So now, I clearly understood what I wanted. I know what I want. I had a vision board. I had a goal. Very clear! I know why I want what I want. Okay? So, I want to have a great body. Look fantastic! Have the perfect body! Great! And then, what’s my ‘Why?’

I want to have a great body because I want to inspire. I want to motivate people. I want my brother and sisters to be proud of me. So, I had all my Whys. And with this new understanding of having my vision…Why I want what I want, reasons, the emotional connect…Everything fell in place perfectly. I was like a whole new person.

Okay. But, all this was only understanding. It was only theory. Right? Now, my target was to achieve my ideal weight. But how? How do I do it? So, the whole time this was going on in my head…

My sister’s wedding got fixed. We were super excited! And so, my weight loss journey took a backseat for a while. We got so excited during the whole wedding shopping. We went to Kanchi. Bought silk sarees from there. We went to Nalli and then these fancy stores.

You know weddings are packed with events. We were going shopping to buy the best of sarees. Then one day, we went to Man Mandir. We were all shopping with my favorite aunt. I love her! She is always complimenting me. She’ll be like, ‘You’re so beautiful, Manju!’ You look like yesteryear actress Jayapradha.

I mean, I love Jayapradha. She’s so beautiful! Whenever someone would compare me to Jayapradha I used to be so happy. So, I was going out shopping with this auntie. We all went to Man Mandir for sarees. There, I came across this beautiful georgette saree. Then, I told my aunt – I want to buy this saree. I like it.

She just looked at me and said – ‘Manju, these look good on girls who’re slim. You buy this saree. The thick one. Try this on. This will look good. That wouldn’t suit you.’

I was like really taken back because this auntie of mine, who is always complimenting me said something harsh to my face, out of the blue. I couldn’t take it. There were tears in my eyes. But I was just controlling myself. I was just pretending to shop and after we got home from shopping I went straight to my room and locked the door.

Auntie then came upstairs and knocked my door. But I didn’t open the door. She knocked again. So then I thought, it’s okay. Maybe she wants to apologize for what she said. I went and opened the door. She came in. She said, ‘What? Are you upset?’

I just kept quiet and looked down. ‘Is this about what I said about the saree?’ I still kept quiet. Then she said, ‘I meant to say that.’ I was like, what?!’I meant to say that.’ I’m just looking at her like, why would you do that? She was like, Hey, you were so slim and beautiful. Why did you gain so much weight? I wanted you to take this to your heart. What’s wrong with you? Your sister’s wedding is around the corner. And you’re pretty young. Why did you put on weight?’

And she was just lecturing me. And then she looked at my wall. Remember that poster of Cindy Crawford on my wall? She went, What’s that? I had written under it, ‘I have a perfect body’. She said, ‘You want your body to look like that? Oh, very good! Sticking a poster up your wall will not change anything. What nonsense! Great achievers take necessary action to get what they want. What are you doing?

You’re great, Manju. Okay? Listen to yourself. Okay. Well, you put up that poster. Fantastic! But then, what are you doing about it? Many people daydream about a million things. But, only great people will make it a reality. They will achieve the dream.

She lectured me and left the room. I just stood there looking at her because she was never that blunt, not to my face anyway. She then turned around and said – ‘See, Manju. I know you’re very sensitive, okay? Some people give compliments just for the sake of it. But, because I care for you, I’m telling you. Don’t take it as criticism. It’s feedback, okay?’

She told me she loves me and left. I was just sitting there and whatever she said got me really upset. But when I thought about it, I realized that she’s right. It is feedback. And I have two choices. Either be really upset about it because I was hyper sensitive.

But at the same time how do I take that feedback and make myself better? I was really thinking about it. She’s right, you know. I have to take action. Just dreaming about it won’t be enough. You have to do something about it. Even the greatest of your visions, the greatest of your dreams like, whatever you want, the greatest of your visions are useless if you don’t execute it or take action steps.

That’s when I got a clear idea. Okay, fine. I want this body. I know why I want this body. I want a great body. Why I want it is because I want to motivate and inspire people. This is all clear. Great. But, how do I achieve it?

For that, I should know where I stand. Okay, I put on 8 kilos. I became overweight. I put on 8 kilos. Great. Where do I want to be? I want to reach where Cindy Crawford is. Great. Okay. For that, what do I have to do? First of all, why did I put on so much weight? During both school and college, I was slim. Why did I put on weight? Because, I started waking up late after college. I started eating late.

No exercise, sports or any kind of activity. There was zero movement. So, over the time I was developing some bad habits. I noted down all of that. Great. So, if I want to reach there, I have to change my habits. And. yes! I was compared to my dad. Everyone would say that I have my dad’s genes.

He eats whatever he wants. There’s no dieting in his life. And he maintains his weight, you know. He doesn’t follow a strict diet or whatever. He eats his favourite food and still maintains his weight. Till today, he maintains the same weight. 78 kilos. Till today! It’s amazing!!So, everyone compares me to my dad. They’re like, you’ve got dad’s genes. You can eat whatever you want. Basically, I never had a weight problem.

But now, what is it? Why is it that he’s able to maintain his weight? Why am I not able to do it? I have his genes. I have his blood. Why not? What is it? What was the difference between dad and me? When I looked at it I realized the difference between us. It’s his great habits. Yes! He has fantastic habits! And I was like, yes! Those are the habits.

So, for me to take action steps. Like auntie said, dreaming alone wasn’t enough. I should do something. It was clear that we need to take action. To take those action steps I need to chalk out my healthy habits. What should I do? And for that, I have my dad right in front of me. What a great example!

I’m so blessed to have him. All I have to do is Check out his healthy habits. And model him. He’s my example. He’s my idol. That’s all. It’s right there in front of me my whole life. That’s when I thought, okay, this is it. All I had to do was to see what my dad’s habits are.

The secret? My dad’s great habits. I know you’re all waiting to know what my dad’s habits are. For that, you’ll have to wait for the next video. Trust me! If I give away everything at once, it won’t sink in. We can’t assimilate all this, okay?

Please wait for the next video. Okay? Great! I hope you like the video. No. Actually, you know what? I’m sure you’ll like the video. So please hit the Like button. Share and Subscribe. And if you have any comments, any doubts Please write in the comments below. And I would love to read it.

Great! Let’s catch up in the next video for my dad’s great habits. Are you ready? Super! I knew it!! See you!