Honour the incredible women who have shaped your life – share their stories this Mother’s Day! Let’s pass on the #legacyofstrength!
Cancer can strike anyone, anytime, and life as we know it could completely change. Does one feel regrets for what has changed, then?
Rihanna, the pop queen has said, “The minute you learn to love yourself, you won’t want to be anyone else.” We don’t credit pop psychology to make much sense, but it’s possible that Rihanna had it right all along!
But what has loving yourself got to do with living a life without regrets? I live with myself every day, each day moving forward with dimming regrets and I want to tell you how it is that way.
I had been working as a pediatric dentist at a dental hospital for ten years. I had achieved the lofty status of a professor as well. Life was good, situated at the top of the globe. So it was quite easily a life without regrets earning, living and hoping for more always.
Life hit me hard when I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a form of blood cancer) when I was 36 years 9 months (I’m 39 now).
Things rapidly turned upside down as I migrated to living life hanging by a thread. Luckily, I recovered, but the journey was long and bumpy. Chemo, hair loss, a shift of career, tears, hospital admissions and a whole lot of prayers later, I still exist, but is it without regret?
After recovery, I felt unable to pursue my dental job, so I took to writing as a career – something that had always been on the back burner. After all, who earns through writing? But as I began to earn, I saw writing as a serious and lucrative profession.
My past seemed like a very structured, well defined and clear road at that time. I felt like I knew where I was going and how my life would turn out. My dental career had been laid to rest, and a more unpredictable writing career had taken its place. Was predictability equal to non-regret-ability? Was change regretful? I had no clue of the storms awaiting. I also didn’t know that rainbows would succeed in the bad weather either.
Regrets come when you think you should have known better, or that life is a fixed path. But is it?
The big fat truth glaring at me was that I didn’t know then what was to come, and I don’t know now what will follow. Life can hit you with a curveball when you least expect it, and simultaneously give you moments of pure, unadulterated joy. In finding myself, I have found a new person lying underneath the dentist I had known all these years.
Looking forward without is a gift you can gift yourself without regrets. I fell, stumbled, got up on my knees and I’m still standing – what is there to regret?
Regrets are like mirages – beautiful images that don’t exist. I live in the real world – squishy, hot, bothering, soulful, irritating, joyful, beaming, and non-regretful.
Finally, when I am tempted to peek at the past, these words by Maya Angelou shine down on me and remind me that I am here and I am where I should be right here, right now: “But still, like dust, I rise.” And may I add, with No Regrets.
Image source: pexels
I am a freelance writer, well versed in copywriting and blog writing. I’m hardworking, can do market research, have an excellent command of the English language and work well with constructive criticism. I have read more...
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We need to stop stereotyping women's bodies, and also be more sensitive towards our children who are growing up with terrible self-confidence leading to loneliness and depression.
When Kate Winslet said, “Young women should enjoy their life instead of worrying about how they look,” it stuck a cord with me. I am one of those women who struggle with body image issues in a society heavily influenced by unrealistic beauty standards and societal expectations, and Kate’s statement was empowering.
I grew up listening to unsolicited advice about wearing clothes a size bigger than what I wear; everyone took a free ride to comment about my bra and how big it was. I have spent most of my life loathing how I look—my size, weight, clothes, appearance, skin tone, and hair. This isn’t because I’m not too fond of how I appear, but rather because I’ve been told repeatedly by most trusted people around me that I have one or more flaws.
It is imperative that, as a society, we shed our stereotypical thought not just to support women but also our children who are growing up with terrible self-confidence leading to loneliness and depression. We can significantly impact our mental health and well-being by fostering a culture of compassion, understanding, and empowerment.
Here are some online tools for startups to use for their tech needs for organising work, mind mapping, ideation, etc.
Most startups are bootstrapped, the budget is low, there is no funding, startups need some support and excellent tools to run the show. The team may be working at one place or the team is spread across the globe, but the team needs to brainstorm. Brainstorming can be fun. Listing few resources which a startup or entrepreneurs can use for brainstorming.
Bubbl.us is an interesting tool which is useful to take notes, brainstorm and organize new ideas, collaborate, and capture thoughts. It allows you to avoid distraction by focusing on task, to collaborate and share with friends, families, team and social media. Essentially no hassle of downloading any app, works on mobile and desktop. You can use the basic plan to explore and later subscribe for at $4.91/month, $59 billed annually.
Miro offers the quickest, easiest way for teams to capture, organize and visualize thoughts, solutions, ideas across the team. Other than brainstorming, it can be used for project planning, creating organizational charts and sales strategies. It runs on all devices: mobile, tablet, desktop or interactive display.
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