Secrets of Success

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Don’t worry; I’m doing just fine, thanks to your well wishes always!

This post does not go as far as Near Death Experience, but if you’ve experienced NDE you’d most certainly have much more to say than what this post can barely skim.

Today I have two sets of questions for you.

Question Set 1:
Have you ever lived through a disaster, or some illness, one that almost took your life?　How did it feel to be back, and how did the experience change your life thereafter?

Question Set 2:
Have you ever been in a situation where you almost lost a loved one? How did it feel to have him/her survive and be back fit and fine? Did the experience change your attitude towards the person, and did it change you life beyond that in any manner?

If you haven’t had any such experiences, then great! But in that case, it would be worth spending some time pondering on how it would be/feel to be in each of these situations. I would encourage you to do a small exercise with me. All you’ll need is a paper and a pen, and some time. The amount of time needed would depend on your interest towards this exercise, and also the depth you would like to get into. If you would just like to get through this quickly for the time being, then that’s fine. But you might want to schedule at least 30 minutes sometime to do justice to the exercise.

The exercise simply goes like this…

For each of the above two situations, one at a time, do the following:
1) Use your wildest imagination and think about one instance of such a situation.
2) Review every aspect of your current life, and examine how it would be impacted by the situation
3) Think about what would matter most to you in that situation - the people in your life, things you would want to do, things that you would stop doing, stuff that you would want to have, stuff that would lose its current importance, etc.
4) Finally, reflect on all the thoughts that fill your mind during step 3, and answer the following two simple questions:
A) Have you been investing enough of your time and energy into the things
that [would] matter the most?
B) What changes would you like to make to your current lifestyle?

It’s as simple as that. Trust me, it would be worth the time, as this might just change your life.

Carrying out the exercise on the first set of questions is meant to provide a deep insight into your life. We get so busy in the rat race that we lose direction on the very purpose of living. We run after things that will finally not matter much. When the time comes to leave this world, what really matters is in what good ways your life touched the life of others, and how you contributed to making this world a better place for those around you. The exercise helps in realigning day to day living with the higher purpose of life as a whole.

The same exercise performed on the second set of questions opens up fresh perspectives and lets you see people in a different light. The same people - your friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues,… - take on totally different meanings. Just the thought of they being there no more, invokes feelings that clarify their importance and true place in your life. Being able to do so, helps steer your life by realigning your priorities to those who truly matter to you most.

Some of those who have been through these situations for real would tell you how life-transforming those experiences have been for them. Based on the timing of the experience and one’s situation at that time, which would define the severity of its impact, some may undergo a minor change of attitude, while some others would undergo a complete change of their perspective of life and consequent changes in their lifestyle.

Mahatma Gandhi wisely said, “Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Reading it brings great inspiration, doesn’t it? But then the inspiration can die down just as quickly as it showed up.

How many of us would have not heard that quote earlier? And how many of us would have not heard it time and again over the years? And yet, how many of us would have really planned out our lives consciously around the thought?

This post serves as yet another reminder of the most commonly known universal fact that each one of us will someday be gone. What better way to plan and live our lives other than with the constant realization of this fact, without of course letting that negatively affect our potential and passion to do more?

I’ve personally heard the above-mentioned quote countless number of times. Moreover, I’ve been through both of the situations outlined by the above two sets of questions, for real. I’ve been so close to death, and also, I’ve almost lost a very near and dear one. In both cases, times turned in my favor and life came back on track. And yet, I am humbled as I acknowledge that I have not yet formally “planned” my life around the thoughts and realizations that arise from these questions. My life has no doubt been based on these thoughts, and that reflects in the choices I’ve made over the years, but there are many more areas where a concrete plan that is focused around the questions can make much more positive a difference.

How about you? Have you formally planned out your life around the above two sets of questions? What have your experiences been? What were some of the realizations that sprang forth when you read this? How much time did you spend on the suggested exercise, and what were some of the thoughts that surfaced when you practiced it?