‘SET YOUR OWN PACE IN LIFE’

We can’t think of a time when actor Kajol played by any rules other than her own. She opens up on endurance and balance

Kajol is someone who is known for efficiently striking a balance between her professional and personal lives. She says that in order to achieve one’s goals, one needs to treat health as wealth. What’s more, a person also needs to decide at what pace they want to run this long race called life. That means taking care of the mind as well as the body.

The actor stresses, “It’s important to give yourself time and realise that the pace the world demands of you, may not be the best pace for you. It’s like running a marathon and realising that the fastest people over there may be the fastest, but if you want to be the one who finishes the marathon, then you’re going to make sure that you reach the finishing line at your own time and speed, and not at anyone else’s time and demand.” Now that’s the Kajol we know, the person who plays only by her own rules.

That sort of confidence and chilled-out state of mind must be truly useful at a time when film actors, especially the women, are under so much public scrutiny — there’s pressure to always look perfect and sound smart, and one slip can bring forth a torrent of criticism.

Speaking about mental health in these times of 24/7 perfection — at least that’s what is expected of celebs — Kajol says, “Actors coming out and talking about their mental issues makes a difference, because then you realise that someone that famous can also have the same problems that you face. Therefore, it’s not that big a deal, and you can talk about it. Also, sometimes in our heads, we build our problems up, and make them much bigger, but when we talk about them, we realise that it’s actually not that serious.”

On her own mental health rules, the actor says, “You have to give yourself time to absorb everything happening around you. I have days when there are so many things to be done, and you can’t go to sleep, as your mind is still working. So, giving time to yourself and your mind is important.”

Actor Kajol says that in order to achieve one’s goals in life, health — of both body and mind — must be prioritised