24 random lightbulb moments in 2024
Incredible lightness of random moments that lit up my 2024
Greetings Everyone! There are two things that I am trying to achieve with this post. One, to share my random lightbulb moments of 2024. And two, to restart this blog. Here is my list of 24!
1. At some point of time, children at home become adults. And we adults struggle to remain and behave as adults. 2024 was me going through that, a lot of times.
2. Indian cricket is the greatest leveller. If the Great Watchman above would really take the karmic cycles that Indian fans go through into account, he would’ve granted us moksha a while ago. Alas, even he thinks 'it's just a game!'
3. I have arrived at a time in life when it’s sort of embarrassing to start a sentence with ‘during our time…’ or ‘you know, in the past..’. Can’t take the eye rolls and sighs anymore.
4. So often this year, I’d start making an upma or whip up a a rasam. After putting the kettle on stove, I discover there is no kari patta, green mirchi or even rasam powder. And then I get it delivered within 6 minutes flat, just in time for the tadka. Super quick delivery service apps have made me lazy, unplanned and disorganised in 2024.
5. If I had the chance to be a dictator, I would make every individual go through one year of sales conscription. The number of young people who look at sales as if it were a rotten caterpillar is not funny. That’s why, a few of us got together to begin an exclusive sales community for the pure love of sales.
6. Fifteen years back, my wife made a random comment on how nice it would be to offer arghyam (offering) to Sun God every morning. It was a moment that got me to restart sandhyavandanam . So much of my personal journey into exploring the Puranas & storytelling began from there. Earlier this year, she casually asked me to accompany her on a Veena concert as a storyteller. It was the beginning of a new journey in front of a live audience. Listen to your spouse’s offbeat comments. They could be life changing.
7. I am professional business storyteller. Over the last few years storytelling has become my meditative retreat. Puranas say that the Bhagavath Katha is the form of Bhagwan itself. God is in the stories I hear and share. I’ve learnt what it means to worship the very form of story.
8. Chatgpt taught me how to make the perfect into ordinary. So often, when I ask a summary from it, I find myself editing it to make it seem like I wrote it. In the process of making it sound like my voice, I mess up a little bit of grammar, use simpler words. and make it imperfect.
9. For anyone using reading glasses without any power, just go buy a Rs 500 or lesser ones from a good spectacles shop. Trust me. This comes after busting close to 20k, buying fancy frames and loosing them, until a friend pointed out - opened my eyes, rather - on what a fool I was to rip myself off.
10. The best advice I got in the year is about dressing better. 'Uday, showing up cool and informal is fine. You may connect very well too. But this world always pays a premium for the way they see you. Especially in public spaces. When it can give you a 25% bump up, why aren't you allowing yourself that?'
11. 'Stop watching Reels so much' is the worst kind of thing I tell as a parent to my kids. Because I myself suck at it. Have to find a way out of this reeling madness in 2025.
12. Buying new books vs Reading old books. I finally cracked this in 2024. I re-read more old books than I bought new ones. So much value gained, so much of fresh perspective. Going back to an old book that you loved is like a special home coming.
13. Cribbing and crying about Bangalore traffic seems to have become a psychological need. Don't have a topic to talk? - let's curse Bangalore traffic. I love Bangalore traffic and am grateful for it. It's given me so much time to reflect, listen to long podcasts, talk to ones I've not been in touch with. And, by the way, every city traffic sucks - Mumbai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad are like the younger siblings who get away when the elder one gets thrashed.
14. Back in 2021, when I started posting on linkedin, I just had 950 followers. I was desperate to get to 10k, looking at everyone else. It took me 3 years to cross that 10k mark. By that time I was so oblivious to it, that I realised it only after a month. We loose the value of something that we gain. Things also come quicker when you stop chasing them mindlessly like a mongrel.
15. Bad jokes are gold. Bad jokes are those that just did not get funding yet. Bad jokes make us laugh truly. The so called good jokes only make us think ‘why the heck didn’t that idea come to me?’ Bad jokes are the greatest equalisers in this unequal world.
16.No one is really impressed and keen to know about the work you do, beyond a point. Knowing what that point was, took me a lot of time. When people asked me about my work earlier, I was insufferable in my ranting about my business storytelling work. Now, I know when to stop. Like, how I stopped here.
17. Earlier this year, I went a tad proactive, and solved a serious problem one of my collaborators was facing with a tough client they were handling. They did not ask me for any help. I just felt I should make it easier. So I was shocked when they said that they did not like my help at all. Infact, they went completely cold on me. Big lesson learnt. The wisdom to know when to offer help, when to not to even venture - and the ability to know the difference, is priceless.
18. For the last 2 years, I’ve been doing a daily series on Stories from Puranas on mentza. 675 days and going. Yet, I’ve been shy to share it on other platform where more may listen. Very few listen in currently. While it hasn’t bothered me, I wished some feedback would come my way . For the first time this year, I downloaded a few episodes and Whatspped to some family & friends. It has been gratifying to listen to their response. For the nth time in my life, I was taught a lesson in not being overtly self critical and not overthink on how people will judge.
19. I am realising that the biggest secret in life is staying excited with being bored. At some point of time, everything gets boring - relationships, work, travel, chitchat, food - and life itself. The trick is to expect boredom to hit always, seize it, enjoy and revel in it. I think ‘boredom’ competes with ‘change’ as the only constant in our lives.
20. I often get pilloried for being my optimistic self. ‘..But you only want to see the positive side, I know. So there is no use talking to you’ is something I hear from friends and family. Having said that I am yet to meet a successful, happy, pessimistic person in my life.
21. Most arguments are not really about arguments. Especially the ones on WhatsApp with close family and friends. Most arguments can’t be won by arguments. I officially gave up being argumentative in 2024. Even on cricketing matters.
22. Calling parents and your loved ones every single day or as often as you can is a golden habit. It may not mean much to you. But I can promise, that they are just staring at that screen, waiting for it to light up with your name.
23. Humility is mostly being honest with yourself on how much of everything you achieved is due to luck and a million people who had had teeny weeny hand in it.
24. That thing about rich get richer and poor get poorer over time is wonderfully true for the best friends in my life. 2024, more than any other year, has made my bonds with my best friends stronger, richer and deeper.
Those are my light bulb moments for 2024 amongst many others I am unable to reflect. Thank you for getting till here!
Wish you and your loved ones a wonderful, bright 2025!
Thank you Uday for penning this down .