I will begin by compartmentalizing our life into three main compartments, with, the margins separating the compartments being totally blurred & overlapping & the effects of the three compartments merging into each other all the time & the compartments being totally permeable to one another.

The happiness quotient of a human being is determined by an adequate balance between the following :

A keen observation of the people around me in this highly professional era shows that the focus, most often, is on polishing the first 1/3^rd of ourselves – THE MATERIALISTIC STATUS. 80-90% of the energies are most often directed towards “achieving”, “reaching targets”, excelling skills to gain more popularity & financial gains, “improving the sales”, “strengthening one’s resume”, “getting maximum yearly increment or promotions” & get “awards  /accolades / merits” for the same.

While, there’s nothing wrong with the above strategies, I have become little critical of it, just due to the fact that this becomes the mainstay focus in life for most people in their 20s, 30s & 40s. It easily gulps down three crucial decades of one’s life with the “CHASE” being a never ending process & almost never satiating.

It leaves behind hardly 10% of one’s focus & energy on the remaining 2/3^rd aspects of one’s life, which are probably the most crucial ones for long term soulful n meaningful existence.

I find myself wondering —- WHAT IF —:

• There more discussions on improving one’s personal relations
• Couples focus equally much on resolving their personal issues/ improving the level of satisfaction of their respective partners / improving the quality of their relationships
• There are more healthy talks about the books or videos or speakers or attending conferences that ultimately give u an insight about healthy n soulful living than the discussions about how to win the rat race
• The coffee chats with friends more about improving the quality of life
• Along with being granted leaves for attending academic conferences, u are also granted the same for the self-improving n enlightening sessions like “Art of living” or “the Landmark forums” or “Ted talks” or “Vippassana” or any other such uplifting forums
• There are enough vacations / leaves that help u rejuvenate & help u put in your very best at work when u return; Considering the fact that the workplace productivity and quality of work that you put in, is directly dependent on the overall quality of your life.

Afterall, only with an adequate work-life balance and with an adequate equilibrium between all the three compartments of life, does an individual feel truly accomplished, satisfied & happy.

So, dear friends, as much as you chase your materialistic goals, with equal energy & enthusiasm, also chase your physical fitness, mental tangibility, emotional stability, spiritual well being & building healthy relationships.

Only if u r satisfied with yourself at all the three fronts, will you truly be able to enjoy this existence on the planet. A unidirectional skew towards any of the above three compartments leads to tremendous overall dissatisfaction within yourself.

At the end of the day, you are competing with your own self. The real chase is to become “THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF” so that, when on your deathbed, you don’t have regrets such as “Why didn’t I try harder?” or “What just went wrong all the life?” or “Why did i never feel truly contented n happy with myself?”

Cheers to happy n soulful living.