Chasing An Elusive Dream
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Mr. Sushant Singh Rajput (1986-2020) had the status of a youth icon! As a young Bollywood actor, he was admired and emulated by many. His sudden death by suicide on June 13, 2020 sent a shockwave and reignited the much debated topic of mental health and depression amongst youth.
I came across a video telecast of Mr. Sushant Singh Rajput where he was addressing a youth audience at IIT Mumbai in 2016. While talking about his life’s journey, Mr. Rajput averred that like many others, he too was in pursuit of fame and recognition since his early days. Hailing from a humble background, he surmised that attainment of these goals would bring him happiness! In his zeal to become a successful actor, he dropped out of engineering college and ambitiously followed the path he had carved out for himself. But once he became successful and fame and recognition came his way, he said he felt “cheated.” This was because the sense of happiness he was chasing continued to elude him. He tried to fill the void by focusing his attention to ‘living-in-the-moment’ and drawing excitement from his work. While he concluded the speech by saying that he has been living this excitement ever since, we now know that unfortunately, this approach did not work either.
In my interactions, I often come across youth who share the same predicament as they go on chasing the elusive ‘happiness-goalpost’ in their life. But what happens when reality strikes? Many sink into disillusionment when the real world turns out to be different from their dreams. The unceasing tribulations make them think that the world has come crashing down on them. But what they do not realize is that this is the case of every person. The hardships we face are not to crumble us but to strengthen our resolve and give us more power to take on life’s journey.
Madame Marie Curie (1867 – 1934), the Polish Nobel Laureate and the first women to win the Nobel Prize in Physics had said, “Life is not easy for any of us.” What Madame Curie said holds true for all of us. Every person faces challenges in life, one way or the other. The only thing that differentiates each individual is the resilience he demonstrates in bouncing back after the fall. Whether steep or moderate, each fall grows us as an individual. As human beings, we have been inherently bestowed with courage to deal with the tough times that present themselves in life; the only precondition is that we stay prepared to offer life another opportunity and be ready to click on the ‘reset’ button.
The famous American actor, Mr. James Carrey (b. 1962) said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
But some are unable to do so. Why? Because they think that a ‘reset’ shall take them backwards in comparison to their peers. This never-ending comparison that we have inflicted upon ourselves coupled with the endless chase for material fame, social status, recognition, creates an illusion of happiness, which is the root cause of the problem of depression in present times. The famous American actor, Mr. James Carrey (b. 1962) said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Why did Mr. Carrey say so? And what is the answer that he is pointing us towards? This answer is the realization of meaning and purpose in our life. For without purpose, any zenith of achievement cannot satiate the void within us. This realization is not served on platter, it is the outcome of an individual’s life struggles. One must consider life as an experience. People do a myriad of things to find purpose – some help others, some strive to enhance their intellectual bar, others volunteer to contribute to the society in various ways etcetera – and clearly there is no one-size-that-fits-all. And strive we must, because finding meaning in life is the quintessence.
Our brief lifespan is marred by numerous experiences – good and bad – each of which is meant to be an enabler. This enabler is life’s way of bringing you closer to identify our purpose, only if we continue without giving up and stay the course.
A realistic outlook in life is one that is based on hope. Despair is not in accordance with the law of nature because life offers unending opportunities to man. A mind that is open to possibilities must not close itself to hopelessness. Not only do we need to strive to build our mindset on these lines, but we also need to extend support to those around us, who may be navigating through vicissitudes of life. Be the friend who can be spoken with, who can offer a ray of hope and who knows you might end up bringing about a mountain of a difference to someone’s life! Life is precious and worth living, let’s do our bit in trying to preserve it!