5 Rules I live by! Rule # 4

EXERCISE!!! (And try eating right!)

In my 20s I was worried about the way I looked, whether or not the opposite sex found me attractive, whether clothes fit me well and so on. I still didnt make the effort to work out, because probably I was in denial about my weight or more realistically, I didnt really care less. I wasnt attractive...OK! I wasnt someone guys would find appealing...OK! I didnt have those jaw dropping Aishwariya Rai-ésque looks.....OK! I resigned myself to the fact that the personality was more or less there, so I didnt really need to have that hour glass figure.

But truth has hit home! I am not in my 20s anymore. I have aches & pains now, that I have never had before. My dad has diabetes and high BP, my mum's family has a history of diabetes & she has high BP too. My last blood test showed that I had borderline high triglycerides and oh, did I forget to mention the doc says PCOD is a concern for me too! Suddenly, it was not so much the hour glass figure and jaw dropping looks to appeal to random men! Its my very health and life at stake. My lack of concern for my health can suddenly & very easily make me sitting duck for these life-style diseases.

And lets not forget the fact that we work long hours in highly stressful workplaces in polluted cities, saddled with multiple worldly responsibilities and countless liaibilities like home & vehicle loans and monthly credit card dues. Its a domino effect. Any one health aspect knocked off balance might just set off a chain reaction of multiple diseases resulting in never ending doctors visits, a concoction of daily pills and dosages that further impair your body's natural defences and not to forget, all the money that you spent your lifetime working your butt off for, going into filling up hospital coffers and doctors' pockets!

Get real! Take care of your health! If you dont do it now, chances are you will be a prime candidate for insulin resistance and hypertension!! Its taken me 30 years to get to this conclusion. As kids, Dad used to ask us to run and play, get outdoors. We didnt have those multiple sources of entertainment that kids have now like playstations, iPads, laptops etc. So we played! Then as we grew older the pressures of life caught up, we lost confidence in ourselves and gave up on our bodies and perhaps even in the development of our minds! And as result, the pounds piled on! Emotional stresses lead to emotional eating! Bulging wallets lead to fancy dinners and nights out! Lates nights resulted in lazier more exhausted bodies!

And now I am facing the consequences for my lack of attention to the one body I have! All the salary credits, bonuses etc will not make much difference if I wont be able to enjoy the fruits of my labour today and later on in life!

So in my own little way, I have decided to exercise! Even if it means taking a daily walk, do it! I got to the gym at least 4-5 times a week. I try to walk at least 3 times a week and recently have started doing yoga. I dont care if I weight a 100 kgs, but if I am fit with no serious, adverse health indicators, I know I am on the right track! The weight will eventually go!

I try to eat right too! Punjabi genes inherited from my mom dont really help there! But I am trying! I may not be 100% fit, but I am getting there! So yes, the butter and ghee are still part of my diet, but in moderation now! I love that occasional glass of Coke, but I keep it occasional only! My sweet tooth is my biggest challenge and it will take a whole lot of will power to change that bad habit! But I have come this far and I am sure that I will be able to rein it in!

And not to forget, trying to be positive and happy.....to minimise the psychosomatic consequences of poor mental well being!

Make that health choice today! It might save your life tomorrow!!

Cheers! Happy Living, healthy eating!!
A

5 Rules I live by! Rule # 3

TRAVEL!!!

Travel has been a part of me since childhood. Dad worked with an Airline and so, by default, we travelled with him often. By 5-6 years of age I had seen NY, London, Far East etc. And travel was something I simply loved doing. He has retired since, but my insatiable appetite for exotic travel remains, the more offbeat, the better!

I often find myself planning for trips I intend to take in the middle of a busy day! I will suddenly open up a travel website and check out options for trips. The trips dont often materialise, but what the heck, that doesnt seem to stop me! Last year, I managed to visit 13 destinations, and mind you, all but one was an official visit to Goa.

Travel gives me a chance to disconnect with my mundane life. It allows me the anonymity of an unfamiliar destination. It broadens my mind to new ways of living, to new ideas, to new insights which staying at home doesmt allow me. I love to take in the history and culture of a new place and relate it to my own. I love to feel the peace of a remote location and contrast that to the hustle and bustle of chaotic Mumbai! Small town India fascinates me no end as I observe it through the eyes of a cosmopolitan urbane citizen of a bustling OTT metropolis like Mumbai. I love the small eating joints, the friendly welcoming nature of the small town folk and the local often amusing dialects and languages! India has so much to offer to us city people! Mumbai or Delhi is not India. India lives in its small towns of Pune, Jaipur, Amritsar, Manipal or Kochi! And I long to go back each time I visit a new city to make sure I've done almost every nook and cranny!

So also, with places abroad. While I love the appeal of international shopping destinations like Bangkok or Dubai, what atracts me is the more off-the-beaten path locales. I went to Koh Samui and was awstruck by the brillant green of the waters or the single monolith like rock islands which jutted out from the crystal clear waters of the Indo China sea. I loved equally the old style souks & the modern flashy malls of Dubai and yet found our crab fishing expedition off the coast of Umm al Quain delightful and exicting! The old world charm and architecture of Budapest was as appealing as the old church I went to in Frankfurt!

Travel gives me the opportunity to push my limits! Whether it is rafting down the mighty magnificent Ganga at Rishikesh or my terrible attempt at paddling a kayak or just snorkelling with the myriad colourful fish in Thailand, it challenges me and sends adrenaline pumping through my system! Makes me feel young & alive!!

Oh!!! I could go on & on! What I am trying to get at is that Travel for me, is my abode of peace, so to speak! I feel at peace when I am out on the road! Even if I have to travel alone, which I prefer, because I dont have to put up with anyone's diverse preferences to put it mildly, I love the idea of being out there taking in more of what this magnificent world has to offer!

So please ditch the tour operators, do it on your own, ''coz it more fun and hugely gratifying! And especially if you are a woman! Take along a companion or two (mostly like-minded, hopefully) and make the effort to travel because of the broader perspective it gives to your life! And trust me, with each journey, you will learn a little more about your own self, in addition to a little more of the world we live in!

I remember that Tata Safari ad. Posted here for your reference!



At the end of your worldly journey, you wont remember your corner office, your boardroom battles, deals you won or reports you created! What stays with you are your experiences, your extraordinary journeys and the people you met along the way!

Happy Travels People!!!

5 Rules I live by! Rule # 2

Learn to be happy alone....

This one is not easy! We crave human company from birth.....the touch & comfort of mum & dad, siblings....a friends circle in school and college....colleagues....family friends.....social & professional networks..etc. The list goes one. We are not meant to be solitary creatures. We love attention, as much as we deny it. We love being loved and we love being in the company of loved ones and doing fun things together.

I am a very social, outgoing person too. I love going out to party, being with friends, watching movies, meeting up over a cup of coffee. When I was seeing my ex, I was always out. Every weekend we were out. So making fancy plans for a saturday was the norm. And since he & I were always together, we, rather I, never felt the need for to be with someone else. Wrong move! We think relationships, friends, boyfriends are for ever! Truth is only immediate family is forever, that too with a caveat!

Since, I pretty much ignored all the rest for my relationship, when it ended, I suddenly found myself all alone on weekends, except for Parents for company. I found I had no one to talk to on a particularly bad day at work. I couldnt discuss my options and decisions with anyone. Yes, parents were around, but there is only that much that you, or rather, I can communicate with them. I was at an age when most, if not all, my friends were married, or in steady relationships, or even with kids. Here, I was the single misfit amongst this lot. So, it was but natural that I too was last priority for them. In my transition period (thats the time when you are out of the reltionship and still adjusting to being single again), I discovered that it was very easy for friends to just cancel plans they have made with me. And then, I made would make plans with those I was less familiar with only to find myself cancelling on them, simply because I did not feel stimulated enough by their company. I certainly didnt want to go out to meet people, for the sake of it.

So I took a step back and questioned this craving for company. Did I have to watch that much awaited Bollywood flick on the first weekend of its release? Did I have to try out a fancy new restaurant each weekend. Did I absolutely have to speak to friends or remain networked all the time. The answer was NO. I could watch that movie later when it came on TV or I could download and watch it. I could try and make that special Penne Masala Mafia from OOTB at home, thought it doesnt always turn out like theirs!! (humpf..its ok!!!). I didnt have to be out each Saturday night! I could spend it at home reading or just watching TV. That didnt make me uncool!

Essentially, it is about being less dependent and more self reliant for your own needs, the biggest need being, company. In the end, does it really matter, if you saw that movie first day, first show. Or does it matter, if you havent been to the most happening party places in town. What matters is, you are perfectly secure with being home alone on a Saturday night with a book for company. Then you dont have to rely on the outside world to keep you occupied. You can be home all day, flitting between reading, watching TV, doing household work, or sleeping or lazying on the couch...but yet remain perfectly happy within yourself!

I even found that I enjoyed shopping alone. Try it! You dont have to listen to someone else's opinion on your body and sense of style. You can choose what looks good on you and what doesnt. There is no pressure to conform, no pressure to appease your companion. Its just you by yourself in your world!

Your life doesnt end when you end up alone. You just need to learn to enjoy your company, not get agitated or upset when someone doesnt consider you important enough to respond to and most definitely, convince yourself that someone or something better is on it way! And once that is here, you wont have to be lonely thereafter!

Most people get scared of being alone. Learning and accepting this rule prepares you for any unlikely eventuality, should it oocur! Love yourself & learn to love your own company without expectations from anyone. Trust me it has helped!

Cheers and Happy Reading
A