Lessons learnt from the year 2021 – My Priorities

As we end one of the toughest years for mankind, I was pondering over what all did I learn this year. The year has been tough for me as I lost two very close people to me. One at the start of the year and one at the end of the year. The first one was my mentor and one of the best managers I ever had. The other who I use to mentor and one of my best colleagues ever. It was hard for me and lot of others who were close to both of them.

The months April and May were horrendous on many fronts for almost everyone in the country and maybe the world. I believe everyone I know had a similar tough time. Life is the best teacher and I learnt it the hard way to restructure my priorities. I have decided on priorities as below (in the order mentioned):

1.      Family

2.      Health

3.      Wealth

4.      Work

The priorities above are what I think are relevant and super important. There are others which can be added but I believe if I can focus on only the above, it would give me what I look for in life – “get up in morning with a smile on my face, go to sleep at night with a smile on my face”. To elaborate on my thoughts.

1.      Family – Even before Covid, I valued family a lot, but Covid taught me the true value of family. Today I can get out of a meeting just to help my son with his assignment or to say bye to him while he goes out for his evening playtime. I prefer to schedule my meetings and work assignments so that we as a family can have all meals together. I have planned it such that my wife and I can have our evening tea together as well. I cherish the moments from the first lockdown – we had divided all work at home and I loved how we worked together and no one complained. Even my 6 year old son learnt to clean up his room. Today I would do anything to enjoy our family time together. I will always chose the time spent with my family over anything. My parents are old and they had their Golden Jubliee celebrations in May 2020. Covid ruined it but we still had a video celebration. One thing changed in last 2 years – I started talking to my parents and my siblings (I have 2 brothers and 1 sister) more frequently. I don’t know what changed inside me but I would chose my family over anything now. I realise it gives me peace and happiness to just talk to them.  I believe I would chose family over success or any other material thing any day. If you cannot be there for your family – what is the purpose of you being alive.

2.      Health – I think this has been a huge realization. Stress, eating junk, sleeping less, procrastination, no exercise, binge watching – this is like routine for me. Now I realise that to be happy and at peace I need a health body – both physical and mental. I realized that things take time to happen and there is no point stressing over anything. It is important to acknowledge both mental as well as physical health. It is ok to slow down in life. Things might take more time but they will happen if you are healthy. If you are mentally at peace and if you are physically fit, any challenge can be accomplished. I have prioritized my sleep now – I sometimes sleep in afternoons , maybe sleep longer on weekend but I ensure I am getting 6 hours of min sleep(mostly 7-8 hours). Getting up early is another thing I added to my routine. Regular exercise without excuses is another. Even during lockdown, I did some minimal workout as I realized – if I am healthy , I am at peace. Reading books over binge watching is another thing I learnt. It is more peaceful and you feel so good and creative after finishing a book. Today, I would chose my health over any assignment.

3.      Wealth – I have realized the importance of wealth. Money does not buy happiness but if you have money – you are at peace. I learnt some valuable lessons – life is unpredictable, and you may need money anytime. I was asked a question by a friend – “Will you have Rs. 1 lakh (around $1350) without selling anything – shares, funds, assets or taking credit – loan, credit card”. That is a very small amount, but I doubt 95% of people in this country will have the same answer – “no”. Now why is this relevant – this is the amount private hospitals were asking per day for Covid treatment during the first lockdown and this is when no insurance company covered it.  Thing is – emergency funds are needed. A lot of people lost their livelihoods or took a hit on their financials. We need to figure out ways to make more money. Invest and keep a backup at all times. Another way to create wealth is invest in yourself. Re-skill and upgrade on a regular basis as that will make you more money. I would prefer the second option – investing in myself any day. And that is what I have put into practice. Hopefully, the money follows as well.

4.      Work – Remind you I have written ‘work’ and not ‘career’. Do something which is meaningful, and you feel you have done something. It does not have to be big – it can be a small piece, but you should feel happy about it. I not even saying – “you should love what you do” or “follow your passion” – because that people anyways know but do not do. It is about working hard and taking risks. I believe that I will work on trivial things, but I should take pride in telling people what I do. I should be able to take risks. Unless my work has a fear of failure, I am not doing enough. Career should be a side effect. I believe that if I am doing excellent work and I am working hard, and I can have the risk-taking abilities – opportunities and career growth will follow. I have learnt that if I work hard, whatever little I get done – it gives me peace. I also learnt that if I can take some risk and if I can make it work – nothing gives me more joy. I take small risks and hence the rewards are small as well. At the same time, I fail a lot and it teaches me a lot. But I have decided to only work so that I can get peace and be happy.

As we enter the next year, it is important that each one of us enter with a smile. So please smile and keep smiling – it will be a great year ahead and probably the best year of our lives till date.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022