Eccentricity, Decisions & Essentialism.

You aren't the center of attention, You aren't being noticed as you walk along the sidewalks, You needn't be extraordinary to be remembered.

Many years ago, I got introduced to a word that my classmate blurted out during the brunch break. The word sounded gibberish to me, but the aspect of having an amazing vocabulary sounded cool to me, I wished to speak with some kickass vocabulary ever since then. 

Years later, as an 18-year-old teenager, drenched in dilemma and hyperactivity, I walked along the corridors of my university along with my tiny amazing group of friends. I used the word, this time it came unintended, and I realized that I had used the word, much later. The word was- Eccentric.

Eccentricity, few of you might not be familiar with the term. Physics and Mathematics lovers out there, this is not the eccentricity involved in ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola (Conic Section). 

As per google, Eccentricity is defined as 'an odd or unusual behavior'. All of us are eccentric to a certain extent, the eccentricity of a person is subjective. You may like the flavors that remain on your fingers after you crunch in that spicy potato snack, or some of you might love licking the melted remains of milk chocolates, sticking onto the wrapper. All these behavior might seem absolutely normal to you, but to the people who don't do these, you might be weird (No worries homies! In that case, I'm weird too!).

Moviemakers and screenplay writers who focus on making biopics, especially the academy award-winning writer Aaron Sorkin who wrote the brilliantly written and executed biopics - The Social Network and Steve Jobs introduces heavy and tarnishing elements of eccentricity which inflates the existing level making them look, sound, and behave exponentially eccentric than they really are - well that's called dramatization. Yes, a huge chunk of famous people have been eccentric, but vice versa isn't true. I have a lot of acquaintances who act eccentrically to escape from real situations of life, that's where the problem begins. Let me keep it simple- Everyone is eccentric to some level, and that level of eccentricity is normal. 

Alright, that was just to get everyone into the zone. Listen, 'You are the hero of your own story. In that case, ladies and gentlemen- there are 7.9 Billion heroes and 7.9 Billion stories around the globe. Many of them have gone unnoticed, and 5% of the stories popularized. But remember, being ordinary is damn good. If you aren't the popular one in your field- It's absolutely alright, you are paving way for your own success. Another case is, If you ignore popularity to the core in the days of your struggle, you don't deserve popularity in the days of success. I know, the latter is a leap ruder than the former, but the reality is bitter.

Let's take the example of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Back in the futuristic ages of the mid-1970s, Steve Wozniak was a computer expert, a brilliant coder, and an electronics engineer working in Hewlett Packard. Woz, as he was popularly known, used to give out miniature computers, software, and fun gadgets that he makes for free, to people. He wasn't a peoples person primarily although he was a very brilliant innovator. Steve Jobs, on the other hand, was a peoples person, a confident orator, and a brilliant salesperson. It was on Jobs's compulsion, the titan company- Apple was born. Apple wasn't an instant success, but it was recognized as a status symbol in the mid-1980s. When Apple took off, Steve Wozniak resigned, because he wasn't interested in the marketplace politics and the entire aspect of business and things. Even today, in every Steve Jobs video online, I read the comment- Jobs stole Wozniak's credit. Well, Wozniak just attributed all his credits to Steve Jobs intentionally and walk off to teach and preach technology to students (I respect him for that).

In Steve Jobs's point of view - He is the hero, architect, and designer of his own story.

In Steve Woz's point of view- He is the hero, architect, and designer of his own story.

It is a wonderful concept, you should try placing yourself in the shoes of the protagonist in your story. Choosing decisions wisely and taking the right path. 

Many of my readers, just like me, are stuck in the crossroads of life. In a diluted dilemma asking yourself - What's next? What am I gonna do?  I haven't been to a college, but I'll get my university degree somehow? Well, it's painful. But this can't be reversed, time doesn't wait. 2 years and, here we are, stuck at home. 

I have friends who focussed on self-improvement and self-study, inspired by whom, I gave it a fair shot. It has an enormous impact, to be honest. I tried staying away from social media for days, which has made me explore BOREDOM (I mean, the real one). In our generation, boredom is scrolling down your Instagram feed all day long, and looking at funny cat videos and memes of the same genre all day long. If we had a chance to introduce these facilities for a bright sunny day back in the 1990s, teens and young adults would never be bored on that particular day. Back to the topic, I explored boredom, switching off my device and locking it in the cupboard. I read books when I had the urge to look at my Instagram and Whatsapp Dms for '5 Minutes'. It is a funny feeling. 

When I had my phone next to me, my reading frequency was 2-4 chapters/day

When I locked my phone and stayed away from all potential electronics, my reading frequency pumped up to a relatively boastful 12-13 chapters/day. (Which is insanely great!)

The focus was immense and so was the commitment, I loved it. When I step outside, I intentionally leave my phone behind, so that I can observe the surroundings and the people. Otherwise, I would have been scrolling endlessly on Instagram, looking at the same memes and videos on different pages. I loved the insights into myself and realized the power of perfect sleep. I needn't look at my phone in the middle of the night (Which was an involuntary action, that I now have under control). 

Being in a state of real boredom is just sitting in a room, having nothing to do. In that situation, your mind constantly gives you ideas and amazing thoughts. I write them down, and then shred them into tiny pieces and toss them off into the garbage bin because of the cringe-worthy things written down. 

All that we have discussed above, come under one word, which is an enigmatic canopy hiding zillions of emotions, thought process, and articulation- DECISION.

Decision on what is essential, and what is not. Essential is what caters to your needs both short-term and long-term. Non-Essential is something you do, or possess for the sake of having it. Non-essentials don't have a proper disadvantage in most cases, it just sucks all your energy which could be directed into the essential. I'm not a multi-tasker, and I'm sure a bunch of my readers aren't. Multi-tasking doesn't mean you are busy, it just means you are giving 20% focus on 5 different things, instead of giving a potential 100% focus on one thing. You get everything done, but not to the fullest of your capacity, It's an unarguable fact that is scientifically proven. 

You can multi-task, you can type out a draft by listening to Lo-Fi Hip-hop tracks (Just the way I'm doing it!) or You can arrange the files and records by watching your favorite show. But not by, Reading Nuclear Physics on the laptop and solving Fluid Mechanics with a textbook (In reality, People fancy doing that).

Coming back to the decision, As I have mentioned earlier- You are the Hero of your own story. In addition to that, You are the writer too. The decisions you make, the essential opportunities that you grab, and the foundations of your life that become your story. Choosing all those wisely, results in a story with overfilling inspiration and a story of a person overcoming his own flaws, being what he truly wanted to become. You are responsible for the way your short life is, You are responsible for who you are remembered as. 

Standing in the crossroads of the prime time of our life, scratching our heads in ambiguity on which road to take. Let us choose the road that one feels the most essential to oneself, eliminating all others, and the fear of missing out on non-essential opportunities and jump over all the hurdles, sprint, and make your mark, on the universe before you leave! :)