Knowledge IS Power

If you are waking up and dozing off with the thought that what is happening in your life is right for you or things are going the way they are supposed to go, you're wrong. Let me level with you. Give me less than 7 minutes to explain.

How is our life shaped? Through outcomes. Of what? Of the decisions we make in life. And now the real question is - How do we make these decisions? Are they from a lens of awareness or are they from a standpoint of ignorance? I'm quite afraid to say, where I currently am, it seems like I took a few decisions based on the latter. And if you resonate with what I am feeling for even a brief minute (perhaps because of one of the countless decisions you have made), that's good because the acceptance of that could just be the force that hurls us out of it.

Why am I saying this? Well quite often, we take decisions not because we are sure of Plan B but because, we are unsure of plan A. Take a moment, re-read that. Being unsure about 'A', its intricacies, what it has to offer, where it could lead us, how it could transform us etc is the core reason we choose 'B' which again, we are not fully sure about but comparatively, we think its better.

And what happens next? Everything starts off well because its new, it has a certain charm to it and you believe you are in the right place. But slowly, the sheen fades and one day the thought occurs to you - did I make the right choice? Now that bothers you for some days. You are distraught with how things are going, you begin to get worked up and you start disliking a few aspects. And then? Then your mind eventually makes you believe you are in the right place. The occurrences around you lead you to think - oh, maybe that was just a rough phase, no need to be such a sour bean about it, you're doing okay and you are where you are meant to be. And that dear readers, is the trap we are subconsciously falling into.

You might ask - Why does any of this matter? Because (now this is a cliche but much necessary) life is too short to 'let things be'. We do not deserve to lead a life we are 'okay' with. We deserve to make aware choices and mindful decisions that build up to a life we are truly content with. One where we don't land up in a certain place, but one where we carve that place for ourselves because we are sure that however torrential the rain might be, the clouds will clear up and the sun will shine brightly upon us.

How do we make an aware choice? For starters, I would first drill down on what is stopping me from making an aware decision. Is it accessibility to the kind of information I want? Frankly no, that would be a cowardly thing to say in this tech-powered age. So is it someone holding me back or discouraging me from meandering into new possibilities I'd like to explore? Again, I would say no. Oh so its boredom maybe? Like do I not have the energy sometimes or the motivation to go the extra mile to discover the depths of what I want to do. Well if I were to be truly honest, maybe this is partially the reason. And maybe the bigger cause is - Am I able to muster the courage to turn an event I am aware of and would benefit from, into my lifestyle and embrace the changes that come with it?

Well I could go on, but the crux of this is - after we accept what is stopping us, we take the next step - channeling immense inquisitiveness to go all in. To read, to research, to experiment, to acquaint ourselves with the A to Z of it, to simply 'know', to 'be aware'. And the next step would be to narrow it all down. To condense all our options into a 'Determination Index' and rank all those possibilities based on our own unique metrics. Its basically like instructing our mind to perform SEO (search engine optimization) for all the paths we could possibly take. Each of our metrics will vary based on what matters more to us. For example, if person A prefers 2-3 hours of spare time to pursue a heartfelt hobby apart from their main venture, they would prefer a path that does not scream 'commitment no matter what'. But if person B wants to fully immerse in the grind to speedily get to what they think would be the greener side, they would rank the option with 'higher rigour-to-reward ratio' on top on their list.

And what is the last step? We have to be ready to dive head-first into our desired, 'aware' choice. Am I saying we will be truly happy as soon as we make this 'mindful decision'? Maybe yes and maybe no. But am I saying that eventually we will get there and days that would normally seem hard, would in this case have the silver lining of - 'I chose this based on an informed decision about where it could propel me and I am ready to endure it with a smile'? Yes. Absolutely.

So yes, just the simple act of 'knowing' before 'doing' will actually change a lot in our lives. Ofcourse, not all decisions are in our control. Maybe most are not. But for the ones that are in our hands, lets make a sincere attempt at going the length (however long it takes) to know the ins and outs of it. Being ignorant is easy. That way you can blame your destiny or your circumstances for any inconvenience you face and go on to sink deeper in that thought of - 'this is not in my control'. But the real game lies in - being informed, being knowledgeable and being thorough about our choices to take charge of our lives rather than watch it from the sidelines.

I'd like to draw the curtains on this by saying - If you reject something, let it be because you know it is not right for you and if you accept something, let it not be because you don't know what is right for you. You deserve to feel empowered by your choices, not hindered. And 'knowing' what you are doing will allow you to get there.

I accept - The above is easier said than done and to be honest, I am still figuring all of this out but I am ready to create my own 'Determination Index' and no matter what your age, background or circumstance is, try it. If it makes even 1% difference to your lives, come back to "Nascent Narratives' to experience the next '1% difference'.