When I travel east, my mind is in the west. In the crowd I want attention and when I am surrounded by people, I want privacy. I think so contrarian. I set my targets and change them very often. I decide on a path and by the time I start walking, I find another way more exciting. The fear of mising out on the best things life has to offer always plays in my mind. Due to this, I am unable to enjoy whatever comes my way. Life is so uncertain and yet I want it picture perfect. I want to live in the moment. I am struggling.
Pain is not always bad. Different emotions keep you balanced in life. Infact, disappointments sometimes help you strengthen your soul. Sometimes, it’s a need of the heart. When your favorite player loses in the finals, mourn the loss. You deserve this moment. When your team fails to qualify and tears roll over your cheeks, don’t wipe them. You deserve this feeling. When someone close leaves you for ever and you spend sleepless nights in his memory, let it continue as long as it does. You deserve this feeling. Stop struggling with your pain. Learn to relish it too. It’s there for a reason.
Humility is a big asset. It’s value cannot be measured. While people with humility may look subdued, but they carry unbelievable aura of a different kind. They don’t look for control and yet, people around them feel the weight of their humility. Humility is a mark of character. You have to choose between authority with demand of power or the gift of humility which gets loads of respect. It will require a lot of wisdom to make the right choice.
In sports it’s often said; ‘winners takes it all’. Mostly true. But it’s not he case with life. In sports there is a definite winner judged by pre defined rules. Rules which are same for everyone. For life that’s not true. While we may have some systems to follow for orderly living in society, everyone can have their own rules and benchmark to live the way they want. A saint in the mountain may score over a corporate high flyer. A teacher in a remote village may derive more satisfaction than a Harvard professor. Define your own rules. Live by it.
Champions sink themselves in practice. Yet, it is their mental strength which gets them through. When you are up against another top athlete, it eventually boils down to mind play and how bad you want it. When the play is equal, players are able to read their opponents mind. When one of them finds that the other player is not having any doubt about win, he concedes. The mental stamina is not just a matter of a days will. It requires practice too.
Everytime he achieved his targets he resented. He thought he should have set his goals higher. Whenever he aspired for something, he put in the required effort to achieve it. The world thought it was commendable. He examined himself and concluded that his effort was in sync with his aspirations. Had he aspired bigger, he would have worked harder or smarter to achieve it. He started stepping up his targets and it became a child’s play for him. He wondered; how many people know what he discovered.
Deals will fall through. Loved ones will go away. People will change their opinion about you. It will seem like life is playing against you. Nothing will come your way. A lot of people will break when faced with such a situation. But there will always be few who will stand strong and face the ferocious winds of adversity. People are mistaken when they think they have strong legs. It requires mental strength. It can withstand the test of time. Even if you have a frail body, a strong mindset will keep enemies away. Never give up. Never.
There will come a time in your life when you will have to make a choice. To have freedom of time or to remain a slave. Freedom doesn’t mean you should not work. But if ever your work life becomes a baggage and you despise going to work, it’s time to introspect. The expectation of the world from you makes you work long hours. You think you will cut it short tomorrow. That tomorrow never comes. It is not necessary that the world should agree to the choices you make about your life. Yes, you live in an independent country but it’s time to think; do you have freedom of time?
No matter how hard I try, some things remain out of my reach. Few of them I want terribly. Yet, it seems they will remain elusive to me forever. And so, I want to change myself. Yes, it’s not natural and I hate making an effort to change myself. Still, I must; as the consequences of not getting the things I want is wearing me off. I am trying to take my eyes off from such things. I am training my mind to ignore. I am not sure if I will be able to do it. I hate to admit that it feels like being a loser but the pain and reality of not getting what I want is too much to bear. I better change my wants.
From the time we are born, we start acquiring things. This habit continues for life. We want more and more of everything. Clothes, money, position, power, respect, networking and what not. The paradox is; we know we shall leave as we came. And yet, we never stop. What about planning to start letting go and surrendering our possessions slowly as we grow older. May be today is a good day to begin. Surely, we will feel a lot lighter. Cut down on everything. It will seem difficult in the beginning but sooner or later we must learn it. Either we leave things on our own or all of it will be taken away eventually.
