Who judges you?
Long ago when a good friend of mine was learning the basics of astrology, his father (and teacher) gave him a horoscope and asked him for his opinion. He said “it is a lousy horoscope” – this guy has no marriage, he will never own a house, he will not amass wealth, ….”. His father said, “Excellent, this is the horoscope of Jagadguru Shankaracharya”. This man has had an impact on the world that very few people can match. The same could perhaps be said even of Mother Theresa – no marriage, did not buy a house, no wealth….:) Any financial planner will tell you this is a failure!
The most important step towards financial freedom is to keep the yardstick to be judged to yourself. Why should you worry about the world judging you if you do not even agree with the yardstick that the world has created?
I have a friend with a net-worth of at least Rs. 150 million, but does not own a car. He spends more time in meditation than on his business. And I have friends who will take a lot of trouble to tell me that they are doing well. L O L.
If you choose to lead a contented life and find your near and dear ones liking you for doing it, tell the world to ‘go take a walk’.
This post was inspired by a mail that I received from ‘The simple dollar’ – he says something about ‘who judges you’ and though I do not agree with it completely here is the link….
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/26/who-judges-you/
Comparisons, judging people with old yardsticks, over compensating for childhood inadequacies, etc. are a lower level living (hmmm I am judging you, ignore me 🙂 ). Makes sense to come out of the rat race? Come out. Because even after you win you realize that you are only a rat, and so are the judges. If you live like a man you can get by with zero cheese. Let whoever wants it take away my cheese.
Hey wait, so what if you do not want to come out of the race? Be in it!
After all there is a very thin line between – laziness, not being able to achieve and being satisfied. It is like body pain and laziness vs. body being sore – you have to make efforts to find out the line!
Nor do I have to become a Monk to sell my Ferrari. LOL.
P.V.R. Somanadha Sarma
Excellent post. Where to draw a line about everything that is the problem.
Brijesh
U bet. This is more of an aberration rather than the norm. Only a lucky few have it..Contentment.
Mahesh
Well written. I am sure it will be matter of time when people at large will realise this.
rohit
Hi Subra
really a great article – i can say by experience If you put 1 step forward there are 99 ( out of 100) who will whip you by negativity in many ways so either you loose the will to move forward because they themselves are failures 🙂
these moving forward can be in any way which way you like progress
so suno sab ki( aur tension jyada ho to kaan band karon ) par karon man ki
i have heard a story in which a frog was trying to move on wall , many peer frog ( from top & bottom ) both were saying -not possible , give up
but he make up to wall , because he is deaf 🙂
Rudy
‘After all there is a very thin line between – laziness, not being able to achieve and being satisfied. It is like body pain and laziness vs. body being sore – you have to make efforts to find out the line!’
Very true…
sukuraman
Well said. Implementation is tough. I walk out of the airport find a BEST bus and nicely go home. If I ask my wife and kids to take a bus they will spit on me. Convincing simple is nice is tough. For tam brahms my financial behaviour is trying to be like Ashok of Yenge Brahmanan. Even your own parents and wife think you are odd.
rrp
He read all the “technicals” of the “chart” well by the book. His mistake was he ignored all the “long term” “fundamentals” of it and the “dividends” in life.
Paramjeet
I have a simple way of finding out what a person really enjoys doing. Sit with a person for a few hours – if he tells you stories regarding his work, he is enjoying his work. If he tells you regarding his vacations – he needs vacations. Normally people who are bored with what they are doing they take vacations. Of course like you said some vacations are keeping up with neighbors – like people travelling to Singapore, Bangkok and Egypt. These people staying in Mumbai and Delhi would not have seen Gujarat – let alone North East. Proof of the pudding is in the eating. Have fun, good post. However you are not doing enough articles on charity or charitable giving. Any change of editorial policy?
NPR
Paramjeet, you touched a nerve! Vacation, now-a-days, by default means Singapore, Malaysia. Lets explore India first – there is just too many things to see, observe, enjoy. All parts of India have so much to offer. The local tourism boards are also taking extra pains to make things easy, make information available etc.
Nagarajan
Good article to make us introspect!
Like how beauty lies in the eyes of the beer holder … happiness and contentment too is very much an individual perception. You can choose to be happy … choose to be content … and so on.
Unfortunately, the “keeping up with the neighbours-friends-relatives-peers” syndrome is too strong in most of us. Therefore, we end running a race without knowing where the finish line is 🙂