The man settled himself on his favorite chair in his small apartment, which has been his dwelling for the past 30 years. Though he had bought the house, thinking he would soon buy a new and a better one soon. He went back in time like everyday and reflected back on his life when he was young. He thought about his family, friends and work , most conspicuously about his efforts, he thought would make his life a living dream. But then none of it happened. He is still there at 70 , in a place he bought in a hurry, as he had never planned anything and  had to marry ,he couldn’t afford to pay the rent for a big house, let alone buy.

He had a good start, with the right education, a degree from a good college and a descent job. Time went by he got married had children, he well carried out his duties and responsibilities towards them. Sounds like a perfect life, “what else is life?”. The meaning of life can never be defined as it has many dimensions and may mean different to each one of us. But, the question is- Are you happy? No matter what happiness comprises of , we shouldn’t at the dawn of our life think that only if I had done things differently and with more sincerity  I would have been what I had aspired to be.

CONFUSION - We all want to be successful, be wealthy, have a loving partner, disciplined children and play our role in the society and contribute towards its growth. We think we know exactly what we want, but that is  where the problem begins. We are not clear about what we want and hence clueless about where to get it from.

THE EASIER THE WORSE- To earn more money, is a universal mission and everybody is at it. But the big question is- how? Most of us try hands at everything that is easy to reach and to do eg – One wants to earn extra cash so decides to do data entry work online, envelope stuffing, reading emails. Has anybody ever got rich with this? Had it been so then Bill Gates is just wasting his time, he doesn’t a Microsoft, to keep him at the top spot, he can stuff envelopes or sit on the internet and get paid for clicking on sites and reading emails.

DOUBT-It is not about the kind of work you do, first knowing what resources are available both physical and mental is important. Doing a low paying job is not a big no-no but then if that’s your only choice of work then you loose the right to complain and get frustrated over the fact that “I am not making enough money” to be sustain myself
forget getting rich. If you have the right education and posses the necessary skills then why not aim for something that your worthy of, which will not only make you proud but will also be an inspiration to others. If you know you can type then the first thing to know is the opportunities available for the level you are at and then what are the possibilities if you upgrade your skills.

UNWILLING TO CHANGE-Situations wont always be favorable, you might have to do things for the sheer need of them but the compromises that you might have to make and for how long is for you to decide. You need to see your financial condition, what is it demanding from you. There are many possibilities here, some might be happy with the small changes and successes in the lives, some will crib and yet be content with it, some will not be satisfied and will keep worrying about the present and the future and some will be patient with the current situation as they have decided to better their position in the future and also know how to get there. A clear well laid plan for life is only a myth, had it been that way then we all would have been what we planned to be and everything would have been a cakewalk. A lot of permutations and combinations have to be worked upon and it is unremitting.

OVEREXPECTATIONS-Once you have made up your mind to better your life, the next step is to always remember it. We often get very excited and enthusiastic about taking that first step that only after a few steps our spirits starts waning. We forget that it is a long journey and we need to save our excitement and fervor for a stage, which is sure to
come that is thetime when we will start doubting ourselves and will be ready to give up our aspirations.At this stage we need to look back and remind ourselves, of the life before we started our journey towards success , the reasons that compelled us do so and of the
constraints that made us feel uncomfortable everyday. Absolute focus is what success demands, loose it and you risk waging a never ending battle with yourself ,where you start questioning yourself -what went wrong? I did my best but things didn’t work out well. When you have opened yourself to anything and everything then its inane to expect
yourself to reach the apex.

RISK-A BIG NO-NO-Success is never a matter of chance or fluke; one needs to be persistent with it. Taking risk is an absolute must but to what degree depends on us. We often associate risk with adventure and with the careless. This is not entirely true. Life is uncertain and we should be at ease with this fact and not play safe all the time. Taking risk can be highly motivating but only if taken sensibly. A risk is worth taking when it is for a purpose, and that which will augment the process of accomplishing your goals. Remember to learn to walk we all risked falling and getting hurt and only later did we
learn how to run.

It is all about getting the basics right, hard work, deliberation, motivation, the right knowledge and humility. Rest will follow. We often forget these simple things and make our life so convoluted that it seems almost impossible to get out of the web of the complexities and a lifetime gets wasted. But, as they say never late than ever, so whenever that ah-ha moment strikes, just get started.

By Rachna Singh,Delhi,India