More than a decade ago – back in 2008 – I read a book by a famous author Jonathan Haidt – Happiness Hypothesis. It was all about finding happiness for wellbeing and joy in life. One element of this journey to happiness was doing – finding passion – doing something that you love and enjoy. Much later I realised it was about becoming the best self that you can be while contributing to the world – bringing your unique gift.

Few years later however, I went into another episode of life – an episode of severe depression. I was totally unable to control some of those emotions that I felt deeply vulnerable to. At that point, To make matters worse,  I was even considering doing something extreme. I was unable to manage stress and I had no clue back then it was because of my feeling empty inside. However, as a short-term solution I downloaded some relaxation music from the internet and wanted to do meditation. It helped me manage my stress better. My symptoms alleviated a bit but I fell right back into the pit once more when I couldn’t maintain my schedule of regular meditation. Once I missed a few days of meditation my stress level went up again.

And this time managing my stress was very difficult and my symptoms stayed for a longer period. I went to several doctors, moved to a new country and tried to do everything from scratch. It was a tough journey. But surely I missed the whole point – doing. Doing something – contributing to others. All those doctors that I visited, self-help motivation books that I read and other activities that I was doing to improve the quality of my life came to a halt and I had to reinvent the wheel. It donned on me for the first time that there is more to life than just the rat race and living all for oneself. I wanted to do something – something for others – finding a passion. I took up my camera and did a project – 100 strangers. Going into the street and meeting new people, taking their photos and putting their stories online and making them friend for life. I tried to find a passion, I wanted to celebrate the joy and happiness in life. A decade on its still my only mission – managing stress and be happy – to find out what life has to offer. Fortunately, I found my passion in learning and growing and the more I advance the sweeter it gets.