Constants in life
Constants are under your control. Constants make you happy.
Remember the math equations you used to solve in school?
What was the most helpful part of solving the equations? It was the constants, isn’t it? Once you know a constant value, you can easily resolve the equation.
The more constants there were, the easier it was to solve the equation.
And the reverse is also true; that is the more number of variables the equation has, the harder it is to solve.
Now we apply the same philosophy to solving the life’s equation.
Here are some of the major constants in anyone’s life:
- Parents
- Routine
- City you live in
- Spouse
- Job
If you have chosen all or above constants very carefully, you are already way ahead of many others on the globe.
Now we will look at each of the above constants in brief:
- Parents
We are nothing without our parents. The only reason we have come into existence is because of them.
Most of us have had normal childhoods. Loving mother, caring father and a stable life. Of course exceptions (abuse, trauma etc.. ) are always there but we are focusing on the majority of families out there.
Stable life.. you know that your school fees will be paid… you are sure that by the time you are back from school mom would have made snacks.. no worry about paying rent…
Because of this stable family lives, we grew up well and are able to flourish as an adult and as an individual in the society.
Please take care of your parents and also strive to become a good parent for your child by giving them a safe, nurturing environment to grow up.
- Routine
A daily routine is an irreplaceable constant in life. Ask any athlete, writers, entrepreneurs, bodybuilders, CEOs and anyone who is successful; they all swear by a routine and they stick to it though out their lives.
Routine helps you be consistent
We all know how important it is to be consistent to win these days. Science has proven time and again how important it is to have a constant sleep-time, waking hour, eating time etc..
- City you live in
The most important constant that everyone should seek and find it as early as possible is the city you choose to work, grow and settle in. Lot of people do not give enough importance to this decision in their lives.
Death of Compounding is the reason why you should avoid changing cities frequently.
Let me explain.. we all are aware of the 8th wonder of the world that is compound interest. Now, money is not the only thing that compounds. When you live in one place all your life, chose that your ‘karma bhoomi’, then the relationships you make, the networking you create in that place, the goodwill you have in your neighborhood also compound over time.
Relationships, Networking, Goodwill are the major contributing factors for a successful life and they die when you change the city or organization frequently.
If you have the attitude of “I don’t know where I will live” then you are doomed to fail.
- Spouse
In the age of ‘body count’, ‘polygamy’, ‘open relationships’; I cannot stress the importance of having one constant relationship because ask anyone who ever had a breakup and they will tell you how sad and gut wrenching the death of a relationship can be. It will knock you down, take you no where in life.
FOMO, greed, envy and other wonderful qualities drive today’s relationships. Ego is the center of our conscious life.
Ever increasing divorce rates, infidelity rates are a testimony to the casual, carefree attitude towards mental wellbeing and hinder happiness in the long run.
The present deteriorating mental health of the people in the world can be healed with consciously making an effort at establishing deep, meaningful, long-term relationships.
Humans are social beings. As we live and operate in a society, we need each other for our mutual healing. A good relationship — especially with your spouse can put us in the best position to have stable mental health.
A lonely mind is distressing and everyone needs some one in their life like a guru, friend, mentor, guide, coach to tread life’s path… getting married to the one person who can act as all of the above, is the best way to harmony in an individual as well as in society.
Research also shows that who you marry determines if you will become rich and wealthy in life. So choose this constant very carefully.
- Job
You spend the most amount of time in your life working in a job so it is a no brainer to choose it wisely.
Work related stress like working long hours, heavy load, job insecurity, etc are the demons we fight in this constant.
An artificial sense of urgency is created to keep you occupied and not think about yourself. For example, you may have to finish a project on time or attend an adhoc meeting etc.. these things may not accomplish or solve many problems but push us into fire fighting mode.
To over come the harmful physical and mental stress, choose your profession with care, gather as much knowledge as possible on it before committing your self to a profession.
How to find your constant in life
Often people do not know what they want to do or become in life but clearly know what they do not want in life.
This knowledge helps in finding our constant. For example, you don’t want bad relationships so find only one person and make it work instead of focusing on body count.
One of the brightest minds in the 21st century, Charlie Munger says, the idea that the safest way to try and get what you want is to try and deserve what you want.
I hope this post helps you gain some clarity and peace to get you started or focus in the right direction.
Do you agree with the list? Comment your opinion and any more examples of constants in life..
