As we come to the close of 2022, it's an opportune time to assess what the past year has been like, in terms of career, relationships and most importantly self. Each year, we start with resolutions, capitalising investments like that fancy gym membership, in the hope that each month will see us drawdown from that upfront capital outlay in the form of depreciation, which in this case is extracting value through regular gym attendance! And we know that usually ends, as each January, fitness chains rub their hands in glee at the prospect of naive resolution-hunters.
Ambitions are sky-high, and as a result work has become the most dominant account header. We constantly make deposits ranging from personal life to health to family time, in the hope that the returns will far outweigh the investment. And as we often find out in retrospect, whilst the monetary returns, which by the way is generally what matters most in Kal Yuga, can be commensurate, there is a general lack of emotional fulfilment and job satisfaction, which in the end count far more towards a sense of well-being and happiness.
Relationships have also become extremely onerous, constantly demanding attention with the advent of instant messaging platforms, which have caused another obsession, of the double-blue tick kind (i.e. messages read and received) Insecurity is rife, as constant validation has become the norm, and anything less than instant responses get counted as an affront. This of course, as we explored last week, contributes to the mountain of distractions that we already have to deal with, leaving very little scope for deep work and self-improvement.
Self, of course, comes last, in this growing list of expenses, leaving little or no time or attention for focussing on oneself. Whether it was being able to take time to learn a musical instrument, meditating, or sauntering through the woods, reconnecting with nature and self, most plans remain consigned to the confines of your diary, jostling for attention with things that seem more worthy of your bucketlist and social validation.
The end result is great topline growth, everything seems bigger, brighter and better with each passing year, but with a constantly shrinking bottomline. And the bottomline here is happiness. The maze of modern wants and needs makes this balance sheet unsustainable, and if we are not careful, teetering on the verge of emotional bankruptcy. So take stock, rebalance your books, and get rid of those non performing assets, which aren’t worthy of your time or attention. And prepare to say hello to a new, leaner version of you, who is more in tune with what makes you truly happy.
