The obsession to know

Who doesn’t want to become wise? I was also interested. I enquired the way. I got to know that information is the key to knowledge and knowledge is the key to wisdom. Ever since, gathering information became a habit for me. Participating in every meeting became a rule. Reading tonnes of papers and periodicals became the norm of the day.

What started as a passion soon became an obsession. I was addicted to knowing everything. Yes, there were rewards to such awareness but soon I realized, more information does not necessary result in more knowledge and more success.

There is too much of information flowing around. I am actually wary of it now. I have started focusing on a few things and ignore the rest. At times, it causes me embarrassment in front of others. Still, this is far too less a price to pay as against the effort of knowing everything. I have realized I don’t have enough time in this lifetime to pursue all the information that is available around me.

I may not have become wise but I have come far. From my obsession to information, I am now learning how to ignore.

If am not happy now, I can never be

Life is a race. At least, that is what I was made to believe from early days. Ever since I could understand things, I saw everyone was running around. When I enquired what they were after, I was told they were looking for happiness. I also received several advices to start running so that I should not miss out on it. And I ran… in all direction.

I was not sure where would I find happiness but I ran. I increased my speed so that I could I find it faster than others. In the process, I got stress. Still, I ran as I was convinced it was just a few steps ahead of me. Sometimes, I thought I found it. But the next moment it was gone again. And I ran again.

After years of running, I was still not able to catch hold of it. I got tired. Many others were still running. But I stopped. I looked back at my journey. I was aghast. What I saw behind broke me. There was happiness in every step I took but I did not stay there. I ran ahead of it. In search of happiness, I went so much ahead that I left a lot of it behind.

While, I can’t go back but I have a lot of journey left ahead. And I have promised myself to enjoy every step of it. Stay in it. Rejoice it. It came upon me that happiness is always in the present, not in the future.

I am a wise man now. I have understood; if I am not happy now, I can never be.

Things you can do in 2015

Take control of your health
It’s time you should take control of your health. You have always wanted to do this but lack of discipline and will power may have resulted in no action. Make it your no.1 goal for the year. Picture yourself in your mind how you will feel about it a year later. Follow a good diet, go for walk, do exercises and yoga. Given an hour to your body everyday. My word – you won’t regret this.

Spend more time with family
Time spent with family is never enough. Ask them if they want you to spend more time with them. You would probably hear a ‘yes’. You may remain busy and want to give everything to your family but all they want may be your attention and time.

Develop a hobby or routine
Engage in a hobby or a routine which can help you de-stress, entertain you and make you feel fulfilled. It may be playing a game, developing reading habit or associating with a social organisation.

Change your habits
Identify a couple of bad habit you want to leave and couple of good habit you want to develop. Don’t list twenty things. Go slow. Make a resolve that you will do it. Be strong. Year by year, if you do this, imagine the results.

Help
Giving is always more satisfying than having. Go an extra mile this year to help people. Touch more lives. Be a ‘ready to help’ guy. Be it friends, relatives, employees or strangers. Bring a smile on peoples face. It is definitely going to make you smile too.

7 things you can do today

1. Go for a walk
Get out of bed, put on your jogging suit and head straight out. Feel the morning mist, see the sun rising (yeah, it still rises from the east). Stretch up a bit. Feel the positivity of the environment. Feel awesome.

2. Greet 10 people before you take your work desk
Count it. I really mean it. Look into the eyes of people, smile, feel it and greet them a good day ahead. Greet the gardener, the security guard, the driver, someone you bumped on your way to work, your colleagues, that new recruit in the office and of course, the boss. It’s a mood elevator that works both ways.

3. Call an old friend
Surprise an old friend by calling. It will make your day. His too.

4. Apologize & forgive
Seek an apology from someone you think hurt or genuinely apologize for a mistake that you did. Make no excuse.Similarly, forgive someone you have been annoyed with. It will free you up from stress. Try this. It works.

5. Reach home early
When was the last time you reached home early to be with your family. It’s a good thing to be home early once in a while. Join the laughter with kids. Help them draw a picture. Watch a documentary with your spouse. Sit with your parents and hear them out. Remember, work is because of the family, not otherwise.

6. Read
Get your hands on that book you have been thinking to read for a while now but putting it off due to lack of time. Every good thing demands time. Reading too. Reading stimulates the mind and relaxes the body.

7. Sleep tight for 8 hours
Don’t get so worked up that you need to find time to sleep. You deserve a good night sleep. What about a beginning today. Go early to bed and set an alarm so that you get an eight hour sleep. Take it from me, you will be doubly energized and roaring to get up to the challenges of life the next day.

One Single Thing

Mahatma Gandhi dedicated his life for India’s freedom. Stephen Hawking studied science all his life. Steve jobs lifelong passion was to create the best gadgets. That is why they all achieved so much. That is why they made their way to the history books. That is why they could change the world.

The key is to focus on one single thing. The challenge for all of us is not that we can’t be the best in what we do; the challenge is that we take so much time to choose what we want to do. We want to be good at many things which become the reason for many of us not being able to justify even one.

We fear what if it doesn’t work? What option will I have then? The need for definiteness, safety and security kills greatness. Success belongs to those who venture out in the world of uncertainty. Excellence is the forte of those who risk their entire life for one single thing.

Many a times we think this is not the right time to focus on one thing. Actually, it is. It takes humongous amount of time and effort to achieve something big and the earlier you start the better since you will have the advantage of time and energy.

When you walk down a road which leads to a definite place, you are mere following the past. When you go out to the unknown, it is then only you discover a new place, it only then you discover yourself, only then you become a leader.

So, the question really is – Are you willing to trade surety with uncertainly. If yes, go out; give yourself a chance to reach for excellence. Identify that one single thing which you are passionate about. Enrich your life and inspire the world.

A true story of a common man

Every day is a new day. Every day is a promise which I make to myself. A promise which I break. One milestone achieved is converted to another. The destination is never in sight. I just keep walking.

When I dig dipper into myself I find I am not on a journey of self but looking for a destination to show the world that I have arrived, to gain the appreciation of unknown people, to satisfy my ego of being better than most. That’s the fact which I hate to know.

When people around me ask, I tell them I do things what I like but the truth is that I seek their attention in all I do. The truth is that I am so much attracted to the world that it doesn’t allow me to walk in the direction I want to.

I have known that a couple of steps walked towards my own journey are far more meaningful than walking a whole life in the other direction. Yet, I find challenging to take those steps for self. I often ask myself ‘who stops me ?’. I hate it again but the answer is me.

The more I am attracted towards my own freedom, the more I find myself dancing to the tune of this world. Not once, not twice. It happens every day. Yet, I am unable to break the shackles of my own prison.

But, I know one thing. I know what I want. I am struggling to walk that road but it will not be like this ever. One day, I will find the courage to turn back. That day I will start living. That day will be a gift I will give to myself. That day I will justify my existence.

I will try again today. I promise again today.

The Image Problem

Most individuals spend a lifetime to manage their image in front of the world. Mostly this world of theirs is a small number of people who they think are close to them, like friends, relatives, business associates, acquaintances. In most cases this number is less than a hundred. They pretend to be someone they are not even convincing themselves that they are not pretending.

By doing this they lose their real self. They lose creativity. They become ineffective, since a lot of time is lost in managing the image. Instead, if we focus on what we are and what we can become by utilizing our core strengths, we can live a far more happy and satisfying life.

It will save us from a lot of stress. It will also save a lot of time which can be used in creative things and making life more worthwhile. Why not create our image in our own eyes, not in the eyes of the world. The world simply follows the person who has the courage to live on his own terms.

The image is an illusion. The self is the real thing.

Remember, in the end – the self remains, not the image.