Stop Compromising, Start Living!
Death is such an amazing thing. We all know that it is at the end of the tunnel that we are in. There is no guarantee whether you will become rich or stay poor, be educated or stay illiterate, be smart or stay dumb. But what is for sure — you are not going to get out of this journey called life alive!
No, this isn’t to drivel about the dreaded D word, rather to acknowledge how beautiful it actually is. It is a beautiful transition point, a full stop to end all the commas, the stopping plastic stub at the end of the gauge called life. All good things have to come to an end, right?
Every man dies, not every man truly lives
– William Wallace (Braveheart)
We take out insurances, we talk and joke about death, we make zombie movies by the dozen and even prepare our will. Still, how many really accept the ultimate truth?
Let’s pretend you are writing an examination. You have spent too much on a question that wasn’t worth it. You glance at the clock and find that you have just an hour to go and the question paper is virtually untouched save for a couple of questions.
Now you will have either of the two reactions, based on how you approach life:
- You lose it. You get flustered, your palms sweat, your heart beats as if you have been on the treadmill at top speed and you suddenly find that your memory isn’t as great as you thought it was.
You don’t do great, as a result.
- You rock it. You go through the question paper, find out the ‘best bang for the buck’, which questions will be the best returns for my time. You make the most of it.
You come out of the examination hall — a winner.
It is the due date for taxes/projects/events. In the days leading to the D-Date, we scramble and try to get things in order as much as possible.
Now, what’s the surprising thing?
For things where you know that you have a deadline, you are willing to put in your all and do what it takes to maximise performance, even though it is last minute. Yet, Death is even more interesting, as you know that it will happen, but you have absolutely no clue of when! Irony — This doesn’t lead to a life lived to potential, rather results in a state of complacency! It becomes one of those things that really do not pinch you until you are directly affected.
Until it happens in the family, Death is just a statistic!
- An elderly uncle who compromised by tolerating an abusive wife and a greedy son. For him, divorce or moving out was an option reserved for ‘next year’. The next year never came.
- A college junior, who loved taking ‘risks’, for him safety and a life of meaning was when he would finish college. He never did.
- A friend, who set up a fantastic business while waiting for the time he would truly live. The time never came.
- Making his parents’ dreams come true was the goal of a colleague. But the work to ensure was always reserved for the ‘weekends’. The dreams never came true.
These individuals were like you and me. They always thought they had forever to do things. The impression was that the world moves according to my watch.
It doesn’t.
If life is a train journey, you sure board it hoping to reach somewhere. But once you board you really do not have any control on when you will be asked to get down.
But you can certainly do is make every minute of the journey worth it. Every minute lived should be so satisfying that you have absolutely no qualms when it is time to disembark. Don’t wait to live out your best self. Don’t wait to do things that matter. Don’t wait for the second chance, for there will be none.
Instead of saying, oh! so early, i wish i had more time!
You say, YooHoo! what a ride that was!
I have been rocked enough.
- I am now going to live out my best self
- I am not going to let go of opportunities
- I am not going to shirk that exercise session, because i don’t feel like
- I am not going to ‘miss’ that call, because i am too afraid to pick the phone
- I am going to run towards my fears for they are preventing me from living out a complete life
- I am going to let go of my dumb beliefs and prejudices that have held me back in so many ways
- I am going to value people and relations everyday
I am going to be the best i can ever be, everyday.