366 2 40
For the better part of the last decade, I've been eagerly anticipating turning 40. Today, I turned 39, which means it's 366 days until I reach this long-anticipated milestone. You might wonder, why 40? Call it societal conditioning, mental models, assumed narratives, or lived experiences - something inside me tells me 40 will be a rite of passage for me.
Over the last few years, I've come to recognize that I am a spiritual seeker. My purpose in life is enlightenment. In light of my espoused purpose, I've spent the last few weeks reflecting on how I want to spend this next year leading to turning 40 and also thinking about a system through which I can stay on the path. Here’s where I’ve landed.
What I am going to do:
I’m going to use this post and this platform to write a letter to my future self. Writing letters to my future self is not an uncommon practice; however, the thought was triggered for me by two things - Sahil Bloom's post on a letter to a future self some time ago, and the system of accountability that's been working for me since I’ve been sharing my progress on my 75-hard challenge on Instagram.
Letter to myself:
Happy 40th future Naina :)
I hope you stayed the path and met your goal for this year.
Knowing what I know, it's highly likely you stayed the path. I can't wait to read about all that you learned in this past year. Also, I'm super keen to see the graph on the Vo2Max and HRV!
I believe in you <3
Why this and why now:
When I was younger, I believed that happiness would be achieved by getting externally validated or by reaching material or societal milestones. These included having the perfect body, graduating, securing a job, falling in love, getting married, traveling the world, living in a beautiful house, and being acknowledged for my work. While each of these milestones did bring temporary joy, I found that the happiness they offered was fleeting and superficial.
I recently came across Tony Robbins' framework on a Tim Ferriss podcast, focusing on three key elements: 1. State, 2. Story, 3. Strategy. Reflecting on this, I find it aligns well with the ladder of inference developed by Chris Argyris and popularized by Peter Senge, as both suggest our mental state shapes the stories we tell ourselves, affecting our life strategies.
The principles and values borrowed from the Yama and Niyama's of Ashtanga Yoga are designed to keep desires low and ego states in check.
My hypothesis is that if I am able to stay peaceful, mindful, and well-regulated, it is likely for me to accomplish my goal of remaining equanimous, compassionate, and generative.
Mantra I hope to reflect on all year long:
The path is my goal :)