A few days back, I was walking through the corridors of my school. I looked at my old classroom and remembered the conversation I often used to have with my mother. I used to be very eager to finish up school and start my college life. The pressure of the 10th Grade board exams had gotten exhausting and I was craving for the new lifestyle the college offered. And I remember her always saying, “Right now you cannot wait to finish up your school and go to college. But you will never experience these school days again. Cherish them. Later you will miss them and won’t be able to able to go back.” And it was true. Today, sometimes I miss the simplicity of my school years.

This makes me think about how often we forget about the beautiful gifts life offers us everyday. Only for us to later regret not enjoying them while we had them. I’ll speak for myself, I have missed many beautiful things from my everyday life. And I am just 19. At times, I have been so focused on my future, that I terribly failed to appreciate the present (which in fact was “the present”). And I don’t think that I am the only one who has experienced this. I look around and I see many people either living in the past or in the future. The Joy of Life often can be seen in what was or what will be. Why can’t it be in “What is“?

Many don’t agree with me. “What’s wrong in imagining what can be?”, they say. Nothing actually. But your future comes at a price. A price that has to be paid today. And often, I see people sacrificing today’s joy and happiness for to attain it in the future. A future no one can determine.

First its, “I’ll be happy when I finish school.”

Then its, “I’ll be happy when I graduate.”

Then, “I’ll be happy when I get a job.”

Then, “I’ll be happy when I find a girl/boy.”

Then, “I’ll be happy when I get married.”

It’s never ending. Just when we think we are about to reach the next checkpoint of our life, where we hope we will find happiness, it just gets delayed further. You guessed it right; Happiness has become a Mirage.

Sure it’s important to be ambitious, it is important to build your future. But there will always be something more that can be achieved. Human wants are endless. Do we really want to live a life where we’re just running, and not stopping to cherish what we have achieved so far? This is not an exaggeration, people live this life. If you look intently, you’ll see them easily around you.

Hard Pass. I refuse to live like this. Life has much more to offer. And I not throwing away the gifts I have received to chase a Mirage. Why can’t I be happy today to build a happier future?

Here’s what I did (and do).

The reality is, even though you might be doing something that you love, it does get exhausting at times. Something like that has been happening with me lately. I always make sure to be involved in stuff that I love. But then I realised I loved a lot of things.I had my hands in everything. A time arrived when I was handling a lot of stuff for several organisations at the same time. Things never seemed to end. It got overwhelming. Stuff that I loved, became the stuff that I despised. That’s when I realised that things needed to change. I was not going to let this happen to myself.

So here’s what I did:

1. Let go: Even though I loved what I did, there were things I loved more and some that I loved less. I had to let go off a few things to clear up my mind. This gave me more headspace to work on what I actually loved.
2. Prioritise: Then, I prioritised my favourite stuff. In my case, what I love doing the most, is interacting with people. So I prioritised Facilitation and Workshops on my work side. In my personal life, I regularly started meeting with my friends and close ones. Simple conversations give me the utmost amount of joy.
3. Breathe: There were also some things that I could not let go. Work is work. Life is just that way. But what I did start doing during my work hours, was taking little breaks. Whenever I felt overwhelmed or just the need to detach, I pulled my chair back and looked out the window. I stretched my body and closed my eyes. I took deep breaths to let my body and mind relax for a few minutes. It helped me a lot.
4. Little Bundles of Joy: Life is not all about work. I needed some “me time” too. So, I introduced little activities to my everyday life that gave me joy. Another thing I loved was, was sharing about my experiences and learnings with others. So, for the last month, at the end of every day I sit and reflect upon all the things I did. Then I make a small tweet about what I learned from them. This allows me to document my learnings and then share them with others, so that they can benefit from it too. It also helps me practice my next point.
5. Gratitude: I cannot emphasise enough on how amazing practicing gratitude is. I am not an expert, but it still has had amazing positive effects on my life. It helped me experience joy from all the wonderful gifts I received, and get the most out of them. Secondly, another meaning of the word “appreciate” is increase. So, what you appreciate, appreciates. Derive happiness from the things in your life today, and you’ll find more things to be happy about in the future.

I hope this blog helped you look at life in a different light. I appreciate the effort you put into reading this. Now it’s time to get that dose of happiness from your life! I am rooting for you!

Remember, The universe gifts more to those who appreciate “the present“.

Love, Ninad.