My Life, My Learnings!

Past few months, I have had the luxury of time when I had nothing to do, nothing to worry about, no deadlines, nowhere to rush to, no pile of deliverables…except focus on myself, my laziness, my hobbies, my passion! Wouldn’t you agree that this is a ‘luxury of having a life’!

That led me to gather courage and pen my thoughts. I wish to share them and hope they will resonate with some of you and help you introspect, reflect and take steps that will lead you to a better life – for you and your loved ones.

Let’s talk about ‘fear’. As you read this short sentence, there would have been a long chain of thoughts, multiple instances where this emotion was felt, right? I don’t need to write any further on this…it’s your #FoodForThought :)

Now, let’s talk about ‘my fear’. When I look back (or even look at my ‘now’), I am inclined to accept that I ‘feared’ failure, ‘feared’ imperfection…. it’s almost an OCD to be wanting to be right in all that I was responsible for! Or am I just wired differently? I don’t have an answer to that but, this particular ‘Fear’ has made me the person, I am today. 

Let me share a little story from my life, where I took that one little first step to cultivate the habit of overcoming my fears, one at a time. 

There was a time at work, where I was going through a bit of struggle with the volume I had to handle - sleeping just 4-5 hrs, still sitting on a pile, totally fatigued. Why – is irrelevant to this story!

Years before that... as a little girl, I loved pencil sketching but dreaded to move to painting! I feared that there is no ‘eraser’ to rectify my mistake(s). So, conveniently enough, just never tried paints.

Forward to my life at work - With craziness at its peak, one Sunday morning, I just decided to take that first step of overcoming my fear of painting and use it to rid of my work exhaustion! 

And here I am – no more fear of painting!!! In fact, reached a stage of being a fairly comfortable amateur artist!! 

Out of some experience, I say this with conviction – It is OK to be NOT OK. It is OK to be imperfect. It is OK to give up and move on. It is OK to be afraid. But what is NOT OK is to let these emotions hold you back. Work on them, one at a time, conquer them or get comfortable with them may be?

For me, the journey has just begun! One milestone achieved and many more demons to capture!

Of course, you can never achieve anything on your own, though it's ‘your battle to win’. I had my husband who understood my need, my teacher at the class who took it slow but pushed my limits & helped break my barriers and good wishes of friends! 

This has left a long-lasting impression that we can change our destiny not by wishing for it, but by working for it. A true seeker is the one who is constantly asserting – day by day, hour by hour - this privilege. (This proverb is a modified version of what was said by Swami Chinmayananda)

How can an article written during a pandemic be complete without talking of the pandemic itself! While we all wait for that one injection which will give our 'old normal' back and so am I, but (a BIG BUT!) I am also dreading it, because I still fear injections! A fear, yet to be captured or should I let it live with me?

e-talk to you all soon, again.

#MyLifeMyLearnings #2ML #LearningNeverStops #NotALifeCoach