I know the secret of happy life but I live a stressful one. The only reason I am in constant struggle is my competition with the world. People ahead of the game motivate me but the urge to go past them is making my life hell. In public I say I don’t compete with anyone but that’s a blatant lie. I appreciate successful people on their face but in my mind I am devising a strategy to beat them. I have all the ingredients in the right proportion to enjoy my meal but the excessive salt of competition is making my food worthless.
An average person criticizes others. Wise men do self introspection. Fools know everything. Men of intellect are always inquisitive. Failures give advice. Successful people look for guidance. Fearful people are always doubtful. Courageous men step into the unknown. Lazy people give excuses for inaction. Active men find reasons to act. Everyone thinks he is on the right side of the equation. Half of them are not. Think again.
When you think of building something large and meaningful, the initial few thoughts could be overwhelming. You will feel excited and doubtful at the same time. While your idea will seem workable to you, you will get bouts of negativity as to why no one ever did it. All this is very natural. Don’t be perturbed. Go ahead with your plan. A challenging assignment will bring out the best in you. A little uncertainty will keep you on your toes. Be flexible. A full proof plan is seldom successful.
There will always be options available to you. When you choose one, the other would seem better. It’s almost a rule. Still, you must choose and choose fast. Once you close your options, don’t think too much about the other option, because if you would have chosen the second option, the first would then seem to be better. Our mind is tuned to regret the moment we make a choice. Re-program it not to feel so. If you make a choice, own it.
I am in two minds. I want to go full throttle to achieve professional success and get name and fame. And then a part of me wants to explore the spiritual side of life and cut myself off the world. Every other day my mind swings. Both are mutually exclusive ways and once I decide to embark on either one it seems I will need to close the other way. This is a tough call. Years have passed in this internal fight. Any further delay will make it difficult to achieve any meaningful result either way. I am still thinking.
You don’t need to be perfect. If you chase it, no matter how hard you try, someone else will redefine perfection and you will lag behind again. Quit this race. Being the best in a few things will give you enough weight to bury a few lapses. Perfection will make you a machine. A little imperfection makes you a human.
We are all trying to leave a mark on the planet and in the minds of other people. We want others to remember us for what we did even when we go away. To achieve this, sometimes we try too hard to get noticed and recognized. Well, it’s good to make an impact but there could be an easier way. Be inwardly focussed. Live a good life. Do things that make you happy. Help others. This itself will send a good message. You don’t need to blow a horn to attract others. Your silent acts can inspire the whole world.
People’s opinion about you is never going to be right. Either they will underestimate you tremendously or overestimate you beyond your wildest dreams. So, ignore it either way. Be a master of your own life. Let no one judge you. Beat your own benchmark. When you are down under and they won’t even bet a penny on you, remember that they are underestimating you. Don’t give up and keep trying. And when you climb up the ladder and they raise their eyes to look at you, remember again; they are overestimating and you must remain humble and tell yourself – ‘I am not done yet’.
Everyone has got the same number of hours every day. Yet, few people make the most of it in one lifetime while others waste a plentiful of it. We will always be pressed against time. Everything will look exciting but the key is to say no to most of them. If we try to achieve more by engaging in too many things, none will yield fruitful result. Contrary to this, if we focus on few things at a time, we can end up doing a lot more during our lifetime. The fear of missing out is the biggest killer of time. The best use of time is not to use it every time.
She did not see left. She did not see right. If you wanted to see her face you would need to wait for hours for her to turn. The whole time she was engrossed in painting. She was neither young nor old. She was just careless about time. She wore casual clothes though from her demeanor people thought she is rich. She never spoke a word, yet they considered her wise. In just a few months her paintings made a mark. She still didn’t care. Years passed and she became a celebrity painter and someone asked what made you so good. She replied; ‘I dont know. I am still learning’.
