You are looking at the world through Number - Not through your eyes!

Introduction :

As a qualified, financially successful and growth-oriented individual your life’s joy and suffering depends on comparing numbers. Comparing current numbers with average or ideal numbers is the source of our happiness and sorrow. For a moment, if we drop our knowledge of numbers, or we drop comparing, we will be free. We are living under tyranny and slavery of numbers. Going beyond numbers will give us a glimpse of profound peace and ultimate freedom. This article explores the tremendous grip of numbers. When we look ourselves in the mirror, we are not seeing ourselves with eyes, we are seeing our own self with numbers. We are looking at the world through the filters of numbers. This article reveals the secret iron grip of numbers on our life and provides an opportunity to go beyond numbers.

As the founder & leader for a global technology company, I constantly look at numbers. I review sales, trends, margin, RoI and measure customer satisfaction numbers. I evaluate team performance, investment management and consultant’s effectiveness based on numbers. To be successful as the leader and to make data-driven decisions, I compare numbers, quickly calculate ratios and analyze patterns. 

Mastery over number is a two-edged sword. If we start using numbers for everything in life, we may create an experience of suffering. Let us start with numbers that define our body, our health and our well-being.

You are NOT your age, Your age is just a number :

The number that has the biggest impact on our lives is our age and number of years we have to live. How many times during the week you or others remind you of your age?

Age Number and Life Decisions :

Your life’s significant decisions are tied to age. Age is not just a number. It completely controls every aspect. Society has set parameters on what should happen in our lives at a specific age. Your studies, marriage, children, career choices, making career transitions, travel, exploring new relationships, clothes, interest in religion, apps you will use, movies or music you are expected to like is all determined by the age.

Allow Yourself To Imagine :

What if you can just forget what your age is? 

How will you live and what choices will you make if you don’t your age or society does not tell you what people at your age should do?

Try it. Pretend that you have forgotten numbers and how to compare numbers. Look at yourself with fresh eyes. 

Numbers are not real. They are just made-up. It is just that everyone agrees that numbers are precise and accurate. An elephant does not know that she is 48 or a horse does not know that he is 30 years or age. Elephants, horses and all the animals live in peace, oblivious of their age. They live their life and once their time is over, they simply die.

Age is an imaginary chain we put on ourselves. Start living as if it is your first day on this wonderful planet. Very soon, technology will take us to a place where age will become irrelevant. It is worth understanding the idea of Singularity. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. 

The Ultimate Technological Goal - Young Forever. Live Forever.

What is the ultimate goal that technology can achieve? 

Ultimate goal can be to make human beings immortal, healthy and young forever. The ultimate goal can also be to give human beings direct power over creating their own experience. It is worthwhile to understand the idea of Singularity. It will be valuable experience to understand radical ideas presented Ray Kurzweil in the book The Singularity is Near:

“In his 2005 book, The Singularity is Near, Kurzweil suggests that medical advances would allow people to protect their bodies from the effects of aging, making the life expectancy limitless. Kurzweil argues that the technological advances in medicine would allow us to continuously repair and replace defective components in our bodies, prolonging life to an undetermined age”

Scientists and experts are working on over a half a dozen strategies to extend life span. Please click on the link below to explore ideas that includes anti-aging drugs, Nanotechnology, Cloning and body part replacement, Cyborgs, Cryonics, Strategies for engineered negligible senescence, Genetic editing, and Mind uploading.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_extension

The ideas look radical and impossible now. But at some point, every technological idea looked impossible. Now, those very same ideas are everyday reality.

What if you can remain young forever and you can live forever? 

How would you live?

If you can create anything, what would you like to create?

Make a list of things you would do if you forget your age. 

Go ahead and do it!

Body Weight :

The second most significant number is your body weight. 

Let me share my experience :

I have completed 48 years on earth. I am absolutely healthy. I don’t take any medicine. I am blessed with wonderful health and well-being. I take care of my diet, exercise, yoga, meditation and rest. However, almost every week, someone comments about my weight! I have been chronically underweight since my teen-age years. I am 5 ft. 7 inches tall and my weight is 115 pounds. I am underweight by 20 pounds. My weight should be 135 pounds. Some of the people who love me think I am suffering from some unknown disease or my body has some defect ! For them, there is something wrong with me.

No matter what you do - You will be either underweight or overweight. 

Just try out a thought experiment: Mentally look at your friends and relatives. Do you find anyone with ideal weight, height, complexion, body type?

Chasing an ideal body is a mirage. You have what you have!

What if you never knew your weight? What will happen if you stop comparing your body weight with some ideal weight?

We create a consensus agreement about how the ideal body should be. And everyone starts comparing himself or herself with that ideal, imaginary body. No one can measure up.

And in this endless comparison, we miss the beauty of whatever we have. We don’t fully appreciate our body and its intricate mystery. 

Don't Miss The Magic :

Remind yourself: You are beautiful. Your body is a miracle. You are worthy of falling in love with. Drop the number game. Just allow yourself to experience the mystery and majesty of your own presence.

Number of Yogasans/ time spent in exercise/ frequency of exercise

Our experience of everyday fitness, health, well-being and aliveness is shaped by the numbers. We look at our own selves through the lens of numbers. Even if we enjoy walking or running or exercise, very soon we start looking at numbers. We compare time spent in exercise, frequency of exercise. We measure distance, foot-steps, calories burned!

Joy of exercise is replaced by drudgery of number crunching!

Just look at the baby that starts to walk or run for the first time. That baby is walking or running because it is a sheer joy and miracle to walk and run. 

Even the most sophisticated robots or most advanced AI cannot perform Yogasan or Pranayam! Pranayam is the ancient Indian technique of breath control. 

What if you can enjoy exercise without counting hours or comparing yourself with others?

Allow yourself to explore the world without numbers.

Look at how your life would be different if there is no compulsion to compare and measure.

What if we can retain the benefits of the numbers but move away from the suffering caused by it?

Money is just a number :

In this article, we just touched up numbers related to age, weight and health. Other numbers that have a big impact on our life are the numbers related to money, salary, income, profits, assets, liabilities, RoI and growth. In the world ruled by social media, we look at the number of likes, comments, shares. In the current times of Covid-19, we constantly look at the number of infections, death, curve and projections.

We are constantly looking at reality through numbers. We filter, interpret and make sense of the world through numbers. Numbers unites humanity. We all agree that number one means one. Although, we might have different interpretations on what the numbers mean, we all agree on the basic value of each number. 

Please share your ideas on new possibilities and opportunities that will open up if you can go beyond numbers. 

I am writing this article on Wednesday, 27-May-2020 from my home in Florida. The time is 8:45 PM and it took me almost two hours to write this article. I am inspired to write and share these ideas because of the number of views, likes, comments! 

Every Wednesday, I write on topics that I find valuable and interesting. Each of these articles is read by almost 1000 dedicated readers. Some of my readers look forward to reading my next article! You have the choice to read millions of other posts. There are certainly more talented native English authors. English is my 5th language! The first four languages I learned are Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit. At times, I am not even sure whether I am using correct English grammar or words. Still, you read, get my message and appreciate my efforts. Your interest inspires me. 

Each article takes 8-12 minutes to read. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be with you for these 8-12 minutes. I have made the most authentic attempt to provide the best possible value I can. I trust you found some of these ideas useful. Please share your feedback and how do you plan to explore living in a world without numbers - at least for a short while!