The Balance Sheet of My Life Showed a Loss

This is the story of the moment that changed my life from chasing titles to searching for meaning.

Between Two Trips

I was sitting at home between two business trips. Noon time. Bright sun, a little hot, but a cool breeze was flowing. I walked out to the garden swing in front of my house and sat there. The week before had been the usual - airports, meetings, deadlines, hotel rooms.

Two days later, I’d be packing again. That had been my life for years: running. Chasing position, money, promotions. The rat race.

The Scene from the Swing

From the swing, I could see the open plot across the road. No houses. Just trees and plants, alive with birds.

A crow sat calmly in the shade. A pair of squirrels darted up and down the trunk.Butterflies floated lazily from flower to flower. The trees were in full bloom, sunlight playing on the leaves. The tender leaves shone brighter than the older ones.

The whole scene glowed with life.

And yet, none of them were in a hurry. Not the crow. Not the butterflies. Not even the squirrels, running up and down, seemed rushed.

The Realisation

I felt a wave of peace.Then the thought hit me: Why is everyone at peace, except human beings?

I had been rushing for years. Rushing, chasing, always in a hurry. But when I looked at my own balance sheet… I was at a loss.

Yes, I had the job titles. Yes, I had the promotions. But I had lost something bigger. The best things in life. The beauty in small moments. The peace of being alive.

I was paying a huge price: anxiety, emptiness, fatigue. I was mistaking movement for progress.

That day, sitting on that swing, I realised something simple and hard:The success of a life doesn’t lie in rushing through. It lies in slowing down.

The Swing Test

Since then, I’ve built a habit. Whenever I feel the urge to rush into another chase, I stop. I call it my Swing Test.

I sit down. Alone. Quiet. I breathe. I ask myself: Am I chasing, or am I living?

Every time I do that, life becomes simpler.

The clutter falls away. Decisions become clearer.

Lessons from Nature

The truth is, we humans complicate life. We add layers and layers until we’re buried.

Nature keeps it simple. Birds, trees, squirrels - they live fully without excess, without hurry. We could learn from them.

Why Leaders Must Slow Down

The fastest way to lose in business is to be in a hurry.

Every bad decision I’ve seen from leaders came from rushing. Every smart pivot came from slowing down, breathing, and seeing clearly.

Everyone needs time alone to go deeper inside. To ask the hard questions. To notice what’s been buried under all the noise.

Because at the end, it’s not the salary slips or flight tickets you’ll count. It’s the balance sheet of your life.

And if you’re always rushing, that sheet will show a loss.

I thought I was running towards success. I was only running past life.