Category: #sgEchoChamber

The tiny shift and a giant revolution

Human history is dotted with numerous incidents that felt like tiny, insignificant nudges at the time but fast forward a few years and these tiny nudges were found to be the tipping points of revolutions that shifted the way us humans move around. 

One such tiny nudge happened a couple of days ago when I got myself a sub-15K, Android Phone.

Now, this sounds like a tiny thing. Even trivial. After all, more than 89% of the country has these sub-15K phones and they seem to be getting by fine. I am definitely not special and thus this big deal that I am making out of a cheap phone is not called for. 

But maybe it is! 

Lemme try and explain. 

Few facts first.

A. I am a heavy user of mobile devices. So much so that I spend about 12 hours a day on a phone. At least since 2013, the device and OS of choice has been Apple (and iOS), barring a few days when I did not have one available. 

B. I am the greatest creature of habit I know. That means that I am used to working in a certain manner and with shortcuts that are now so ingrained in my muscle memory that to change those would be like attempting to climb Mt. Everest. Well… 

C. I have prioritized things that make my life simpler over things that make my life fancier. This means I don’t have a lot of clothes but whatever I have are from brands that I know offer comfort, durability, and yet are affordable to me. 

This affordable bit is important to explain. I can’t afford a Jimmy Choo. But I can afford a Crocs, a Cotton World. A Fabindia. I know these may be premium and expensive for a lot of people. But to me, these are affordable. Just like Jimmy could be affordable to a lot of people. 

And these are affordable because I do not spend on other things that add fanciness to life and most others find important. Things like multiple pairs of shoes, hundreds of dresses for various occasions, those knick-knacks that we try and gather around when we travel. So on and so forth.

So, to me, an Apple device is like that. May be it sells at a premium for a lot of people. I make it affordable for me. And I save for it. I know that it would help me work better, and would last longer. And will not cause frustration by going slow on me! 

D. I am irrational. I like to overpay for things. And especially for those that I know are made with thoughtfulness and offer quality and have been made with love. Just like Apple devices. Or Crocs. Or Nike. Even Kurutoga. Air Vistara. Starbucks. 

So now, here’s the explanation about the new Android device that I got. 

IMHO, in buying this device, I have had to compromise on the ethos that I stand for. Yeah, I am one of those weirdos that like to consume brands that are in sync with personal ethos. I don’t know a lot but I do try to be conscious about brands that I consume. I try to read about them. I try and understand where they stand on things like innovation, originality, design etc. I like to see what goes behind building and delivering what they do. You know, if they have a soul and not just a facade. 

Apple fits into my ethos. But a hardware manufacturer that makes cheap phones, hoping to imitate the brilliance of Apple, is not. Android is ok, except that I am not sure how to make it work for me – way too complicated and too much. If I were 18, I would probably love Android. But at my age, I prefer simplicity and speed and all that. 

And why did I get this device if its a problem? 

I have a one-word answer. Majboori. What majboori? Well, ask my echoChamber.

What’s next?

Of course get back to a iOS as soon as I can! 

Inshallah, soon. 

When is enough, enough?

Today, I have a serious question that I need an answer to. And like all times when I don’t know where to go for counsel, I turn to my blog.  

The question is, when do you think you know you’ve tried enough? How long can you continue to try to make things work when you know that the other side is not reciprocating at all? When do you give up if you know that all the effort you are making will eventually go down the drain?

I don’t know how to explain the predicament that I am in without going into specifics. But I need answers and I am out of clues and I don’t know who else to ask. And thus this post. Hoping that while I talk in this echochamber, I will get an answer.

Side note. Since I discovered the joys of Roam, I have started to post more and more of these echochamber posts there. But this one, for some reason, I thought I should post here. In the pseudo-anonymous wilderness of the Internet. So, here we go. 

So I am in this situation with a project that is super dear to me. It seems to be slipping away. In the sense that I would lose the project and with it all the effort that I have put in the last 3-4 years. And all the hopes of a peachy future over the next 30-40 years.

And since this project is super dear to me (for multiple reasons – emotional, financial, egotistical, and more), I want to give it all and prevent it from failing. 

Now, of course, there are things that are beyond my control when you work in this VUCA world, and to prevent failure I probably need to do a lot more than what I am already doing. 

Which to be honest I am. 

I am doing more than I have ever done for any project. In terms of tann, mann, and dhan! I am not being myself and doing things that are uncharacteristic of me. For example, I am being polite, considerate, value-adding, tolerant, understanding, and all that. I am that desperate to make this happen! 

However despite my earnest, sincere and desperate attempts, nothing seems to be helping me get the project back on track. To a point that am this close to writing it off as a bad investment and moving on. But then, dil to bachcha hai ji and log kya kahenge and all that. 

This project was going to be my life’s work and I can see it go down the drain. Without any dramatic music playing in the background. Without any loud splashes. Like a flame that is fading away. And it is the most painful thing ever. I mean you have hopes pinned that when you die, you would sleep for the final time with the knowledge that you have added some value! 

Even thought I’ve read all the economics that an average bloke may, I want to ignore the sunk cost fallacy and not want to let go of things. I want to keep trying. And I am. And as a result, I have started to bleed from self-inflicted wounds. I mean I am probably throwing more good money behind bad. But I am. 

What sucks all the more is that I thought this was a sure shot, lifelong passive income kind of thing. It wasn’t when it started. But it was growing up into this beautiful thing that showed immense potential. And thus I gave it all I had. And more. I borrowed money for it. I lied to the world about it. I made it my priority. 

And all these in hopes of reaching a point where all the sacrifices I’ve made would start making sense and there would be some light at the end of the tunnel and all that. 

But I guess it’s not meant to be.

The question that I want an answer to is, what do you do in such a scenario? 

Do you just give up? And at least get your self-respect back and go back to being yourself and not worry about posing as someone who you are not! 

Or do you just walk away without thinking about the loss? 

Or you listen to those people that say that you need to happen to things (and not otherwise), and go happen to things and do whatever is possible to make it work?

And irrespective of my giving up or not, what lesson do I take back from this loss? 

Do I henceforth chase only those things where the outcome is certain? Or do I do things for the sake of doing without expecting on the outcome? You know, like that king Krishna spoke of about doing the karma and not worrying about rewards? 

Heck, I did not even know that I was capable of getting this emotional about things! 

I have always tried to be stoic and this rant, this post, this feeling of loss, this heartburn, the general sadness that seem to have engulfed me like the thick Delhi fog is teaching me that I am still a million miles away from being the stoic SOB! 

Damn!