Step Out Of The Rat-Race Now!

A positive piece about how one should not blindly be a part of the ‘rat-race’ and define one’s own parameters of success and joy.

Every morning most of us wake up to the sound of the alarm, ringing on our phones. Rolling out of bed, our mind is already busy running through the chores and work to be done for the day. Subconsciously, most of us are running a race that we are not even aware of- Race to excel, to succeed to achieve certain milestones that the society has deemed as necessary.

At what age should one graduate? By what age should one get married? Who decides a salary package as being respectable? When did one actually start living to meet parameters that have no significance? I have met people who have attended college in their late 30’s or are still happily single! Growing up I have seen people competing on parameters that seem strange to me. I believe every individual has their own pace at which they learn, grow and excel in life. What seems like an easily achievable feat for someone may be other person’s definition of extreme difficulty. This fact doesn’t make one person great and the other weak, it just shows that every person is living their own story. However, the society has already labelled parameters on which people are judged and evaluated. What happens when one is not able to meet such standards?

Depression is a highly under-rated subject. We tend to treat depression as a phase of emotional or behavioural chaos and try to cover it up. Looking at others winning awards at work place or checking out their travel stories on Instagram, we feel we are not living the life we are supposed to live. In evidently comparing our lives with others, we tend to get bogged down. Instead of appreciating what we may have and savour moments of happiness, most of us spiral down in hole of depression assuming that we are not where we need to be.

Let me tell you something my friend, you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Aspiring to be better than what you were yesterday is the fire one should have in their belly, rather than wanting to beat someone else in a race which frankly speaking has no finish line. You are writing your own beautiful story at your own pace and with your own understanding, energy, positivity and short comings.

You are in no way an under achiever or loser just because you don’t fit into the parameters of success laid down by someone else. Create your own parameters, keep making new ones everyday. None of us are living under the same conditions and hence none of us will emerge in lives with the same results.

Take a deep breathe, appreciate your being. Chin up and keep moving ahead in life with a new-found confidence of accepting that you are perfectly fine the way you are and are honestly trying to better yourself each day, without competing with anyone else. The only person you need to make happy at the end of the day is ‘You’.

Image Source: Pexels

Maithili Sawant

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