Life as a Race
Life is said to be a race and we run like crazy buffoons without pausing for a second to look out for what and why are we running for.
We all want everything on our plates and to be there for us instantly. Instantly grow up, finish school, college, get our dream job, find the love of our life, have kids, be rich, be the CEO of a huge company or own a huge business, have our faces on TV/newspaper for being the youngest CEO/entrepreneur/anything huge, have a great fan following and be famous on social media, have the perfect body and skin/hair, travel the whole world, be the super parent and spouse and have everything right. All of this before we turn 30. (As if life ends after that 🤔😛) We want it all! We feel all of it at once is going to make us happy and content with life. But does it all really make us feel that way?
I have heard this drag line since a kid, especially for boys but the age numbers are a little different for girls 😛- “22 tak padhai, 25 pe naukri, 26 pe chokri/shaadi, 30 pe bachche, 50 ya 60 pe retirement aur phir... marne ka intezaar!”
Believe it or not, this has been a subconscious pressure cooker in our minds since we were young and to be a part of this constant race, we don’t really realize the importance of being happy or taking breaks to take care of ourselves. We never really pause to see if things are working well for us or enjoy those little moments of life that are working out for us.
It has become so difficult to unlearn this stuff and realize that everyone has their own timeline to do things in life. Everyone has their story to write. Everyone has their own choices and decisions to make. Everyone has their own dreams and ambitions to fulfil and they will take time since beautiful things need some time to happen. Everyone has their own issues, struggles, and rejections to face that brings them down for a while and then helps them learn life lessons and achieve personal growth. Everyone has their story of finding a job, love or being a parent.
That “standard” timeline is not for all and I feel, that is not worth of being called a timeline. This constant race of becoming everything or something before 25 or 30 has ruined most of our mental and emotional states. The shame that comes along while answering unnecessary questions from close family/relatives/friends about when you will get a job or get “settled”, when you will get married, when you will have your first kid, second kid,.....umpteenth kid and when you will finally die, doesn’t let us become the person that we want to become, doesn’t let us accept you for who you are. We are in constant need of acceptance from others subconsciously and to unlearn that in mid 20’s, isn’t really easy as a lot of damage has been done already. To mend that would take some time but it’s not impossible. There is always a light at the end of a dark tunnel and that hope will one day get us out of this “race”.
At the moment, I am subjected to this pressure cooker of life, where I feel lost in my professional and personal life and don’t seem to find any light at all. I do have the hope that I will get out of this soon and find a way for myself for things to work but till then I have to hold myself to walk on a path of my own, where there is no race. The feelings of shame to talk about it to people are huge but I am slowly trying to unlearn this and fall in love with my timeline. It’s super hard, sometimes just makes me feel worthless but it is what it is and it will turn out well someday. I am also at the stage of being asked about when I am going to me a mother! 🤔
We need these pauses in life to love and understand ourselves and to do the same for our loved ones around us. This “race” does not define you as a person and your breaks will give you the time to prepare for you to be the person you want to be!
Let’s have that faith and courage in our Almighty Lord and ourselves to build the life that we want in our own pace and time. We will surely make our own beautiful timelines! 💪🏻