A Candid Confession

This post is meant for those of my kind. To the ones who are not perpetually dissatisfied with the ways their lives and
careers are shaping up. To the rebels who don’t give a damn about what others might think about their attitude. To the
chilled out cool dudes and dudettes(yes there are chilled out girls too, I think/hope).
To all of us, defiant ones, who ask: Is it a crime to not be very ambitious?

I asked this very question to a very dear friend of mine. One who’s a zillion times more driven than I can ever be. I was
then in the mood for a heated debate. One which I would win by brute force. It was also a minor rant. Something that could be better framed as,”Why the fuck does the world look down upon those with modest aims in life?” The reply: No, it isn’t a crime. This answer made me lose my footing. I promptly changed the topic. In one of my very recent ‘introspection sessions’, I thought about the answer. And about what I would have said if someone ‘behind enemy lines’ had asked me something like,”Why the fuck do you think its a crime to be as ambitious as we are?” Certainly, my answer wouldn’t have been as short as the reply I had gotten. It would have felt good and satisfying to belt out a discourse on the importance of the ‘larger’ things in life and moving beyond mere career-enhancement. To add to it, I would have bragged to the other ‘cool doods’ about showing the enemy its place.

Now that many of you smarter peeps have begun seeing signs of me turning into a deserter, this is where you may stop reading. I, however, urge you to muster some courage and read on. For once, let’s quit being cowards and face the ugly truth. Let’s stop fooling ourselves into believing in the fake bravado we so often portray. Most of the times, our state of mind is nothing beyond a defense mechanism against not just the world looking down upon us but also us loathing ourselves and the difficult situations we put ourselves into, owing to our laidback lifestyles. Its far more easier to say,”Main karta nahin kyunki main karna hi nahin chahta” than to actually move our lazy bums and do it (BTW, this might also be true about our lack of success with the ladies ). Also, if we move away from our blinkered thinking for a while and be just a little objective, it is not difficult to see that there’s nothing wrong with someone who works his/her ass off to do well. Absolutely nothing. It is they who are taking the pains. Not an ounce is inflicted on us. The root cause of us wanting to rip their heads off with hatred is by all means insecurity. Just because we aren’t willing to go the extra mile to stay ahead of the competition, we hate everyone who does. Deep within we are probably envious to an extent too. We still aren’t sure where our way of life will take us. It stings to see someone secure his/her future way before we even begin thinking about what we want to do with our lives. That is plain unfair. As someone pointed out to me, the guy you so hate might be wanting to be just like you. Its just the circumstances that have forced him into being someone he doesn’t prefer to be. Someone who NEEDS to be much more responsible than you.

I still maintain that there’s nothing wrong with us being the way we are. Precisely because that is the way we are wired (I
honestly don’t think being lazy is a vice). The least we can do is accept the ‘other’ kind. Let them be. It’s a free country!
And let’s be bloody thankful that we still have a choice to be the way we want to be.

Here’s to all the ‘maggu’ junta who might happen to read this… I NO LONGER DESPISE YOU AND AM SORRY IF I’VE EVER BEEN MEAN TO YOU. Cheers!