This is how I go about my work
Hello, I am Shashi’s Life Instinct. Would you like to hear about a day in my life? I think you would, for you have your personal Life Instinct, who’s just like me. Without us, there would be no Shashi and no you. See how we look out for you as if you are our flesh and blood. It’s true, for I am in every cell of Shashi, although my sum is immensely greater than my parts.
Besides the automatic mechanisms of Shashi’s senses for which I need to keep his cells alive, I control all his feelings, thoughts and actions. To describe everything I do in his day would likely take more than 2000 pages, so I’ll stick to some of the significant responsibilities I discharge. You can imagine the rest or read this book.
12 April 2022
[6:00 am] I wake Shashi up by letting him start reacting to the morning light and the twittering birds as he slept well last night. He’s let his food get digested, and his heart, muscles and bones rested and recuperated. (Waking Shashi for the day is one of the basic things I make him do every day, like eating, relieving himself, etc. These are my fundamental job skills, developed and refined through millions of generations of Life Instincts. Thanks to those who went before me, I don’t need much effort to get basic things done by Shashi. I owe them much.)
[8:30 am] Today is Shashi’s dad’s monthly death anniversary. I get him to pray for the peace of his dad’s soul in front of his framed photograph. I’ve deeply ingrained a desire for life in Shashi, and he can’t help feeling he should exist in some form after he dies, even if only as a soul or memory. Remembering his parents and thinking of their souls reinforces this belief and desire in Shashi and makes him do healthy things, which is what I want. Nice trick, no?
[9:00 am]I make him check his stock prices. He needs funds for himself and his family to live well, and investing is one way to have more. He’s done well today, so I give him some excellent Dopamine rewards, which will keep him using his brain well for this.
[9.15 am] I make Shashi remember he has to start work. He’s not keen, but I make him think of first checking his email messages. There’s bound to be some, and they’ll make him feel good by feeling needed and important. That’ll suck him into starting his work, which is still essential for him to eat and live well. Getting Shashi to toil is one of my most important tasks of the day. I’ve to be ever alert with carrots and sticks to make him stick to it.
[11:00 am] Shashi gets a message about a batch of his peers getting promoted this quarter. It is good because I make him envious, and he starts feeling like doing more for himself. But, what’s this! He seems to be downplaying and dismissing it determinedly. Oh well, given where I’ve got him to in life, it’s okay, I suppose. I can let it slide and rest on my laurels.
[12:00 pm] Now I make him feel like creating a document that’s not part of his regular role so he can impress everyone. He has started, and it’s going well. I am happy, so I make him feel good.
[01:00 pm] Shashi overeats at lunch. It’s my fault. Parts of me are still very basic and stupid. Sometimes I forget there’s no need to act like there may be no food tomorrow. So now I make him feel bad about it, poor thing, to make him resist dessert tonight and make up for my error.
[02:30 pm] Both Shashi and I, his Life Instinct, are over middle age. We need a couple of breaks in the day. I make Shashi feel drowsy, and we have a short nap and get refreshed.
[03:00 pm] I make Shashi feel like doing some recreational writing, one of his interests, and he picks up on a story he’s writing on Medium. I do this because I need him to have interests other than work for a couple of reasons. One’s that he works better if he gives his mind a diversion. The other is that my predecessor Life Instincts, and I, their humble product, have been so successful at our mission of making Shashi thrive that he’ll live well beyond his productive years. Then he’ll need something to stay happy and interested in life. (And in case you’re wondering, no amount of Shashi’s life is ever enough for me. I am his Life Instinct, silly.) So, it should be a pleasant thirty minutes for him, and if it does anything for other humans, it’ll be a bonus.
[04:00 pm] Oh no, no! Shashi is now going through something that’s been happening more frequently in the past few years. He feels a sense of futility and wonders how long he has to keep living. He’s thinking, twenty to twenty-five years more will be so long. This is bad, very bad. It’s not my doing! It is that devil Anti-Life-Instinct’s work. I knew evolution should not have given Shashi consciousness of his separateness, and thinking ability. The devil emerged from it. I hate it. On top of that, evolution also gave Shashi free will, a most dastardly and questionable thing to do! Fortunately, hardly any humans can kill themselves, and Shashi’s far from it. Else it could be the death of me. But even his questioning the need to live is terrible. It’ll make him less interested in his health and life. And that endangers me. I hope he gets out of this mood. So, I make him feel hungry, which is always a reliable trick. Now he’s eating something. That should put him in a good mood. Yes! It’s working. He has settled down. I hope it’ll be a long time before he has another episode. It gives me the heebie-jeebies.
[05:00 pm] I remind Shashi to check with his daughter if she activated her debit card, her first one. It’s one of the many steps in preparing her to fly the nest. To make Shashi strengthen his next generation is one of my essential duties for the continuance of the genotype of which we Life Instincts are guardians.
[06:00 pm] I make him feel like talking to his friend R, and they chat and unburden for a while. Shashi should have friends for his mental well-being and in times of need. R also benefits, so this is me and R’s Life Instinct working together. We are friends too.
[07:00 pm] Shashi has a bit of a lie-down, but I push him to get up and go for his daily evening walk. It’s good for his body and mind to get some exercise, so I make him feel a sense of satisfaction while he does it and afterwards.
[8:00 pm] I make Shashi have dinner with his family while watching one of their favourite TV series. I’ve made this a comforting habit as it increases their bonding and care for each other. I also make him prefer stories that reinforce life-positive behaviours like friendship, love, honesty, bravery, etc.
[10:00 pm] As Shashi winds down for the day, I trigger the urge I’ve ingrained in him to read. It’s another improving hobby that also makes him sleep better.
[10.30 pm] I make him sleepy now. But we Life Instincts have created an old liking for music and songs that surfaces most nights in Shashi. He finds it soothing, so I let him put on his headphones and play a few songs.
[10.40 pm] I let Shashi fall asleep.
[10:40 pm — 6:00 am] My work continues while Shashi sleeps. His sleeping conditions have to be good. If he feels warm, I’ll make him throw off his blanket. He has to stay safe from the dangers of the night. If he hears a noise, I’ll wake him up and make him listen intently to know if it’s benign or a threat. I’ll be on vigil till I wake him in the morning.
Right, another successful day for me. Shashi was in no danger and did good things for me. Oops! I mean for him.
So now you know how hard I work for Shashi, as your Life Instinct does for you.
I wish you a nice day, my human reader friend. You sure will if you cooperate with your Life Instinct.
This story is a glimpse into what I do in one person. Together, billions of us Life Instincts in humans have an astounding reach and power that you can learn about in this book:
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