Planning is half the work done, they say. True, it is. But plans don’t always go the way we want them to go. No matter how specific and fool proof your plans may be, life has many curve balls up its sleeve. But armed with a plan, there are few things that can knock you off your stride.
Last week I was reading a book – The I’M Possible Project – and it got me thinking about the people I have seen land in a mess overnight. But these people chose to pick up the pieces and carry on, take everything in their stride and live the life they had.
Lost in this thought, I remembered the guy sitting nearby during my train commute a couple of weeks back. I couldn’t help but hear what he was talking to his friend. He must have been in his 50s now and was talking about the years he took up odd jobs. From the snatches of their conversation, I also gathered that he was a choreographer and had worked for some leading brands in Mumbai. But it appeared like he lost his work and had to take up anything that came by to support himself and ensure that his kids went through school and college. He was happy that things were better now and glad that he didn’t give up.
It was only as we reached our destination that I realized that the man had a prosthetic leg, as he hobbled toward the door.
Life tests you in many ways and many times. Challenges come in different hues. Take Deep, an old classmate I bumped into at a local hospital last month. I was buying some coffee at the cafeteria and he was sitting there lost in thought. He was happy to see me, but couldn’t shake off his thoughts. At the same time, he was reluctant to talk about whatever was happening in his life.
We met again the next day and the second meeting was enough of an encouragement. He shared his child’s diagnosis and how that was going to change his life. He was so distraught and worried that he was thinking of leaving his job to take care of his kid. Having a kid with developmental issues is challenging and takes all the physical and mental strength to work it out. Being a single parent makes things unimaginably harder. But I saw that he had decided to take care of his child and not find alternatives where he could place the kid in an institution.
No one is spared of the vagaries of life. The more you earn the more you buy and the more you are in debt. Seems silly? But ask these to families of those who lose jobs and are left with massive debt.
Job loss has become a fact of life. Most private companies would rather fire their employees than go under. After all, it makes sense to fire a few to save hundreds? Well, you may not like it but that is the truth.
I was attending a seminar on entrepreneurship last week. We had a pretty diverse group there. From undergrads eager to claim fame with their new App idea to seniors all excited to begin their second innings. Narayan was sitting somewhere at the back, looking very keen and engrossed in thought. I struck a conversation with him during the break and we discussed a few things about how to register a business and some marketing stuff. He had no business experience and his sudden change was much more forced than a choice.
It turned out that the company he was working with had shut down his business unit. His mundane life had suddenly become a thrilling plot of a Hollywood Drama. But his resilience was evident in his passionate actions. Determined to not let this brief setback hamper his family and life in anyway, Narayan was full of hope and energy to take on the world.
It is foolish to think that we are the only ones with tons of problems. Everyone is grappling with some visible and some behind-the-scenes challenges and problems. It is people like Narayan and Deep that give us the hope and strength to take things as they are and move on.
It has been a long time since I have sat down to think about something like this. I am glad that The I’M Possible Project book reminded me of all these people that have touched my life in some way.
Call it destiny, fate, or whatever you like. We cannot predict everything nor can we stop bad things from happening. But we can prepare for exigencies and resolve to fight with gumption.
All this reminds me of one of my favorite poems. I will leave you with this #khudkokarbuland video I came across on YouTube and the poem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0udpbzcjKo
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
~ Invictus by, William Ernest Henley