26 Years, 26 Lessons (Part II)

Continued from Part I...

1.    Do not be ashamed of being an opportunist. I have often observed a negative connotation associated with being an opportunist and I completely disagree. I think it takes a lot of courage and awareness to be able to spot opportunities, grab them and give them your all. As long as it does not hamper someone else, opportunists make the cut while others keep contemplating.

2.    There is no greater blessing than having a family that loves you unconditionally, supports you when things are scary and that makes you feel at home even when you are miles apart.

3.    We are all on our individual journeys – what took someone 4 years to accomplish, may take you 10 but what you discovered on your journey, the decisions that you learnt to make, how you dealt with the challenges that accompanied your decisions, make you a strong and beautiful individual

4.    The best gift to offer your loved ones is – ACCEPTANCE – I have bloomed and thrived on the acceptance that my parents and loved ones have showered me with. They taught me to see the positives within myself, they made me resilient to external pressures and when I started giving the same back, I realized how powerful this 10 letter word really is

5.    In whatever small way, start giving back – nobody is too insignificant to give back to someone. It is not optional, it is a very natural way to keep the good flowing and the belief in good intact

6.    Never let go of activities and people you know you are happy around. Yes, life gets busy, we get caught up, egos come into play and as they say life just happens. But what is life without the things that make you spring out of bed every morning - hold on and make time for things and people that you know are important. One very strong (sometimes tough) decision that I have made is to never stop dancing, running and writing, no matter how busy life gets.

7.    There is nothing selfish about self-care and mental health is as important as physical well-being – This is for men and women alike, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having to take time off for physical and mental health recovery. Our lifestyles pose challenges that were probably unknown to generations before us – the food we eat, the amount of chemicals we unknowingly consume alter our hormones to a great extent and may impact mental health too. There is no shame in asking for help from a loved one or a professional and I reiterate, there nothing wrong in taking time off.

8.    A person’s place of origin has nothing to do with the quality of their thoughts. The books they read, the content they consume and the kind of person they aspire to be determines the quality of their thoughts and ACTIONS. PERIOD.

9.    There are advantages of being both – amateur and experienced. Amateurism provides you with the liberty of fearlessness which I have seen fading away with experience. While experience empowers you to guide others and make mature decisions. I have realized that to keep the fearlessness alive, it is important to keep taking up new, unexplored tasks that challenge and hone skills that have already been acquired

10. A good journal could be your best friend – it could be a keeper of your thoughts, ideas, plans and a great external motivator to keep pushing you when you suddenly feel like you have lost purpose

11. Living alone is not as difficult as it is thought of and not as glamorous as it seems – it is an amazing experience everyone should have. Apart from learning to manage a household, it is a beautiful opportunity to listen to that voice in your head guiding you to do things that are actually important, things that fill your soul and provide your existence some meaning. On the flipside, it means missing your family, staying alone during festivals and when you are sick and shooing away insects & reptiles all by yourself.

12. Quoting one of my mentors “There is no alternative to hard work”. Adding something of my own “Though there is no alternative to hard work, it can be fun and fulfilling with the right boss, team and task at hand”.

13. Mindfulness is everything and perfection is a perfect illusion. As I turn 26, I promise to stop chasing somebody else’s perfection, I promise to be mindful of my progress and shortcomings and work towards doing my best.

And a bonus - There have to be multiple metrics to measure the success or outcome of any effort you put in. Not every effort exerted is immediately converted into the end result expected, but a very important question I have learnt is to ask myself is "Have I grown better than when I started?", if the answer is "Yes. A little bit maybe, but definitely Yes" then you know that you are successful today.

 Woah, I am overwhelmed and humbled by the response the Part I of this article and my other articles have received. I want to thank you all for the kind comments, specific mentions of the lessons you found most relatable and for such amazing inbox messages. It continues to be my biggest source of motivation and inspiration. I request you to share this with your connections, friends and individuals you think will benefit from what I present.

Also, following is a link to all my previous work, do give them a read and let me know how you find them:

The balancing act - A working youngster's attempt to a happy life

Life lessons learnt on the running track

An obvious but overlooked aspect of new year resolutions

My mother's guide to a fulfilling life

The Beauty of Flexibility

Multipotentialite? What? (Part I)

Acing the multi-potentiality game... (Part II)

Write you way to glory...

Finding comfort in discomfort..

The art of setting & accomplishing goals

26 Years, 26 Lessons (Part I)