The pressure cooker we all live in

(This post is dedicated to all the millenials out there. Hope you like it.)
Unlike many, I like cooking in the pressure cooker. Just chop a few things, add a few ingredients, put them together under high pressure and you are sorted (with a delicious meal at that). When you think of it, isn't society much like a pressure cooker? Since the time we are toddlers, we are surrounded with pressure. 'Has he started teething yet?' ' Oh! He hasn't started walking?' 'Are you giving him enough calcium?' And this is just the beginning. Then we are enrolled in school and are expected to be the best in studies as well as extra curricular activities. If not the best then atleast better than the neighbours/relatives son (The Sharmaji ka beta syndrome).

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Then comes the pressure of doing well in exams, because God forbid if we get lesser marks, then how are we going to pursue the only two careers in our country - medicine or engineering. Later on, is the pressure of finding a good job, a suitable mate, the pressure of providing better than you can for your children. And if you are a woman, there is an added pressure of looking good at all times. This has resulted in teenage girls being obsessed with make-up their parents can't afford. Its not just society or expectations that are to be blamed. Much of the pressure is self inflicted as well. It's because we have this picture in our heads of how it is supposed to be; of a perfect life. But can anything ever be perfect? It's like when a woman goes shopping to buy a perfect dress. She'll go to 10 shops just to buy a single dress because who knows the perfect dress might just be in the next shop. But, in reality, the perfect dress doesn't exist. Its all in her mind. Its what she likes and what she thinks will suit her perfectly.

This illusion of a perfect life is the reason that so many people today are stressed- either physically or mentally. The increase in depression and anxiety is terrifying. It is important to tease the whistle of the cooker once in a while to release some pressure out of it. Do what makes you happy. Want to go on a vacation you've been planning for so long? Do it. Want to make a career change? Do it. Want to try the new diet everyones been talking about? Do it. Because perfection isn't just an illusion. Its boring!  I'm not saying that pressure is entirely a bad thing. It is pressure that turns carbon  into diamond. But when you are cooking a meal in the pressure cooker, it is important to know when to turn off the stove or you'll be left with an overcooked meal that you will definitely not enjoy.