Living with purpose

• I am feeling a sort of emptiness in my life.
• I am not getting the kind of recognition, I deserve , in my office/ home.
• I am finding it difficult to manage my work-life balance.
• Fast paced career and family responsibilities are sweeping away most of my time 

Sounds familiar ? We hear such kinds of complaints from our friends, colleagues, family members including ourselves. Yes, modern day life and fast paced careers demands a lot more out of us and makes us push our boundaries. And over a period of time, we simply put on our "autopilot" mode to the extent that everything we do becomes mundane and boring. The work doesn't motivate us any more and become less interesting.

Almost everyone of us go through such kind of experience at least once in our lives. Though it may sound reasonable to have such feeling once in a while, considering our innate nature of seeking pleasure out of everything we do. The real problem starts when such feelings (lack of appreciation, recognition, self image, motivations) last over a period of time.

Thankfully, the answer to this feeling is simple. We just need to look inwards and rearrange four building blocks of our living. 

• Personal
• Professional
• Social
• Spiritual
  

If properly balanced, these blocks bring a state of equilibrium to our existence.

One may refer to the news of Google executive Patrick Pichettea, who recently left his plush corporate job to follow his passion. Not everyone of us is privileged to do so. Rather, one need not take such steps to seek the passion and fulfilment. The answer is always present deep within us. We just need to peel back the layers of our conscience.

It's really important to find the purpose of things we do in our day to day existence. That sense of purpose brings clarity to our thoughts and actions.

One may refer to or define a set of guidelines like following.

Find out things You like the most The things which give me real happiness, pleasure, a sense of accomplishment. Is it some passion/hobby like reading, writing , a sport , designing, programming, talking, music or the work at hand? Keep looking to find out the answer. Notice the signals sent by mind from time to time.

Commitment to act : be committed to act on your likings. Make conscious efforts. Allocate right resources [time and energy] towards the commitment.

Find a mentor. Reach out to people you trust who can help you out.For me, books are the best mentors.

Appraise your efforts over a period of time. Reflect upon your commitment and ensure that you are taking efforts in right direction

Few more words...

Have I found purpose of my life? No.  Am I going to find it ever? May be. But I am sure that one day I will definitely find it by looking inside me, being committed to find it and appraising my actions towards it.

Finally, keep hunting for answers to following questions. [Source book : How will you measure your life, by Clayton Christensen]

• Am I sure that all my relationships are going to last forever?
• Am I happy in my work and career choices I have made?
• Am I living my life with integrity and authenticity?

Meeting your hero

"A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just tries to give back as much as possible and help people. A hero to me is someone who saves people and who really deeply cares."         -  Debi Mazar 

If you read the story about any great personality, we can find one common thing among them. That is, all of them have a mentor, a guru  or a hero. A Guru is someone who has answers for everything, guides along your path, encourages and is a constant source of inspiration.

I started running as a regular exercise a year back. I try to do it at least 3 to 4 times a week. Initially it was a routine, slowly it became hobby and at the moment, it’s more than that. Rather it has become an inherent part of my life.

Couple of years back, while scrolling through Crossword’s bestsellers list, I found a book tiled as “Dare to Run” written by Amit B Sheth. This book narrates Amit’s experiences about running from 200 meters jog on a Mumbai beach to finishing Ultimate Human Race on planet, Comrades Marathon. Amit along with his wife Neepa are the first Indian husband wife team who have finished Comrades Marathon two times (in year 2010, 2011). This book is not about just running, but about an incredible journey of determination, courage and self-belief.

         

             For me, this book proved to be a real gift. It helped me to enjoy the running instead of doing it as a routine task. It made me to co relate life experiences with running. Running was the new territory I was trying to explore and Amit’s book became my source of inspiration. No doubt, as far as running is considered, Amit is my hero. We got in touch with each other via internet. I promised Amit to meet him on a race day. And I got a chance to do so at Satara Hill Marathon, held on last week.

            Amit delivered a motivational speech about his running experiences before the race day. It was very exciting to meet him and listen to his words. During the speech, Amit was calm, composed yet electrifying in his presence. What really amazed me was his simple, humble and down to earth nature. He was cheerful in mood and was patiently posing for cameras with his fans.

            Before the lecture, I met him and introduced myself. I wanted to get his autograph and capture a snap with him, but I had forgotten my diary and Camera at my hotel room. Knowing this, Amit asked me to wait until the lecture is over. After the lecture, we met again. I took my running bib and asked Amit for his autograph on it. Then he asked Neepa to get the latest edition of his book, both of them signed on the first page and presented it to me. He also took a T Shirt with “Dare to Run” printed on it and gave it to me. That was a special moment for me and will remember it for life.

            There are some things in life which makes an ever lasting impression on your mind and that meeting was surely one of them.