Is there anyone out there who would not have wished to grow up when they were kids? We always looked at adulthood with envy. Adults had freedom, made decisions, did a cool job, lived independently, and had money to do what they wished. We always found the pros of adulthood until we ourselves stepped into their shoes. When we had to single-handedly fight the realities, slowly we realised that being an adult is not always easy. It was about living your life in the midst of responsibilities, expectations and adjustments.
While we battle for our daily existence, this is a gentle reminder for every adult out there that life is not a never-ending game, we are all here with an expiry date. So while your clock goes tick tick, ensure that you find time to indulge in at least a few of the below activities so that when the clock is about to break down, you are sure that you lived a worthy life.
Building a support system
Building a support system is important for leading a healthy life. You may be capable, independent, and financially stable but that does not replace human relationships. Who would you celebrate your victories with or who would you cry to when you fail? You will realise the necessity of having a support system when you look around and find only unfamiliar faces.
Also having a thousand friends on Facebook or Instagram is not equivalent to having a support system. Find people who will stay beside you during your good and bad days. To build such relationships, you need to invest your time in them too. There will be no day that is not busy day, so take time out and spend it with your close ones.
Finding love
In this era of complicated relationships, finding love is almost equivalent to meeting the real-life Santa Claus. Choosing a life of casual relationships, hating love after a heartbreak, adjusting with someone even though the relationship has run its course, situation-ships or even holding high the flag of “I am enough for myself” are a few new-age realities we see around us. While there is nothing wrong in choosing any of the previously mentioned options, it should not be because you gave up on love.
Give love multiple chances. Make time to find people who you can connect with. Being in a healthy relationship moulds you into a better person. Having someone to fall back on creates a safety net that enhances your mental and emotional well-being. So search for love or fall in love but do keep aside time for love.
Indulging in a hobby
There are tiny embers of passion within all of us that maybe are deeply buried by the routine walks of our life. Find time to rekindle your relationship with your passion. It might be cooking, reading, painting, writing, travelling, photography, running etc. There is a plethora of hobbies out there, find the one that makes you happy and pursue it.
Having a hobby is very important as it will help to reduce stress and anxiety by giving you a break from your routine life. It also gives you a topic of discussion which will help to enhance your bond with like-minded people. Other added benefits are that it eradicates boredom, makes you more patient and even widens your knowledge. So pick a hobby to have a life enriched with experiences and stories.
Also Read: Rules That Expose The Double Standards In A Malayali’s Life
Leading a healthy life
There is no better way to explain the importance of this point than by using the ever-famous quote – ‘Health is wealth’. To lead a fulfilling life, health has to be in your favour. Though we cannot stop diseases from visiting us, we can always take enough precautions. So take time out to drink water, breathe in the fresh air, exercise, eat a balanced diet and get a night of proper sleep.
Maintaining a bucket list
It is important for every person to have dreams and wishes. The bigger and never-ending the list, the far better. Every small whim and fancy of yours is like hope, the desire to fulfil it makes you keep going.
So take time to think and jot down a bucket list of your own and whenever life seems too drenched in the mundane, set out to fulfil the items on your list. Or a far better idea is to take out time periodically to tick off items from that list.
Celebrating festivals
Remember during your childhood days how excitedly you used to wait for festivals? Remember how you used to buy firecrackers for Vishu, put pookalam for Onam or decorate a tree for Christmas? Where did that excitement go? What happened to that carefree you?
With adulthood comes a false sense of maturity that you have outgrown the days to celebrate festivals. Hold on to your inner child, indulge and cherish the festivities. Wear a new dress, bring your close ones together, follow some of those traditions, enjoy a sumptuous meal and make merry. If you as an adult do not find time to do this, then how can we expect our future generations to ever understand our culture and traditions?
Splurging on a dream
Building a huge bank balance is every adult’s dream. You may profess that money is not everything but at the end of the day, we all need it. Adults spend a majority of their time accumulating wealth and quite often they hesitate to spend it on their dreams especially if the amount required is huge.
Maybe you require a push and maybe the following quote might be that push: “You live only once”. So what are you waiting for? Take out time, splurge your money and fulfil your dreams. Be it a vacation in Europe or buying an Audi (Definitely you can have inexpensive wishes too), go ahead and live your life.
Doing something for someone
There are a lot of people who are not privileged to get even the basic necessities of life. Try to lend a helping hand to at least one of them in even the simplest way by providing food, shelter or education. Spend some time and effort to leave a lasting impact on their lives. One day you shall pat your back and be proud of yourself.
Leaving behind a legacy
The world population as of 2022 is estimated to be more than 7.7 billion. This is a number we cannot even fathom imagining. So in the midst of this huge crowd, how is it that we stand out? I know this is quite a funny question. Definitely, to stand out in that crowd, each one of us would have to do something like Newton, Bill Gates, Steffi Graff or Mahatma Gandhi. Which is definitely not possible. But there are little things that each one of us can do to leave a mark or a legacy behind.
Motivate someone, write a blog/poem/article/book, tell your story to inspire someone, pass on your most favourite curated dish, maybe even create a reel on Instagram, leave a digital footprint etc. In today’s world, there are a lot of opportunities to create a mark, you just need to look around and find the aspect that touches your heart.
Live
Last but not the least, find time to LIVE your life. Try to avoid regrets and what-ifs. Embrace every opportunity that seems right to you and reject every aspect that constrains you. Once you make a decision, learn to never look back. Past is what exists in Egypt and your life is not a Pyramid.
