My father has given me some valuable pearls of wisdom over the years in a most subtle and underplayed manner; one of those which is related to this write up is regarding the POWER OF THE MIND or human brain as one may perceive it.It was in school during exam time when i was not confident to produce what i had learnt over and over again that he told me, “The power of the human mind is limitless. So if you believe that what you have learnt has been absorbed by your mind then nothing can stop you from reproducing it.”
I followed it and was pleasantly surprised to see the favourable results with ease. The most complex problems of life often have the simplest solutions!!
I was reminded of this advice over last evening and this morning when I applied my mind to an endurance test as I chose to cycle my way home from my office in Bandra to my home in Borivali- a distance of 32 kms and again same way back this morning from home to work!
I was long planning to undertake this adventure as I found a lack of physical activity in my daily routine. I am not a gymming person and have thus tried to find avenues like taking up some sport like may be tennis, squash, swimming or cycling to keep of the flab and stay fit. On extensive research cycling seemed most conveniently available as all other options either needed me to solicit a partner or required me to make a lot of adjustments to my schedule in order to accommodate them.
Thus I rented a cycle from a store nearby and began cycling the distance of 32 kms amidst dense traffic, fading light and pollution at 18:30 hours last evening. It was not the smartest thing to do but that’s the beauty of passion and dreams- they require you to be crazy!
I knew it was a monumental task as I had not taxed my body at all over the last year or so. The last rigorous activity for me was the shoot of a film which was a year back. Since then gymming was irregular as always and partying was relatively regular- as always! Oops!
But there had to be a beginning of the change and this was the chosen time and date! So it seemed!
20 minutes into the ride(crossing Milan Subway, Santacruz) and the fight between my physical and mental stamina had begun! I was trying to focus on the breathing and telling myself to go on. The hamstring was screaming with pain and the palms were already burning red! The short cut department of the mind started hinting one solution after another- Leave the bike at a friends’ place nearby and take a auto screamed one option, put the bike in cab and zoom home- you have exercised enough for your first day said another while take a break and relax said another! However amidst this chaos was a feeble whisper that said- Go On- Don’t stop for as long as you can, break your journey into smaller landmarks and keep crossing them patiently and consistently, the joy that you will experience after completing your task will be worth the effort!
It was in this feeble whisper that I remembered my dad’s advice given to me very subtle-ly a good 14 years back! THE POWER OF THE MIND IS LIMITLESS, it said. If my mind can believe that I can do it, so will my body. I kept talking to myself... sometimes even loudly. I kept believing very genuinely that I could cycle 32 kms of uneven roads with frantic traffic and chaos. My landmarks at times were just the closest street light or sometimes a tiny speck of advertising board that I could see in the distance. My back and bum were aching; the complicated gear apparatus on the cycle did not help. I had forgotten every bit of the gear tutorial given to me by the bike owner when I had taken out the bike....I only knew one thing...I had to go on and I did!
Finally 2 hours and 20 minutes later I had completed the first half of my dream! I was home! I was proud and happy! My mind’s power had won over my physical strength. Tomorrow morning I had to cycle back the same distance, this time the traffic would be less but there was the sun that I had to fight against and I also had to be up to face an entire day at work thereafter.Conscious of the above and determined to make this a complete victory for my mind I took all the precautions needed to be able to cycle back the next morning- leg massager, hot water with salt dip, etc. This morning besides my dependence on my mental strength I had with me the knowledge of having done it once, last night. My mind had proved itself to me and was determined to not make it a one off!
It was not a one off. I am writing this from my work desk...having covered the distance in 2 hours this time between 9:00am to 11:00am... having showered and hydrated myself well with water and an energy drink, I am writing this proudly so that I can share this experience so that all of us can make use of this abundant power of our mind that lies within us...often dormant only to be used once in a while to its true potential.
May all of you my friends...challenge your mind and stretch it to its limitless edge to achieve your dreams...however small or big they may be...
