While reading about self-love, an old memory resurfaced. Someone once tried to remind me of my “Aukaat”—a word that signifies one’s status or worth in life. He told me I did not deserve the best, while he did. “Toh apni Aukaat bhool gaya hai?” he said.
Sometimes, I revisit those words. Why should I not deserve better while others can?
At times, I wonder if “Aukaat” simply means one’s reality, one’s limit. As Chattan Bhagat once pointed out, there is no equivalent word for “Aukaat” in some other languages.
When people remind you of your Aukaat, they are not offering wisdom—they are trying to suppress you, to keep you beneath them. “Teri itni hi Aukaat hai, jo hamara muqabla kar raha hai?” they say, as if worth is something dictated by others.
But with time, I realized a deeper truth: people control others by controlling their thoughts—by suppressing their beliefs about what is possible.
That day, I made a decision. You defined my Aukaat for me once, but one day, I would define it for myself.
And today, when I look at my achievements and compare them to their lives, I see the truth—they were wrong. They were liars. I have accomplished much.
So, remember: when someone tries to tell you your Aukaat, they are not revealing your limits. They are exposing their own.
How to change your Aukaat is to take responsibility of your life. Goals and effort to change effort. it take time.