I have been 2 years and 3 months into the service industry and I have realized that I do not share any particular liking to this industry. I know it sounds a bit preposterous to the untrained eye that it took me more than 2 years to realize this simple fact. I would like to point out in my defense that this is not an abnormal behavior given the fact that it is basic human nature to have an affinity to the current lifestyle they are in, even though they hate it, mainly owing to their disinclination to come out of their comfort zones. Normally, they try desperately to convince themselves that they are happy with their lives and that they would remain so as long as they don’t tax themselves with the burden of thinking about something better or livelier. Only exceptional people realize their dreams in the first go; others have a hard time trying to figure out what their dream is. And once realized in due course of their terribly unsatisfying jobs and lifestyles, they stumble and fumble before quite reaching a satisfactory point in life. But as long as you don’t let it affect you personally, I would say, a little stumbling and fumbling will do you more good than harm and by the time you reach that point where you get in good terms with your life, you would have had tons of experience worth remembering and laughing at. After all, life is all about the memories and experiences that made you who you are today. A little anticipation, hope and getting lost in the vastness of the Universe would bring in some spiciness to the otherwise monotonous life.
I am glad that I realized my actual feeling toward service industry at least now. I have had my share of stumbling and fumbling; now let me give my dream a shot way before I get yet another realization that what I actually want is something else. Actually, that is what life is…People try to get somewhere and once they are there, they then yearn for something else. Life should be approached in short steps in the form of achievable dreams one after the other.
For example, when a child says she wants to be a teacher when she grows up and strives for it, it is most likely that she ends up becoming a teacher if she doesn’t change her mind before she achieves that. But if that she is really passionate about teaching, she would certainly want to reach the next level of teaching once she gets to the basic level.
It is basic human nature to chase the dreams if they are totally passionate about what they want; even before you reach the level you strive for, we would have gotten yourself to think ‘what next’. Human brain has a complex behavior and as researchers say we have utilized only 20% of our brains, and if even that looks complex, then it would be beyond our imagination to think of its actual potential. The statement reminds me of the catch-22 situation (may be because that is the book I am currently reading and it makes me interpret the things around me in a different way). The situation is that we are utilizing only a maximum of 20% of our brain and to investigate on the 100% potential of our brain is beyond our imagination. However hard we try, we would get to use only 20% of our brain and to find out what we could achieve would require more expertise than what we have today. The more we try to tame our brains, the more complexity it displays. But life should move on; it should never be stagnant. Always try out new things in life – new experiences, new lifestyles, new places, new food etc. This way, life takes an exciting turn and strengthens the spirit of living in you. The lifetime of a human in this world is negligible when we consider the big picture; so why waste it on petty problems and a monotonous lifestyle.
I am in fact bored of the kind of work I do, I am sure that I have new areas to explore. The only real happiness I get in this office or used to get in my previous office is during the tea breaks or coffee breaks. I would surely want some excitement in my daily office life. I do admit that technology doesn’t titillate me, but the million dollar question that stares ate me in the face is ‘What am I doing here when I could have been doing something else that would excite me, in some other part of the world’.
To answer this question, I would have to delve into my earlier days, and since it is of no use trying to correct what had happened long back, I would leave it at that. My objective now is to find a solution to this problem. I should admit that my life till now wasn’t terrible after all; my only regret now being that it could have been better by now had I been prudent enough to pursue my dreams back then. But it doesn’t really matter now; all that matters is how I am going to correct it.
At least I have figured out my problem now. This is the first step in problem solving – know the problem and understand it; make it your own and then you would be able to find a solution for it. In my case, the first step is complete, but before I move on to the next, there is one thing I need to put forth…It is always easy to speak, but to act, it requires a lot of courage. Now I know what I don’t want, but how do I get what I want? Yes, acting on your decision is the hardest part, I realize it now.
Perseverance, boldness and courage is the stepping stone to success; many have trudged these paths to get to the top, but as the Indian Army’s recruitment motto says ‘Do you have IT in you?’ is the question. Of course I have it, and not just me, everyone in this world has the aforementioned qualities, but it all depends on how one prioritizes things. To mention a simple example, I have to go to office today, but I love sleeping in this cold weather; the decision to whether or not to wake up and get dressed to go to office depends on the individual’s priority and the priority in turn depends on your thoughtfulness and your willingness to suffer the consequences of your actions. Some people might opt to stay back and sleep a little more as they think their health is of utmost importance and they need the sleep to refresh them where as some others might things seeing the boss’s angry face would not make their day and would prefer to go to office sacrificing their sleep. So these things primarily depend on the individual and nobody can force someone to tread the so called conventional path of wisdom. Every possible wisdom man could ever imagine, everything, is out in the open, in the nature’s book, we just need the patience to read and understand it or rather to observe and understand it. But nobody seems to have the time for it these days, all are busy chasing the multitude of dreams they try to realize in this short life. They are desperately trying to make each day of their lives worthwhile. But living your life also comes under the jurisdiction of the term ‘making your life worthwhile’. Let us see where life takes us, but in the meantime, let us enjoy our life so that we don’t get a chance to regret not having lived our life properly at a time when life would have reached a stage beyond all regrets.