Dear Zindagi, it’s been a while…

Dear Zindagi,

It’s been a while since we caught up! I got reminded of you last weekend when I was watching Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dear Zindagi’. I thought I owed you a note –

Like Jug (SRK’s character in the film) quoted Albert Einstein in the movie, “Paagal woh hota hai jo roz roz same kaam karta hai, magar chahta hai ke nateeja alag ho” – the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result. Many a times, I find myself or my colleagues cribbing overwork, our schedules, client expectations, boss’s  expectations, our relationships at work etc. But, more often than not, we don’t change anything – we don’t want to change the way we work, the way we plan our day, and the way we deal with people around. And yet, we expect things to become better. Basically, we tend to forget that the locus of control needs to be within ourselves than outside! After all, change comes from within 🙂

“Hum hamesha mushkil raasta hi kyun chunte hain zaroori kaam ke liye? Kya pata, aasan raaste se bhi kaam ho jaaye!” I also loved this precious bit about making a choice between the harder and the easier path to solve a problem. At work, I often find myself at crossroads – I feel like choosing the harder path because somehow it seems more right, more rewarding and gives me the satisfaction of pulling off a difficult choice. I sometimes fail to remind myself that I need to choose my battles wisely. There are certain things that keep reminding me that choosing the easy path does not mean taking the issue at hand easy. It means that sometimes tactical steps seem more beneficial than the long drawn ones.

And finally what touched me the most was your definition of a Genius– “Genius wo nahi hota jiske paas sab sawaal ke jawaab hon. Genius wo hota hai jiske pass jawaab tak pahunchne ka patience ho…” -that Geniuses don’t necessarily have all the answers, it’s just that they have the patience to get there. As a parent, working mother, wife, colleague or any other relationship, I have learnt the importance of patience. I do not have all the answers. And I still don’t. But just the perseverance and passion to find the answers have kept me in good stead. Life is a hard journey. The ones who succeed are the ones who have the patience to get to these answers.

Here’s to you Zindagi, for an exciting roller-coaster ride with you!

Your student for life,