Biryani for the Soul (6): Too Much of Anything is Good For Nothing

I had the opportunity to spend about 12 days in Bangkok, Thailand last year. I was attending a course and so I booked a room in the same hotel as the course. Incidentally, the hotel was in Soi Sukhumvit 13, which was the centre of all things Biryani. Indian Restaurants serving biryani was everywhere and all of them were within walking distance.

As expected, being the avid biryani fan, I started the first day with Mutton Biryani from a restaurant. The second day was Chicken Biryani and on the third day, I had Prawn Biryani. That was the routine every day, till day five. I couldn’t.

I just couldn’t take another plate of Biryani. I couldn’t even think about Biryani. I was in Biryani Heaven, but had over dosed on Biryani!

The same applies in our life.

We strive for excellence every day and we move towards success. But in most cases, we tend to define “having more” as success. We become entrapped in this cycle, so much so that we believe that the more we have, the more successful we are. That could not be farther from the truth.

Now, do not misunderstand. I am not implying that you should have mediocre standards or stop pursuing excellence and success. Instead, I am suggesting that we should not associate “things” and material possessions as a measure of our success.

Our success should be measured based on our efforts and hard work. It should be measured based on how we have grown.

If we were to attach success to the quantity of material possessions, we will never to be able to reap the true benefits of success – our personal growth and peace.

I can have all the biryani I want in Bangkok, but too much of it is meaningless. Biryani is special because we appreciate the occasional indulgence.