Life is not fair… Get real!
When you saw your colleague who is not worth a dime get that promotion, you drowned in to some serious sulking. The truth is, life is not fair always. People do trample on us and we get dumped unceremoniously. So loose no time and align yourself with the prevailing wind. Life treat you exactly the way you look at it.
Even you had the best of education and matching capabilities, people sometimes brush you aside and play favorites. The trick is to invest in you and become an ‘untouchable’ as Thomas Friedman describe a new social hierarchy. The most important asset you have in life is yourself. Invest a lot in you. I may be accused of being individualistic, but it is THE truth.
Get affable manners, and develop a strong net work. More things are done and people are appointed to plum post through personal contacts than fair procedure.
Sometimes, people let you down. ‘you know dishonest people cheat. It is the honest people who can do something really stupid and unexpected’… captain Jack sparrow tells the universal truth in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. People can be bad at keeping their words. You get relieved of lots of emotional turmoil if you don’t expect too much from people.
I thought everyone will welcome change and want to improve themselves. No. people are creatures of habit and do not want to come out of their comfort zone. The older you become, the more difficult it becomes to change habits.
Love is blind. Marriage is the real eye opener. The ‘lived happily ever after’ era exists only in story books. Ride of two individuals under one roof can get bumpy if you don’t work to remove the pot holes. Adjusting each other’s kinks , settling common goals, managing finance is difficult given the universal fact that all people possess a thinking mind.
Tomorrow never comes. We can take refuge under the pretext to start a new habit, career shift or hobby from the next moment. If everybody took their new year resolution beyond the first week, world would have been an interesting place. Life is today. What ever you want to do, do it now.
Never get in to a debt trap. It is easy to splurge but difficult to fill that piggy bank back. Be a bit more cunning and live large on a budget. (There is a separate article on that.) If you feel your expenditure is not matching your income, invest in your mind first, reap benefits later.
A lot of things get done or come in your favor if you are in the elite circle. Admission to the club is not by invitation. You are either borne in to aristocracy or you get it with dollar power.
Don’t try overly to please anyone. People form independent opinion about us the first time we meet. Their liking and disliking has got nothing to do with rational thought. Some may loath you, irrespective of how well you have done.
There is no free lunch in life. You reap what you sow. Take responsibility. Never wait for fate to do that miracle for you. Meet life half way by working smart. If you don’t get what you truly deserve, no on is bothered. (Except your mother.)
We grow old, filled with regrets,
For things not done,
For words not said
Life is short.. do what makes you happy today.
Be pleasant as far as possible. No one likes a cribber. Don’t go through life blaming others or fate for your failures.. Your life, success, and happiness is in your hands. (You can get hold of self help material , if you really want , by a bit of googling.)
Rather than feeling ‘being in a rut’ prepare an action plan. It is never too late. List out your strengths and weakness. Write a mission and vision statement for yourself. Do some serious reading, there is lots of inspiration and help out there. I was impressed with one character in Sydney Shelton’s ‘Bloodline’. Rice Williams was borne as a coal miner’s son, but worked his way to become the CEO of a pharmaceutical giant. His formula? Soul stirring desire, willingness to sweat blood, and persistence..
Celebrate life !!
