Bombay winter is ‘my’ type of weather. I have never been a fan of extreme numbers on the scale, but rather feel most at home between 15-30 degrees, with a little rain thrown in occasionally to accompany my malt-laden nights. I was thus naturally excited to land that evening in the city that I used to call ‘Home’ for half a decade.
But the real reason for my 100-watt smile was perhaps that call from my childhood buddy – Shaan. We go back a real long way – almost as if we are brothers from different mothers. Our girlfriends used to joke that we were probably separated at birth to spread joy evenly in this world! Apart from the physical similarities, we resonate mentally and connect with each other at a deeply spiritual level too. Being a sapiosexual personality myself, the mere thought of spending an evening with each other puts a greater spring in my step.
It’s a well known fact that movies imitates life, and the real world reciprocates equally brutally. Life isn’t fair to everyone and Shaan was on the wrong side of it unfortunately. He had faced serious personal setbacks that wised him up before it was due. It should be noted that life did compensate him by offering the much yearned salt-and-pepper look of maturity along with its step-sibling of weight gain. At least that’s what I remember, when I last met him a couple of years back.
The man whom I met ultimately was a different animal altogether.
A perfectly toned body with almost no signs of excess fat, a well groomed beard and a smile that could make even straight men consider swinging for a moment. Women of course would be going weak in the knees, so I didn’t expect them to react nimbly in any case.
As has historically been the case with us, pleasantries don’t occupy any space on our calendars. We prefer diving into the discussion directly. When Shaan mentioned the secret of this remarkable transformation to be his ‘anger’, I was positive that he was referring to some latest illegal substance on the market. As it turned out, this wasn’t your typical anger – the type that requires you to visit a therapist or seek anger management classes. Instead this was his version (he always has ‘his’ way of classifying things!) of “Healthy Anger” that he accidentally discovered but deliberately channelized.
“Bro, just like everything in life is binary, you need to understand that anger also has the proverbial two sides. The key is to identify the tipping point of your emotions and capitalize on that. Anger is a very powerful emotion that can be used to your advantage – if and only if – you can put a finger on the equilibrium point.
Of course, I discovered this quite by chance at the time I was going through my marital issues. To spend more time away from her or simply to kill my loneliness, I started spending longer hours at the gym. In order to distract my mind from the overpowering thoughts and negativity, I started focusing more on the technique of working out. I used to work out like a possessed soul, and in those sessions, the singular focus used to be MY body. I have never felt so deeply involved in resistance training ever since. Maybe the pain that I suffering within was so intense that the muscular pain caused by weight lifting felt nothing in comparison. As a result, I was able to build my strength rapidly and lift heavier weights in a short period of time.
I then extended this concept to my running and saw a similar outcome. You know me – I haven’t ran to save my life! But from a complete couch potato just three months back, I am now able to run a 5k in under 30 minutes without stopping. Both these experiences sparked a thought in me to harness the power of my anger creatively and I started writing and reading with greater gusto.
The books were kind enough to welcome me into their world lovingly and it helped me build my vocabulary as a side benefit. At the same time, my writing improved considerably as I started venting my innermost feelings without any fear of retribution. There again, I realized how easily I was devouring books by the dozen while belting out stories by the reams in a short time”.
I was listening to his autobiography with a level of astonishment that could rival a child watching National Geographic. It made me realize how simple things in life, often portrayed as the villain, can be flipped and used to your advantage if you possess the right mindset. Here was this man – my synchronistic partner – who had self transformed in a relatively short timeframe purely by autodidacticism and believing in his ability of positive thinking. His idea of optimism isn’t just inspiring but motivating to the extent of making me change my viewpoint towards the entire spectrum of human emotions.
Most other people that I have met in my life depend on the crutches of television, movies, alcohol or plain laziness to tide over boredom, depression or setbacks. They are definitely a majority and crowd the room containing 98% of the world, going through the motions of life and doing what most others have always done.
I however prefer to remain in the reclusive and unique minority of 2% – along with Shaan – that dares to do something different. Our breed likes exploring new things, choosing happiness and living without limits. The way I see it, there is less chaos at that level, and it helps me to discover and exploit my secret superpowers in peace.