January 1, 2021
Hi friend,
Wishing you & your loved ones a Happy New Year.
2020 is probably a year not many of us want to reflect on.
I still think at a macro level, we can all find nuggets of insights that we can reflect on and become a better version of ourselves in 2021.
Here is what I learned in 2020.
You gotta do, what you gotta do
In 2020, I had too much fun dancing with Seth while playing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” by Laurie London.
I took this message of this song to heart.
COVID has made it difficult, if not impossible, to travel internationally.
But does that mean we need to stop meeting our family?
Given how fragile and unpredictable life is, it is important for me to do things that will make me happy.
And as the song goes, I’ve got the world in MY hands (not in the hands of our politicians).
I knew that celebrating Seth’s 1st birthday with his grandparents would be precious to them and us.
Since our parents live in Mumbai, we decided to travel to India in August 2020. The trip was uneventful and we had a wonderful time in spite of the 14-day home quarantine 🙂
It’s always my fault
When things don’t go as planned, I get frustrated.
I blame others for not doing things they promised to do.
In 2020, I repeatedly found myself saying, “It’s always my fault.”
This sort of mindset shift helped me stay calm when life got tough. It helped me learn from the situation and ask myself, “What can I do differently next time?”
Try this and you’ll be surprised at how you feel when you find yourself in a rough spot.
The purpose of life is to give it away
Knowingly or unknowingly, we’re continually giving our time and energy away. Maybe you’re spending your life at work, with your family, and/or a personal hobby.
I found that you just have to decide how you are going to give you life away.
What is most important to me?
Where can I have the most impact?
Am I spending my life on what I care about the most?
Honestly, I don’t have all the answers yet. It’s work in progress.
Money is just a tool
This was probably the first year when I started to look at money differently. I started to think of it as a tool to help me do the things I want to do in life.
We flew business class to India with our own money.
And I’m not telling you this to brag about myself. In fact, with some creative planning, anyone can fly business class for free, anywhere in the world (that discussion is for another day).
Spending my hard earned cash on business class seats was an incredibly difficult decision for me. On one hand I was thinking of the number of poor people who died of hunger during COVID.
Was I being insensitive by spending thousands of dollars on plane tickets when I can donate this money?
I then settled with the idea that I can do both. For me, I value being comfortable on a 24 hour flight (48 hours roundtrip) and helping those in need.
It is no longer about what my “net worth” or how much cash I have in the bank. Those things are useless if I cannot use my money to live my life and be of service to others.
Health is #1 priority and lifestyle choice
I’ve repeatedly heard people say, “Health is wealth.” This year, we’ve all realized the importance of our health and well being.
Jinal and I started a program called 75 Day Hard. Every day, for 75 days total, we’re supposed to follow a diet, drink no alcohol, no cheat meals, read 10 pages in a book daily, two 45-minute workouts daily, and drink a gallon of water daily.
We’re on Day 30 today and this is incredibly hard to say the least.
In 2021, I’m planning to:
- Improve my relationship with “time”
- Nurture relationships with people that matter
- Continue to grow my clinical trial podcast and blog
- Find ways to be more generous
- Support my family with their personal and professional goals
Like every year, I’m excited for this new year. It will present new challenges and opportunities for all of us.
I wish you the very best for 2021 and beyond.
Love,
Kunal