A few weeks ago, I attended a seminar by Deepak Chopra. It was wonderful. Deep. Enlightening. The kind of seminar that made you think. As part of the ticket, you received a copy of his hardcover book.
One Sunday, as I sat by the fireplace on a chilly morning with a steaming cup of coffee by my side, I held the solid book in my hand. Every few seconds, the only sound in the room was that of my fingers gingerly flipping the pages and an occasional moan from my Siberian Husky sitting at my feet. With the view of the Christmas tree in the background, it was about as perfect of a morning as possible!
It has been years since I have read a hardcover book as all my reading is done on electronic medium these days.
I forgot how much I loved it.
Walk Memory Lane
Maybe it’s age or life experience. But as I think about a new decade beginning, I am first trying to remember what else I have forgotten about myself. Don’t get me wrong – I think all of us must look forward, think new thoughts, and foster new desires.
Eventually, I’ll opine on the future but today, I cherish the past.
As I thought about forgetting my enjoyment of hardcover books, it made me think, what else did I forget in this decade? What else could I remember? So many of us forget the things that we used to love as a child and yet they hold such pearls of wisdom about who we are (before life took over).
Years after I had an almost two-decade-long career in IT, I came across an old journal of mine, from when I was 17. It said I wanted to be a writer. It was so plain, so black and white. Right then, I remembered loving to write.
That day was the genesis of my blogs. But if I had not come across that memory, would you be reading this today? I don’t know.
Baseline Research for Tomorrow
A decade is a worthy period to examine. It’s time to dig deep. It’s time to go mining.
The call to action is simple. I ask you today the same question that I am asking myself: what else must you remember from this decade? What else is worth taking to the next one?
- What did you enjoy most?
- What were your greatest moments?
- Where/when did you feel like you were on top of the world?
- How did it make you feel to be there?
- What were your greatest pleasures/triumphs?
Don’t forget this critical information as you go into the next decade. You can use pictures, old memorabilia, or even listen to music from the last decade – anything that takes you back in time. Study yourself and glean what you can.
We can only rely on ourselves for the ways to keep ourselves happy. No one else can provide those insights. No one else can provide that guidance. The more we can understand ourselves, the more fun our path. We need to remember so that we can recall the highs and awaken how to reach those again… and go even further beyond!