Prathima's Miles & Milestones

What would make your life more meaningful?

Spending more time on your art & craft? Your music & dance? Your prose & poetry?

More time outdoors? Discovering the intricacies of nature? Witness more sunrises and sunsets? Taking the plunge into oceans?

Forming deeper connections with people you love? Less small talk, more real talk? Less gossip, more silent, breathless belly laughs?

Joy, freedom, peace, well-being, good vibes, connection. These things can’t just appear in your life if you don’t make them a priority.

Make the choice to treat your passions as an equal (if not greater) priority than your obligations. Or at the very least, find ways to bring your passions into your obligations. Do not feel the guilt of putting yourself first. Do not put yourself or others on a pedestal. It is fine to be vulnerable, you are being truthful in the process. What others think is none of our business nor we can control it. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. The right one knows how to celebrate you for your virtues & values, the rest may criticise you. None of them pay your bills. Do not put a caveat to be who you are not.

Stress comes from trying to do it all on your own. Peace comes from putting it in God’s hands. It’s infinitely harder to take a real look in the mirror and recognize that our reality is the result of our own choices. Of how we choose to spend our days, our hours, here in this one life.

Passion comes from obsession. Fitness is like a drug, a lifestyle for me. I’m addicted to it. The magnetic pull is so strong there’s no chance I can kick the habit. Obsession can’t be tamed.

The greatest shifts in my own life have come from living more intentionally. From choosing to prioritize exploration, experiences, creativity, play, connection, family, and my health. And choosing to prioritize them now — not some abstract point in future “when I’ll have the time and means.” An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention. Start taking action.

Difficult books make you smarter. Difficult problems make you more creative. Difficult drills make you more confident. Difficult circumstances make you wiser. Difficult goals make you move forward. Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you have ever been to stand up taller than you ever were.

Nothing is guaranteed beyond the now. Do not let the short-term failures hold you back from your long-term goals. And when your time is up, whenever that will be, these things will all have contributed more to a meaningful life than time spent labouring for someone else’s ideal of success ever will.