The continuously falling rains. The water clogged roads. The held-up traffic and the long lines of honking vehicles.
I reach home and sit in the bedroom. I have a splitting headache. My eyes are burning. I have been sneezing violently. Looks like all my internal organs plan to come out through my nose, today itself.
An itching sensation on my legs – mosquitoes attack me as if I am the last human left on earth.
The beeping cellphone. Someone trying to sell me either a housing loan or land near Hyderabad airport, I have no idea why.
My thoughts turn inward. A long list of pending tasks. Many unachieved dreams. Societal responsibilities. Expectations of people from me. My expectations from them.
I sigh.
They are right. I just can’t do it all. I have lost. I am no Superman or Shaktimaan.
At that instant, there is a power failure.
I am wrapped in complete darkness. It seems to me as if time has come to a standstill. The fast-moving crowded train has dropped me on an empty platform and disappeared. I sit slightly dazed. I look around. Even the mosquitoes appear dazed. I hear the rain falling outside.
The sudden interruption creates a gap in my non-stop thoughts. And I remember my peahen friend from 1,200 kms away. How is it that I never apply a lesson I learn, until I am in the thick of a problem?
I can’t do it all. True. But at this moment, I can do 1 thing. After that, I can pick up the next.
1 thing at a time.
The power suddenly comes back. Life back to normal.
And in between a few sneezes, I mentally put the OFF switch on all distractions and begin my first task with a smile.
NOTE: This post is semi-fictional. And I have never imagined myself to be Shaktimaan. 🙂
FURTHER READING
- The magic of doing one thing at a time on HBR
- One thing at a time on Huffington Post
I found a quote that went well with this and put it on Pinterest with a link back to this post. My one thing to show I share and care. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/147141112799340729/
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Thanks Katherine, appreciate it. Let me see if I can put some pics on each post going forth.
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A great lesson for everyone through a simple piece of article, well done. Thanks for the information about GiveIndia.
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Thanks Samir, do get in touch with GiveIndia.
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