I am sure each and everyone of us would have been nothing but happy all through our childhood and early teens for that matter until late teens. But, by the early twenties is when the worry factor starts to creep in. Logically speaking early twenties is when everyone should start feeling more happy because, all the material pleasure we only dreamt of suddenly appears in front of our eyes. This is primarily because of the fact that we get to work and draw good if not huge salaries.
But here is the catch. If happiness ( at least how we picturized it in late teens) is bought by money why aren't we happy with more money. This let's us face off with a truth of life that happiness is not bought by money.
One way of feeling happy is by feeling young. By feeling young, I mean enjoying every single moment of life and doing what gives us happiness. As a kid, even a short cycle ride would make me feel out of the world. When a grew up little more, travelling pillion on my Dad's scooter gave me happiness. As I grew up little more, travelling by a car gave me happiness and two wheeler rides no more excited me.
I am now employed and travel to work in an air-conditioned car every day but it doesn't bring me even 1/10th of the happiness that I the same used to give me a decade back. It is the same car, in fact a better one, same luxury in fact way better luxury but things aren't the same. Logically speaking my happiness should have increased. But, it has decreased.
The problem is not with the type of the car I travel or the luxury it has to offer but in my mind. Or rather the way I have groomed my mind. I have groomed my mind in a way to not happy with what is around but to dream of higher levels of material happiness. By saying this, I do not intend to say dreaming big is bad. What I am only saying is, dreaming big about things like what I can do as a person, how much I can love people around me, how well I can develop my skill set etc.. is what is required and not dreams like, I would own a car when I am 25, I would own a house when I am 30, own a bunglow when I am 40 etc.
Here again I would like to draw a parallel to cricket. And Sachin in specific. In the center of all the fame, money and records is a man who has very simple rules by which he lives life. Even now when you ask Sachin what keeps him going, his reply would be "As a kid, I dreamt of playing cricket for my country. I am happy I get to do this. "
What a simple but effective reply. 20 years of playing international cricket is no mean achievement and too playing for a country like India where there is enormous pressure from the media and the public. But it takes one great head on that tiny frame he has to keep it going year after year.
This is the reason he still enjoys his game and that enjoyment in turn leads to him playing extra-ordinarily even today. If only he had changed his focus from enjoying cricket to much attractive but temporary targets like being the highest run scorer, being the most famous cricketer, being the richest sportsman etc, he would have lost his way. May be he would have achieved all these but would have sure lost his head.
But here is the man standing at less than 5 1/2 feet still achieving things that most cricketers can only dream of and still leading a peaceful, happy and successful life. Now, you would have understood that, the thing that keeps him going is the passion for the game.
And I am sure he retires every day to his drawing room with a bag full of money, house full of luxury and a mind full of happiness.
Happiness in fact lies in following what you are passionate about and everything else follows. Actually even if nothing else follows it doesn't really matter because you are happy anyway and that is essentially why everyone is alive!
