What is Happiness?

Recently a friend of mine asked me a simple question - What is happiness? for which I had to think for a while to answer it and when I didn't had answer to her question, I came up with some weird answer. This is a question which is bothering me for some time now, because I don't know how to answer it.

I know I may not be the only one on this earth who wouldn't be having a perfect answer to this question. We are happy for many many reasons in life. But in the eyes of all whom I know from my heart, I have found that there is always something missing.

Some people seem to be happy at all time in the life without much thinking about it. There are others who make so called being happy in life plans like “I’m going to have a beautiful wife, two children, and a big home where we four will live happily for years”. And the day they achieve it they feel they are the happiest. While this keeps them occupied, they are like bulls looking for the bullfighter: they don’t think, they just keep moving forward. They manage to get their what they desired, so they never ask the question. Yet, despite all that, their eyes betray a sadness that they themselves are quite unaware of.

May be I am sounding like everyone around is unhappy. So when you ask people around “What makes you happy?” They answer: “I have everything that a person can dream of – a family, a home, work, good health”. And then you again ask them: “Have you ever stopped to wonder if that is all there is to life?”. They answer: “Yes, that’s all there is”. So we can conclude that meaning of life is work, the family, children who grow up and leave you, a wife or husband who with time will become more like a friend than a true love-mate. And one day the work will come to an end. What will you do when that happens?”. And then we get an answer that there is no answer to it and they try to change the subject.

But there is a answer to it. Happiness is different for different individuals. Its different for the businessman who has still to close the deal he has always dreamed of, the housewife who would like to have more independence or more money, the new graduate who wonders whether he has chosen his career or has had it chosen for him, the software programmer who wanted to be a singer, the singer who wanted to be a writer, the writer who wanted to be a painter, and the painter who wanted to be a MBA graduate.

When I see the people I know, I see everybody are laughing, everybody very happy when they are together. Sometimes we know it is like that everyone is laughing or enjoying themselves at the moment that photo is taken, but at times when they are not together, the story is quite different.

When I was a kid a toffee that I got from my Dad on my results gave me so much of happiness, the girl in my school whom I liked smiled at me for the first time gave me happiness, as a college student a feeling of independence gave me happiness, as a graduate a well deserving job gave me the feeling of happiness. I guess happiness should be something which shouldn't change with time. It's a feeling which should be permanent irrespective of time.

As a child when I used to do anything good my mom used to say today you made God happy. That used to be the moment when I used to feel very happy for atleast that day. Even today I feel I have the same feeling when any of my good deeds makes me feel that I have made GOD happy that day even today I feel happy. Its a feeling which has remain permanent with time. I guess when we are sad we make God sad and when we are happy we make him happy.

The feeling of his existence makes us believe that no matter how difficult the way ahead is we will overcome it with all the happiness in life...

Give Me another chance I wanna Grow Up Once Again!!!

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna Grow up once again.

As a child I always wanted to grow up as fast as possible and do all possible things which I could think of once I am a grown up. Today when I am grown up I feel how stupid was I(its another thing that I am still stupid) to feel like that. If I would had understood how complex things gets in life with age I would have never thought like that. Today I feel what if I can rewind my whole life, travel back in time, and do it all over once again. To see what would have happened if I had taken the other road. To see that what could have happened if I had said the right thing at the right time. To curiously find out what would have happened if I had said a NO instead of a YES. What if life had ‘Undo’ options and ‘Backspace’ keys, may be I would had logged in again for second chances.

Kandho ko kitabon ke bojh ne jhukaya
Rishwat dene to khud papa ne sikhaya
99% marks laaoge to gadi varna chhadi
Likh likh kar pada hatheli par alpha beta gamma ka chaala
Concentrated H2SO4 ne poora poora bachpan jalaa daala

As a child I was a nerdy kid who went to school with neatly oiled and combed hair (all thanks to my mom), who was always ranked very high in the books of my teachers (i feel so). As a child I always wanted to become an engineer. I don't understand did I even knew at that age what an engineer actually does and what different engineering fields exists. To be true for me an engineer was one who drives train's engine. I know it sounds too funny now. But what you learn as a child is engineers and doctors are the last thing that you can do in this world to survive and I too had that feeling(thanks to my parents and teachers) till some years of my school. For that studying hard was always necessary and I always use to study hard but with time and more matured age learnt to study smart then to study hard. What If I wouldnt had studied that hard. May be I would had got say maximum 10% marks less. What difference would it had made to get 70% instead of 80% in school days. May be my name wouldn't had beeen announced every annual day to get the prize for the best lot of students in that standard. But then may be my name would had been announced at other events like singing competitions, drawing competition, craft competition, etc etc.. which I liked to do but never did as studies were the priorities for me and my parents. 99% marks laaoge to gadi varna chhadi this line really goes very very well for my school days.

Getting into college was different feeling after a disciplined school life. There were no rules and regulations to be followed. The heart beated 1st time for someone but never had it that it would go on and express it to the heart for which it beated. What If I would had expressed my self with all the feelings in the heart may be the one whom the heart loved the most would had been along with the heart it loved (sounds too complicated I know).

Childhood went into studies and only studies and Teenage into finding what I actually want to do with my life. Today may be I have the answer to what I want from the life but whether I get it that the future will tell. But for the past may be if I get an another chance I will like to grow up again not because I regret the decisions I made in past as a kid, child or a teen but to see what the results would had been if I had taken the other path.

Moments of 2009..!

There are few hours left for 2009 to end and 2010 to start and sitting ideal on my pc i thought to pen down the moments in 2009. 2009 had many flavours for me and there were good, better and best moments as well as there were bad, worse and worst moments.

The year started off with a bang and 'WE' - (tats the name of my MBA friends group) celebrated a so called 'WE DAY' on 2nd Jan, 09 by meeting up and exchanging secret gifts with each other. This was one day which I guess I may not forget for a long long time. WE hardly had college this year as WE were in our final semesters but whenever WE met we used to go around together to some or the other place.

Education wise this was the year when I completed my MBA. I miss my MBA days the most but then now I feel work also has its own importance and enjoyment. After completing our MBA studies 'WE' went for a 4 day trip to Kudal and Goa. This trip was really very enjoyable one but deep down my heart there was a feeling that this might be the last time I am going out with all my MBA friends for a trip.

Once WE returned WE all started to find jobs as the recession had hit our batch so badly that there was not a single company that had turned up to our college this year for campus recruitments. But once WE returned from Goa I guess things were not the same as it used to be when WE were studying during MBA. May be the priorities in life had changed for all of us and now there were many new things in life for everyone then just friends. During college days WE decided WE will meet once a week which we never met, but WE used to meet at each others birthdays which after some time WE decided should be stopped and WE should meet once a month so that WE can spend quality time with each other but then its almost 3 months now that I haven't met all the WE's together at one place. Being in college I always thought that once the college completes things really change and also the people with whom you are so close during college days do. But never expected things to change so fast. Nevertheless I miss all my friends and still want to go for atleast a one day picnic with everyone and recollect all those moments. Hope this will happen very soon in 2010.

Professionally it was the year when I could say yes I finally started earning and have become responsible in life. I got a big big project from Taj Group of Hotels where I was the Project Head for a 3d animation project for Safety Evacuation Film for Taj Residency and Vivanta By Taj at Taj Bangalore properties. This was the best achievement for me professionally and I got to learn many things during this project. And yes I never did MBA to just do projects but to get some good job and join the rat race i mean to join a company and start working. And I did got a job and luckily I got not just 1 but 2 jobs. No, I wasnt working at both the places at same time but I had to quit my 1st job within just 3 months time as I wasn't happy with the things turning up for me over there. But right now I am enjoying my current job and feel I am learning many new things about the Internet industry every new day.

The 2nd job I got was the best thing that could happen to me at work as in the same company I had 2 of my best friends working along with me. I had kind of lost contacts with both of them after joining MBA but now I would like to thank my current company to bring us back together. We have lot of fun at work which makes work more enjoyable and less stressfull. We three just returned from a 3 days trip from Pune, Talegaon and Lonavala and had a great time together.

Many things did shaped up this year in my personal life as well. I guess I'll avoid to disclose those moments but only say that those were bad, worse and worst moments rather than being good, better or best. The best thing to happen in my personal life was that my sister got married to the love of her life this year and I feel very happy for her.

So to sum up 2009 was the year full of events which had its ups and downs and showed me many faces of life. I enjoyed this year as well as there were few moments which were depressing as well. In few hours time I am going for a party with few friends to celebrate the success we had this year and to welcome 2010. I will end up this post by saying that 2009 had many different flavours but somewhere I have a feeling that there is more coming up in 2010.

HEART is WISER than INTELLECT..!

"The heart is wiser than the intellect". As I read on this quote I thought is it really so. What do we really follow when we have to make any major decision in life. HEART or MIND...?

When I was growing up I always liked singing but then I never even thought of making career in singing and instead choose a career in IT by taking up Information Technology and later did MBA Marketing in order to make money and make status.

As a kid you are always told by your parents that the society respects the one who has a well paid job and so you are always forced to take that practical approach and choose a career where you see yourself having a good job and earning good money. But now I am not a kid. I am mature enough to understand what my heart really wants. Is a good 9 - 6 job and money everything in life or is living doing what I want to do is everything.

After my MBA, I wanted to be an entrepreneur by starting my own company but today I am working for someone, as the more practical approach in life says that its too early for me to even think of starting a business as there is lots of risk involved in starting own business. So I should gain knowledge and experience right now and make good enough money to start my own later. But the Idea which I have today may be someone else would use it in coming years and may succeed with that business idea and then I would regret that why I didn't followed my heart and feel It was worth taking the risk few years back.

When I think about marrying someone, would I run away with the convict whom I love or would I marry the sweet girl whom my parents feel is good for me. Practical approach would be not to run away as the society won't accept you later as if I have done some sin by eloping with the one whom I always loved but to marry the one my parents selected even if deep down in my heart I know that I dont love her.

So how do we know what to follow? Stay with our intellect as most people do and take the practical approach or follow our heart and take the so called emotional approach? Deep down in our heart we always know which approach we want to take between the intellect or the heart. It is our life, we know ourself, and therefore we know what approach to take. No matter how much we may think that we are confused, if we take a long hard look at the equation, we always know it. But its not always that we take the decision which we feel is the decision we want to take as between heart and mind most of the time we tend to follow our mind than the heart and what the mind says gets heavy on the heart most of the time.

But then there is no turning back the hands of time and we cannot go back and change a single thing. All we can do is regret our decision and wonder what it would have been like if we had taken the alternate path. And that is painful!

Now I yet have to come to the end of my life to see how my decisions will turn out, but so far I think both intellect and heart have provided me with decent choices. But then I feel one should often follow his heart as I do believe that the HEART is WISER then INTELLECT but even then what you feel is not what you always do as in most cases I am still not following my Heart...!

I Love You..!

No I am not proposing anyone.. Looking at the title of this post you may feel I am writing this because I cant say it to someone in personal so I am using Internet as the medium to express myself. Nah but thats not the case..

I Love You.. the three golden words which every one in this life expresses to someone or atleast feels like he or she will express it to someone one fine day. There won't be a single person on this earth who has not said I love you to someone or doesn't even has a wish to say it to someone special. Recently I also thought of expressing these three golden words to someone. Now dont ask whether I expressed or I didn't.. Thats not the question that I want to answer and not the reason why I am writing this post. After this thought came to my mind I thought I will write something about expressig these three golden words and so here I am writing on it.

Why is it so important to express these three golden words. Is it like if you dont express the feelings that you have for that special person are not true or is it you have to prove to that person that yes you really love her by saying it and letting her know. Dont you feel that such things are to be made felt not by saying. Your eyes speak and what you want to say through your mouth can also be conveyed through your eyes. But then Why is saying I love You so important.

Sometimes both the partners know that they love each other but then they always keep on expecting that who would be the first one to say those three golden words. The girls I dont know for some weird reason say that even if they like someone they wont be the one to take an approach to say those golden words as they always expect their guy would say it to them someday. But then why wait for that someday to come. Sometimes waiting for that someday can be too late and the feelings that you have for someone would always remain in your heart.

Expressing it by only saying it is not important. Its making the person feel that what you are saying is what you are feeling. Ya it sounds little complicated but then thats how it is. When you feel something for someone its not necessary everytime its only love. It can be infatuation also. But then how you know its love or infatuation. Whats that make us feel no its not just infatuation but its love. You may like many but you will always love one and that one has to be the one to whom you express those three golden words with all the feelings in your heart making that person feel what you are feeling.

Sometimes you always know that the answer after expressing those three golden words is going to be NO but still you feel that you have to express so that in future you dont regret that you didnt even had in you to express to that person. But then if you know the answer why is it still so important to express. Is it you do it for sake of doing it or is it you really do it because you feel like doing it.

I guess making someone feel what you are saying is really very important and someone told me that 'It takes just a moment to change someones mind'. So the way you say I LOVE YOU should be in such a way that it touches that persons heart in such a way that she does changes her mind.

Better to Quit than to get Kicked..!

Few months back I left my 1st job. It was hardly just 3 months and I decided to quit that job. I still remember the day when I had got this job and the amount of happiness that was there on my face. After all it was my first job after completing my MBA and more importantly it was into the field I always wanted to get into after my MBA. Advertising always excited me and I always wanted to get into advertising morever into online advertising but then getting a job into even mainstream advertising when all the students were facing the effects of recession was a kind of gift for me.

But then few months down the lane I quit that job. I know some may feel how could I judge a company on just 3 months time and feel I should have continued a little more. But then the situation wasn't the same as it was at the time of joining the company. The person who interviewed me showed me dreams to join the company but once I joined the profile wasn't the same as it was discussed in the interview. I told my self that its ok I'll adjust myself in this profile as even then there were no jobs there in the market due to recession. Client Servicing is what excitied me to take up this job but for 3 months I was doing only telesales job. The motivation level in the company among me and my colleagues was 0.

But then even this wasn't the reason for me to leave the job. I had adjusted myself and told myself I will continue till the time I can. But then one fine day the HR fired 2 of my colleagues who had joined along with me telling them that they cant come to the office from tommorow as the company has decided to terminate them. It wasn't fair as the company expected a weeks notice if someone wanted to leave the company and then how can they just ask someone not to come from tommorow. As it is there was enough pressure earlier and this incident just builded up the pressure. The same day I decided that its time now I should say good bye to this company as I never wanted the company to tell me that I cant work in the company from tommorow rather I would walk out of the company with my own dignity.

By Gods grace I did got another job very soon and morever this time I got into Online Advertising which I always wanted to get into. It was a hard task for me to convince the MD of my current company the reason behind why I was leaving my earlier job in just 3 months time but then I did succeeded in convincing him. I have no regrets today. But as it is said that you never forget the first things that happen to you I would also never forget my first job even though it lasted just 3 months. Some may feel I took a very early decision and should had given myself a little more time, some may feel I wasn't able to take the presssure and so I quitted, some may feel that I left just because my other friends also decided to quit. Whatever others may feel I still dont regret my decision and feel that It was better to QUIT then to get KICKED...!

Why I did MBA...!

Pratik Khot.. MBA in Marketing.. sounds good. I never thought when I was a kid that anytime in my future I would go on and complete my education in MBA. It feels good now as I have completed it.. But after completing my MBA studies when I was sitting ideal without any job a thought came to my mind that Why I did MBA...? And when I actually thought over it I didn't had a proper answer to this question.

Because I never aspired to be a management professional or pursue management degree when I was a kid not even when I was about to complete my graduation. Then why MBA... were there no other courses that time.. there were many other courses.. I had the option of doing MCA or MSc IT.. Was it because my friends did it.. no that cannot be the reason because at that time I was the one among my friends who initiated and told everyone tha they should also go for MBA. Was it because I didnt got a quick job after my graduation in IT as I never sat for any of the campus interviews.. But then later I did got a job which I left in 2 days time giving the reason I wanted to prepare for MBA entrance exams.. Was the reason that my parents always wanted me to do MBA but that wasn't the case as my parents were happy for me being an IT graduate and they wanted me to start earning and be more responsible in life. Was it like my dad had too much money and so I thought I would spend that in a better cause by atleast getting one more degree but then if that would had been the case I wouldn't had have to take loan to pay my MBA fees. Was it like I was going towards where thousands of other students were going after completing their graduation. But I wasnt the one who made decisons looking at what the crowds do.

So many possible reasons but then why did I choose to be a MBA proffesional. I still cant figure out what the actual reason was. May be all of these reasons were partially the actual reason for me opting to become MBA(hope you got what I meant by that line) or may be not.. Whatever the reason was but today I am a MBA.. Today I dont regret my decision.. I am happy with what I have in my hands.. I have a decent job with a decent salary.. Getting into MBA is difficult(the entrance exams would make you mad as the competition there is really tough) but once you get into MBA college then getting the degree is simpler. I hope a day will come when I will figure out the exact reason why I did MBA and I will rewrite this post once again with the same heading - WHY I did MBA...!

by Pratik Khot - MBA Marketing(sounds good)..!