the severity of family issues, NEVER wash dirty linen in public.  There is NO gain for doing because the only people WHO deserve to know your family issues are either an immediate member of your family or a professional therapist OR counsellor whose services you are tapping.  Thing is, the MORE YOU TELL, the MORE THE NEWS will spread like bushfires and wildfires and before you know, you are the 'HOT TOPIC' of kibitzers and hobnobbers, ouch❎❎❎

Next foxhole are problems in a strained relationship.  True, the hubby has a trusted friend and so is the wifey.  BUT once things turn its ugly head in a relationship, keep that equation as simple as possible, i.e. anything and everything is between the partners OR spouses.  It behooves to NOT involve anyone else as advices can be diverse and it will likely end up as a contributor to making the situation more complex than it was.  BTW, this is human nature.  If you step into a room with ten people, expect ten opinions.  It is an outlier to stumble across someone WHO, when you solicit an opinion, will tell you that he has 'NO OPINION'😗😗😗

NEXT?  Your future plans.  Your next goals.  Your upcoming chapter in your workbook.  There is a lot of energy associated with every goal and ambition we have in life.  And as per beliefs, WHEN you share too much about the future with someone [even if he/she is your closest and most trusted confidant], it could attract their jealous energies OR worse, even something more sinister.  Moreover, I 'walked this talk'.  Sharing your next move OR next plan can put up the pressure on you.  Imagine if everyone is aware of your next goal[s]?  Besides that unwanted pressure, if ever you stumble or fall flat in your next goal, you DON'T want everyone to be in the know, right?  WHAT for?  Yes, there are unwritten rules to KEEP OUR LIPS SEALED😌😌😌

It Feels Better Than The Truth

 

Last night, I was watching the Netflix movie FLIGHTPLAN starred by Jodie Foster.  Without spoiling your interest, at one point, as everyone was airborne [in that flight], the volunteering therapist bluntly told Jodie Foster [the bereaved wife bringing her husband's casket back to the U.S. and while airborne, losts her daughter WHO was seated/sleeping right next to her in their coach seats] that sometimes, "IT FEELS BETTER THAN THE TRUTH".  That egged me to pause that movie because I realized that there was a tinge of truth because in life, as much as we want the truth, there will be times WHEN hearing something, sometimes it FEELS BETTER THAN THE TRUTH

True, everyone sings HONEST IS THE BEST POLICY BUT experts may NOT absolutely agree on this mantra to be 100% all the time.  True, we were all taught to NEVER LIE as even our parents did teach us the power of truth.  And no less than your partner/spouse will remind you that honesty matters the most.  BUT here's the researchers coming in that there is a lot we get wrong about deception, truth-telling and trust and that, IF mastered, lying 'THE RIGHT WAY' can actually help build connections, trust and even businesses.  At one Ivy League university in the U.S. [I'm sorry I WON'T mention it as it might sound libelous], one professor opined that they should be teaching students WHEN TO LIE

Surprisingly, the Ivy League researchers say that we are MORE LIKELY TO BE LIED TO [and even TOLD TO LIE] than we can ever realize ever, if at all.  And their case studies were like real-life.  LIKE your mom reminding you to tell your grandma that you enjoyed the meal at her home.  LIKE you giving feedback to a co-worker that DOESN'T seem to capture the whole truth.  Still that so called 'ART OF DECEPTION' is more nuanced than we might think of.  LIKE if we have someone's interests at hear, WHEN lying being detrimental BUT you know your best friend at work is so vulnerable with the slightest 'BAD NEWS' to cause her to be demoralized [and obviously you DON'T want that end-result to happen [all because you were 100% truthful]💚💛💜

LIKE WHEN someone in the family has been diagnosed with a very serious illness BUT divulging the whole truth will simply push your loved one's own 'spirit' spiralling downwards.  Experts tell us that people's primary interests is WHAT really matters most because generally, people care about whether you have good intentions a lot more than WHETHER the person is being honest per se.  A parting shot from the experts:  LIES ARE MOST BENEFICIAL WHEN THEY'RE NOT SELFISH.  If you tell your partner he OR she looks great before a date to boost his OR her self-esteem, that's one thing.  BUT saying it just to get your loved one out the door because you're already late, that's WHERE your ill-intentions rear its ugly head, there lies the bridge of goodwill and intent breached💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  WHEN sharing feedback, indeed honesty is important.  WHY commend one as SUPERMAN if he's a LEMON?  And in that NETFLIX FLIGHTPLAN movie, the therapist was trying to console a grieving widow [WHO was bringing her husband's casket on that very same flight only to loose her daughter WHO was tucked and seated next to her in their coach seats].  In short, that debate over lying is NOT only about WHETHER honest information is delivered at the right time.  In those situations, people tend to appreciate withholding the truth until much later.  WHICH brings us back to the idea of control OR simply a distraction.  Thing is, we need to be incisive as to WHEN IT FEELS BETTER THAN THE TRUTH😗😗😗

If You Were Good Then, You'll Be Good Now

 

Anyone WHO agrees that POSITIVE TRAITS and ACTIONS are contagious enough in life?  Straight from researches, those studies show that once we have established those POSITIVE TRAITS and even ACTIONS, it will take considerably less efforts to be exerted as compared to IF you haven't rooted it deep within you.  Part of habit formation.  Part of character building.  Listening from the experts, they claim that is NO sheer coincidence.  Instead, they are telling us that this all boils down to one's consistency of character.  As the age-old cliche goes,  IF YOU WERE GOOD THEN, YOU'LL BE GOOD NOW💚💛💜

I CAN'T question OR debate the idea that if you have been known for being GENUINELY and LEGITIMATELY kind, honest, and compassionate, it will be very likely that those very positive traits will naturally continue to shape your actions in the future, barring outliers.  And being GOOD involves more than just a moment of kindness.  NO FLASH IN THE PAN please because it's all about consistent behaviors and choices.  SO HOW?  I CAN'T claim to be an expert counsellor on this BUT doing good, even WHEN unnoticed and incognito, can create that ripple effect in our own life and even the lives of others [WITHOUT even approximating the recognized philonthropists]💧💧💧

There is one school of thought that is difficult to disagree with, that is, CHARACTER FORMATION must be intentional and that it CAN'T be separated even as stand-alone.  Rather, it has to be inclusive and consistently sustained every step of the way.  BTW, our CHARACTER FORMATION is frequently in a forked road, as it could either veer towards the good OR the bad.  BTW, the more common NEGATIVE traits that get embedded within us.  LIKE being fatalistic, which is seriously detrimental.  Imagine if we're facing a problem and we simply shrug our shoulders off because we would leave everything to God !@#$%? to sort out things and eventually fix our problem.  Frankly, this is a very self-defeating mindset!!!

And there's that CRAB MENTALITY?  That attitude to pull down and bring down someone else [whose trajectory is going up 'north'] and all along, our 'sinister' hope is bring that person down down 'south'.  And there's that short-spanned EXCITEMENT where we would witness at the start of every endeavor or activity BUT after all the initial hoopla, the momentum wanes until things would seem to fizzle out💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  The biggest miss we often witness WHEN it comes to CHARACTER FORMATION is that sometimes, we do act and move but it becomes TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE.  We DON'T plant the seeds of positivities once we reach middle age.  It would even be late to plant those seeds by the time we're settling down and starting to raise our own family.  Lesson learnt many times over is that undeniable fact that IF YOU WERE GOOD THEN, YOU'LL BE GOOD NOW [barring those outliers of course😡😡😡

[FRAUD ALERT Bulletin] How To Spot Malicious Two-Factor Authentication

 

EN TOTO sharing herein From lifehacker.com's Emily Long dated 09.12.2025 titled How To Spot Malicious Two-Factor Authentication.  With hackers looking for any way they can to gain access to your personal information via every form of phishing scheme, it's critical to take every precaution to protect your data. Multi-factor (MFA) authentication is one way to boost account security, but it has to be employed correctly, and even then, you should be on the lookout for malicious prompts that give bad actors the codes they need to log in easily

First, a reminder that two-factor and multi-factor authentication are not necessarily made equal. 2FA uses exactly two factors to verify a user's login, and both can be something the user knows, such as their password plus a PIN or SMS code. MFA, meanwhile, requires at least two independent factors, like a password (a knowledge factor) plus a biometric ID (an identity factor) or a time-based, one-time password (a possession factor) from an authenticator app

Knowledge factors (and some possession factors) can be phished relatively easily, which is why 2FA codes sent via SMS are the worst option for authentication, especially if you have alternatives. Bad actors may also try to trick you into engaging with fake 2FA prompts.

HOW TO IDENTIFY MALICIOUS 2FA PROMPTS

One way hackers get past 2FA is by wearing you down with repeated authentication requests, a tactic known as prompt bombing. You may get dozens, even hundreds of push notifications to your phone in a short amount of time or late at night when you're less likely to be thinking clearly. 

Threat actors are counting on the fact that if you get annoyed enough, you'll eventually approve one of them. DON'T!!! If you get a 2FA prompt when you're not trying to log into one of your accounts, that's an instant red flag.  Another sign of a malicious prompt is that the attempted login is coming from an unfamiliar device or region—for example, a Google notification for a Windows machine when you're a Mac user or a location in an entirely different country

Hackers may also contact you by phone, text, or email to request your 2FA SMS codes. It is easy to spoof phone numbers and email addresses, so you shouldn't trust caller ID or a sender even if it looks legitimate.Bottom line: If you receive suspicious 2FA requests via push notification, text, or other method, ignore them, and change the password on the related account by going directly to the website or app, never via the prompt itself, as this may lead you to a phishing site that could further compromise your information.  Due, to be forewarned is to be forearmed😡😡😡