By Juhi Bansal

I love doing my birthday articles. It’s the time when I bare my heart without fearing judgment from all you people. This year I want to question a few things I was told to believe as gospel truth.

Musings 2017

Musings 2016

Live stress-free?

NEWS FLASH- no one in this day and age with so much on their plates can “keep it together”. We are all winging it. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don’t. I have my moments as well. I may not be completely stress free but in the last one year I have learnt to manage it. Here’s my top tip.

Follow the “10 minutes early” rule. A huge reason for heart-burn in my life (and I am guessing yours as well) is always trying to reach everywhere on time. Leaving the house 10 minutes early, which means waking up/sleeping 10 minutes early, has made a huge difference to my blood pressure especially while dropping Iy to school every day.

Stick to a routine?

I know how fancy that sounds. Like how in control you are of your life if you follow “the routine”. But, all of us have those days when the mundane becomes intolerable. It’s ok to jump off the wagon every now and then. In fact, if nothing else, look at it as survival tactics. Jump off but not too far so that the wagon is still in sight and you can start right where you left off after the much needed break.

Experiences or possessions?

What do you think is more important? For me it’s a constant battle. Especially because the husband and I depend on limited salaries. When you’ve lived your entire life making choices because you don’t have the luxury of “everything” you learn to make the pro-con list in your head. And while I have the occasional regret of not owning a designer bag or a dazzling piece of jewelry I know I will always pick travel to a new place over any of these. However, just because it’s true for me doesn’t mean it should be the same for you. Don’t let anyone tell you one is better than the other- not even me!

Follow your passion?

People talk about following their passion and how it brought them peace. What if you don’t know what your passion in life is? All I can tell you is- it’s never too late to find out. Don’t be wary of trying new things or retrying old things. All my childhood my parents couldn’t get me to learn swimming because I was too scared. This year I decided to take the plunge (quite literally). While I am no mermaid I can definitely say it’s easily the best hour of my day. Explore. Experiment. Evolve.

Picture-perfect life?

My biggest learning- “nothing lasts forever”. Neither success nor failure. Neither ecstasy nor misery. Neither popularity nor youth. Enjoy every day because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. If today is unbearable- hang in there because believe me “this too shall pass”.

Credits:

Outfit: c/o Nicobar

Necklace: c/o Karma by Vivek

Pics: Amreet, Bearded Shutterbug