Few days back, I got a text from a client on Sunday, stating: “Can we get on a call please?”

If it would have been the old me in a job trying to get my rating better, I would have gotten very anxious, scared, and sure that I will be sacked.

This time, I did not respond to her text (because Sundays we don’t work, baby!)

What I rather did was to text her back easily, calmly on Monday: “Sure. May I know the agenda as well?”

Here’s the thing:
– I knew it was not to lay me off.
– I also knew that if I had to get out of our arrangement, I would be fine, and find someone else.
– I knew that if I made the habit of texting back on Sundays (like I did in my previous job), it would become a sine qua non. The last thing I wanted it to.

So the next time you get a text of “Can we get on a call tomorrow?”, know that you are worth it, and only good things happen to you.

1. Make sure you stay true to your commitments.
2. When seeking feedback on multiple things, start small and seek feedback on one. It might apply to all.
3. Do not take feedback personally. If you take the advice for what it is without the emotion, you will be the first one to be helped.

No one likes letting go

1. If what people say and what people do are different things, always believe what people do. Always. Because they often “say” certain things to look a certain way, whereas their true self gets revealed time and again in what they do (without them realising it).
2. This one took me a long time to realise – but people do drift apart eventually, if they do not sit together to talk on common things that are important to both of them. Could be friendships, colleagues or even family. Only when we sit and give dedicated time to each other consistently, is when we grow. In all cases, drifting apart is destined unless a miracle saves it.
3. A lot of us have not been loved very well in childhood. So we accept all the breadcrumbs that others throw at us. The truth is, you deserve better. Way better. Only when you start telling yourself: “I deserve better” and stop adjusting for everything little and tiny that comes your way.

If you have chosen the path of self-love, it is a lonely road.

Even if no one is coming for you, you must be there for yourself. And that, my friend, will take all loneliness away.

I was sleeping this afternoon, when I receive a call on my Nokia phone.
Which I had kept on silent already, but somehow I received a call!

Unknown number.

I received it anyway.

“Hello Ma’am, I am speaking from HDFC Bank. Do you have loan requirement?” said the warm sisterly telecaller.

I sleepishly respond: “No, thank you.”

“Koi baat nahi Ma’am. Thank you,” came the response.

It was almost she was being my elder sister, and recognised that I was sleeping, so she allowed me to sleep.

Such a beautiful conversation. Unplanned by me. And her. And we both let each other just be.

I was polite. She was understanding. Neither expected. Both won. Life 🙂

If you keep listening to someone else’s version of what happened to you, you will never be able to heal your own version of what is happening within you still, because of what happened to you to them.

When people clarify a lot on why they were right, it is a clear sign of them knowing they were wrong but being egoistic enough to not admit it. So they keep justifying why the other person was wrong

…

Bonus (unrelated one):
When you are going through a tough time, it is still important to recognise the people who care for you. Not everyone is raging a battle against you.

I remind myself: A bad day for the ego is a beautiful day for the soul.

(- Robin Sharma)

So there is a beautiful Atif Aslam old songs live performance on YouTube which you have no reason to miss out on.

One of the songs there is: “Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain jo makaam…”

I had heard of that song before, however, only the first two lines. While listening to the rest of the song, I have been jamming on the remaining lines again and again. This is how they go:

Patjhad mein jo phool murjha jaate hain
Wo bahaaron ke aane se khilte nahi
Kuch log jo yu hi bicchad jaate hain
Wo hazaaron ke aane se milte nahi…

Translated, it means: The people we move on from, we move on from forever, no matter a thousand people after them come.

Isn’t it true, no matter how much we don’t want it to be true?

On that note, I hope you know that it’s okay to feel those emotions, go for a long walk, be grateful for your life today, and get back to the world 🙂

I have been thinking of a lot of people I meet, to be very strategic in what they do.

Why they care
Why they reach out
Why they say they need you

And invariably, life was putting such people in my way.

Even though, there were people who were simply there – with no agenda.

However, because my internal monologue was that people are strategic, most people did show up to be that way.

So now, I am proclaiming all people to be nice and kind.

And I am sure they will turn out to be so.

Our remarks rule our reality. Initiate them intelligently.

If you ever had a thought that your work doesn’t matter, this is for you – 

– What if your maid went on an uninformed leave for a week?
– What if your “gaadi waala aaya ghar se kachra nikaal” didn’t come?
– What if when you had to get your drains cleaned, you couldn’t find anyone?
– What if public transport drivers went on a strike and EVERYONE came out on the road to drive? Can you imagine the traffic jam and the environmental damage?
– What if all delivery boys from Amazon, Big Basket, Zepto, etc. stopped working altogether?

Almost everything in our lives would come to a standstill if people in these jobs would not do their work.

So is the case with your job, my friend.

No matter what your job, it does contribute a LOT to the bigger picture, in keeping our economy alive.

Even if it appears very little to you.
Even if you feel you are easily replaceable.
Even if your boss doesn’t make you feel that way.

And you should be proud of your job, no matter what you do.

You don’t deserve any lesser.

The chorus squad in a live performance is the most important part imo.

They give joy to the song (check out 5.14 here)
They give meaning to the performance.
They allow the empty spaces to be filled with the most beautiful music and melodies.

Without them, the performance of the lead singer won’t be as enriched as it is. All performances of Coke Studio are an example of that.

Which brings me to the impact of your work.
If you look at it, no one ever applauds the chorus group.
Nevertheless, they show up and do their work making it effortless.

Will you be ready to do your work just for the joy of it, and not showing it off to others?
Will you be happy to do your work only because it makes you happy?
More than anything else, will you be happy only one person (who is not you) getting the limelight in a group effort?

Our inner happiness is the compass that will eventually describe our joy. Or make us need more of external validation.

The thing we seek is the thing we need. Make sure you seek the right things.