Make a chit

Take a small piece of paper. 

Write down, in no particular order, ten memories of your life that always bring a smile to your face. 

You can write it in any language, use codewords, symbols which only you know or draw smiley faces, if you wish. 

You can write about your first kiss, a moment with your parents, the school picnic you went to with your friends or the moment you woke up after two days of sickness to find your pet dog at your bedside worried about you. It could be a memory of an sms chat with a crush that lasted all night or that party where you had a vodka too many and sang to your hearts content. It can be an exam you topped or a cultural program you participated in. 

Now, take that piece of paper and fold it carefully and keep it safe in your purse/wallet. 

Don't tell me what you wrote. It is yours and yours alone to cherish.

Go back to whatever you were doing. 

You may not always have the best of times. You may not always have your closest friends to talk to while you lie awake at 2 am in the morning. You may feel alone even in a crowd of a hundred peers.  

Don't let your insecurities slowly destroy you. 

You have an inbuilt treasure-trove of happy pills that can get you through your worst insecurities : precious moments and fond memories. 

Memories that remind you of how good things have been in your life. Memories of times you felt everything was right with the world. Moments where you  had the most fun when you least expected it. Moments that you need to remember once more to instill in yourself the belief that in spite of how bad things seem, happiness is right around the corner.

But, as is common with us all, we tend not to think of our best moments during our times of despair. 

Hence, the need for this chit. 

Remember those small white pieces of paper that 'we' may have made to 'jog our memory' through a tough exam ? That's all this is. Only this time the exam is the very realistic game of life and many people tend to give up when they find the questions too tough to handle. Turns out, just like in those earlier days, a chit could prove mighty handy in real life too.

You may not need the chit today. Touchwood, you may never need the chit at all. 

But someday in the future, if you find yourself down and wondering how this isn't the life you dreamt of, it is always helpful to have this chit around. 

When you feel that insecurity or inner suffering creep in, take out your purse/wallet and randomly read any one of the points you have written. 

Remember the reason you wrote it in that list.  

And smile again.