Sharing is Good Karma:

‘Everything is a matter or should I say everything matters. Especially those innocuous little things that we rarely see, but at the end of the day which we remember’.

As we grow in our lives personally as well as professionally, the one thing that we all would probably swear by is the infatuation with making it big and the big things in life.

For instance, as an entrepreneur (that’s what I do, for each one of you, it could be what you do) some of these things weigh really big on my agenda and in my mind. Things like:

The first million dollar milestone
A competitive team growth
Customer happiness at its zenith
A great workplace culture with that great work-space, great amenities, happy team etc.
Setting and working on the milestones after that first million dollar milestone

Then comes the big things in our personal lives like:

Having a beautiful, happy life with our partners.
Ensuring our families are always well provided for.
Buying that car or bike we have always wished for.
Saving up big
Planning the next big thing at that point of time of our lives.
And the list probably goes on.

There is nothing wrong in going after the big things in life. They do make a major dent in the universe of our lives, if not focused well enough on.

Just that in our endeavor of going after the big things, what we get into is something we see and still miss. Things like:

Getting ourselves forcibly into a routine we don’t relate to, and then an incessant wait for the weekends.
Having a plan for everything we do.
The phone or connectivity device in your ears while commuting, while being at your workplace, and while being at home. It so becomes a part of one’s life.
The “I have a lot of problems in my life” obsession.
The continuous what next syndrome.
And this list goes on as well.

The pursuit of big things in life cost us a significant part of our lives in the things that we miss. The parts wherein:

Someone around us waits for us for hours with a smile, but then all they get is a frown from us. Because we were busy in the pursuit and hot chase.
Someone around loses something immensely valuable to her/him. But beyond a shallow show of solidarity, all that we can focus on next is our calendar.
A person visible in our rear view just suffered a fall. But all we do in the traffic is speed away because the people closer to her/him will take care of it.
We get used to meeting up, hanging out only during the weekends, because weekdays and you can’t make it today.
We get used to saying more Nos, than a yes with a smile.
And this list probably goes beyond the first two.

I started up on my own a couple of years back. Initially, when we had no money I used to be neck deep in worry stating how are we going to make it. When we did have the money, I started worrying about how to make it grow. And as it grows I am worrying about how to sustain the growth.

But thankfully for me, I did realize that how bad a person am I coming out in the midst of worrying and thinking I am getting big things done. My smile had lost its charm for quite some time, as I worked tirelessly to make it big. My mind had lost its peace, and my body the need to sleep.

So before it went too far I made a few amends in my ways. I still focus on the big things in life, but one day at a time. So that I have the space for the little things.

I say yes to meeting friends any time of the day or the week, no matter the distance unless it’s impossibly difficult.

I probably never tell people I am busy and to call back later. Because it’s so not true. No one in this world, unless you are caught up in an engagement with someone else, is busy to the extent of not being capable of replying in a humane manner.

I try meeting up people who need some format of assistance or help without any conditions. Because it just feels better to do so.

In fact, I think since I consciously did this, I smile better, I sleep better, and the big things in life? Well seems to me I am making more headway in them than ever before.

The Point of All of This?

Big things in life will give you the life you always dreamed of. But the little things in life will give you the happiness you chase via the big things. As Steve Jobs said in his final words:

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.

In the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of god of death drawing closer… Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth… Should be something that is more important: Perhaps relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days”.

Because for everyone at the end of the day: Little things matter.

And if what I wrote didn’t have an impact on you, you should hear this track from the web series Little Things which really hits the right notes.