7th anniversary special :D

7 years and counting. Today it is 7 years since I published my first blog. When I started, I had no idea how long or how many will I post. But that’s the beauty. I covered the distance unknowingly, and effortlessly. Without anticipation, life seems to go more seamlessly. When we anticipate, there’s too much that goes into planning, and most of the planning is often around what might go wrong. We complicate simple things. When I look back, I see the transitions.

• Initially, I used to never post unless it was proofread by someone, to make it error proof. After sometime, I figured mistakes aren’t going to kill me. I was more open to learning from my mistakes rather than being hell bent on preventing them or perfecting something. I realised I was able to flow freely when I did that.
• In the initial days, I used to wonder how many reads, how many likes, what should I do to get more traffic. Today, I post because it feels like my diary of sorts, albeit an open one. Anyone who wants can read. So there’s no inner noise about numbers and views.
• I used to compare with others too, when I was new. I used to wonder how someone else was getting more traffic than mine. Today, I am not looking at anything else. I am just very focused on what I want to do and giving it my best. I found my love for writing. And everything else is just a blur.
• I used to think I was as good as the likes and views that I got. Today, I realise that everything is a perspective. Mine is one, a like or a dislike is one. Perspectives are perspectives. There are no goods and bads in it. Unless we use them in counterproductive ways. There’s a free state of mind.
• The biggest thing I realised is to keep going. Sometimes I know where, sometimes I don’t know too. But I keep going. I have reached here today. When someone first told me write a 150 blogs, it seemed like a mountain of a task. Today I don’t even realise how I moved past the numbers to reach where I have reached today.
• Last year I embarked on a challenge to write everyday. I did so for 100 days. It was a huge learning for me. I got the structure of commitment and discipline that even today helps me in so many different areas of my life.

My learning is, just to focus on one step at a time. One day at a time. Trusting myself. Being in touch with why I do what I do. And to challenge myself regularly. That’s all! The rest will be taken care of.

Thank you for stopping by and reading. Thank you for your feedback. It’s very kind of you to do so. It’s a diary that has connected me to the world that was earlier beyond my reach. Thank you for staying connected. 🙂

For those who want to live a more fulfilling life…

Have you imagined how would you want your life to be when you are 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or a 100? Well, we hear quite a few wanting to retire at 40 or 50. But then I wonder, what will you do next if you retire at 40? How long will you or can you chill? But that’s not the most important question, however. What I wonder the most is, why do we want to retire at 40 itself? Are we not enjoying what we do or doing what we enjoy?

I have the huge privilege of coming across someone phenomenally inspiring in this regard. He inspires us to think, challenge ourselves and live more beautifully. He is a Padma Shri awardee (the 4th highest civilian award in India) and a Sangeet Natak academy awardee too. He knows scriptures in such great detail that it might take most of us a few lifetimes to get that kind of command. If you see him, you’ll automatically be filled with reverence. He is a living legend in Kathak (an Indian classical dance form).

 If you are wondering who is it – it is the one and only, Guru Dr. Puru Dadheech. He is 80 years young and if you see his passion and commitment to the art form, it is so inspiring and heartwarming. He is actively working towards reviving ancient Kathak which literally meant showing a katha (story) (sometimes, people think it’s about footwork and spins, but there’s much more to it). Last year, on his 80th birthday, he danced an entire 40 minutes presenting the famous ‘Kevat Prasang’ from the Ramayana. (To see his magic for real, please click on the link below. You just shouldn’t miss this dose of inspiration).

While most of us plan for retiring at 40- here’s a man who breathes his passion and pours life into an art form at 80. All in the name of true passion and dedication. He truly demonstrates that only jobs have retirement. Not passion. And it is passion that keeps us not just alive but happily, healthily and inspiringly alive. 

• We don’t move from our seats because there’s no incentive to move. So our limbs give up early on in life. 
• We miss thanking the universe for all the gifts we have because we are busy getting stressed about what we don’t have, so our heart gives up early too. 
• We don’t give ourselves enough challenges that make our brain exercise its full potential, so it goes to sleep sooner too. 

If you want your limbs to be active and functional, if you want your heart to actively beat for you, if you want your brain to healthily work for you, then don’t waste another moment. Find your passion and fill your life with it. Life becomes so meaningful and beautiful. There’s never a right time to wait for life to happen. It’s always time to make life happen. That’s one of the learning when we see Guruji.

For any lock in life, this is the Master-key

I rebelled it. I questioned it. I avoided it. I loathed the prospect of it. I thought it makes life boring. But only lately I have been realizing the value of it.

I thought passion was important, inspiration was important, the key moment was important. But I never thought over and above all this, consistency was of paramount importance. Had I consistently pursued anything in life – just about anything – while doing all the other things, I would’ve certainly gained mastery over it. 

Let me explain this further.

There are some friends who never forget to call on your birthday. There are some who do at times. Whose call would you be expecting or waiting for on your birthday? The one who always calls or the one who rarely calls?

Think about baking a cake. If you got all the ingredients right, it is important to get the consistency right. If the consistency goes wrong, even the best of ingredients won’t help you create the best of cake.

Think about relationships – If you appreciate someone once and expect them to understand all your criticisms always, it won’t work. If you declare your love at the beginning of the century and expect it to work until the end of time, it perhaps won’t. It is important to appreciate consistently. Not constantly.  

If you want to inculcate some good habits in your children, you have to be consistent on your words and efforts. Else, they might be confused and not know what to follow.

Most people who lose weight, don’t tend to sustain it in the long run. They tend to gain it back because they do something for sometime and it shows results and then they get erratic in their habits or find it difficult to be consistent in their efforts. 

If you want mastery over a skill, only passion won’t do – consistently being disciplined about practice is what will help. 

Even if you look at people who have been successful – they are not one-time wonders. Most one-time wonders are forgotten sooner than later. But those who have been consistent make their presence felt in a way that their absence will also be felt when they aren’t around. Be it writing, dancing, music, anything that you wish to pursue in life – you get a certain sense of confidence, exposure and expertise when you are consistent in your practice. 

If you have consistently lived up to your word, you’ll be known as reliable. 

If you consistently deliver outstanding results, you’ll be known as a Master.

If you are consistently able to maintain your state and handle tough situations, you’ll be known for your stability.

If you are consistently understanding and kind, you’ll be known as a compassionate human being. 

Instead, if we speak one kind sentence for every 10, or one good deed followed by 10 bad words, we are making it tough for anyone to understand or empathize with us. If you have been by and large kind, the one-off day is easily understood. But not the other way around.

The reason why most of us fail to make a mark for ourselves is that we change with the changing weather. We are inconsistent in our efforts, words, and actions. And inconsistent efforts, of course, will get us inconsistent results and a wavering reputation. 

When we speak of brand image or personal brand – it is built by what you consistently demonstrate! Ask 5 people around you – what words would they use to describe you. That could be what they may have seen you demonstrate more often than not. If you like what you hear, great. If you think you can make it better, see what is it that you need to tweak. As much as variety, spontaneity, and flexibility is important, on certain aspects, consistency plays a huge role. Ask yourself, to go from where you are to where you wish to be, what is that one thing you would want to be consistent about.

You can go wrong once, twice, thrice. But it is impossible to go wrong when you do something consistently over time!