I know the title brings to your mind the iconic movie that defined friendship, family and life, but this isn’t a post about that. In all honesty, it is my take on life, of course with some inspirations and excerpts from the movie. More of an eye-opener; brought by Quarantine.
As humans, we possess innate primal instincts. The instincts such as survival, longing for love, need for food and thirst are basic and are imbued in our system since birth. So are some of our reflexes.
However, there is one reflex which is both innate and learned.
Fear
The four letter word that has control over our mind and invariably our lives.
We are born with the fear for just two things: loud noise and the fearing of falling.
Everything else that we fear is something we learnt from observation, from cultural and environmental settings and sometimes through conditioning.
Funny isn’t it? To think of a time when we feared the minimum and yet here we are now, letting something we created or thrust upon take over our decisions and impact life.
The fear of failure, fear of the uncertain, fear of perfection, fear of embarrassment, fear of being judged, fear of losing loved ones. The list seems endless.
When was the last time you let your intuition be the judge? When was the last time you didn’t restrict yourself based on prejudices and criticism? The last time you truly followed your dream unperturbed by the outcome or hardships and limitations?
Well, believe it or not. A majority of us still don’t do most of these. Why? Because we are bound by limitations, set by nobody but ourselves.
Look into the mirror and ask yourself, are you doing the job that you love? Are you pursuing your passion? Are you travelling the world like you wanted to?
A few yes. Many Nos. And some Maybes.
If it was either a No or a Maybe, why? Because we fear the outcome. We fear if it’ll be the right thing to do.
More often than not, life throws a few difficulties at us that test our perseverance; when caught off guard in the moment, we do take a diversion which probably changes the course of our goal, sometimes even sacrificing it. If it’s something that sets your soul on fire, is it worth giving up?
The commitments we hold, the challenges and many such circumstances do shape our decisions, not denying that. What we forget in the process is that we are never deprived of the passion and time for something we love. It’s a choice we make or rather fail to see.
It is certain that fear of anything past the threshold is debilitating. But have you thought of your strength, in a similar way? Ever let yourself be drunk in your power that truly resonates with your abilities? That’s the thing about fear, it lets you belittle yourself. And we can’t deny that we are our own enemies.
Look around you. Not every battle needs to end with fear being victorious. Take inspiration from the most unlikely things. The 80 year old woman who started her restaurant, the 40 something man who went on a solo trip, the 21 year old who had her first dance lesson. All of them did what we think twice, they overcame their inhibition, their fear.
Most important, remember, there is no definite timeline to chasing what you want, be it career, success, relationship or anything. Fight your fear. Find new ways to pursue what you desire. Be open to change.
At the end of your fear awaits the life you always dreamt of.
Think of it this way, so far we chose a life with compromises, the one that kept us safe and secure. Was it satisfying? If yes, then keep going ahead. If no, then it’s time for you to pause and think. What if? What if you perish before pursuing your dream? The YOLO isn’t just a millennial catchphrase. It’s essentially the truth. You only live once, for what it’s worth, live it your way.
All of us here have dreams. Have goals. Some fulfilled some in progress, some discarded. With whole world on a shutdown, the time has never been more suitable for you to get thinking. What if you were one amongst those affected? What if you never got to see the next day? Well, you survived and now is the time to set things right.
Pursue what you have been putting off for a long time. You never know, that might turn out to be your best choice.
When Laila in ZNMD said, “Insaan Ko Dibbe Mein Sirf Tab Hona Chahiye, Jab Woh Mar Chuka Ho…”
Translation: “A human should ideally be in a box only when he is dead.”
I felt it. I felt the truth that lay behind it. So much of our boundaries, of our resistance and hesitation are self-created. A box created by ourselves.
If we can make it, we can break it too. Can’t we?
And that, my folks, is my quarantine euphemism. A “Eureka” moment; for all it’s worth.
So, when this lockdown ends, (whenever that is 😢 ) let’s make ourselves a promise. A promise to get out of our shells and getting started with everything we dreamt. It can be as simple as starting a blog (like I did 😋), getting that funky haircut which you’ve been contemplating or as large as pursuing a new career.
Fear cannot always be the winner.
Arjun, Kabir and Imraan realized it long back. It’s time we did too!