While I was working for an up-coming herbal cosmetics brand, during my second year at that company I was offered a job by a multinational company for more than twice the salary that I was earning at that point of time. After a careful evaluation I refused the offer. I contemplated the value I would attain when the brand I am working for reaches its market leadership. Just as I anticipated, in a couple of years the brand I handled became the unprecedented market leader in the herbal cosmetics market. I was inevitably considered as the best by the industry.

My worth rose exponentially. This would never have become a reality if I fell prey to the gimmick that was offered by that multinational company. Today, I am the CEO of Chandanalepa, the largest Ayurvedic Cosmetic Manufacturer in Sri Lanka. The bold and strong decision I took thirteen (13) years ago assisted me to achieve what I have at present. The reality you must make sure you understand is that down the line, life will always offer you a variety of attractive temporary gimmicks, if you get trapped in them you will undoubtedly deviate from achieving your utmost potential.

Not long ago I heard a very sad story about a very good friend of mine who was once a man of wealth who drove a Mercedes Benz. He has been forced onto to the streets after leaving his good-hearted and innocent wife for a wicked woman who was only body beautiful than his wife. Gimmicks will certainly transfer your focus from your original dream and invite you to settle for something that is temporary attractive, yet ineffective, worthless or destructive in the long term. Sleeping excessively is another gimmick that is offered by your body.

Illicit relationships are a highly destructive gimmick which has destroyed many lives. “Fast Food” is yet another gimmick that looks delicious and pleasurable temporary, it can steal your happiness in the long run by deteriorating your good health. Gimmicks are devils in disguise. You must be wise enough to identify their presence and differentiate their approach, or else you will never be able to live a groaning and mourning free life. There are many employees who have lost their jobs simply because of their foolish decisions to accept illegal commissions from their suppliers.

In 2008, when I was the Head of Marketing for a famous brand in Sri Lanka, an advertising company offered me a lump sum of Rs. 500,000/- as a bribe to permit a business of ten (10) hoardings, Rs. 50,000/- per hoarding. I immediately chased them away yelling in filth, as I had no control over my tongue at that time. I told them never to come before me ever again. Gimmicks mostly invite you to compensate or compromise your values. Do not compromise your values for temporary gains as your values can yield happiness for you.

I have seen many people who are alive physically but dead within themselves. Even though they breathe through their nostrils, their souls are dead. They have murdered and buried their conscious for temporary gimmicks. Therefore they are suffering in all means of life. Let me share with you on how to approach gimmicks when they beautifully appear before you. Firstly let me tell you about gimmicks that can persuade you, just simply run away from the situation without making a decision. At times a gimmick could be so powerful that you might even fall in to it if you simply sit and wait in front of it.

If at all the gimmick is so powerful, please escape to a secluded spot, close your eyes and weigh the gimmick, the gimmick on one side and your dreams on the other side. Weighing it multiple times will help you to avoid taking unwise decisions as you will see its consequences. You will see what you will miss if you say ‘yes’ to the gimmick and what you will gain by saying ‘no’ to the gimmick and moving forward with your original dream. It is indeed a good choice to seek the opinion of the wise whenever life tempts you with temporary gimmicks.

Recently a good sales representative of mine, handed over his resignation to me and stated that he was offered a higher position from another company. I told him that I have no issue at all of him leaving us, nevertheless it is advisable for him to enquire if his new company is stable and if it has a solid foundation to move forward for another 25 years and if that company is a good paymaster. However this young man ignored weighing the pros and cons of the offer, he was carried away by the extra pay and the new designation offered by the new company.

Unfortunately his new company could not withstand the turbulent effects of the corona virus. Many of the employees suffered a lot in terms of their earnings. My exsales person was no exemption to it. From morning till night, you will be standing before two avenues and the decision is purely yours. You can either get up on time or sleep a little longer, you can eat red rice for breakfast or you can eat junk., you can either watch a drama full of juicy gossips or you can read a book which will definitely add more value to your life, you can either work out or not, sleep longer or wake up and engage in some extra work, whilst at work you can work honestly or waste hours on Facebook.

If you actually think of your life for a day then you will clearly witness that life has a gimmick before every dream. Just as the optimisation of the google search engine, make sure that your original dream pops up in your mind before the gimmicks. Throw the gimmicks that pester you in your mind straight into the waste bin. Your mind is highly profound, therefore it has a good storage as well as a waste storage. You must be aware of what you store in your original storage which you have access to recall continuously so that they remain on the top most shelves at all times.

On the other hand, make sure you destroy all irrelevant facts and details completely so that they are thrown into the waste bin before they initiate extending towards the warehouse of your original mind. At some instances the decisions we have taken in the past may reappear in the form of a gimmick, we must be extra cautious about those. Negative friends and ex boy/girl friends are similar gimmicks who may reappear with a different flavour. It is essential to understand that even though the flavour is different, the toffee is still as destructive as before.

Some gimmicks may appear in a very emotional form, at such situations you must be strong and bold to face them. For example, if your ex calls you and says that she’s in a living hell with her current husband, so she need to meet you in order to ease out her pain. Ultimately, rather than easing her pain you will end up in the same hell as her. Be strong and bold whilst dealing with gimmicks. Life is extremely beautiful, your decisions will lead you towards your final destination, happiness or misery.