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By 31 December 2021, I’ll have Rs. X in my bank account.

We’ve all set these kind of goals at some point of time in our lives, haven’t we?

When we set goals, we commit ourselves to reach a place, which we may or may not reach.

When we build systems or create habits, those routines become a part of our identity. These systems make you the person for whom it is possible to achieve those goals in the first place.

There’s nothing wrong in setting goals, except that they make us feel hollow when we get there; whereas habits fulfill us a bit more each day.

Setting habits is the easiest (and perhaps the quickest) way to reach your goals.

When we are in our 20’s, we want to achieve our goals fast.
Everyone seems sorted.
Only you seem to be going through this mess called your life.

It’s quite easy to be driven by the race instead of finding joy amidst the journey.
To always be looking at the next step, instead of what the current one is blessing us with.

The best learning happens with ease and slow pace.
You have the time, even if you don’t think so. You do.

You want to get there eventually. There is little value in getting there fast.

Now that the last month of 2020 is there, there’s some unexpected lesson the lockdown taught us.

Of course it brought a sense of balance. With much needed power naps.

However, what it really taught us was how little is needed to be happy.
We don’t need to go out and watch movies.
We don’t need to go shopping to feel happy.
Nor do we need restaurants for our survival.

All these are good, but real richness is your family and your health. And it took a pandemic for us to understand it.

We are richer when we know we don’t need validation of external riches to feel rich.

Elon Musk is a genius.
He has created his own orbit (pun intended).
Not only that, he’s widely successful at that.

But, what is the real reason behind his success?
His unique idea? His leadership style? His tweets?

It’s courage.
Courage to launch the satellite seventh time after failing six times.
Courage to support himself when no one else did.
Courage to take the punch in the face as a gear to move forward.

Failure is inevitable.
But every success in life is a direct function of how courageous we were, after failing.

Sir Isaac Newton’s discoveries changed the world.
Forever.

Once inquired on the secret of his success, he said that he stood on the shoulders of giants.
According to Newton, there had been a lot of people to direct him, inspire him, help him – which led to his success.

Imagine being one of the greatest contributors to science, being grateful for the help he received throughout.

Humility is power. A power that doesn’t get to your head and still keeps you moving forward.

To rise higher, there’s just one golden law: To never get your feet off the ground.

We see our reflection in the mirror.
It tells us how we look, how our smile feels, and what we are feeling.

However, who were we before we saw a mirror?
Who were we before an image was shown to us daily?
Who were we before we were made to fit into a box of a reflection?

That person is the one we need to get back to.

The one who we were before we saw ourselves in the mirror, is the one we truly are.

We have all all have made a big mistake at some point.
A mistake so big, that we couldn’t believe ourselves.

Yet, with time and self-reflection, we forgive ourselves.
We move on.

Then how is it that we not forgive someone else when they make a big mistake?
Why are our standards of acceptance very hard for others, while very easy to percolate for us?
What stops us from forgiving others?

Forgiving must come as easy to others, as it comes to our own selves.

When we meet someone, we talk to them respectfully.

That, however, isn’t true respect..

It is built by choosing how we define the other person, when they are not around.

True respect is respecting someone even when we are not in front of them.

You want to pursue an art.
Maybe write, design or become a professional musician.
But your parents won’t let you.

That causes tension. Lack of communication. Anger and frustration.
And the belief that “getting there” or “doing something” will prove it to them.

However, parents don’t crave to be proven right.
They want the same things for us that we would want for ourselves. The path may be different.

What if we told them that the only thing you need from them is their support?
What if we got out of our own head and had that conversation from the heart?

We can’t convince our parents through things or actions.
Only difficult (and most important) conversations can.

We have different experiences with different people we meet.

People help us in trouble.
Or perhaps put us in one.

Embrace the ones who help us.
Let go of the ones who leave us. Better still, do help them when they need you if you can.
And forgive the ones who put us in trouble. Let them go.

One of the best judgements to acquire is learning to deal differently with different people.
It will decide almost everything we do in life.