As I get ready to blow out candles on my birthday today, I begin looking back at all these glorious years of my life so far and realize that how far have I come! My entire life has been a collection of marvellous stories – stories of my many spectacular triumphs, and of my chrysalis defeats. There have been rise and falls in my life, but I have always managed to emerge from the debris and rebuild my empire. Now when I think about it, each and every experiences I have been through was in a way preparing me for a bigger purpose – to be the unique me.
Before stepping into another exciting new year tomorrow, I take a pause from the bustle and tumult of life to reflect on setting some of the new principles for this year. As I get older and wiser, the clearer my thought channel becomes. I gain clarity on my core values, self-expectations, and on how I want to govern my life.
As I march forward, I leave behind all the failures, embarrassments, hurt, and pain but at the same time thanking those experiences from the bottom of my heart for making me more resilient, patient, empathetic, thoughtful & accepting, and compassionate. And, all my victories have taught me to strongly believe that no matter how catastrophic a fall might be, you can always rise like a phoenix. All you need to do is to have faith in yourself, dare to dream and never ever stop trying. For me, there have been no alternatives to hard work and sincerity.
This year, I am adding two core values to my life –
Start living my life based on my own validation and admiration
We are surrounded by the society that constantly reminds us of what we need to be based on their expectations, and we unknowingly fall into their trap. We are hooked onto their applause and acclaim. It can get very hard to break free of the invisible shackles that is holding us. Sometimes, we realize it at the end of our lives when there is no going back and there is no time in our hands to change things. All that is left is regret. I am grateful to have understood it at such a young age! This year, I am determined to loosen the shackles tightly tied around my ankles, and gradually free myself.
Slow Down
“Slow and steady wins the race” – we all have heard it since our childhood days. But yet, we refuse to slow down our pace and simply go with the flow. We enjoy being busy being busy. “Being busy” has become a buzz word these days. We are ruled by the definition of “success” laid out by the society. And that does not allow us to be a human-being, but a human-doing all the time. This year, I am determined to run my own race and to compete with nobody but with the person I was yesterday and more importantly slow down.
“Let everything happen to you : beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
I am thrilled to be adding these new principles to my life on this birthday. I am thankful for this amazing life I have witnessed so far and the cadence of experiences that have made me unique. I embrace this upcoming year with more positivity, and limitless dreams. And lastly, never stop enjoying my life to the fullest! I can sense my rocking birthday vibes already!
