Tag Archives: dealing with stress

It’s just a game!

My daughter’s exams start today. I asked her how she’s feeling. You can guess what she replied! We’ve all been through this, haven’t we? Here’s something I shared with her, thought it would be useful to you too.

“Arista, I know you’ve been very committed, very hardworking and you’ve prepared well. That’s what counts.. the effort. You see like any other game of life, all school exams are also a game.

Your job is to play the game well, play it with passion, with fervour, give the game all you’ve got.. but don’t make the game significant. Do you understand what I mean by that?”

“Don’t make it significant.. hmmm.. does it mean don’t make the game important, don’t make a big deal of the game Pappa?”, she asked.

“Bingo Aru, you see often when we play the game of career, the game of relationships, the game of business.. or whatever other game of life we play, we often get so attached to the game that we base our happiness and peace of mind on the outcome of the game. We don’t get a promotion, we sulk through the year, we have a breakup, we get shattered, our business bombs, we never recover from that!

You, your existence, your happiness is much more important than winning or losing the games you play. Societal conditioning puts too much emphasis on winning, losing is looked down upon. And so you go nuts trying to win and you get too involved in the game and lose your well-being in the process.

I tell people, play the game well, play it to win, don’t play it NOT to lose (there’s a huge difference), but don’t be obsessed with the game. It’s just a game!

Your real exam is in holding your nerve, staying relaxed and not succumbing to the exam pressure.”

“Got that Pappa.. it’s just a game!”, she said as she left for her first exam!

Have a power packed week!

1) Let’s start with reminding ourselves the biggest lie we tell ourselves.. that we have time. No we don’t. It could all be over in a minute. We are all in a queue and who knows who’s next?

2) If you have two hands, two eyes, two ears, one brain and one smartphone that hangs once in a while, still that’s good enough to create a special life out of nothing.

3) Life does not give you what you need, it gives you what you’re committed to.

4) The past is just a story in your head. Every morning comes with an opportunity to start life all over again.

5) The future is just a story in your head. You can make all the plans you want, but the real meaning of life is in what’s happening in the present moment. Tring Tring. Wake up!

6) 99.9999% of things we fear never happen. And fear exists because our minds are designed to be negative.

7) You can have all the money, success, fame and the chocolate ice-cream you want, but they’re not going to make you happy. Real joy comes from building connections with people you love.

8) Regret is a terrible thing. In the last days of your life you’ll hope you had taken more risks, created a more adventurous life, tried all those things you didn’t.

9) If you can get 7 hours of sound sleep, wake up with a good mood and live life on your own terms, you are richer than most of humanity.

10) There are no rules of life. Just live courageously, do and say what you
want to do and say and be willing to take responsibility for the outcomes of your actions and your communication.