Tag: #happiness

Do you love what you do?

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Work is worship is a saying I have grown up listening. I wonder if that implies that worship means “love and passion” too? In this world where most of us are operating in an autopilot mode where we don’t even know how we reached our destination, do we pause to think what passion means for us? Do we love what we do is the question?

If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion is a quote by Mia Hamm.

A research says happy employees are more productive . Happiness is what we all look for in life .So I got on to search for my answers to questions like did I love my previous jobs? I did well, and I am confident that my past employers will hire me back but the question remains was that my passion?If yes, then why am I not with them anymore?

While all these thoughts were running on my mind, I stumbled upon a YouTube video of one of the mini-celebrity(mc) aka social media influencer who had organized a meet for her fans. And one of her followers asked the mc how did she manage to look so fresh and happy despite all the traveling, shooting, early mornings, late nights she has been doing. The celebrity’s life was an open book evidently thanks to her vlogs, so all knew her schedule, and that question piqued my curiosity, and I was hoping she wouldn’t name a product and endorse it at this point in response. To my relief, she didn’t let me down. She said I love what I do, it’s not my job, but it’s a part of me. So all I am doing is living my life, and I get paid for it. She sounded genuine and looked very happy(The video I am referring to is the one by vithya hair and make up)

TED and other motivational video channels share similar thoughts, and their talks are very inspirational, but they sound surreal to me . Most people I come across everyday are zombies like me jumping from task to tasks, dawn to dusk and on a repeat the next day.

I wanted to know the story of passion from real people, people who are around me whom I see every day. So I asked some who gave me the vibes that they love their job. I came across someone who quit her well-paying corporate career and started her own venture on coaching as she felt that is what makes her happy . Another friend of mine left a high flying job to build a start-up catering to the wellness industry . He had something very powerful “ he wanted to make something that makes a difference to our lives , something that adds value and voila! A software was born from the need” . There are many more super heroes without a cape around me and all I had to do was look around to spot them .

Follow your passion it will lead you to your purpose – Oprah Winfrey.

This lead to my next question purpose? I google searched the exact meaning of purpose as assumptions at this stage was a bad idea. So it goes like this

“ It is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Purpose also means to have as one’s intention or objective.”

The intention is a magic word. After pouring over books and videos I learnt that the super heroes start their day with an intention to serve their purpose with work, family, friends, and themselves that day. An intention to deliver the best in whatever they do. And if what we do is our passion and we have the right plans everything falls into place automatically. Finally, I admit I am at peace with this discovery.

The very thought of getting paid for what I love to do and be myself makes me happy. This reveals to me that I never knew what was the meaning of making passion my work. I loved my job or the company or the boss but it wasn’t necessarily my passion.   A passion that makes me want to jump out of bed every morning like it’s a festival, a purpose that will help me drift into sleep smiling does sound blissful. All these leads to a happy “us” and in turn spreads the happiness and positivity to everyone around. There is so much we can gain by following our passion.

While all this sounds good, the hard truth is everything is in our hands. Even if we skim through books and read a zillion of them until we act on it, it remains a book or a blog on some website. So here are some questions that may help each one of us find answers to the question, do we love what we do.

  • Do you feel excited to wake up every morning and sometimes get sleepless at the thought of the next awesome day?
  • Do you feel satisfied when you go to bed every night?
  • Do you have a hundred reasons to be thankful for in life at any moment?

If the answers to all the above questions were an affirmative then congratulations, you nailed it obviously. If no, its time to find out what is that will help you answer the above questions with a simple yes.

Anything that strikes a chord with our being is our purpose. So what are you waiting for?

I wish you luck!

Bindu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did they live happily ever after?

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Then they lived happily ever after; I loved this phrase growing up as that is how the fairy tales ended. That sentence was so positive and full of hope.For me, it meant the beginning and the end of a love story which indicates there is only happiness in the journey called life.

I grew up believing that everyone will have a person assigned to their name and then they will live happily ever after. It took years to understand how delusional that phrase was. How it could impact young minds and how it can coax them into believing that life with a partner mostly is all about happiness and all those hunky dory things.

The theory conveyed by fairy tales has been backed up by countless love stories aka movies which state the same concept in a million ways and hypnotize most into believing that the idea of happily living ever, after all, it does exist.

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So by the time one decides to date or be in a relationship the expectations are set, isn’t it? I began thinking why didn’t the author say it was a beginning of a new life and that life is all about ups and downs and it’s about tackling it together. Is it because we do not like hurdles and no one likes the truth? Well! I know it’s a fairy tale and not a reality now, yet its something we are repeatedly told in our growing years. Pardon me! No one warns us stating “don’t believe what I read out ” right? They read us stories with so much passion that we end up believing that a life like that exists.

I wonder if the naiveness to believe this phrase still exists in the kids today or will they say let’s get to the chase?
Will they end up dreaming about a life that doesn’t exist? A life which is based on fiction and doesn’t last anywhere in the world.

Is that why relationships lose their charm in days, months or years? Because we do not prepare for the reality called life? Is it possible that these stories are dictating lives of some generations?

I know daily soaps play a crucial role in the lives of many women but aren’t they a visual representation of what we read and someone’s fantasy again? Will we start outgrowing our imagination and reclaim our lives soon? Will we ever become aware of what Love is?

Jiddu Krishnamurthi questions, Is love pleasure ? or desire or remembrance? Or Is love attachment to a person, a country or an idea? He wants us to think and answer them obviously as it concerns us. The basic definition we grew up learning indicates that all the words he chose explain what love means for us.

It made me think and become aware that how we are all preconditioned as humans. On what love is and how we can define it, thanks to all that we read and watch. How we live in ignorance instead of enjoying the bliss called life? Very few are blessed to find a partner who understands this and engages in life. Have you found yours or would you like to become that partner now or would you like to live in ignorance? The choice is entirely yours. The good news here is, awareness can fix anything so alas! they lived happily ever after is possible if we take up life in our own hands by being present to it.

Wishing you love and happiness always 🙂

Non Judgement – A way of life

Judging :
I have been searching the meaning(not the dictionary one) for this word from long now . I got different answers but was never satisfied , i felt that was not it . My soul was not satiated . It is so easy to say “dont judge” but explain that ? we are told “just be with it”, so easy aint it? . So my fued with the word was on and finally here I am with an answer 🙂 . Feeling happy and wanted to share the happiness with all of you so wanted to blog this right away .
Judgement is adding or subtracting facts to something we see . Being non judgemental is just seeing the event or person undistorted , no adding past to it , no adding masala to it but seeing the event or person for that moment/instant.
let me try to explain this better may be via an example . When a spouse 😉 (best example no?) says he/she did not like a particular thing you did , listening to that feedback as it is will make sure we are being non judgemental and voila! we can remain calm and hence happy . What we typically do is (this its very normal by the way ) we listen to what he/she said and add all the past experiences /stories he /she said and make that into something else and respond . The other person wouldn’t be prepared and unassuming that you have derived a different meaning out of something  simple he/she said . And this can lead to a BIG issue and this is an ongoing issue with most people .
How about listening to that they said and responding to what was just said by not adding any past story, fact , assumptions and seeing the event for what it is.
Life its so simple yes so complicated . Imagine what if we are allowed to record our thoughts and play to others ? we wouldn’t have foes forget friends 😀 . I am amused and amazed with another learning and gratitude towards the universe. This is very simple yet difficult , how can we ensure we see the event or person for that moment or that incident? Did you just ask that? Well!  by being aware and by living in the present moment . Living in the present moment is by default being non judgemental in my opinion.  Lets live . Lets love . Lets stay happy

Negativity is a spammer

A thought occurred to me , what if we consider negativity as a caller ? So many of us make sure we check unknown numbers on true caller before we respond or most times we don’t pick calls from unknown numbers . what if we train our mind to store negativity as a unknown spammer and choose not to pick it ? I wonder what will happen? When I was in Vipassana a few years ago I remember what the teacher told me . She mentioned that Buddha says when someone gifts you with negativity , anger , unhappiness or any not useful emotions tell them thank you, I don’t need them so I am not accepting it. Its basically not taking anything personally . I know it aint easy but it isn’t impossible either . Was wondering how our lives will change if each one of us will follow that one simple advise .

My mind as usual went into the thought mode. For example , in a peak traffic an annoying person does all that he/she can to block us but instead of loosing peace of mind and loosing perspective for the day what if we could say I am not allowing you to spoil the peace in my head as I reserve my energy for myself and do what we can do best – say breathing(consciously) ,or listening to music .

Or at a restaurant or office or at home , most times we end up being a part of anothers baggage and they easily pass the buck to us and we unconsciously end up carrying it with us . If its a bad beginning to a morning ,it can cause ripples and will ensure everything in the day is ruined , like the dominoes effect . So what if we chose to say, thank you but I dont need your baggage as I choose to spend my time on myself today , on my family today or on a loved one today . Basically what if we agree not to take anything personally ?