PERSONAL/ LIFE SPECIAL ....HAPPICATION!

HAPPICATION!   Create a life you don't need to escape from; live your everyday life  like you would while on a holiday “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from.“ -Seth Godin Entrepreneur and best-selling author Dale Patridge wrote recently on the social media, “Vacations lie. Culture tells us to spend an entire year saving for a week to escape our life. We call it vacation.“ The post went viral. It had touched a nerve wrought with the everyday grind of our modern lives,  that has made us robots, looking for our vacation time to actually feel human. “Life isn't about the 50 vacations you'll take while you are on this planet. It's about the 25,000 days between them,“ Patridge goes on to say. Is it not wise then to turn your everyday life into mini vacation moments or `happication' moments? Author and `spiritual uncomplicator' as he calls himself, Paul Wilson,  had coined the term `happication'. He says, “If you are more excited for vacation than you are about your actual life, that means you are more excited about the 5 per cent of your life than the 95 per cent that you are actually living.  Right now, the 98 per cent part of your life, seems either unfulfilling, stressful, or disappointing.“ Wilson believes in creating a life one doesn't need to escape; a life where every day feels like a vacation. In other words, your longterm  happiness depends on your day-today ability to find spurts of happiness. Textile designer Neerja Singh says, “I used to travel to exotic destinations  quite frequently, but I always came back with a huge holiday hangover, and getting back to my mundane life took me to a low after that holiday high... till I realised what my mind craved was little moments of happiness in everyday life ­ be it self-care, an adventurous cycle ride, meeting a friend after a while etc.“ London-based life coach Arvind De valia has created a life he doesn't need to escape from. “The great benefit of liv ing such a life is that it boosts your energy levels tremendously.“ He advises people to prioritise their fun-quotient, not waste time on small hurdles which one faces on a  daily basis. “Do things that make you happy. Be on the move. Move on if you come across hurdles. That's what you do on a holiday, if you meet a block. Take charge. Do the same when at home.“ As Patridge says, “Do what you want to do, start what you want to start, and create the life you want today. This isn't rehearsal people. This is your life.“ Nona Walia TL29NOV15