On My 50th Birthday

Today I am completing 50 years. Its an interesting feeling. 50 years definitely seems like a long period, so I can not help looking back at the journey so far.

Looking back, God has been very kind with me. I have been pretty successful in my career, I have had the love and support of a great family and many close friends. I have led a happy and content life, and constantly tried to improve myself.

Last year was really significant for me. It was the first time I discovered my mission in life, and articulated it into a mission statement. Since then, I felt as if I have been anchored, and life acquired a new meaning altogether.

What is a mission statement? Is it like - I will achieve so-and-so in three years? No, that's a goal and there is a subtle difference in a goal and a mission statement. Mission statement brings out what is your life about. It is unique to you, and It also gives you clear indication about what are most important things for you.

Very often, we invest our time onto things that are not really that important for us, e.g.

• We spend a lot of time improving our looks, but do not invest in improving our physical fitness.
• We learn only the things that are essential for our success. but not the things that are close to our heart.
• We focus too much on outward success and compromise our happiness in the process.
• We spend too much time and energy on a relationships that do not give us happiness.
  

Once I could articulate my mission statement (and it required several iterations over a couple of years) - I could use it to guide my day to day decisions. The impact was tremendous. I had a lot more time for what I really like doing, and it was a great experience. As a result, I started exercising (yes !), I learned to prioritize happiness over success (very difficult !), and learned to limit my investment into unfruitful relationships. It is hard to describe the feeling of nirvana I got into at this point.

Try it out for yourself. You do not have to wait to be 49 years to try and discover your mission. You can do it now. Each of us has a unique mission associated with us, it just needs to be discovered.

Looking forward, I feel excited about the years ahead. It does not matter that with every passing year, I am inching closer to the finishing line. So long as I use my time on the things that are most important, I can get a whole lot more from life. As this popular song from a hindi film says:

अरे पागल, यह मत सोच कि जिंदगी में कितने पल हैं
ये देख कि हर पल में कितनी जिंदगी है