Broken Wings

Disclaimer: Bosses, family friends and relatives are the best things that can happen to you. Left parents out intentionally because, they are the best things that make you happen. Any resemblance to living things is purely coincidental. But if the shoe fits, feel free to wear it. Though, I didn’t write this blog with any negative jibes, if you are offended even after the disclaimer, God bless.

                                                                           *********

Do you want to throw an effing brick on your monitor every single time you look at it? Do you regret not taking up something which you love, as your career? Well then, welcome to the birdie group with broken wings. Itching to fly but hopelessly hopping around, kicking your own ass for letting the fear of failure or the opinions of people cut your beautiful wings. Though there may be a number of reasons why you ended up this way, remember it’s never late to fly again. Life is like a multiple choice question, there are no wrong answers to it until and unless the choice you make keeps you happy. Have you chosen the option that will make you happy or have you settled for the less suitable ones?

Stories about people who gave up their lucrative corporate jobs to follow their dream inspire us a lot, but when it comes to implementing it in our own lives, we are risk averse. Rather, I feel we want everything, money, job security, social acceptance but without risking anything. This is the primary reason why most of us settle for the jobs which we aren’t inclined to. If we respect every profession equally, we would have a great mix of people from various fields. Now all we have is a great mélange of unhappy engineers from different streams. We as a nation have narrowed down the possibilities and have become blind to most career choices. We feel that being a doctor, an engineer or a charted accountant are the only viable options available. We have shut the doors on most novel career choices by discouraging them.

Cynicism is like charity, it beings at home, I used to mock at people who pursued unconventional interests like photography, film making and the sundries. But when ‘I’ was laughed at, I was deeply hurt and I wanted to shove a hamburger up his ass. This made me realize that no dream is small, no profession is inferior and no one has the right to ridicule the choice of others. Respecting each other’s dreams empowers our own self in a way that we never imagined.

However cliché it may sound, money cannot buy you happiness, similarly it cannot assure a happy career. Our parents want to shield us from any form of failure, they spend their hard earned money to put us into the best colleges and opt for the best courses so that we could have a smooth career and eventually a happy life. But is that the career we actually want? These colleges may have recruiters from commendable companies with admirable paychecks. But if you are staring at your watch on a Friday afternoon craving for the weekend to come, what difference did the paycheck make? Maybe it bought you a Johnnie Walker rather than a Royal Challenge.  If this is the only difference it made, you have missed the real party. Do what you love, and I can assure you that your work will become your party. Money is the most overrated thing on the earth while happiness being the most underrated one. No, I am not naïve. I know money is required for even basic amenities. Money is important, but only when you don’t trade it for happiness.

Apart from money, security is a big spoiler which keeps us from doing what we love. Security is a bigger threat in regular jobs than unconventional ones. The pool of qualified candidates is so large that every person is treated as a resource and each one is easily and readily replaceable. And when you don’t enjoy your job, it makes you extremely attractive to your HR’s (you wish!). Even human life doesn’t have security. That’s why you can insure your life and not assure it.

You will meet people who will judge you, people who will treat you by the size of your wallet, and people who will hint that they are better than you every single time you hold a conversation. You could either crib or bitch about them, envy them or even try to have the life they have. This may or may not shut them up, but it will definitely make your own lives miserable. For every individual is unique, and so are his choices. You don’t have the choice to control the opinion of others, but you can choose not to get affected by it. Don’t be worried about being called a misfit; skeptics can’t stand the sight of a nonconformist making even the smallest of progress. But don’t loathe them, pity them. Think how miserable their lives are, when putting you down every single time gives them a sense of achievement. Remember, when you shoot for the stars, look beyond the buildings.

When you decide to follow your dream stand by it whatever happens. Because choosing a profession you love and not performing to your potential is great injustice to the talent you are gifted with. If you want to be a footballer, you should be prepared to give your hundred percent even to the non-glamorous part of the sport like the rigorous training, endless travelling and dieting. Fortunately or unfortunately we know only the fancy side of their lives. The ninety minute match you witness is not only a showcase of the players’ performance on that particular day but also the toil put in over a number of years. Though, a lot of them never get to play at a bigger stage, but isn’t it better than not trying? The regret you carry for not trying is far more disappointing than the failure of becoming an international player. Maybe it paid you less and probably you couldn’t afford fancy cars but you never gave up, for the joy of doing what you love is greater than any material possession. You don’t have to be a millionaire to be called a winner.

The truth is we spend more time in the journey than at the destination. It took fifty years of struggle for Morgan Freeman to be where he is today. Behind every successful man, there are a lot of unsuccessful years. So enjoy the crazy ride. Even if you are failing, keep going, you are on the right track. Good luck.

‘What would you do if you get paid in happiness rather than dollars?’