Skip to main content

Stuck in a bubble?

While sitting in a workshop, a big realization dawned on me. All of us in our lives have to face every day realities. A number of these realities are a result of who we are as a person at a particular point of time.

A colleague who is disliked in office for his aggressive nature might be the most loving of friends in everyday life. And even though this person might not want to be so aggressive in the workplace, his habits formed as as result of sub conscious impulses might hold him hostage leaving him helpless and frustrated.

So how accountable are we really for our own behavior? Wise men say that discipline and mind control are the characteristics required to win over these challenges. Even then is it not purely a percentages game? Even the mightiest crumble in the face of some odds or the other. So ultimately should we not be more tolerant of ours as well as the negativities of others and instead of disliking them for these, try as far as possible to embrace them and work in the spirit of a good friend helping them and having patience with them.

For deep down those people might also be struggling within their lives just as we do.

Sounds Utopian? I agree even I find it tough to apply this in my life. But increasingly I am realizing that building negativity inside me for people I have no choice but to live with (including myself) only serves to diminish my happiness.

So let's try to change one at a time. And maybe together one day we shall succeed in lowering the overall negativity of the world as well as creating a happier, more cheerful self!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Influencers and Investment Advice!

 The latest dream of every lazy man is to become a “Fin-influencer”! Get a large following on You Tube, brag about one’s portfolio returns and then start online tutorials where you give some tips to your followers in the garb of teaching. And of course you charge a fee for educating people! Everything legal and hunky dory! Now I worked as a Product Specialist across big Indian and MNC platforms and it took me 10 years to get to a stage where I could understand investing deeply and give correct advice. I have seen the bull market of 2006-2007. The bear market of 2008, the resurgence in 2009 and then the PIGS crisis in Europe that wiped out equity returns from 2011-2013 before Modi rally came in late 2013 and 2014.  Today’s blog is about one such Influencer who is a BIG name. He recently started his Podcast and using his intelligence and reach - producing world class content. But then he talked about Sovereign Gold Bonds which he said are a good idea since a lot of central banks...

A Hindu in 2024 Bharat

 I was born in a Hindu Kayastha family in Rajasthan. But the first thing I learnt was that I had been born in privilege! My houses were huge. The police used to guard them and my father was a powerful influential person. What was he - an IAS officer in the poor state of Rajasthan. As the son of a Collector- I assumed this is how life is meant to be. Later I also learnt that I belonged to a UP Kayastha family. Kayastha - are the sons of Chitragupta in Hinduism. They are the ones who read out your karma when the time of judgement comes.  Hence we were not part of any of the Brahman, Kshatriya, Baniya grouping. We were a small elite group who were accountants of god and our true wealth was our “kalam” or pen! And as the pen grew mightier than the sword, Kayasthas gained tremendous importance in an Independent India. Mostly human gods in Hinduism were Kshatriyas (Rama) or Yadav (Krishna)  or Buddha (Kshatriya). We were worshippers of Shiva/Rama/Krishna. Later, in my 20s I fou...

Live true to yourself

How does one live true to oneself?  For years this thought troubled me. While the concept seems very fascinating, what is the true me? A small town boy who went on to study in the huge metropolis of Delhi in an extremely snobbish and elitist liberal arts college? A young man who went on to study in a large public funded university in North East US amidst a WASP majority? And then in his late 20s came back to settle in a numbing cosmo called Mumbai working in the ultra competitive field of Wealth Management?  Add to the complexities here - born as the son of a Collector. Grew up as a privileged kid amidst the 80s and 90s. Saw the height of powers a man can attain as the son of a Chief Secretary. And how all that power vanishes once the post goes away.  Life is never easy for anyone. Growing up is a process of gradual self discovery. But when one is born in a family with extremity of anything - power, money, fame - The way one thinks about life changes. Throw into the cauld...