Both talk of the stress induced by choice, and having too much, and make very interesting reading.
Yesterday, I was driving, and the FM radio went off for few seconds. I thought, I should have an iPod. Then suddenly I realized that I have not used my iPod in the last 6 months. And then more things, Handy cam in last 2 years, Digital Camera in last 2 months, DVD player in last 1 month and many more. Now I can say that I bought that Handy cam just out of impulse, I have used it twice only in last 4 years.
So, whats wrong and where? When I look at myself or my friends I can see it everywhere. We are not happy with what we have but all are stressed and not happy for the things we dont have. You have a Santro, but you want City You have a City, but you want Skoda. Just after buying a new phone, we need another one. Better laptop, bigger TV, faster car, bigger house, more money .I mean, these examples are endless. The point is, does it actually worth? Do we ever think if we actually need those things before we want them?
After this, I was forced to think what I need and what I dont. May be I didnt need this Handy cam or the iPod or that DVD player. When I see my father back at home. He has a simple BPL colour TV, he doesnt need 32 Sony LCD wall mount. He has a cell phone worth Rs 2,500. Whenever I ask him to change the phone, he always says Its a phone, I need this just for calls. And believe me; he is much happier in life than me with those limited resources and simple gadgets. The very basic reason why he is happy with so little is that he doesnt want things in life to make it luxurious, but he wants only those things which are making his life easier. Its a very fine line between these two, but after looking my fathers life style closely, I got the point. He needs a cell phone but not the iPhone. He needs a TV but not the 32 plasma. He needs a car but not an expensive one.
Initially I had lot of questions.
I am earning good, still I am not happy...why ?
I have all luxuries, still I am stressed.... ....... why ?
I had a great weekend, still I am feeling tired...... why?
I met lot of people, I thought over it again and again, I still dont know if I got the answers, but certainly figured out few things. I realize that one thing which is keeping me stressed is the stay connected syndrome. I realized that, at home also I am logged in on messengers, checking mails, using social networks, and on the top of that, the windows mobile is not letting me disconnected. On the weekend itself, trying to avoid unwanted calls and that is keeping my mind always full of stress. I realized that I am spending far lesser money than what I earn, even then I am always worried about money and more money. I realized that I am saving enough money I would ever need, whenever needed. Still I am stressed about job and salary and spends.
May be, many people will call this approach not progressive attitude, but I want my life back. Ultimately its a single life, a day gone is a day gone. I believe if I am not happy tonight, Ill never be happy tomorrow morning. I finally realized that meeting friends, spending quality time with your loved ones; spending time with yourself is the most important thing. If on Sunday you are alone and you dont have anybody to talk with, then all that luxuries life, all that money is wasted. May be cutting down your requirements, re-calculating your future goal in the light of todays happiness is a worthwhile thing to do. May be selling off your Santro and buying Honda City on EMIs is not a good idea. I believe putting your happiness ahead of money is the choice we need to make.
I think, a lot can be said and done but what we need the most is re-evaluation of the value of happiness and time we are giving to our life and people associated with it.
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