The fear of losing

Gear up your preparation or else you will end up being a loser”

I overheard my aunt saying this to my cousin sister ahead of her 12th board examination. For an Indian household where future is confined to a higher secondary mark sheet, this is nothing new. As much as we want to deny it, we have been an active member of this society where participating in the rat race is an ultimate solution for all the career issues. We are taught not to be anything less than a winner and this is how we miss out on the sole purpose of life.

I believe that most of us are born to bring something new to the plate rather than repeating the same menu until we start loathing our humdrum existence. When we are brought up in different households, with different values and environment, how can we just end up choosing the same thing for our lives?

With the society aimlessly chasing the “winner” tag, it has become the need of the hour to listen to our inner soul. So if you are just another youngster bearing the burden of societal expectations, take a pause and ask these questions to yourself.

– Are you choosing a career you always wanted to choose?

-Will you be able to do 100 percent justice with your chosen profession or be just another face in the crowd?

-Have you stopped living your “life” out of this fear of losing?

– Are you choosing societal approval over your happiness?

Ask these questions to yourself over and over until you get an honest answer from within. No matter what life brings to you, remember that being “second” in the race was never shameful. But losing yourself out of the “fear of losing” can be the most fateful occurrence of your life.