In my life, I have never craved anything as desperately as I craved admission into IIT. Yet, once I heard my IITJEE rank, I felt absolutely nothing.
No euphoria, no joy, no sadness – I just felt totally blank. Sure it was a relief, but I did not celebrate for even 5 minutes.
But had I not made it, I would have grieved for a very long time. You can probably see the problem here.
In hindsight, here are a few lessons I can draw:
1. Achieving any goal, no matter how seemingly big or important, will not deliver ‘happiness forever’. Instead, learn to relish the daily ‘small wins’.
2. To celebrate, don’t wait for something ‘big’ to happen – the best and the biggest thing is already here – your life, as it is right now.
3. By normalizing our wins and grieving our losses, we ensure unhappiness.
4. Ambition is neither good nor bad, morally. By all means, pursue ambitions if you find them meaningful but don’t expect them to deliver happiness.
5. Don’t always look for the next mountain to climb. You are already on a mountain – look around and enjoy the view.
Expecting money to bring happiness is like expecting your washing machine to bake cakes for you. The secret, instead, is mindfulness and acceptance.
– Rajan