warikoo Wanderings

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I FELT 40, WHEN I WAS 24

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Most young people are scared that they are already old.
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It was true for me as well.
At 24, I felt I was 40.
I felt terribly old, felt my life was over, saw my friends doing so much better than me while I was still struggling to make sense of where I was in life.

It was a tough time.

Funny enough, I am 41 now, and don't feel a day older than, say, 28!
I feel I am just getting started, there is so much to look forward to, I am at peace with myself, couldn't care less about how others are doing.
I am just competing with who I was yesterday.

And now that I reflect upon this reversal of sorts, I realize that it is virtually impossible to not feel old when you are young.
Because there is so much action happening around you, that this feeling of FOMO is perpetually there.
So much seems to happen in a single day, that you feel if you are not ready for it, you are going to miss out on a lot.

Plus, the world doesn't help.
Most of us are still living in the shadows of our parents, who are constantly telling us to settle.
Finish your education.
Get a job!
Get married!
Have kids!
Buy that house, that car!

And we feel we are on this timeline that we didn't choose for ourselves, but were thrown into, without our permission.

And if god forbid, we are confused, or not interested in what we are doing in life, or feel disillusioned by where we are headed, this feeling of being old magnifies.

Our life is over!
Because we haven't made sense of it, by the time we were expected to!

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Here is the deal.
You may not have a choice to feel old, when you are young.
But you do have a choice to feel young, when you are old.

And that will only happen, if you constantly keep challenging your core beliefs.
Beliefs through which you operate and live.

I had beliefs in my life.
I believed that going to the US was the only way to get a grand life.
I believed that education and college was the only way to earn a respectable income.
I believed that if I made a promise to my parents, then going back on that promise was betrayal.
I believed that if I am good at something, I should be happy doing it as well.
I believed that I would be happy if the world liked me.

And today I know, these beliefs were limiting.
These beliefs were the way I lived my life, but when I came back from the US, I challenged all of them.
Because they had clearly not served me.
I had lived by these beliefs and yet I was clueless.
So it was time to change them.

And only if you change the beliefs that limit you in your life, will you form new ones that give you hope, joy and contentment.

I am sure I still have beliefs that limit my thinking.
But the good thing is that I am constantly challenging them.

You do the same for yourself, my friend.
Ask yourself, "What are my core beliefs, that tend to limit me and not set me free?"

You are not already old.
You have a wonderful life ahead.
Look forward to it.
You have only one.
And it is just getting started :)

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GIVE YOURSELF THE SPACE TO TRY

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This week's podcast episode will help all those who feel stuck in life and think they have nowhere to go.
I reflect upon 5 life decisions that changed my life.
Not because I knew they were the right decisions.
Instead, because those decisions gave me the space to try.

Give it a listen on Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, JioSaavn or Gaana.

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BOOK I AM READING THIS WEEK

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I finished "Courage to be Disliked" and guess what?
I started randomly opening up pages and re-reading it.
Something about the book has got me hooked, that I have spent 3 weeks on it and I feel I am still not done.
WHAT A GEM OF A BOOK!

I also started reading Fast This Way: Burn Fat, Heal Inflammation and Eat Like the High-Performing Human You Were Meant to Be.
This is a recent release (2021) on the technique of fasting that has been mastered by the author Dave.
I have been fasting for 4+ years now (eating my last meal at 630pm and then breakfast at 830/9am) and it has helped me a lot.
I feel light when I get up, I have more energy, I also tend to sleep really well.

So this book digs deeper into the biology of fasting and how you work and sleep are essential inputs to your fasting routine.

Good pick, if you care about being fit.
Which we all should :)

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QUOTES TO SHARE

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Two things that will keep you going forever: Hope and patience.
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Spectators obsess about the outcome. Sportspeople obsess about the process.
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Love letters make relationships and cold emails make careers.
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You are playing it wrong if you keep telling yourself "I deserve more".
Don't get entitled.
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Don't make your lack of preparation or capability an excuse to not get started!
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RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION

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Last week I asked you,

Assuming all these cost the same, which one would you pick?

1. A car
2. An international vacation for 14 days (assuming leave is not a problem)
3. A domestic vacation for 30 days (assuming leave is not a problem)
4. Meeting your favorite celebrity for dinner
5. Renting a private jet

Here are the responses

Some interesting observations:

1. A car definitely loses its charm as you grow older. That I can vouch for :)
2. Wow! Domestic vacations are so desirable as you grow old. It is almost like you realize how beautiful your country truly is and that you never had to venture out of it to find serenity! I can vouch for this too!
3. International vacation is so desirable in the youth, understandably so. For most of us, going "abroad" was a status symbol more than anything else. Instagram vacation :)
4. Older people couldn't care less about celebs - haha!
5. I think this audience doesn't fancy a private jet, irrespective of generation. Makes sense :)

For me, I would pick domestic vacation for 30 days.
PS: Had so many younger people saying "we will get bored for 30 days" - which seems to be exactly the objective for people as they get old.

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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

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A selfish question

You can always write in to me - I may not reply to all emails but I do read all my emails.
I READ ALL MY EMAILS (breakfast mein Idli Sambar coconut chutney ki kasam!)

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