Keep going, even when the going is tough (Chennai, May 28-2020)
“The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.” – Rocky Balboa (fictional character)
I have always been a sucker for the underdog in movies and in sports. There is always a special kind of elation when the underdog tenaciously holds on, and manages to claw back into life, or success, or something on those lines. It hits a raw human chord somewhere within. That story can be watched again and again. Be it Rocky getting pummeled or Tom Cruise baiting Jack Nicholson into admitting that he issued the code red.
Recently, I read a couple of books (non-fiction) – Grit, and Mindset. Both were stating common sense wisdom. Both gravitate towards what Rocky the fictional character immortalized in the movies. You need to keep battling, you get better a tiny bit, one day at a time, one hour at a time, one moment at a time. Setbacks happen and what do you do? You step back and look at the bigger picture that is driving you to do what you do. Absorb it, and move on forward. Keep moving. Keep pushing. For those who are the living, our days are numbered.
There seem to be two key things. One is to keep moving. Two is to know why you want to move.