How to live a meaningful Life
Akhilesh
by TSK. Raman
In life, it's the "little things" that make all the difference. We
like to think that choosing a spouse or a career or influencing our
children is the result of careful, well-thought-out decisions, but it
rarely works that way. Careers grow out of conversations over coffee or
a drink or a lunch or a dinner. They happen because we need a job or
because a friend has a friend in the business. Marriages grow out of
casual flirtations at a party or because a friend set us up. The BIG
stuff never starts with a bang; it starts as small and only later do we
look back, astonished at what mighty oaks from tiny a corns grow. Even
the mightiest rivers The Brahmaputra, The Cauvery, The Indus, The
Ganges, The Godavari, The Krishna, The Mahanadi, The Narmada, The
Tapati, The Nile, The Missisippi and the many more that wash the
earth's surface start off as tiny streams in the lofty hills and roll
down to the plains to become as mighty as they do. They affect so many
millions along their journey from the mountain all the way till they
merge into the oceans.
Both achievement and failure are like that.
The keys to success are almost NEVER dramatic. High achievers might
get up a few minutes earlier or make one or two more phone calls every
day,but that hardly qualifies as "dramatic", does it? Winners train
slightly harder or slightly longer, but not so that anyone would
notice.
Unfortunately, the path to mediocrity is just as ordinary. Henry
Thoreau observed that "most people live lives of quiet desperation" not
because they made big mistakes or fail any great test. They simply
make the same small mistakes, over and over, day after day.
Here are some suggestions for small steps that create huge pay-offs
over time:
1. Get rid of the little annoyances. Everyone gets worked up with
small things that annoy them, as their personal list, and we tolerate
them precisely because they seem so "little", but they rob us of
energy, passion and confidence. . If you need a new desk, buy one! If
your car's a mess (and it bugs you), clean it up! It if annoys you,
fix it. If your system hangs too many times, clean the hard disk
andget rid of all that junk. If the space is too cluttered, copy the
contents into a CD and delete the copied one's from the system. Wecan
do similarly with several things in real life too by clearing a lot of
clutter that clogs our minds.
2. Do yourself a favour, do one good thing for yourself, every day.
Many make it a point in their life to do a good deed a day. It
benefitsthe others, at the same time all of us need to remember ROY
(RETURN ON YOURSELF). Sings songs, dance for a while, exercise
regulalarly, remains within yourself for a few minutes. Read a good
book or watch a video. Soak in the bath, or go for a run, but do
something enriching and satisfying and fulfilling, just for YOU. Every
day. It'll make you
strong.
3. Take one extra step in the direction you want to go. Rarely does
"the good life" require courage or drama, but it does require that we
move in the direction we want to go. Make one more sale, write a
letter, make a call. Exercise or read or play with the kids. Every
day, do one "little thing" that moves you toward success.
4. Invest in your relationships. "We get by with a little helpfrom
our friends", and the love of family and friends makes all the
difference. And, once again, it's the little things! Give her a call,
write him a note. Invite a friend to lunch, call a buddy to keep the
friendship alive. These "little things" make life more fun!
Success and failure are the result of small steps, taken over time, one
after another. Magnificent mansions are built of lowly bricks, one on
top of another. Marathons are completed one step at a time.
What do you want?
What sort of life would you prefer?
You CAN have it, one day at a time. But you must walk in the direction
you want to go.