It isn't so often in life that I receive half baked deals. But despite that, I do. And how often do we accept some ridiculously stupid deals - A job that we don't love but has a great pay, a relationship that has evidently no future but is currently satisfying, a person who is just so wrong for us but is currently pursuing us, a family member who puts us in tough spots but we don't call it out since they're family, a friend who only brings us down but we're doing social service to the world and so it's okay, right? We accept these half baked deals half heartedly, thinking something is better than nothing; all the while forgetting that nothing is better than nonsense.
A half baked deal that is accepted whole heartedly can still do wonders, but any deal accepted half heartedly will eventually be our own ruin, as I have learnt the hard way - by burning my fingers in the flame. Life works in a pretty straightforward way - it gives you what you give it, right back. It is never just what we do, but HOW we do it, that counts. It has been LONG since I have stopped accepting these half baked deals that come my way. This also means I have a countable number of solid deals with people, I work in a place that I like in a role that I enjoy, I choose and stay friends with people who vibe with me, I don't hesitate to voice out differences - be it with my closest people and family, especially with my closest people and family, I read books and watch movies that I find invigorating, I eat the food that I like (and sometimes this can translate to junk, as well :P), I take breaks before my enthusiasm reaches the reserve capacity, and I make efforts to bring out an uplifting change in my overall well-being.

The perfect life, right? Wrong!
Even with all of the above said efforts I make, there are things that fall apart, and there are more than enough half baked deals up for grabs if I care for it. And it only takes a momentary lapse in judgment - a moment when I think it's okay to give a friend a second chance when he/she has consistently shown to me that there's no point giving yet another chance, a moment when I don't walk out when I'm caught amidst gossip, a moment when I don't stand up to my own friends about important life decisions that I disagree with - and then the moment is gone, a chance to be real is gone. The moment passes. And if I don't make a double attempt to be aware of these moments whenever they present themselves next, I know for sure I'm on a downward spiral - I can feel it in my breath, my breath never lies. So when I've gotten myself into a stupid deal, I know eventually. Sooner rather than later, but I do know. And the moment you know, you can't un-know it any longer, you know! And that is the end of any stupid deal I might have gotten myself into, I get out of them. And every single time I listen to that tiny voice within, which nudges me in a direction that is right for me, it's like a heavy weight being lifted off my chest.
It has been a recent discovery that this tiny voice inside my head most of the times nudges me in directions opposite to every possible social conditioning I have been exposed to - be it on the definition of what makes me happy at work, or on the definition of what fits my bill for a happy relationship, or on the definition of true friendship. For the longest time without my knowledge, I kept living as per the social conditioning I've been brought up with, instead of simply listening to the voice within.
It is only in the past two years that I have been increasingly paying attention to the directions my inner compass points at, and it has never gone wrong. And if there is one message that I've strongly learnt by listening to this voice, is to never take up any deal that is half baked. It might seem like a half baked deal is better than having no deal at all, but once you sign one, the price you have to pay to get out of such a deal unscathed is far too high, and not everybody can afford to pay such a heavy price. Being stuck in a half baked deal also means you're not making the effort for the full deal you deserve, which is quite pathetic really.
I write this piece as a gentle nudge to those of you who read it, to throw yourselves into jobs and people and friends who truly deserve you, and also as a silent reminder to myself to stay put on the path my internal compass points me towards, even if that means not going in the direction our societal compass points towards.
What deals have you got yourself into that you regret/relish?