Why You Should Never Say Never

Today after a long time, I realized I wanted to share a personal post with my readers. A post that mostly derives from my experience in the almost 31 years of life. While a year back I shared the life lessons that I have picked up till now, recently I realized that one of the aspects missing in it was the one important mindset to maintain – Never Say Never.

In my short life, I have seen enough examples of things people say they never want to do and then diving into it. Most of those examples I have seen happening to me which have finally made me realize that never saying never is the right way to go.

My story

When I came to Mumbai to study for MBA, it was quite a culture shock as compared to Delhi. The roads were narrow, there was barely any space, people are different and the food is quite different. I wanted to get out of this city and back to Delhi as soon as my MBA was done. But doesn’t always turn out as you envision it to be and that is at times for the better. Having now been in Mumbai for ten years, met my husband here and also now have a professional identity thanks to this city.

When I was in my MBA, my father who has been a big influencer in my life, kept trying his gentle nudges to push me towards Finance instead of Marketing where my heart was set. However, I know I had a mental block and I did not even like the basic subjects like accounting and Corporate Finance. Today, my father continues to dangle my attitude in those days in front of my nose as he looks in glee at my gradual self-inclination towards the field of Personal Finance.

My parents have always been early risers. As kids, the maximum that we (me and my sister) were allowed to sleep till was half past eight in the morning. Once I was out of the house, I have spent years with the craziest sleep patterns. Even before Netflix or Prime came into the picture, kids in the hostel had a way of sourcing the best TV series. I have spent days just watching episode after episode of TV series and I rarely slept before one in the morning. In the initial years of work, I would be struggling to wake up for work and never wake up before noon on weekends. And now, even on weekends, I am unable to sleep beyond half past seven. As I said, waking up early in the morning has changed my life.

Why should you never say never

To me, saying never is a mindset which is not very healthy.

1. Everything is not your controllable

It is silly to think that you control everything in your life. There are clear categories of things you can control and things that you can’t. Embrace this fact and move on instead of holding on to the uncontrollable aspects of your life. For instance, I always said I love food too much to want to watch what I eat. Aging happened and now I must watch what I eat. Similarly, you need to know when to let go of ridiculous notions.

2. Let your strong opinions not morph into rigidity

Strong opinions are something I admire in people and a quality I have often liked in myself. However, there is a very thin line between strong opinions and rigidity which is easy to cross. For instance, you have a picture of a certain kind of person in your mind that you would like to marry. However, you end up falling in love with somebody very different. Holding on to that image in your head is not going to get you anywhere.

3. Be flexible to change

Some wise person once said that “The only constant in life is change”. Change is reflective of the dynamic times we live in. Not just today, but any time in history has been dynamic and embracing change is important. In some ways, my inclination towards Personal Finance is probably a tipping of the hat to the realization that what I did not like in college was Corporate Finance and the increasingly complicated Financial Services scenario around me.

To me, saying never now seems more like impending doom. Take that word out of your dictionary and get ready to embrace new experiences and an open mindset.

Have you ever had the realization that never was not the right thing to say? Is there something in your life where you continue to say never? Let me know in the comments below.