Life’s soft debts!
Hello Everyone and welcome to the podcast of the Ordinary Maverick. This is Ajey, your host, an ordinary Maverick sharing real life thoughts and experiences and Maverick tips.
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Today’s podcast is on an interesting topic. We all are familiar with the term debts. And am sure we’ve all experienced paying back debts or loans with different conditions etc. You might have also heard about soft debts. A soft debt is a systematic, legally obligatory promise to pay debt, including economically compounded interest without having received the borrowed cash, examples are pension and health care obligations. Now this is the legal jargon.
Similarly a life debt when one person saves another persons life so they are forever in debt with their life until the other person repays the life debt by saving their life. Isn’t that interesting? We saw this in the famous Star wars series, Chewbacca's life debt to Han Solo began after Solo, then an officer in the Imperial Navy, saved the Wookiee from slavery. Chewbacca's debt to Solo later expanded to include Solo’s family too. Gosh, we are big fans of the Star wars series….and there are so many lessons and interesting tidbits there…perhaps to share in another episode.
For now, how about we combine these two concepts and think about life’s soft debts. What do I mean by that? You see, we go about life many times without realizing that we are either the giver, the lender or the receiver of these life’s soft debts. And there comes a time in everyone’s life where one gets the opportunity to pay back or collect on these debts.
Come to think of it, there are some folks who naturally gravitate towards being the givers. And they seem to do it effortlessly. Think about it. When you move into a new home, a new neighbourhood, a new city or country, or when you start a new job, there’s always a few people or that one person who’s first to reach out, to help out and really help you settle in. Now what’s happening here, life’s soft debts are being created. The person receiving these soft debts stores them in their mind and their hearts….see here is the difference, life’s soft debts are linked to emotions and feelings. And then these are repaid in kind anytime during life. When that giver is in need, every recipient of these soft debts stands ready to credit. To pay up…whether it’s going the extra mile if this person is sick or if the person’s family needs any help etc.
Here’s a Maverick tip, always build your life’s soft debts bank. Remember the humour bank, the memory bank…well, here is the soft debts bank. Be the giver, be the lender and also be the recipient at times. You know, the 2 sides of the coin…both are important. The more we build our life’s soft debts, either as lenders or receivers, the more we connect, the more we gain and the more we are happy, ha ha….
The more we are happy???? Don’t think that’s correct English…but am sure you know what I mean..right? it’s the happiness quotient in our lives. Happiness comes from being connected, being wanted, being helpful and most importantly by making others happy.
Now whether you’re a lender or a receiver, either way, the happiness will come because in that transaction, there are no immediate expectations. You’re creating life’s soft debts and the more you collect, the more the rise in the happiness quotient.
To add a story here.
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This is Ajey, signing off and wishing you have an amazing day. Keep well.