Everyone of us have a choice, everyday of our lives. Many of us wonder if we have a choice at all. In my book, we have a choice in every stage of life. We can choose the way we want to live our lives.

As a kid, I grew up in a lower middle class family. We had limited resources and facilities at home. We could not afford a fridge, TV, beds or a dining table at home. We had to eat and sleep on the floor. We had to keep the rice in water overnight and have it in the morning ,as there was no fridge at home. But, these things did not force us to be unhappy or sad.

We were a happy -knit family and enjoyed life in every possible way. Our parents were our role models and they never made us believe that we had any limitations in life. They encouraged us to pursue what we wanted to study and also pursue our hobbies and passions. We chose the career of our choice.

Our parents had the choice of cribbing every day and limiting our possibilities in life. But, on the other hand, they chose to enable us to lead a happy and contended life. We had our family dinner together everyday ,sitting on the floor and pursued our dreams in life ,without any limitations.

We were instilled the right values of honesty, simplicity and encouraged to be grounded in life. My father led a simple life as a government employee and still could build his own home and buy his own scooter ,with his savings. Our parents never made us feel that we had limited resources in life.

Then after completing my education of choice, I started my career in my chosen field. Joining a leading public sector ,gave me the security of job and the privilege of a new role ,every three years. My family then supported me to take risks in my career ,as I moved from the public sector to private, joint ventures and then full fledged multinationals. Every place I worked and lived ,gave me new choices to learn and grow.

I had a satisfying and gratifying career. As parents, although we also began our life with limited resources, it never came in our way , to give the best of education and learning ,to our children. They also could pursue subjects of their choice and then chose careers ,where they would thrive and grow.

Today both my children are grown up, independently working and married. They also have a choice ,to be the way they want to be. They can be happy or sad, the way they choose to be ,in every stage of their lives. We cannot blame anyone else ,other than ourselves ,to the choices we make in life.

Today, after retirement from active service, I still have a choice to pursue my hobbies and dreams. I am able to coach, consult, mentor and teach ,as I always want to do , and at my own pace. I still have time to travel, read, write and listen to music. I am also blessed to contribute back to society ,in my limited ways.

I believe ,everyone of us have a choice ,at every stage of our lives. We can be happy with what we have or cry all day and night ,and want more. Contentment and gratitude may enable us to be happy. On the other hand, greed and unlimited wants ,may lead us to be unhappy and sad at most times.

We have a choice to make and let us learn to make the right choice, at every stage of our lives from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

20th May 2023

 

We have a long and tiring day and we imagine that we are done for the day. It could happen to us at work or at home. A big “to do list” and when most of the items are ticked , we think we are done for the day.

It may not be really so. We may have forgotten some important tasks or sometimes may have postponed some tough ones ,since its always easier to tick off the easier ones ,in our list.

Life is no different. We may achieved a goal and we think ,we have arrived. It may be just the beginning of our journey ,to our next and more challenging goal.

Imagine a sportsperson winning a gold medal in a championship and hanging her boots. Does she do that ? Never. On the other hand, her practise for the next tournament begins ,even before the sweat in her racquets dry up.

One way of looking at life ,is to take small baby steps towards a larger goal. As long as our focus remains ,on the larger goal, it is fine to celebrate the small achievements, along our way. Similarly, if we plan big things on a day and succeed even in planning for the same, it may be worthwhile to rejoice.

The challenge is ,when we start celebrating even before we take the first steps, towards our goal. Like the famous words of Robert Frost – “There are miles to go before I sleep”, we need to keep resetting our goals in life ,as we progress. This way, life is not only fun ,but a wonderful journey, wherein we can celebrate the journey ,as much as the destination.

It is perfectly fine, to celebrate the small successes in life ,as this not only makes us feel good but also pumps more adrenalin in our blood ,to achieve the larger goals, later.

Another way to look at life ,is to strike the right balance between work and life. We sometimes tend to extend the line of work much beyond the working hours. It is ok to do that once in a way when there is an emergency or a difficult deadline to achieve. But, if we make it a habit, then we are more to lose ,than gain in life.

Balancing work and life is our personal and sole responsibility. This can neither be delegated upwards nor sidewards or downwards. At home, we cannot blame our parents, spouse, siblings or children for the same. Similarly, at work, we cannot blame our bosses, peers or team members for our plight.

Life is journey, wherein we need to learn to travel ,at our own pace and choose our destinations, along with way. We may sometimes reach them and at other times, may not. But, the journey continues and we cannot halt at a stop, to believe we have arrived in life.

Excellence in life is a journey, where there could be commas but never a full stop. We could even have semi-colons or colons to celebrate our achievement along the way ,but if we believe our journey is over, then we may be done.

Let us enjoy the journey of life all along the way.

S Ramesh Shankar

5th May 2023

 

It is fashionable today to hit the gym everyday and make a statement about it. Some people take up fasting as a hobby and a fad just to show others and post it on the social media. These people may believe that hitting the gym or intermittent fasting may help them become fitter than everyone else around them.

I do agree that hitting the gym or fasting may lead to a fitter body but may not necessarily keep you healthy. Good health is a combination of fitness, a balanced diet and mental happiness. A healthy mind leads to a healthy body and the balance between the two keep you happy in life.

No wonder we read about people who maintain a six pack or eight pack body ending up in an ICU with a heart attack ,since they think physical fitness alone may make them healthy. They do not realise that anything done to the extreme could be more harmful to the body, mind and soul. Neither jogging 20 kms a day nor fasting every day would keep you healthy ,although it may make you believe that you are physically fit.

We need to realise that physical fitness alone is not healthy. The day we realise that “Health” is a combination of body, mind and soul, our approach to life will change.

I fully endorse physical activity every day and it is good for our fitness and health. I personally walk for an hour ,do yoga and play badminton everyday. You could also indulge in any physical activity you enjoy everyday ,to keep yourself fit.

But physical activity alone is not good enough. This has to be supplemented by a balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, water, proteins and vitamins in natural forms. This has to be further complemented by mindfulness – a state of mental solace. Health is always a synchronisation of body, mind and soul.

The day we realise this basic tenet of life, we may become healthy. Physical fitness alone cannot necessarily keep you mentally agile and happy in life. Health is a combination of physical fitness, mental soundness and emotional balance in life.

We should not get carried away by advertising models for health and fitness products, which display a fit body but do not necessarily guarantee you ,good health and happiness in life. We can evolve our own daily physical exercise, which we enjoy and can sustain. This can be supplemented by a balanced diet and a happy environ around us ,at work and at home.

When we hear stories of a young CEO of a multinational firm collapsing in a gym or a film celebrity ending in an ICU, who otherwise cared for his physical fitness, we may be taken aback. It is important to realise that physical fitness alone cannot keep us healthy. We need to balance physical exercise with good diet and a happy mind.

I do subscribe to a daily regimen of exercise ,of our choice. This could be supplemented by a well balanced diet of natural source of vitamins, proteins etc through vegetables and fruits. This also needs to be supported by a happy state of mind and soul.

Let us redefine “good health” as the synchronisation of body, mind and a happy soul.

S Ramesh Shankar

7th May 2023