CHAMPU
Troubled was Champu's wife,
For nothing much was happening in their life.
Champu never seemed to get any rest,
As he always wanted to give his best.
His boss was cool, or so it seemed,
With promises of promotion, Champu dreamed.
But deadlines were deadlines, every day,
And there was always more work on the way.
Champu wanted to become the best,
So naturally, he never took a rest.
Day and night he served his boss,
Hoping ‘one day’ would make up for the loss.
Years went by, and seasons changed,
But Champu's life remained strangely unchanged.
The joy in his life slowly disappeared,
And even at home, his presence felt weird.
Then one fine day, something clicked,
The spell of the “onsite” dream finally cracked.
Champu looked at his boss and said,
“Why do you keep messing with my head?
You keep showing me the onsite dream,
But nothing is ever quite what it seems.
If you don't give me a promotion, I'll leave,
And if you send me onsite, I may never want to leave!”
The boss simply smiled and said,
“Go wherever you want instead.
There are plenty more Champus around,
I'll find another one without making a sound.
“This world is full of Champus, indeed,
And everyone is in a hurry to succeed.
If you won't do it, then you will be replaced.
Another Champu will happily take your place.
— Shailesh Tandel
For the time being, let's leave Champu alone for a moment.
You probably laughed at him.
Perhaps you remembered someone from your office. A friend, a relative, or maybe even a neighbour.
You may have thought:
“Oh, I know someone exactly like this!”
Fair enough.
But before we have another good laugh at Champu, let's pause for a moment.
What if Champu isn't just that person?
What if, at different points in our lives, we have all been Champu?
Not necessarily because someone is forcing us to do something.
Not because we are foolish.
And certainly not because we don't have the ability to make our own decisions.
Sometimes, we become Champu simply because we stop asking questions.
Someone gets promoted, and suddenly we want a promotion.
Someone buys a bigger house, and our perfectly comfortable home starts feeling small.
Someone starts a business, and we begin wondering whether we should start one too.
Someone travels the world, and suddenly our own life feels ordinary.
Someone's child gets into a particular college, and we start wondering whether our child should be there too.
Someone tells us what success should look like, and without realising it, we start running towards that definition.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a promotion.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a bigger house.
There is nothing wrong with starting a business, earning more money, travelling the world or wanting a different life.
The question is not whether these things are good or bad.
The question is much simpler…
Do we actually want them?
Or do we want them because somebody else has them?
Are we choosing them?
Or are we simply responding to what we see around us?
And perhaps the most uncomfortable question of all…
Who decided that this is where we should be going?
What if, in someone else's story, you are the Champu?
And what if the truth is even more uncomfortable?
Perhaps there is a little bit of Champu in each one of us.
The difference is only in the form it takes.
For one person, Champu may be the employee who keeps waiting for a promotion that is always “just around the corner.”
For another, it may be someone living according to society's expectations.
Someone else may be hiding behind the fear of not being good enough.
Some keep saying, “Let me tolerate this a little longer,” and end up spending years doing exactly that.
Some say, “I'll start when the right time comes.”
Others tell themselves, “I can't do this right now,” and quietly wrap up dreams they once cared about and put them away.
And the funny thing is, most of the time, we don't even notice the Champu within us.
It is easy to spot him in someone else.
Recognising him in ourselves takes a little courage.
But Where Are We Running?
Our daily lives are full of such moments.
Someone starts running, and before we even realise it, we start running too.
Someone moves ahead, and we feel the need to catch up.
And before long, we are no longer asking whether we want to run.
We are simply trying not to fall behind.
Think about it.
When was the last time you stopped in the middle of all this running and asked yourself:
“Is this actually the race I wanted to run?”
Because sometimes we become so busy trying to get ahead that we forget to ask a very basic question…
Ahead of what?
And there is something even more interesting about this race.
We keep looking at the person ahead of us.
Who is earning more?
Who got promoted?
Who bought a bigger house?
Who is travelling more?
Who is more successful?
And when someone moves ahead of us, we increase our speed.
When someone falls behind, we feel a little relieved.
Then another person appears ahead of us.
So, we run faster again.
It can go on forever.
Almost like a race run by rats inside a maze.
Everyone is running.
Everyone is busy.
Everyone is trying to get somewhere.
But after running for years, what if we suddenly stop and realise…
we don't even know where the finish line is?
Perhaps that's why two questions deserve our attention.
Not once in a lifetime. Perhaps every now and then.
“Where did I start?”
And then…
“Did I really want to arrive here?”
Because knowing how far we have travelled means very little if we don't know where we intended to go.
And if we never consciously chose the direction, then running faster doesn't necessarily take us closer to where we want to be.
It may simply take us further away, faster.
Hope Can Be Wonderful.
And Sometimes, It Can Keep Us Waiting.
There is a saying in Hindi:
“Umeed pe duniya kayam hai.” (The World Survives on Hope)
And perhaps it is true.
Hope keeps us going.
We tell ourselves:
Tomorrow will be better.
Things will change.
I'll get that promotion.
I'll earn more money.
The children will grow up.
I'll have more time someday.
One day, I'll live the way I really want to.
There is nothing wrong with hope.
But living only on hope isn't enough. We also need a little awareness of reality. Don't we?
Every now and then, we need to step out of that hopeful world and take an honest look at where we are going.
Is this where we actually want to arrive?
Because sometimes, “one day everything will be fine” gives us the strength to keep moving.
But sometimes, the same hope keeps us waiting.
“Not now… I'll do it one day.”
“Things aren't right at the moment… I'll see later.”
“Let me tolerate this a little longer.”
“One day everything will be fine.”
And while we wait for that “one day,” today quietly passes.
Then another day. Then another month. And before we realise it, years have gone by.
One day, we look back and wonder…
The day we were waiting for… did it ever arrive?
We don't know.
But while waiting for it, life certainly moved on.
Choosing Your Direction Does Not Mean Going Against Everyone
But this doesn't mean that we should suddenly make huge decisions.
Quit your job.
Start a business.
Take a massive risk.
Follow your passion and run after it at full speed.
Who said there is only one right way to live?
Every person is different.
Our thinking is different.
Our responsibilities are different.
Our definition of security is different.
Our values are different.
And what we consider success can be completely different from someone else's.
For some, a job may be the right choice.
For some, business.
For some, a stable and predictable life.
For others, the excitement of constantly trying something new.
The important thing is not what someone else is doing.
The important thing is…
Do we know what is right for us?
Going against the crowd because the crowd says something is not freedom.
And staying with the crowd simply because the crowd says so isn't freedom either.
Freedom is choosing your own direction.
Sometimes, the crowd may be going in exactly the direction you want to go.
That's perfectly fine.
You don't have to walk in the opposite direction just to prove that you are independent.
Going against the crowd is not freedom.
Choosing your own direction is.
Risk Is Not the Same as Recklessness
There is another common misunderstanding about taking risks.
We often think that taking a risk means doing something dramatic.
Quit your job.
Sell everything and start a business.
Leave everything behind and travel the world.
Follow your passion.
For some people, these may be exactly the right decisions.
But what is right for one person may be completely wrong for another.
Seeing someone else's courage and copying the risk they took doesn't make that risk yours.
Sometimes, it is simply an invitation to fall into a hole.
Before taking a risk, shouldn't we ask ourselves:
What am I capable of?
What do I actually want?
What is my current situation?
What responsibilities do I have?
And where do I really want to go?
A risk taken without considering these things may not be courage at all.
It may simply be another form of following the crowd.
So, the question isn't:
“How big a risk can I take?”
The question is:
“What is the right risk for my life?”
Sometimes, We Just Need to Stop
Changing our lives doesn't always require a dramatic decision.
Sometimes, we simply need to pause.
To stop running for a moment and look back.
Where did I start?
Where am I today?
And where do I actually want to go?
Perhaps we will realise that we are already moving in exactly the right direction.
Perhaps we will realise that the direction needs to change.
Perhaps we need to slow down.
Perhaps we need to speed up.
And perhaps, for some time, we simply need to stay where we are.
But at least the next step will be our decision.
Because perhaps what matters in the end is not how fast we lived our lives, but whether we lived them in a way that felt truly ours.
So don't wait for someone else to press the button that starts your life.
Don't wait for your boss to give you the promotion, decide what you want beforehand.
Don't wait for someone else to show you the right direction.
And most importantly, don't stop living today while waiting for the day when “everything will be fine.”
Start somewhere.
Take one small step at a time.
The beginning may be tiny.
But beginning matters.
Because, in the end, it matters less where the crowd is going and much more whether you know where you have decided to go.
And if, somewhere along the way, you happen to see a little Champu within yourself…
Don't be too hard on him.
Just smile and ask…
“Hey Champu… where are we actually going?”
Blog by 'Life Coach & Business Mentor' Shailesh Tandel
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