50 Years

I am sitting on the lawn of an outstanding place called Nine Furlong in Binsar. The Himalayas are a crescent around me. The place is washed with morning sun while the air continues to have a nip and chill in it.

No its not a travelogue. I completed 50 years last July. And like all of us, life have been hectic – personal & professional. This is the first time since then that I had three days of literally nothing to do!!! No I haven’t quit (yet) and when I am back on Monday, I will have a lot pending and will jump right into it. But for the moment lets keep it aside.

Over 12 hrs of driving and 3 days of blissfull solitude, some walks and gazing at the Himalayas – lots of thought crossed my mind. On my introspection, I came up with some themes – here’s sharing them.

Purpose vs #Priority

As I look back, periods of relative success is when I was chasing or working around a priority. Purpose is softer and more directional. I think finding the right priority for a medium horizon (say 5 years) is very important. Note I have used singular – yes only one. When its time to make choices, take them such that the principal priority isn’t compromised by any way. Look for larger goals as priority – health, fitness, work-life balance, money, vacation, etc are very obvious ones.

Don’t race – but have a #destination

Its important to pace your life out – including work. To me a good pace is one that is stretching but not tiring, challenging but not irritating. Be it relationships or Board presentations – stretch to make it perfect but there must be a bigger reason – a very good presentation or a family outing by itself can’t be the objective.

#Misses and #Losses

Bad news – you will miss and you will loose. As you grow, you will have to depend more and more on other people. And goals will get bigger and more complex. It’s okay to have misses and losses. Just be sure you did everything you could. 10 years back, I felt missing a target was a sin, it showed lack of sincerity. Today I stand corrected. It happens to all – need to learn to deal with it.

#Trust & #Transparency

As I grow older, I get even more convinced about the benefit of this. Add #vulnerability to it as well. Life becomes straight, simple and sorted. Includes empowerment, delegation, et al.

Have a #heart & listen to it

As time has progressed, I have started listening to my heart more than my rational head. I do more right things now than correct and it feels good. Also seems that smart head is yielding to the wise head.

ESZ

Environment, Society and Gen Z – adopt them, nurture them and most importantly learn from them. All three are fabulous teachers and makes you feel great and ‘cool’

Thanx for reading - Cheers