2022: Lots to be Grateful for!

I am sure, a lot of you would agree with me that while the pandemic was an extremely unfortunate event; it also was a great teacher to us in our personal lives. Balance, calm, mind over body, gratefulness, "me time" are elements that it taught one and all!

While I too have learnt a lot, as I reflect on what 2022 meant to be, I think there are very tangible but massive changes related to the same theme that I feel extremely grateful for which I am sumarising below. Hope you like them.

1. The importance of "Thinking" time and breaks: I have always prided myself on the way I manage my time and how I maintain my calendars. However, over the years, as responsibilities and seniority increased, I found myself extremely tightly packed. I ran from meeting to meeting attempting to maximise my time and do the most that was possible. However, post Covid and thanks to nudges by technology (Focus time by Microsoft), I today have learnt the importance of "Thinking" time. I have intentional blocks in my calendar to avoid going more than 2 hours at a stretch, allowing sufficient time for meals, intentionally keeping Friday evenings free. The benefits of this have been extraordinary. I am able to mull over half baked thoughts, avoid being reactive and detail thoughts before putting them on paper. It also allows me to break the cycle of something overthinking by spending time with family, TV or nature. This has in my view increased my creativity, strategic thinking and story telling abilities.
2. Importance of "calm" and "meditation": I always was of the view that meditation was this fuzzy concept where one loses sense of the current; and gets transported into this magical world. I was introduced to this app called "Calm" a few years back. All my misconceptions were put to rest once I started using this app. The 2 instructors at Calm namely Jeff Warren and Tamara Levitt, have had an incredible effect on this aspect for me. They have through the platform and their "daily" 10 minute guided audios, spread the message of calm and breathing so beautifully. It has made be realise the importance of taking a pause, the importance of mindfulness, the lesson of taking most matters in our stride; allowing me to surely feel far more peaceful and a whole lot more "calm"
3. Yin-Yang (The Balance): My wife and I have had this ritual of doing some form of exercise together. To start with, it was a Yoga class (when we enjoyed the final 10 minute relaxation routine) and then for the past several years, it has been the gym. Quite honestly, we drag ourselves to the gym to ensure that we get the much needed strength straining (though truth be told, it is the calorie burn which helps our fitness goal that motivates us :)). Our common friend introduced us to Yin yoga by Travis Eliot and it is that which again, brought some great balance to us both. It has helped balance the effort spent in the gym with some light and relaxing yoga accompanied by some truly peaceful voiceover by Travis. He explains it well on how just like the Yin-Yang philosophy, we do not need to choose one of the 2 but a good balance of both that our bodies need.
4. Being forever "grateful": We all have our bucket lists and aspirations. From bigger cars, to houses, to vacations etc, the list can be endless. 2022 has been the year when I have realised that I may surely aspire to do better for myself and my family; but I surely feel satisfied and thankful for all that I have. I have truly realised that life is too short and while we have to enjoy it day by day as we live, I have truly imbibed the following 2 key principles:

• I am thankful and very grateful for all that I have achieved so far. I would have no regrets and I do not think back on any aspect that could or should have been any different
• I am also very grateful for each day; and for every person in and around me who mean a lot to me and for whom I mean something.

So in all of this; does aspiration take a backseat and do I think I have achieved what I wanted to? Absolutely not, I continue to learn every single day, continue to realise that I have so much more to contribute and do. However, I am doing this now with a great sense of calm, with a great sense of balance and most importantly with a great feeling of gratefulness for what I am today!