I passed my 10th class
with 80% marks and teachers and many people around me couldn’t understand why I
was taking up commerce and advised that I should take up Science instead. I was
good in Biology but I was equally good in many other subjects except may be for
maths. Usually people tell u that you choose your career path by looking at
what you are interested in and naturally talented with. I was good at a few
things but I was not sure which path will lead to success. But I was sure that
the path people were asking me to take weren’t the ones I wanted to follow. I
didn’t want to be in the medicine or engineering field which was the most and
still is the most popular option parents usually force their kids to take up.
Thanks to God my parents always allowed us to make our own choices.
When I was in college people
urged me to take up banking test, while others told me to apply for government
jobs. But I had a strong intuition that these job though paid well and are safe
options, I am not going to be satisfied with it. During my business management
course, I was asked to join a bank in their customer relation division for our
summer internship program and I turned it down because of the very same
intuition. My goal was always to become
a soft skill trainer and motivational speaker. Just I was not doing the right
course for it which I later realized. I went on to work in Dubai after marriage
and my work mostly involved a customer service and coordination job which I was
good at but I was not excited about my job. I could never utilize all my skill
set being in those positions as my heart was always in training.
It pained me to go to work. I hated the commute. I couldn’t feel anything
positive about my job. I was always stressed. Everything I had to do in my job
made me feel worthless. I worked in a reputed firm and the office was located
in one of the posh neighbourhood and I was getting paid a decent salary. But I knew
this was not my cup of tea. I hated everything about my job.
Three years later we moved back
home and had our son. Got busy with motherhood and people still asked why I
quit and not working. As before my strong intuition told me that I would rather
do one good job than do two half good or completely bad jobs. I wanted this for
a long time. To be there at my child’s every milestone especially in the first
few years and I wanted to fully enjoy everything motherhood had to offer. After
couple of years I wanted to break away from being that full time stay at home
mom. And many people within my family wasn’t supportive enough yet I decided to
get a part time job as a Skill development executive a government part time
contract job. A stepping stone into my dream job.
My job as a skill development
executive required me to do a lot of preparation before sessions which meant I had
to do a lot of work at home as well. With the added responsibility of a mother
I had to work late at night at home to be ready for work the next day and I didn’t
mind those late nights and juggling my duties as a mother. That’s because I knew
I was enjoying my work. Finally I was
doing a job where I felt an inner satisfaction. I worked for a year and I am on a
break right now.
I have always followed my heart
and it has served me well. It doesn’t mean that I haven’t made mistakes. It was
my decision to take up business management and it turned out to be a mistake but
it was my mistake and I knew even if I am making a mistake I wouldn’t have to
blame anyone else for them. I will only have myself. Even when things didn’t
happen the way I hoped to I was glad that I don’t have anyone else to blame but
myself. It may have been a mistake but it is from such mistakes that we learn.
My business management course didn’t end up being completely useless. That
certificate has served me well too. I worked in corporates for a few years and
later in connection with teaching my students business communication as part of
my job I could use the experiences form the course and the job I previously
did.
People are still asking me to get into a government job, again it’s the
safest option but not one where I will be happy. Money can bring happiness to the extent of
getting you a few material things but job satisfaction and a passion to do my
job on a daily basis is what I want. One of the reason I don’t like government
jobs is that no matter how good you are at your job you might get transferred
or even punished for doing the right things and your job. I do not want to get
into the politics of those things. I lack the sharpness to hold a position in a
government office and moreover my heart just not into it.
Society rates success on
the business of the material things you own, the company you work for, the
degree you hold, the position you hold in a company or the money you make, the
institution you study in etc. Well, I don’t. These things don’t matter to me as
long as I am able to do something I love, able to contribute to my society and
earn from it no matter how big or small that job is. It also means that I don’t get to go on
foreign trips and buy luxury items in my life.
I am fine with that. I am content with whatever my job can earn me.
Listen to your intuition. In the short-run you might not reap the benefits and
but in the long run you will. I am still in the short run of my career, I am
hoping to reap the benefits in the long run. I am telling my story right now
because it is important that we talk about these things even at our struggling
and trying times and not just after we succeed.
Take the risk. Follow your heart.
Success will follow
