We’ve got our share of problems, and we’ve all got our share of regrets. The reason that "regret" is on my mind (No, I have not done anything immoral lately..hah! ) is that I saw this TED talk where this lady named Kathryn Schulz was talking about how we as (normal) humans have to have regrets… well, else you are a sociopath or brain-damaged...apparently .
Interestingly, she had a survey that showed that majority of people regret their education, career and romance related decisions ...ouch.
This got me thinking... I live in a country where most of the kids at school are majorly given 3 career choices at school First: Doctor, Second: Engineer, Third: Others (we don't really care what you do, you're a douche-bag). As a result (not surprisingly) we are bound to have a large number of people stuck doing things they remotely have affinity for. Look at me for instance, I used to sit in an Anatomy class at college trying to figure out which of the dissected human body parts in front of me was the Right lung and which was the left (when I realize that it actually was a liver) and then hook an inflated pillow to a circuit and poke it( to simulate "breathing") just to see the pressure readings change on the laptop….. Now, I am an SAP admin at an IT firm. Boy! I didn't see that coming... or did I?
For crying out loud! Cribbing about how wrong is your job for you is the 'in' thing these days! Let me tell you one thing: even if you went to the "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" chances are that you’ll graduate and still be working for an IT company, maybe in the HR department to befuddle the people into feelings of job satisfaction from their current salary and other such illusions. After all as an HR said: "You are unique does not mean that you are 'useful'... "
Then comes the second stage where everyone wants to have "The MBA" , move into finance, become a banker and scoot to the US/EU to be the 1% watching the rest occupy the streets from atop skyscrapers.
Wait a second! We are back to cliché again! Seriously guys? like moths flying onto a bulb isn't that?
What are we running away from? Yes. We in India have a whole lot of problems... a BIG load… and THAT my friend, is the precise reason why it makes sense for you to stay (if you are as you say.. imaginative and caught at the wrong place) because a hundred problems mean that there might be a more than a thousand different ways to come up with a solution and make something better, or come up with something new. That means, there are a whole lot of opportunities waiting for somebody to grab them. We have got over a Billion people! Even a single rupee from each of them can make you a Billionaire!
We are a nation of quick-fixers and problem solvers right from mothers using newspapers to soak oily food to auto-rickshaw drivers using a mix of vegetable oils and petrol to save money. Of course we can do it! We have a million things we can improve in all spheres of life. That means what-ever you supposedly "wanted" to do is also included in the list. All you have to do is think, dive in and yank out the bunny by its ears.
Here comes the third part of "The Great Indian Phenomena”: Most of us have got so snug in the blanket of our insipid life that we don't want to budge! It turns out we have become too lazy for our own good. People now rather prefer irradiate themselves to stupid reality shows like "Bigg Boss" and have their brain cells killed and then later on feel a slight tinge of pain when reminded of what they actually aspired to do, which they shrug off and go to bed.
Time to bring in the "Itch”: Remember giving a competitive exam full of multiple choice questions? Wherein if you are not in the top 10 per cent then you are 'no good’… Seriously?! You believe that the 90% of us are ok to fit in a 'not so good' category? No, I don't think so and I know neither do you. Einstein once said “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Get the Itch! Don't live a life stamped 'OK' when you can live one that is Awesome!, the one that you'll like more, the one that you wonder how would it be if you "did that". Take an initiative no matter how small and its better late than never!... else we're back to regret. and no matter how the lady in the TED video tells you to deal with it.. It always will be unpleasant.
Someone said "I'll do it part-time till the day I can do it Full-time"
