5 Important Life Hacks to Benefit from.

 

NEERAJ MAHAJAN

As a blogger, at times I am stranded sitting in front of my laptop bereft of ideas. Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the American novelist who wrote on Jazz age said, the mark of a sharp mind is to hold two contrasting ideas in your mind and still move on. To me, to write when no idea settles inside your brain seems even more heroic. How does one break this impasse? I guess by just writing in the flow whatever crosses the mind. A few ideas to discuss here viz.

PICK YOUR WORDS VERY CAREFULLY

Words have power. While we know the story of a tribe in the Soloman Islands in the Pacific and how they kill trees through relentless abuses, there is more to it. Many times, we utter things we do not actually mean at a conscious level. But our potent subconscious mind is always at work and those turn out true. It works in the long term for sure. Ditto for names. In Hinduism, the VEDIC heritage is our most valuable asset and our name is the most prominent marker of identification with that heritage. We become what we are addressed night and day. Ironically, most families ignore it and call kids with their pet names which are meaningless most of the time. It can have unintended consequences to the future of that child. So let us pledge to be responsible with our words, create positivity by picking them with utmost care. 

PERSISTENCE IS UNDERRATED

While Patience is appreciated and rightly so, why is persistence underrated? That too when continuing against the opposition is no small task! And this what being persistent means. Only someone special can do it. My guess, the reason for this is human bias. The endemic bias of the Comfort zone. While Patience is static, persistence is dynamic, action-oriented. And we are hard-wired to live in our comfort zones. In our history, the biggest achievers are those who weren't just patient but also persistent.

Nelson Mandela is to my mind the biggest example in the contemporary history of persistence. He persisted for 40 years to end apartheid in South Africa against a hostile racist regime of whites. What a man he was! His fortitude triumphed in the end when unimaginably, a black became the President of South Africa.

Another example is the Institution of the Dalai Lama. It has survived all kinds of Chinese persecution.  Persisting against such an enemy for more than 50 years is no mean feat. The struggle to liberate Tibet is on. May God bless their effort.

In ancient history, I recall the great Chanakya who wrote the Arthshastra, an ancient Indian manuscript on Statecraft. He relentlessly fought the corrupt Nanda dynasty and established the Mauryan empire under his tutelage in 321 B.C. His effort unified for the first time most of modern India as we know it under one administration.

WHY FRIENDS THINK SOLO TRAVEL IS BIZARRE?

Having just returned from Kumaon, Uttarakhand, what intrigues me why friends can't digest the idea of traveling solo? Maybe it's a human predilection towards companionship. We love to live in societies. All our thoughts and actions are just only if vindicated by society. Or is it something else? Any which way, while in the Himalayas, one has conifers, angiosperms, mountains, birds, books, fresh cold breeze, writing, great food for a fantastic company. What else is needed? If you belong to the genre of the digital nomad, you know what I am talking about. Try it solo. You would experience freedom from bondage to society. A caveat: do it only if you share any one of the above passions.

WHY BOOT STRAPPING IS ALIEN TO US?

Using existing resources to achieve something is bootstrapping. I think as humans we lack in this. THE reason IMO is a lack of gratitude. Seldom do we value what we have. Oprah Winfrey said, if you focus on what you have, you will end up with more out of life. How many of us do that? Only a few. We rather chase what we don't have  Earlier there were no mortgages, loans, or anything leveraged. People earned, saved creating wealth from their savings. Now, with pervasive leverage, all gizmos, swanky cars, smartphones, fancy homes, business loans are but a phone clicks away. It is a highway to the fulfillment of our desires. The highway is laden with blind spots though. It is also like a sword of Damocles that can slice the neck of its bearer when least expected. In the Covid era, millions of leveraged businesses have suffered excruciating pain and it persists. Wield the financial leverage only if you are a Ninja. Else, focus on what you have and bootstrap. Infosys, Dmart, Infoedge are some shining examples of bootstrapping in the Indian context.

WHY IS INTEREST DEARER THAN PRINCIPAL?

I have grown listening to the above phrase, that Interest is dearer than the Principal. Though it was in the context of grandparents preferring their grandchildren over their own kids. But how does this taken as a metaphor translate in the world of finance? As a young grad, I invested 20000/ bucks in a teak plantation company that offered interest as high as 30% p.a. I got paid for some time but gradually the company disappeared. I learned a lasting lesson. Greed is the overriding emotion here. It blinds us towards the safety of our principal and warps our senses. The finance world is replete with stories of avarice in every generation. The great Realestate Prelaunch boom of 2005- 2006 ruined millions of middle-class Indians who dreamt of becoming rich overnight. Overcoming Greed is the only remedy to this problem. Else, every generation is doomed.

PHOTO CREDIT BY Tasha Jolley on Unsplash.