The Moments That Matter | Shweta Tanwar | TEDxVenkateshwar International School

Present in purpose and purpose in present. So before we begin, I want to do a small serious experiment with you all.

Can you raise your hand if before this talk began, where was your mind? You were physically here, but where was your mind? What

were you thinking? Were you physically and mentally both here. Can you raise your hand if you were thinking about something else?

here. Can you raise your hand if you were thinking about something else?

Thinking about lunch? Thinking about a movie?

Some class test? Some homework you didn't do? Or that

someone special in your class? Be honest.

can see some hands yeah so congratulations you are already aware of today's theme so this means that the mind was not present so today rather than giving you answers or suggestions I want to take

you all through a reflection of with the help of which we will realize what does it mean to be present in purpose and what does it mean to find your purpose in the present.

So basically, we'll be delving into bringing your mind and body into the same WhatsApp group.

How many of you have attended a class, the teacher is going on teaching and teaching and here the status is 0% buffering. This is still loading, the class is

buffering. This is still loading, the class is halfway through and yeah I can see some hands. This happens,

it has happened with all of us. The lesson is over, the teacher is gone, it's time for the next class and all I could manage is 10% load-in.

So, this is quite common, nothing abnormal about it.

Haven't you ever read a book, chapter and you spent a whole hour on that chapter and when you close the book, you realize that you remember absolutely nothing.

It happens? Yes. So,

what is this? You were doing textbook meditation.

This is called studying without presence. So,

what happens is, When we are running in circles, we are running on a battery saver mode or we can say a low power mode the whole time. Presence

is not doing things because everybody else is doing.

Presence is not running on an autopilot mode. Presence is

Not moving like a zombie with your notebooks. Presence

is knowing the why of something.

When you know the why of something, then you can connect and go back and think that why is this task important?

Why am I doing this? Just not knowing the what and how, the why is important. Also,

important. Also, haven't you ever felt that there is a constant pressure in this world? All of you teenagers must have felt.

Haven't you have people ask you from the society, or from your peers or relatives. What is your purpose in life? What do you want to become? Have you encountered that question? Often? Because

become? Have you encountered that question? Often? Because

the world expects the teenagers to know their purpose in life.

Meanwhile, you are still surviving your maths homework. So,

the purpose Is it going to be a big announcement one day?

A big decision? When I was your age, I used to think so. That purpose is going to reveal itself.

There's going to be one big lifetime decision and the purpose will show. Is it like that? Because today when

will show. Is it like that? Because today when I look back, I see that purpose was not any big moment. It was not a lifetime announcement. It was those tiny small moments

announcement. It was those tiny small moments in which I felt alive. Sometimes, do you recognize, do you recall having moments when you're dancing and you just go with the flow or you are playing a

sport and you forget the time or you are painting, gaming, coding, writing and you feel alive.

You feel present. Because clarity and creativity only grow when you are present. So we

must go through and focus on the things we generally tend to overlook. Like what drives you, what drains you, what energizes you or something that makes you feel alive and present in

that moment. It can Have you ever felt like

that moment. It can Have you ever felt like something happens, a small tiny moment and it changes your entire day? Sometimes it's a small comment from a teacher,

day? Sometimes it's a small comment from a teacher, a small conversation with a friend or say a short pause with yourself. That changes the entire day.

I always practice this now, a two-minute reflection at the end of the day.

You will see that how it changes and makes you more aware about your own self. At the end of the day, I always ask something that changed the whole day, something that was meaningful today.

It could be anything. it is finding purpose in those small, tiny, tiny moments.

Because purpose is not a destination, it is a direction. So in this world of so-called digital era, it is very easy to get distracted or to lose clarity or to lose focus

because back then, you all will agree that the distractions were not as many as in today. So it's very easy to lose that focus. So how to bring back your

focus. So how to bring back your presence into what you are doing now?

Present in purpose is not what happened yesterday not what's going to happen one year after it is in this moment and When you are doing anything you must take a pause of 10 seconds and Recollect the why of that task

So these when we come to digital presence. Digital presence is the why of picking up the phone.

presence. Digital presence is the why of picking up the phone.

Why am I picking up this phone? Haven't we had this habit of picking up our phone every two minutes? So, do we need it? Do I

really want to text someone or message someone or call someone or it's just out of habit? This is 90% of humanity now.

of habit? This is 90% of humanity now.

that we are habitual of checking our phones every two minutes.

So the presence has to be monitored consciously. And

consciously. And again, the big elephant of this room, do you know what you're going to become?

Do you know what you're going to become when you grow up? These questions

frequently teenagers are asked but do you know that so many adults Google how to find my purpose in life? So they haven't figured it out either.

So relax, this is normal and losing clarity feeling stuck at times. It happens with all of us. And

that's pretty normal. What the worst part is, that thinking that it is only happening with you.

That is the worst part. Do me a favor, look on your left and look on your right. So

just now, the research shows that one out of you three is going to feel some heaviness in your chest when asked, how's the exam preparation going on? 81%,

a massive 81% of teenagers today are anxious.

Why? Are they lazy? No. Are they not smart?

No. Probably because they don't want to disappoint someone they love.

So when 8 out of 10 of us are sailing through the same boat then why should I think that I'm the only one who doesn't know how to swim? That's normal.

swim? That's normal.

That happens with everyone. The only key is to shut the noise, to shut the distractions, the comparisons, the all kind of fears, that you have and focus in the present moment.

Let me tell you a short story. There was this girl, Anaya, and one day she had to run a 800 meter race. And not

meter race. And not because she was selected, but because no one else volunteered. So the moment she got to know about this race, she was

else volunteered. So the moment she got to know about this race, she was all full of those fears. What if I trip? What if I lose?

What if my parents see and they get disappointed? What if my friends see and they laugh at me? What will my teachers say? All of that. And

the day of race came and she stood at the starting line where all those presumptions. The whistle blew.

On your marks, get set, go. Everybody ran.

Anaya ran too. And within the first few seconds, she realized she is not winning this.

Because the gap between her and the other students.

It was increasing more so in her head than on the ground. Her

heart was thumping faster than her legs could ever run. And suddenly

run. And suddenly a sound came from the stands. It was her younger brother and he said, don't run the race.

Run your race. Something shifted in her mind and she stopped looking at the finish line. She now just focused on her next step, next breath. Next step,

next breath. She was still not winning. She was

still tired. And when the race ended, she stood second last. She wasn't proud of it.

But she wasn't ashamed either. And

at the end of the race, her teacher called her in a corner.

whispered in her ear winners do inspire us but those who stay present winners I'm sorry winners do impress us but those who stay present inspire us so

what does this mean life was not a asking her to win.

Life was not asking her to win. Life was asking her to show up. To show up with full intention.

That's all. We do not need to know the whole future, the entire life today. We just need to know our next step. That small step,

next step. That small step, meaningful but small step, that is all matters, what matters today. So when

matters today. So when we focus on awareness rather than running on autopilot, When we focus on presence rather than pressures

and when we focus on sincerity rather than comparisons, then our present, we are actually truly present in purpose.

And let the present keep revealing your purpose. Thank you so much.