Fortune Favors The Brave

- BY NEHA

Some of you may have read or heard about the book ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ (the book was also made into a Hollywood motion picture starring Julia Roberts). For those of you who haven’t read the book, it is a personal memoir of Elizabeth Gilbert, who embarked on a journey of self-discovery and travelled to Italy (eat), India (pray) and Indonesia (love). The book chronicles her experiences in each of the three countries and how this journey eventually leads her to finding true happiness and peace.

People at times reach at a crossroad in their lives and do not know where to go or which path to take. A seemingly ‘balanced’ and ‘normal’ life at times just falls apart giving way to misgivings, confusion, doubts and fear.

Not so long ago I had reached at such a crossroad in my life, where everything I ever wanted either just gravitated out of my life gradually or just suddenly disappeared one fine day. I did not know what my next course of action should be. Should I do this or should I do that? Can I do this? Fear of failure and likely disappointment held me hostage for months and kept me locked in place. However, one day I decided that enough is enough and it is time to get rid of the shackles of fear. I knew the time had come to make some radical changes in my life, be bold and take some risks.

No one has ever made it big in life without taking risks. We have all heard the famous proverb, “Fortune favors the brave”. It was therefore time for me to act with courage and determination. I decided to uproot my entire life, including my career, and relocate to a country far away from my place of birth. A country that is fundamentally different from my nation, be it the landscape, the weather, the people, the general environment. While initially I was highly skeptical about my decision, as months rolled by, I grew more and more resolute and confident.

I was finally prepared to step out of my comfort zone, leave home and start my life afresh in a foreign land. And when I became determined to make this work, the Universe (fortune) just started making everything easier and happier for me.

While I am still finding my bearings in this new place and there is a lot that I still need to figure out, I am positively excited about the myriad possibilities and opportunities to grow, learn and diversify (I have prepared a bucket list and I intend to accomplish every item on it!). I will keep blogging about my experiences in this new country that I have moved to, but in the meantime I just want to say this to all our readers, if you’ve been itching to do something different and think your life needs an overhaul, take the leap of faith. You may be pleasantly surprised at the result.

Here’s wishing you all (and myself) best of luck!

P.S. – Whenever you feel even a wee bit dejected with life, I recommend you check out the inspirational articles and videos on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). While I first starting reading the posts on OWN in order to give my spirits a quick lift, I now visit OWN simply because I love it.