Life is a Race?

Life is a race … If you don’t run fast… you will be like a broken andaa(egg)…

Professor Viru Sahastrabudhhe

And so I was running too, in shorts – to reach the office on time, to reach home on time, to earn more, to get faster promotions, to grow more than others blabla…….but in long term – I didn’t know for what.

Hey, are you there? Guess, I’ve lost the connection!

That’s an exact story with most of us. A story where we know what we are doing but there is another story in the same story where we have no idea for exactly what. Thus, it feels like we have lost some control or some kinda connection with our future selves.

When you know what you are doing but don’t know why, you will soon be lost in the humdrum of life. And believe me just getting ahead of others if that’s the reason you want to stay ahead, you will be soon fucked mentally if not physically so I dare you not.

Great icons always say Keep your ambitions clear in your head for the next 10 years and make it possible each day.

If you have lost such a connection, and have no idea what you are after, or where you are heading, your future looks bleak to you, and certainly, something inside you will make you unhappy.

And this is all because either you don’t know where to head now or you have started making other people your next trespassing criteria.

Are you a LIAR believer?

I too am against the idea that life is a race. But yes life is a race. This race-like competition is what

1. Push us forward
2. Makes us progress in life
3. This is what gives us a sense of meaning and purpose in life
4. Gives us chill & thrill while competing with toppers in college
5. Helps us to perform at our best in corporate to outlast our colleagues
6. Push us to work on ourselves to have a better life than other
7. Finish our studies as early as possible from business school
8. Banging IIT on the first attempt

Putting simple in words, LIAR standards can push us beyond our limits to achieve extraordinarily. Say thanks to the inferiority complex as well.

But doesn’t that sound alarming if that’s the case and the above-mentioned conditions are the reason that gives us meaning & defines our success and we have made other people our center of the universe – our scale to measure success?

And if that’s so then soon we will be crippled if we keep comparing ourselves to others. Cause if you contemplate a little over these points again, you will realize that none of the above points are what you are doing for yourself but because of others.

And if you still disagree, if those all reasons were true, then why most of us aren’t happy, then why most of us even after great successes feel like some dumbass. Then why did the most successful, famous, rich artisans such as fashion designer Kate Spade and TV chef Anthony Bourdain decide to end their lives?

Answer to Professor Virus #an_argument

So dear professor,

If life is a race then I’d rather be a broken anda so I can know who I am inside rather than being an anda whole life and getting anda on a scale from 0-10 when it comes to my family, kids, relationship, hobbies and those things I always wanted to but never did in this life-cum-race.

Yes, I would like to be atleast a broken anda to feed someone an omelet and satiate their hunger rather than being a dumbass anda my whole life in a showpiece and remain of no use to none.

If life is a race, be a turtle instead

A bigger car, better designation, huge bank balance, a bigger house – isn’t those the same things that we are running so fast to grab on instead of grabbing a hot coffee with our loved ones?

Isn’t it at the same time we should be focusing and building our relationship deeper with our loved ones instead of letting them rot in some corner of our hearts?

I beg you to do. Because if you too a part of this rat race then glance out, seek out and then just get out of there cause in the end instead of feeling like some Alexandra The Great you will be the first one to hate yourself. You will become a zombie, your life will look shallow with no purpose in lieu and the next thing you will see will be the apocalypse.

So be a turtle! Breathe the air, travel a lot, and lay your eggs on land (just kidding).

Live in-or-around nature and yes live life in no hurry.

Beginning of self-actualization

There at this stage, you will realize that the materialistic kinds of stuff that you were chasing are nothing but a palace of illusion.

You have it all but there is this void in a reality where your peace seems to be sinking as in some black hole.

Not even the light is escaped and then you will find yourself in the tunnel with no light at the end and this void will only get deeper and wider until it completely swallows you.

You will have it all yet none. You will have plenty yet little. You will be a winner yet the biggest loser. You will be happy yet anxious. You will be settled yet regretful. You will be cherished yet completely disconnected. When the present in past seemed sorted it now seems perplexed. And the only thing in your head that is going to torture you is ‘what’s to grab next?”

And that’s where the self-actualization begins……..

You will realize that you are here after all these years but you never took a moment in the slow-mo to absorb it, feel it and cherish it.

All you have now is negligible memories running at 2x speed in which you are unable to figure out which from which, when from where, and you have lost your ability to slow down for a moment, and then the thought immediately changes to another object inside your head.

You realized that you missed the relationship part, the affection part, and the moment when you should have been with your friends, family, and kids.

That’s when you realize everything futile you gathered on your way. That’s when you begin to move towards spirituality, religion, and philanthropy. You begin to move towards your kids, wife, and friend. Sometimes it’s too late to act. And this is why here I am so you don’t.

But what is the way out then?

The way out…..oh, the way out……yes, the way out………..there is….there is!

Compete against yourself

When you compete against everyone else, one day you will find someone better than you. But when you compete against yourself, You will always find yourself better than you.

I believe that the true competition is not with some Sharma Ji ka beta or Khurana Ji ki beti but it is with ourselves. It is we who need to outpace every single day every single moment. It is we who need to be defeated in every single race and yes this sounds practical too. This sounds tough but not impossible. 9 out of 10 times you can outstand yourself, remaining 1 is when you intentionally don’t wish to.

Every single day try to be a better version of yourself not the better version of others. They lack where you stand and you lack where they stand, so it can’t be a win-win all the time but with you, it can.

They say if you focus 6 months on yourself, it can put you 5 years ahead in life. And focusing just doesn’t mean in a single-dimensional array. But in a multi-dimension which I call sustainable development in terms of self-growth. Start focusing not only on your career but on your relations equally, your kids, your wife, your health, and your wealth all in a balanced manner.

The point is if something is taking a lot of you for a humungous ROI, it is not a humungous ROI because you are negotiating other factors to get you doomed.

Addendum

Never rush to be the first. Slow down and be your best. Life is not a race. It's a playground to radiate your uniqueness.