position

Some of us start living our life, carry our actions because of our allocated position at work or an organization. Do we not know these are temporary?

A colonel serving an Army enjoys his luxury and authority till he is on duty.

After retirement, they become an ordinary citizen. The same goes for a lawmaker or parliamentarian.

The sooner we realize it, the easier it will be to stay detached and live rationally. We will not be part of the bubble and live our life instead of living the temporary position.

routine

Procrastination is a reason for the existence of many industries. It is an accepted human vice.

I am reading this book: daily rituals. It cites how the best in art started their day. What powered them to create their masterpiece. Everything comes down to their successful daily routine and sticking to it.

In the book: the power of habits, the author talks about relators/associators. What it means is associating tasks together. Like wake up, make a coffee and get to writing. Or pick your headphone, blast some music and run. Or listen to some instrumentals and read. I found this inciteful.

It could vary from person to person. So pick a few relators, make a routine and kill procrastination

freedom

Who are we to define the independence of others? Is it not subjective. What is the point of citing, criticizing, or telling them about work/life balance?

Are we not adults? Do we not know tradeoffs? Our life is a sum of our experiences. We all pick a journey for ourselves. It cannot be the same for each one of us.

An adult will toil hard, work 19-20 hours, and ask no questions because of money. Someone with eagerness to learn, prove self. They will not care for a day, night or weekend but continue to learn, deliver and get better.

At the same time, someone born with wealth will consider it slavery. Or someone has figured out early on about the work-life balance.

Are all of them correct or incorrect? I don’t know. But in short, each has defined its freedom for themselves.

seek

Why should anyone seek our advice or, who are we to decide fate of others? There have been many instances where a few friends have come to me seeking advice. I, in most instances, suggested they see/seek answers within.

One reason for doing this is people will do what they want to do. In sort, any of your advice is a conversation with a deaf.

Another reason being, I hardly relate to everyone’s life. I am inside my own whirlpool, fixing, figuring out myself. Who am I to say/suggest anything?

imperfect

We are all imperfect in our own ways. But does that mean we have no rights to live? Who has defined right or wrong? Was it not one of us?
Who has defined the rules? Was it not one of us?

Why can’t we all co-exist? Why is there a label attached like color, race, looks, or religion? Before civilization existed, we all were animals. Our ancestors were apes and, all we cared about is living.

We have progressed as a society, civilization, and advancement in innovation. But what about the raging divide over imperfection?

pressure

How much pressure is the current generation going through? The expectation to ace at school, the race to be at the top. I find myself to be lucky not to growing up in the era of the internet and smartphones.

It seems like a mad, mad world and, everyone is rushing to ace at everything. What about those 15-16 years old kids on social media trying to look good or sell wisdom after reading a few recycled books.

When I was growing up, all I cared about is reaching home at the right time to spend few hours playing cricket with friends. I did not have that baggage of what to wear or how to act. We were freer. We had no paints over us. We did not have to posture or act smart, look good, or be always correct. In short, we were more innocent; we had more freedom to commit mistakes, fight, get hurt and walk with a straight face.

Seeing the current generation, I feel they are more under pressure and least risk-averse. I doubt even parents of this generation have enough time for the kids because they are fighting for themselves, acting, and posturing.

optimize

There is no one way of building your company or living a life. It all comes down to choice and how what you are leaving on the table. Or what you are optimizing life for? What is the overall purpose?

Over the last 3-4 years of my own journey, after souls searching, reading, talking to mentors. One thing I have realized is that I want to live a peaceful life.

What am I living on the table? A lot of money, a lot of grumpy customers or unwanted relationships, or fictitious friends.

Again and again, this optimizing for life takes me away from the mad rush or fake relationship building or posturing. Some tell me I am not aspirational and, others teach me about being aggressive in business. I have made peace with it.

Our life is too short and knowing what we want from it makes the journey less miserable. It’s playing a videogame and, every stage has its challenge. The key is circumventing and crossing to the next round.

value

What will someone value when they are dying of thirst?
What will someone value when they are dying of hunger?
What will someone value when they are aging?

Value depends on necessity. And we all have our own pain and need. We value things on our needs and priority.

vice

There lived a powerful barber. The rulers would bow to him during haircuts and shaving.

Those were the times when kings ruled the province. The acting ruler of thrown was a demon. He had all the vices. All he cared about is leisure: whoring and multiplying his wealth by putting more taxes.

King could walk free after committing any crime. Villagers would keep their daughters and wives locked behind doors to save them from him. He had a dozen wives and 100s of concubines.

But, the elder most son turned to be the opposite human. He was a virtuous prince. Also god-fearing, vegetarian, and empathic. He could sing verses from Gita, Mahabharata.

With time, the ruler kept adding his heinous act. It all came crashing the day he tried to molest the daughter of his head priest. She was only 12 years old. He apologized and blamed opium for the act.

The news spread across like wildfire. The prince felt ashamed of his father’s act and wanted to end it. The next morning, he summoned the barber and the priest. He was going to execute his own father and color it as a fatal accident. The plan was simple: Like every day, the barber will shave the king. But today, the knife will slip and choke the king’s throat.

After the king’s death, the prince got appointed as the new head of state and the kingdom flourished.

Moving

We talk about trust, friends, and relationships. Think about the love/crush at school/colleges. All the dreams we made together. How many of it stays to reality?

We human species are a slave to our thoughts. It’s tough to move past those promises and whatnot. When you were kids, you were different: you were more innocent and break free. As you grew up, society took over you and your consciousness.

Accepting what is present and learning from the past will cement your life for a better future. Moving on is tough, so is the cure for cancer and getting past the death of your family members. The day you accept it, life gets less painful.