What you value

I was thinking about certain moments in my life when I have desperately wanted something – an object, a status, a title, a promotion. The need was so great that it held to ransom my happiness and extracted any semblance of peace that I may have had. Surely, possessing those things did bring me the attendant benefits, or simplify my life or give me a leg up, as I knew it would. But when viewed in hindsight, with the long lens of time to give it perspective, I find that many of those “things” which I valued highly then, are no longer relevant now. A prime example is my recent surrender of the coveted US Green Card. I felt no sadness or remorse in giving it up, since I have no real need for it now that I live in India. It had become an unnecessary appendage. Similarly, the designations I held in previous jobs made me feel good then, a testimony of my hard work and its acknowledgement by superiors. Today I have no use for these titles since my work speaks for itself, I get repeat business if I match the expectations of my clients. I have no one else to blame or praise.

I wonder why we get so caught up in the acquisition of objects and accolades to the extent that we ironically seem to enjoy the pain of not having it. We rant and rave about unfairness, blame others and generally wallow in much misery. At the end of all this drama, when we do receive the subject (or object) of our desire, it is usually anti-climactic. We then proceed through life repeating the same process for the next new thing that appears in the horizon of our wants.

While the objects you value may change with time, what will not change is your work ethic, your passion for what you do and the priority you give to that part of your professional life that you still hold onto when you have stripped it off its fancy outer shell. It may be worthwhile to consider putting effort to those things that endure with time. Frankly, everything on the outside changes, usually degenerates, but what you can preserve is what is on the inside. Why not work on making some changes internally then?