Passion Isn't Everything

It definitely isn't. Passion is just a part of it. I almost did believe that passion is everything, and in the process I almost let my passion handicap me.

It is about passion, yes. But it is more about consistency.
You may have that one thing you are passionate about. Music, books, movies, art, writing, painting, photography, dance, programming, creating websites, training animals - I don't know what you like most. But whatever the case may be, just passion doesn't cut it.

The secret to success in any field, creative or otherwise, is consistency. You just gotta show up.
And you gotta show up every single day.

Add something to your treasure trove every single day. Even if it's just a small dust particle of shimmer. It's still shimmer. And all those little particles of shimmer will add together one day into a huge dazzling stone, and that stone will just keep getting bigger and better and shinier.

It is then, when your shine gets bigger and better than most, is when people start noticing. Hey that's one shiny rock!, they'll say. Wonder how they got that!

But you don't get gems like these. You make them.

You make them with showing up everyday and adding a bit of glimmer everyday.

Passion helps you discover the glimmer. It makes you want to find the shine. But consistency is the one that makes you find it. Consistency is what pushes you to get that damn glitter particle every single day.

If passion is what keeps you up at night dreaming, consistency is what will not let you sleep till that dream has become tangible.

There are no overnight successes, but consistency ensures that there will definitely be success some day, irrespective of how long it takes.

And time taken is okay, because there is belief and faith. Because when you show up every day, there is no chance of not winning.

You are winning. A little every day.

And major wins, whatever those wins are to you, will also be a part of it. They'll come before you know it, and make you even more excited for the next milestone.

And that's why passion isn't everything. Passion is what ignites everything that comes after. What comes after is what determines your success.

Photo Credit: pinterest

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Create Good Habits

It is often easier to continue doing the same things you've been doing for a while. But is that really the best thing to do for yourself? Doing the same things everyday puts you in a sort of comfort zone, a sort of rut that it is just easy to stay in, because it is what you know. It is a habit, a series of habits, in fact.

I'll give you a task to do that'll make things so much clearer for you. The first step might take a few days, or a maximum of a week since it would be good for you to do it on weekends also.
You can thank me later.

Firstly, you must observe.

When you start to observe things around you, you realise how many things you do, what those things are, how much time you spend on each, and whether they contribute to your growth or not.
This requires noting down what you do. Every time you start a new task, make a note of what time you started it. When it ends, make a note of what you did in that time span, and how much time it took you to do so.

Regular readers of this blog know that I have not been able to write here regularly. I intend to post once a week, and I haven't even able to do that.

Writing one blog post in seven days is really not a big ask, and I'm the first person to accept it.
It's only after I tried this myself, am I able to write. I have now set aside scheduled time to write blogposts, and I actually have next week's post scheduled too. It gives me an immense amount of satisfaction that I am now starting to create quality work every single week. This is just the start but I know that I am doing it and that is the difference it makes when you start observing what you do with your time.

So now you have the observation bit down. You've​ made your notes. Now is the time for you to understand what to do with it. Now is the time that you make a plan of what you want to accomplish.

One by one, start making time for your goals.

The first thing on my list is writing a weekly blogpost that adds value to my readers and provides valuable information. The tabs on top are the topics I cover in this blog and I want to add something valuable to each tab. My goal is to make this blog a repository of valuable information across all those topics.
Working towards that necessiates writing regularly. Once writing a blogpost becomes a habit, once I automatically start creating, I will go on to the next habit on my list.

The beauty of this is that it counts on natural human nature to form habits, and one habit at a time is not a big change from your schedule.
But, and this is the magic, those habits slowly add up, and those multiple new habits that you have created just change up your day and suddenly you are more creative and productive that you ever knew.

It's a slow process, and sometimes it'll be hard, but nothing that was worth it ever came easy.
Easy come, easy go. We don't want that.

Photo Credit: pinterest

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Start Before You're Ready

 
I am guilty of this. Of waiting for things to be perfect. So many times that I have not published blog posts because I felt they weren't perfect. I needed it to be perfect before I hit that 'Publish' button. That drove me to my misery for a long time.

But then I realised that I was giving in to something that a lot of us fall prey to. And then I went back and thought about it.

Let's rewind a little.

I have been writing since I was a kid. I never really cared about how good or bad it was, I just wrote. That is how I got better; at the stage where today I am proud of myself in terms of how much I have grown as a poet. I can write a multiple page poem, haiku, quartets, and slam poetry too. I have done well, even though not many people have witnessed the growth. That did not come about with ceaseless editing and harsh self criticism. It came about because I gave myself the freedom to write all sorts of rhymes. And then those rhymes got better.

However, I did not give myself the same freedom when it came to blogposts.
Why?
After much introspection, I have realised that it is in large part due to my poetry being for my eyes only. This blog, as Google tells me, is read by people all over the world. On an average, over 10,000 unique visitors read this blog on a monthly basis. That froze me up. I started thinking I was accountable to those people. But why? Those people came because of what I wrote to begin with. If they didn't like it, they wouldn't have come, they wouldn't have read this, they wouldn't have stayed and come back for more.
But they did. They did for a reason. I was adding value in some way that appealed to them. SO I have no reason to be afraid. I know I can only get better with time. I can only get better with practice. Constant practice.
And if I procrastinate and if I hold myself back from putting up a new blog post, how will I achieve
that constant practice?

So this post is as much for me as it is for you, if you ever feel like you are not good enough, just put yourself out there.
For me, it is this blog, which I adore, and people seem to like. For you, it could be a new venture, a job search, a new relationship, an ambitious project - anything that you know will make your life better, but you keep putting it off because you're afraid that you're not ready. Because you think you should wait till the situation is perfect.

Nothing ever is perfect. So just try.
You are already better than the millions who didn't even try.
You are strong, you are talented, you are passionate.
All we need is to believe that we can do it.
All we need is to have faith in ourselves.
All we need is to stop hesitating before we push that 'Publish' button in our lives.
Start before you're ready.
That's the only way to be ready.

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Do You Think You're Beautiful?

Do you think you are beautiful? If you do, is it because you've been told you are? If you don't, is it because you haven't? 

I have read multiple articles across various platforms, written by women who are so affected by other people's opinions of their body and their life. Don't be. Society doesn't deserve that kind of attention from you. What is society, anyway? A vague, faceless, teeming mass of people who don't have anything to do with you - they just want to judge you and give you unwarranted advice. You didn't ask for their inputs. So why do you listen?

You think it makes sense for you to adjust to what society wants to see? They tell you you're too dark, too fair, too skinny, too fat, you have weird hair, you wear weird clothes.. who cares? As long as you are happy with yourself, nothing else matters.

I see women write articles about how they were told by an aunt to start using fairness creams or else nobody would marry them. These women let it affect them. It affected their life and their self esteem. They valued themselves based on how 'society' told them they deserved to be valued. To all you women, I have just one question. Do you really think that this is the right way to react?

Do you think you need to base your opinion of yourself on what everyone thinks? I'm not going to be one of the multitude that tries to force my opinion on you. I think you are the person who knows what is best for you. You know what you need to do to keep yourself happy.

But if you really want to know what I think, I will tell you. I think society follows a herd mentality that has pervaded every aspect of their lives. If you let them, they will do the same to you. They will pull you down into a cookie cutter mold till all your individuality is lost and you aren't you anymore. You become one of the teeming mass of people that makes up society. And then you are acceptable. Because you are not an individual anymore.

If you want to know what I think, it is only this - stop caring. Your opinion should be the one that matters most to you. I don't care if you are skin and bones, or if you wear XXXL clothes, or have purple hair, or a million piercings. I think you are beautiful as you are. And nobody can take that away from you, as long as you let them. 

Do you know what else is beautiful? Confidence and positivity. If you are confident in yourself, and have a healthy dose of self esteem, I bet you nobody will be able to refrain from liking you too. Because you like yourself. Because you have worked hard to get where you are in life, you work on yourself - mind and body - to better yourself everyday. And does anything really matter more than that?

I think not. 

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What is Beauty All About?

All the world over, everyone strives for beauty in some form or the other. 

Inner beauty, 'outer' beauty; whatever it may be. And that's a good thing. Making yourself the best version of you is an admirable goal. It's a process; a journey. And both aspects are equally fulfilling.

Making yourself a good, warm, amazing person is one of the most selfless acts you can do. You are making yourself a better person, and spreading happiness all around. If you come in even passing contact with such a person, they would just brighten up your day. They're so full of positivity that it adds a touch of sunshine to your day.

Making yourself more attractive - physically - is also a good endeavor. Of course you want to look good. Everyone does. So why not be pretty in each sense of the word and make yourself happy, while spreading joy all around?

When it all ties together and gives you a sense of satisfaction; that is when you know that you have truly unlocked another level of peace, and this is what we all strive for, knowingly or unknowingly.

Photo Credits:
indulgy.com