Is It Worth It?

A Conversation and a Realization

It was like any other day. I was doing something I love the most, having a conversation with a friend. She asked me how I was finding Navi Mumbai now that I’m living here. I told her I was having fun, but things feel unnecessarily expensive. She said, “It’s the lifestyle and stuff.”

The chat moved ahead. At one point, she said, “I don’t think I can live in places like Karjat, Badlapur, Kasara, etc.”
I replied, “It’s a mental block. Everyone has one.”
Because, funny enough, this is exactly what many Mumbai folks say about Navi Mumbai too. They look down upon it. They consider it “downmarket.” It’s a chain reaction of judgement. Someone looks down on you, and you look down on someone else to feel better.

The Illusion of Identity

It made me reflect on how deeply we, as humans, tie our identities to things like these, the place we live, the job we have, the social circle we belong to. We anchor our sense of self-worth to these variables.

The resistance to moving to a certain place isn’t about geography, it’s about perception. The fear that your identity might take a hit if you align with something the world doesn’t consider “worthy.”

We think we’re protecting our value, but what we’re really doing is boxing ourselves in. These mental blocks stop us from doing what we truly want. Not because it’s wrong. But because it doesn’t match the checklist of what’s socially admirable.

But here’s the truth: the more we depend on these outside validations, the further we drift from knowing what actually makes us feel alive.

The Final Question

In developmental psychology, there’s a beautiful passage I once read that I can’t resist sharing. It’s about the final phase of life: older adulthood. It goes something like this:

As people grow older, they retire from the job they dedicated their life to. Their children, whom they loved more than themselves, move on and away. Slowly, they begin pulling away from life and preparing for death. And then comes a moment when they’re faced with a single question:

“Was it worth it?”

If the answer is yes, you see joy in their eyes. Their very presence lights up every room they walk into.
If the answer is no, they become bitter, some of the most discontented souls you’ll ever meet.

It struck me that this is perhaps where the idea of heaven and hell comes from. Not some distant judgement in the afterlife, but something that happens right here, within us. The Chitragupta’s account, the Qayamat ka din, the Judgement Day – it’s all about that one question.

Ask Yourself

So if I could leave you with one thought from this blog, it’s this:

Next time you’re standing at a crossroads, unsure of what to choose, just ask yourself:
“Is it worth it?”
If the answer is yes – do it.
If it’s no – don’t.

Let that be your compass. Because real self-worth comes from making choices that matter to you. Not the world.