Friday 13 April 2018

Welcome to your "lakshya" in life!

We, as human beings are a unique set of species who unlike other species do not have to go through the grind of foraging for food and water, day in and day out. Thanks to the development of agriculture, food security was established. Now, as our free time opened up, we started developing and honing skills like metallurgy, craftsmanship and pottery. Languages blossomed, empires and civilizations were established. Kings and dynasties came and went, wars were fought. What is common across these events is that each one of us found a purpose in life, a life goal, a "लक्ष्य ".

This goal may be fixed, or it evolves over time. Short term goals, long term goals, career goals, family goals, relationship goals and so on. It is essential to find your true calling in life. For some, this true calling is their passion which they monetize and convert it into a career. For instance, musicians, sportsperson, the film industry etc. Such avenues are where the success rate is low and rejections are common. After toiling and struggling for many years, they are able to land that perfect album, that scintillating sports career, or that big ticket movie. However, a majority of us play the "safe tried and tested route".  In a country with a billion plus population, of whom a large percentage are students, many study hard during our 11th and 12th classes, to land that engineering seat. Students get the illusion that life is settled after an engineering degree, they needn't work hard and they will succeed as engineers in their core branch. In most cases that doesn't happen. A huge chunk do MBA, or get into the software industry because they think, that's where the money and "sexiness of job" lies. Currently, becoming a data scientist and getting into analytics is on the minds of many engineering students.

This meme sums it up aptly!!



Whatever be our profession, there is one thing that remains constant - the setting of goals and achieving them. The feeling that one gets upon striking something off a to-do list is amazing. However, how does one set a goal? It so happens that when we start our day, we stuff so many things into our to-do list that we don't end up even completing even 30%. Another thing we should keep in mind that our goals must be time-bound and realistic. For instance, if our goal is to learn a new sport, say swimming and if we are scared of water, then we can't have a goal that we will be able to swim like an expert in a month. That's being just unreasonable. A more practical goal would be that we would be able to float in water without support after a month. Now that we have been able to set a reasonable and time-bound goal, we should put all our hard work into it.

So what is your "लक्ष्य " (aim) ? From the most mundane things, like a daily to do-list to the most ambitious one like starting your own company, maybe? It all comes to breaking that huge ambitious goal into smaller, time bound steps. Then you get clarity and focus. After that, it is the just the matter of living that dream everyday and putting your heart and soul into it.

Remember, the best dreams are not when one is sleeping, but when one is wide awake, and working hard.

Inspiration can also come from movies. One of the best Bollywood movies in the 2000s, much ahead of its time is Lakshya. A carefree, aimless youth decides to join the armed forces. How he conquers his laziness, and comes out as a mentally strong, focused gentleman is the story. Here's the title track of the song.


I've also covered it as a piano cover:

Lakshya Title Track - Soundcloud cover

Decorated with powerful Hindi lyrics, a few lines are enclosed below:

रोके तुझको आँधियाँ , या ज़मीन , या आसमाँ ,
पाएगा  जो लक्ष्य है तेरा।
 लक्ष्य को, हर हाल में पाना है।

(Even if the storm stops you, or the earth, or the sky
You need to achieve your aim
The aim, you have to achieve it no matter what)

हिम्मत से जो कोई चले ,
धरती हिले, कदमों तले।
क्या दूरियाँ, क्या फासले
मंजिल लगे, आगे गले।

(If someone walks with courage,
The earth shakes under his feet
What separation, what distances,
The destination is there just hug it)

तू चल यूहीं सुभह हो शाम ,
रुकना झुकना नहीं तेरा काम
पाएगा  जो लक्ष्य है तेरा।

(You keep proceeding, whether it is morning or evening,
Stopping slouching is not your work
And you will achieve your aim)

This song is a blast of inspiration! I recommend that you watch the movie, its one of the finest Bollywood war and coming of age movies.

It is easy to have a focused attitude and be enthusiastic when all s going well in your life. But how do you react when the chips are down? When you face trying times, either at work or in your personal life? Easier said than done, but keeping your head high and working yourself through difficult times of your life is when you emerge as a true winner. In that context, I came across this inspirational song from the English singer Bon Jovi titled "Welcome to wherever you are".




Some sample lyrics enclosed below:

When everybody's in and you're left out,
And you feel you're drowning with a shadow of a doubt,
Everyone's a miracle, in their own way.
Just listen to yourself, not what other people say.

Be who you wana be, be who you are are,
Everyone's a hero, everyone's a star.

Welcome to wherever you are,
This is your life, you made it this far.
Welcome, you gotta believe,
That right here, right now
You're exactly where you're supposed to be,
Welcome, to wherever you are.

Songs like these should be played everyday in school to inculcate in students the ethos of positive attitude and hard work. After all, we are here only for a limited time on this earth, and we need to make the most of our time here. Quoting the lyrics of a famous rap-rock song

All I know,
that time is a valuable thing,
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings.
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away.

So seize the day, and "Welcome to your लक्ष्य in life"!!