A Blend of Their Work and My Life!

Here’s to the purpose driven perspective!

‘Balance is a feeling derived from being whole and complete; it’s a sense of harmony. It is essential to maintaining quality in work and life.’

We thrive to strike the right balance between work and life. However, to what extent are we able to perform, that is the question. Each day there are millions of thoughts that are jumbling in our head. Few of these are useful and remaining is just chatter. On some days we just randomly and aimlessly decide to start a new or a good habit but do we really continue to follow that, is the question. I also had personally experienced the same with me and that is the reason I am putting down my thoughts to tell you all a lesson that I have learnt. I realised this for myself that no matter what do you do or what all do you do, to balance out, one thing is for sure, long-term motives will get you distracted in between and you might just drop the ball. Therefore, just pick up things that you like to do or challenges you but with a short-term goal in mind. Blend multiple things, but one at a time. Nothing major is required to feel content or feel balanced. It is the simple purpose driven perspective that can certainly give you the feeling of being balanced, and will lately make you realize that all these activities which you were doing so far were eventually helping you in maintaining quality in work and life.

I took a stroll down memory lane, processed all past emotions, painted my canvas with some clear pictures of thoughts, just to bring you things that made me feel content, end-to-end.

#1 FROM GOL TO GOAL. THIS JOURNEY, 2018!

The before version was known as Aditi. The after version is known as the ‘Gymshark Aditi’.

I grew tired of a life spent as a spectator. After finally deciding to take an action, I lost an incredible 12 KGs in just 2 months.

I was never ever into gymming and all. Neither I was ever thinking of getting into shape. I was a brat who used to order and eat 4 full pizzas for late night dinners and a mad momo lover who used to eat a plate full of 10 momos every day, and did that for a span of 6 months continuously. My weight gain therefore had been gradual. A few pounds in college, a few more in the initial time of my career, and then I kept putting it on and on.

The driving force that made me decide that I should start my fitness journey was after receiving a big critic statement from an anonymous, which entered into my ears and migrated right into my brains and veins. That was the moment!!

A night full of thoughts and mental images. I could not sleep that night. The clock tickled and another day arrived. After an in-depth self-introspection, I stood up and went straight to the gym, approached the trainer and just told him this. ‘I will do as you say, the diet, the workout, the discipline, the routine; just help me lose weight as soon as possible.’ He could see the urge, and hunger in me to achieve something. ‘Kal subah se roz 7 – 9 gym’ – The trainer said. He tested me for 15 odd days just to check if I will be able to continue. 16th day onward, he started giving me complete attention and a diet plan (a plan no one would ever wish to take even once in their lifetime). 2 months of intense training, 4 hours each day, morning and evening, with food just limited to boiled chicken, salad and citrus fruits. That’s it !!!!!!. The taste buds were dead after 21 days, mood swings were skyrocketing. Those two months I was on death bed. The struggle was for real and the results were also for real. But everything comes with a cost. What it took to achieve a mark was - not seeing my family for a very long period, zero social life, no social networking, 4 hours of daily metro travel to work, from Gurgaon to Greater Noida, doing an 8am – 4pm shift, quitting the job eventually for my aim.

The objective was never to become a fitness freak. It was simply to attain a shape once in my lifetime. I believed in my potential and had set apart all the limitations. From Gol to Goal, this journey was crazy and I take pride in saying that I did everything what it took to attain my goal.

I was afraid if I could ever get back all the things that I had lost in between the transformation journey. But as they say, what truly belongs to you will eventually come back to you. The precious family time was back, the friends were back, the job was back; and this time with more pride and contentment. My surroundings were shocked to see the visible difference in me and I silently went on inspiring others, and had indeed seen my fellow mates bringing similar kind of transformations into their lives. The question was of striking the right balance, and I would say, I did it.

#2 TWO WHEELS TO FREEDOM

The first reason came into my mind for learning motorcycling was ‘why should boys have all the fun’, and then the perspective switched to ‘Hamari choriyan choron se kam hain ke’. Just to satisfy my femineity I started to learn. Big hugs to my elder brother who taught me biking without asking or questioning anything. As soon as I learnt, I dropped my activa and switched to bike for a fulltime. Even for small chores like bringing vegetables, milk etc. I was using my bike. It was giving me happiness and confidence.

Later, one day, while scrolling through Facebook I found a Delhi based biking community called ‘Delhi Bikers Breakfast Run’ (DBBR ). My enthusiasm was next level and I decided to upscale my skill by participating in such communities and associating with them. I went to the starting point where all bikers assemble for flag off and run in a convoy to reach a particular point of breakfast, perform killer off-roading, socializing and what not. To my surprise, there was only one girl in that troop and rest 79 were just male bikers. The 80th person and that only girl was me. I was nervous, I was surprised, there were mixed feelings and yet I was pretending to look confident. Among all rugged looking guys carrying bulky bikes, I had the audacity to walk up to one of the community managers to say that I want to lead the convoy, just by carrying an avenger bike under me of 160 cc. He smirked and said ‘please do’. Here is a ‘laugh out loud’ moment. I was the last person to reach to the destination.

Delhi Bikers Breakfast Run (DBBR ), 2019

Nevertheless, I didn’t stop at it and opened my wings to fly. Joined another biking community, Jaipur based, the ‘Infinity Riders Community’. The only plan was to ride with them. But then landed an opportunity for me to get associated with a tech magazine, ‘Mechnotechs’. Flown to Raipur, planned their marketing campaign for Women’s Day, got associated with the riding community, participated in the women’s day rally, represented the brand and the women community on a state level. Not just that, I was awarded with the title of the ‘Most Stylish Rider’ and brought home a beautiful bird wing trophy. Made myself and family proud. Never thought that biking would give me so much pleasure. ‘Freedom lies in being bold’.

Mechnotechs??- Raipur, 2019

Infinity Riders Community – Raipur, 2019 (Most Stylish Rider)

#3 CRAFTS: THE COGNITIVE INTEREST

2020 - That was the pandemic era. No gymming, no biking, no travelling, nothing at all. Just keeping ourself boxed in for days and months. It was a terrible time that we all certainly know of. Initial days were backbreaker with all that covid and death news all over the social media, TV and internet. It was completely a brain defusing time period. Amidst all the chaos, I decided to refrain myself from seeing or listening to any content that would affect my mental health. I took a halt and asked myself what could I least do to make myself feel free in this caging scenario. I started to cook for 3-4 times in a day and continued that for a week to 10 days. Somehow that did not give me the amount of pleasure I was seeking for myself so I dropped in between and switched to something interesting. I filled in my time with a useful pursuit to increase creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and a sense of fulfilment. I finally picked up ‘Crafting’.?

A study in the American Journal of Public Health titled found that those who engaged in art experienced “reductions in stress and anxiety” and “increases in positive emotions”.

?Just by seeing some of the crafts pictures I thought that this would be the easiest task for me to execute, which was absolutely not the case. The initial crafting was difficult when I had to select the craft items, assembling all essentials required etc. But as soon as I was able to finish some of the initial crafts the feel-good molecule started to burst.

Birds from Pistachio Shells????????????

Rabbit from Paper Cup

Bird feeder from a Popcorn Can?

Flower from an Empty Toothpaste Tube???

Night Lamp from Paper Cup

Garden Hanging from Plastic Bottles?????

Flowers from Egg Cartons

Flower Pot from Plastic Bottle??????????????????

Photo Frame from Cardboard?????

#4 VACATIONS & WORKATIONS

Recharged and re-enthused!

Travel opens our minds and broaden our views as it allows us to meet new people, experience new cultures and understand new ways of life. I have had the privilege of working from several places. I find it inspiring to be outside of the regular four walls and settle into a different environment that would help me approach work with renewed purpose and intention. It certainly helped me focus more than if I were just working from one box. The list is long and therefore I will cover a few. Here is a fusion of ‘just the trippin’ and ‘workin’ while being on a trip’.

~ Dubai – The International City of Gold

It was a four-day hustle and a leveled-up party affair. I spiced up the four days of moonshine with enlightening travel sessions, tantalizing dinners and experienced a true feeling of being at the top – The Burj Khalifa. Not just that, the fun & frolic yacht party was the cherry on top, and so much more. Have you ever recognized your need for speed with an adrenaline rush around every corner? Felt the passion and the pulse-racing energy? Well, I did, at the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. Came back preserving the memories of a lifetime. <3

~ Lonavala, Maharashtra – The spectacular beauty of the green valleys

Located 106KMs away from Mumbai. An ideal weekend spot for people residing in Mumbai and Pune, to capture the true essence of nature and unwind amidst lush greenery. This was in 2018 when I was residing in the city of dreams, ‘Mumbai’.?I certainly captured the nature’s best.

~ Charekh, Kotdwara Uttrakhand – The spectacular beauty of the green valleys

Located in the Kotdwara city, Uttarakhand, Charekh is a hill station located near Lansdowne. 5330ft from the seal level, it’s a perfect destination for Delhiites for weekend trip. To break the monotony, mountains are the escape for most of us. I went there with bunch of relatives and family members to get access to all the scenic aspirations. No traffic, no pollution, just feel the heaven of nature.

~ Bhatinda Cantonment, Punjab – The biggest cantonment in Asia

I know not everyone gets the privilege to explore the other side of humanity and life. It is the life being sailed and lived in the cantonment areas. Civilians can barely imagine it. A cantonment is a separate township. Well, I had the opportunity to get a glimpse of most of it. Here is one thing I would call out loud, ‘The exclusivity’. ‘The tank ride’. An experience one will never forget. An escorted tour of 30 minutes riding along bush tracks. Trust me the periscope used to the track is miniscule. It is almost a breathless zone inside of the tank where our soldiers sit and fight for us, for as long as 48 – 72 hours. An absolute incredible truth!!

~ Heritage Resort, Manesar, Gurgaon Haryana – Blending Work and Leisure

A two-day offsite filled with endless fun activities and work. This company and my banking client offered me to be part of their special tour to an experiential hospitality. From corporate meetings to conferences to team building activities to fine dining to sports & adventure to what not. It was a luxury getaway!!

~ Takhat Damdama Sahib, Bhatinda Punjab

We always start and end with family. Without their support and sacrifice we simply can’t do anything. So, here is one for them. A token of thanks.

One of my family vacays where we bowed in front of the Talwandi Sabo Gurudwara Sahib, performed the ardaas.?

Here’s to conclude - The only thing which was least impacted despite all the above, was my work, my office, my job. I did learn to strike the right balance. To achieve that, the most essential thing I did was to step miles away from gossiping, wasting time & energy in futile things, as that’s not my thing. I kept a clear focus on what do I want and I achieved all of that. The list doesn’t end here. There is a lot more, and I am signing off with a word that I will bring back more stories to you, exciting and inspiring ones.

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Changa!

Writer - Aditi Malik (Gypsy Soul)

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