There are 8 wonders in this world. Great Wall of China, Petra, Colosseum, Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, Taj Mahal, Christ the Redeemer, which is the next one? For me, it is Human Behavior. The twists & turns & unpredictability of human behavior are beyond the complexity of the rest seven wonders. The past few months of leisure started a chain of thoughts for me. Beyond the unanswerable questions of existence, chicken, or the egg first, life on earth or water first, I stopped at, “why I do what I do?” And the search for answers led me here to Wired Tales.
Let’s go down the memory lane
As a child, I loved playing, dancing, singing, creative writing, in short everything other than studies or the accepted norm. Growing up the outer environment changed & without any external pressure, I knew I was supposed to be focused on studies solely. No, I don’t deny the importance of studies, but, everything else lost significance in my own eyes. Life was going in the usual flow, with some sweet & sour moments & without a pause button.
Well, did the what-ifs never crossed my mind? It will be a lie if I deny that. But no, that’s not for you, I said to myself.
Fast forward to present time
March 2020, post-graduation done, new job & new city in a few months & the ultimate goal achieved; a settled life. But someone disagreed & the pandemic happened. The chaos, fear, and anxious state for the first month was followed by a race to be utmost productive and make the most out of all the time I had. The bubble had to burst & I sat thinking what next. For the first time in months, I was looking back at my life, wondering about my actions, decisions & where I am heading to.
We live in a world of benchmarks. I looked around to find out how my role models have been coping with these questions. There was no answer, just an expectation to get the best ROI on everything that I do.
The formula is simple:
If (Hour spent leads to material gain)
Profit
Else
FAILURE
Why does the painter keep trying to create the best portrait for hours? Or the musician keeps searching for that one note for hours?
I was puzzled and had no answers.
Where was the answer?
A group of misfits, living their own world, some of them, known as influencers, had the answer for me. Life’s motto is simple for them, “Do what you love?”. Love camera, capture your surroundings; love traveling, write about your journeys; love cooking, share your recipes; just do what you love!
What gave them the courage to fight against the odds, external and internal resistances, and the uncertainties? I don’t have an answer yet. But against popular belief, their decisions about their careers are not made in a spur. They understand their financials, evaluate the pros & cons, and make a game plan before taking the leap of faith.
Where it led to?
These misfits inspired me to let go of the inhibitions I have been holding on to for so long, to break free & stop worrying about the ROI of each and every action. It is definitely not easy to let go the chains that we keep ourselves trapped in for years. But it does no harm in taking small steps at a time.
All my life, I have been pondering about what I love. Reading about the new-gen misfits, I started thinking, joining broken links & decided to give my love for traveling and writing a chance.
So, here I am at Wired Tales, jotting down my experiences & thoughts.
What’s next?
There is a long way to go & a lot to do, and I just want to enjoy this process without being worried about the end results. I am no preacher, just trying to live by the motto, “Have no regrets”. A request to all of you; paint, dance, roam, code, build, analyze, whatever you love, do give it a chance. Who knows when the seeming coal gets transformed into a shining diamond.
wiredtales.com 