Heading North or Are You Lost?
01.01.2021
That figure has the remnants of 2020.
2020 was a weird year, for all of us.
Good or bad, things happened, unplanned. Some found success, while some faced huge losses.
I have been in touch with people who achieved several things off their bucket list in 2020.
I have also known many who lost their jobs, careers, and family members.
The pandemic hit hard, really.
But that is not Life!
Life is Journey, essentially.
The essence is in movement.
To keep moving on, despite all failures, losses, successes, and triumphs.
Every now and then, we have to take a pause, but we have no choice but to move on.
And, that is what we did.
If you are reading this post, you have made it through.
You are here, right now.
I want you to think about this moment, this only.
There is a time to look back, but today is not that day.
I want you to look ahead.
I want you to recall or rethink your vision for life.
Consider, for a moment, it is the North Pole.
Have you really been heading North, all this while?
You may have had to meander around a bit, but were you still inching towards the North?
Think about it!
I didn’t know my North.
I only had an inkling that I will reach somewhere good, someday.
I tried several things. Each completely detached from the other.
Each an ocean, it itself.
I was trying to be a generalist.
It isn’t bad. It is good.
But good isn’t great.
I realized that I needed to be a specialist.
The question was — “How to choose the specialization?”.
I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t do anything.
I have been able to develop multiple skills over the years.
Yet, there I was reeling from decision fatigue.
At that point, I recalled this dialogue from the movie, The Fight Club.
“The things you own, ending up owning you.” — Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt)
This is a remarkable thought.
One that comes to my rescue, every now and then.
I realized I had been housing too many thoughts, dreams, and goals in my head, all this while.
I recalled the lessons from this book — to achieve more by doing fewer things better.
So, I got back to the drawing board. Cleared it.
I re-visited a few resources, which could help me test things before I picked them up for specialization.
This book, in particular, was game-changer.
I found a way to design my life, to try, experiment and test new designs.
I realized that life-design is not a one-time endeavour. It is on-the-go.
It is about constant ideation, testing and re-assessment.
I read further into the concept of management of time, as well.
This article and this book gave me a new perspective on scheduling my week.
Once I was done with all the reading, I decided to do the exercises mentioned there.
I started to cut things off my To-Do List, ruthlessly. I showed no-mercy, there.
I took a moment to think over each of them and I made the choice to keep them or let them go.
The hardest part was letting go, undeniably, but I felt lighter with every task that I removed.
The books 168 hours and The Power of Less, made me realize that I was overestimating the number of things I have to do and underestimating the number of breaks I need per day.
When I glanced at the new shorter and lighter To-Do List, it felt so much better.
At the beginning of December (last month), I began working on the ONE goal.
I didn’t have to make big plan charts, etc.
I simply cleared my mental space, reassessed all the things, discarded the unnecessary, prioritized the essentials and planned more breaks.
Simple.
All of this happened when I worked my way to find MY North.
What is your North?
Don’t know?
You need a compass.
Build one.
Try the above resources and rework your plans.
1. Keep it simple
2. Keep it lean, and
3. Get to work.
Not tomorrow, not after dinner.
Now!
Make the most of this year.
I wish you will.
