YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE “YOLO” ??

-Dr. Aparna Govil Bhasker

I wake up every morning and without fail, spend atleast ten painstaking minutes standing in front of my wardrobe thinking what to wear. And every single day, for as many years as I can remember, I have been plagued by this one thought-

“I dont have enough clothes (translates to shoes, accessories, jewellary etc etc)!”

My husband ofcourse has a starkingly different opinion on this but I guess like all other husbands in successful marriages he has mastered the art of ignoring certain things. Works better that way ?!!

A shopaholic by my own confession, my dedication to shopping sometimes extends into 4.00 am shopping sprees at airports. For me it forms for a fabulous start to a great day ahead. I have this innate ability to be able to shop anywhere, anytime… Much to my husband’s chagrin, I still have no qualms about picking
up stuff from the local stores of Hill Road, junk jewellary from the Colaba causeway or footwear from the Linking road. I have the same zeal and dedication when I buy stuff from a village in Rajasthan or from a branded store in Mumbai. I love to bargain with local shop-keepers and to be honest I still haven’t gotten over the embarassing habit of looking discreetly at the price tags in the high end stores!

Just passing by a crowded market area is enough to elevate my mood. My mother often tells me that what I buy will not last me very long… and I am like, “Mom, that’s exactly why I bought it! I don’t want it to last too long!” Afterall, variety is the spice of life. I dont want to wear the same pair of shoes for 2 years.. I would rather have a new set every few months!

Since I started earning myself, I allocate a monthly budget exclusively for myself. Its not much but its enough to make me happy. I disagree with the common perception that happiness is difficult to find. Nothing elevates my mood more than finding something that I like. Shopping works like a drug for me! The world is cruel at times but the mall always has a healing effect! Lol!

As I grow older, I realize that pampering myself is an important aspect of life. An extra shade of lipstick, a new pair of earrings, an extra pair of shoes, one more book on my shelf or new cup for my coffee does wonders for me!

As women, pampering others comes more naturally to us than the other way round. Most of us have to work hard at learning to love ourselves. All I have to say is that there is only one life we all get… We all struggle for the big things in life, in the process don’t give up on the small pleasures (even if they are a little materialistic by worldly standards… lol). Ultimately happiness is not a goal that we will achieve one fine day in the future, it is a continuous phenomenon. It is a drug that we need on a daily basis, to go on.

All of us have that one thing that makes us happy, and the trick is to identify it. We all need our drug. Make an effort towards finding your drug and learn to pamper yourself a little sometimes, for life is short and you only live once (YOLO ??).

–Dr. Aparna Govil Bhasker