Be decisive. If you love something, just do
it. Or if you can’t do it now, at least, stop grieving!
All of us are born with a sense of adventure. We have grown up burning
our fingers while touching a flame. We have dropped jars and broken them, sometimes
injuring ourselves, while trying to help ourselves to some delicious cookies.
We have often strayed away from our parents, curious to explore what lay beyond
the obvious in a shopping mall or a movie theater. We have tried to understand our
sexuality in our own unique way and experimented with relationships. So, there’s
been a time when each of us has been wild and risk-taking.
So, why are we different as we grow older? Why does our spirit of adventure,
thirst to explore diminish with advancing years?
My own learning is that age has nothing much to do with this. Insecurity
does. Because there are enough and more stories of people who started late in
Life and conquered new horizons. Take Captain Krishnan Nair of Leela Hotels for
instance. He started his entrepreneurial career, in an, to him, unknown industry__hospitality__at
age 60! And in the last 30 years he has made the Leela brand a gold standard
for service excellence in that space. So, for the someone who wants to try out
something new, there is no such thing as an appropriate time. But a majority do
not want to leave their comfort zones. Because change is always scary!
I caught up with a friend after about 10 years yesterday. He shared how
he had tried his hand at business and lost money. He said that he would love to
try doing business again, now that he was older and wiser, but he worried for
his financial security. “Saala, this
EMI (monthly financial commitments to a mortgage or an unsecured loan) scares
the s**t out of you and pins you down!” he declared with visible anguish.
There are many people who are caught in this trap. Of believing that
they are crippled by their financial commitments. I believe this is a very
biased and skewed view of Life. You take on a financial commitment with a view
to accomplish a goal. Maybe buy a house. Or a car. Or educate your child. Or to
invest in a business. Nobody makes a long-term financial decision without
either a goal or a definitive return on investment planned out. So, if you have
made the choice to commit yourself financially__which is, to put it bluntly, enslave
yourself to a monthly pay-out plan__then why grieve over something which you
are unable to do and can do ONLY when you are not having money on your mind?
Let’s say you want to make films. But you work for a software company and are
earning well. And you have financial commitments to fulfill for another 10
years. Then, why are you grieving that you can’t join the film-making business
and work as Assistant Director to any top filmmaker? You can’t do that because
films, like any industry, does not pay well as you start. Or if you really want
to be in films and can’t take your software job anymore, then have the courage
and creativity to find a solution to your fulfilling your financial commitment,
get out of your job and go join films. The key is to choose. To decide. And one
of the first decisions you must make is to stop grieving!
Not all decisions will work in your favor though. Sometimes, you will
come crashing, landing on your face. But such is Life. It is better to have
chosen, decided, tried and failed, than to be mournful and be grieving that you
wish you had taken the plunge!
Take the plunge or shut up. Just don’t grieve. Because, Life’s essence
is to be happy. And, almost always, indecisiveness breeds unhappiness. So, to
be happy, simply decide. One way or the other. Lo and behold! You will then be
happy!
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