What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?

This question has been haunting me since a long time. After spending months at home, being forced to confront my own thoughts has led me to a few realizations. The multiple covid lockdowns made me realize how everything around us is temporary. It got me thinking that with the maximum amount of time that I do get around this beautiful planet, what it is that I want to leave behind, what do I want the world to remember me by? Which also makes me realize that for me to leave something behind, I need to take actions to actually create a legacy.

India recently lost one of its iconic singers, KK. All of us 90s kids have expressed love, been heart-broken, celebrated friendships through his songs. He had a poetic death where he passed away after performing for a concert, he literally died doing what he loved. I’ve always felt that there’s a missing piece in my life even if everything seems to be going great. It is this missing part of the puzzle that sends me searching out for something more. I once saw a movie where the actor is asked – “You are doing this job to live the life you are living now, but what do you do for yourself?” To which the actor replies, “I write.” There are things you do in life which fulfil a practical purpose but we also tend to seek things that fulfil our souls.

Legacy can be anything, for some it is the wealth they earn, for some it’s their kids, for some it’s their work. I feel legacy is all about what YOU want to be remembered by and then working towards that purpose. For some it may take a shorter time, for some it might be a longer wait. However, it is all worth it to see the day you feel the contentment in your heart, knowing that this is the missing piece of my life I’ve searched for all along!

I believe that legacy also lies in how you are remembered by as a person. I still love how my loving Grandma is remembered by everyone in her town as one of the kindest souls they had come across. She also planted a few mango trees during her time and now we are able to relish their fruits even today. This inspires me to take actions today that I know would benefit not only my time on this planet, but would benefit generations to come. I still haven’t figured out HOW I plan to do it. But that’s what life is for, to search for things that brighten up your soul and keep working on them till you can!

PS: Thanks for reading through this post. It has been a long time since I wrote. But I know I’ll always make a comeback. What legacy do you envision to leave behind? Would absolutely love to read your thoughts on it!

New year, Better me

I am one of those people who rarely go out to celebrate New Year’s eve. Most of my life, I’ve fallen asleep even before the clock struck midnight. But after entering the somewhat grown up phase of life, I began to see it is for what it is – a reason to celebrate the start of something new. It is also a great way to assess what you did last year, look for growth opportunities, let go of the bad habits or cutback on them and have a rough draft of how you want the upcoming year to look like. The beginning of a new year gives you an opportunity to have something to look forward to for the rest of the year. Well, I may be late to the party, but here I am!

Ditching the new year clichés like ‘New year, new me’, I now look forward to ‘New year, better me’. This entails that with the start of a new year, I don’t need to change into a completely different version of myself. A lot of us don’t really want to turn into a whole different person. I would rather do things that would turn me into a better version of myself and even if you like where you are at right now, there’s always an opportunity to learn, to grow.

Previously, a new year meant creating multiple resolutions that I generally lost track of in the first two weeks itself. Most of the times, I didn’t even bother to get back to them fearing it was already too late to begin. As I had mentioned in one of my previous posts, this blog itself had lost track because I had failed to follow-through on my yearly resolutions to write more. However, a few years later, I realized that all I needed was a start. Even if it wasn’t on the first day of the year, what mattered was to write, to finish an article and post it. Once I got into the rhythm of it, the next step was consistency.

Even today, procrastination gets the better of me on a lot of days. But let me tell you a secret, sometimes, all that matters is showing up. Build little by little. Because at the end of the day, even a small step means you’re improving, going ahead rather than being stagnant. I still dream of posting at least one blog every day. Even though I haven’t gotten there, I have also realized it’s okay to take small breaks or even long ones. What matters is, not letting go of the things that you really want in life. Which is why, here I am again, hoping to write more this year!

Here’s to looking forward to a healthier (COVID-free), happier (inside-out) and flourishing year ahead!

Life of a dreamer

A friend of mine sent me a slam book entry I had written in her book which read, “Life goal: To become a computer engineer”. I had written down this goal probably when I was in the 5th grade. Back then, computers were the new thing and I was fascinated by them. The only related job I knew back then was becoming a computer engineer. My friend also pointed out, how that dream of mine eventually did come true!

Pondering over it made me realize I did manage to achieve my dream without even acknowledging it. I have been a huge nerd my whole life. Though there was a moment in my life, where I stopped running behind grades (the nerd in me still exists!). Today, it reminds me about the amount of efforts I used to put in, the sleepless nights, the influx on information, the drive to study as much as I can to get my degree. I slogged really hard and seeing your hard work being reflected on report cards gave me a great feeling back then.

It also made me realize that with the same attitude, if I really put in all my honest work into achieving my other dreams, I can achieve them as well. Because I am that hard working kid. I had the headstrong determination and drive to become a computer engineer. Now, that same kid has different goals, but the sheer thrill of going after my goals still excites me. Life doesn’t need to be limited by a single dream. This was a beautiful reminder that when you start manifesting your dreams and do all the groundwork, even though it may take some time or even longer, but one day, you will get there. Keep going!