Surpassing Me.

One of the most relaxing moments for me are the ones when i keep all my work aside and recollect all the memories since childhood that i treasure. i don't just reminisce. i also bring back memories of tragic moments. in the course of time, it has become a routine. the aspect of this routine that keeps the interest in my memories alive is that every time i get back to an old memory it has something more to offer. every time i analyze it, i realize that there has been a further event that has provided a greater perception of a previous event. it helps me grow as i prepare myself for impending challenges.

You always cherish the idea of a better future. especially, as a child, you dream to conquer the world and are willing to make every possible sacrifice. however, as you grow old you tend to grow fond of these sacrifices. something we fail to realize is that, at times, we chase the same dreams we once portrayed in our mind as children. the difference lays in the vision. the idea becomes less hypothetical as we advance. also our vision narrows. our definition of achievement becomes more and more complicated.

As a child it is a general scenario wherein parents compare their children to other children of the same age group performing better. parents always strive to set role models for their children- be it a legend or just the neighbourhood lad who brings home better test scores or behaves more obediently. a child never understands the true motive of his parents. the child himself faces an obscure conundrum. something we fail to realize is the individuality. unfortunately, we need a reference. it is not just the parents portraying their child to be a successful individual but the child himself trying to step into the shoes of a different person.

As a child i had my role models, my ideologies, my definitions. with time, they changed. either they changed because i did or vice versa. in either case, there was one factor that remained unchanged- achievement. irrespective of the role model, ideologies or definitions, i always wanted to achieve. the quest for achievement demanded me to change for better or worse. however, the reference for better or worse wasn't my idol or ideology- it was me. it was then i began the quest for surpassing me.

Profession.

I was in school when i first learnt the secret of succeeding in a career. a secret that has been learnt by almost every teenager during his or her school days. the simplest philosophy that most of us voluntarily or involuntarily attempt to apply to our lives. the secret- make your passion, your profession. the key is to enjoy your profession in order to be more efficient and to succeed. obviously, getting into a profession and succeeding in that profession are two different aspects of a career.

Unfortunately, the scenario today is a little different. although, the society still believes in teaching the younger generation to be passionate about their profession and chose their hobby as their career, the practical scenario has a different story to unveil. i am a graduate. more precisely, i am an engineer. but engineering is not my passion. i have various hobbies and have been asked by many as to why i never considered choosing my hobby as my career. i never bothered justifying them because most Indians are too idealistic with their advices. i do not say that my theories are completely practical or its the ultimate reality but its my experience, my story.

As i grew older, the industry somewhere failed to assure me the success if i chose my hobby as my profession. another point of view could be that i was myslef never confident of succeeding in that field. not because i wasn't good but because i wasn't the best. someone may suggest that not everyone is born best but requires to work in order to become the best. this is where the industry did not seem supportive.

The way i mentioned about the secret of success known by every teenager then, there is another secret of success known by every graduate today. "In order to enter the industry, every candidate should be able to sell himself to the company. and even as a person works in an industry he requires to sustain a higher value for himself. every step, he should have something to offer to the industry. because today, the industry does not require an employee, the employee needs the industry." With globalization, the skills that were once acquired through hardwork and intelligence are now on sale. can an era in which knowledge and philosophy are marketed, value a person's passion? at the end of the day, its not always about right and wrong, its about profit and loss. more importantly, its not about personal satisfaction; its about the company's satisfaction.

I dont need to explain what a hobby is. however, we all agree that in a particular passion that we practice, we tend to experiment with our ideas. there is a certain freedom of thought; unconstrained. the end result is a new creation which provides you with self satisfaction. but if that certain passion is a profession then it isnt the creation but the appreciation of that creation which is a matter of self satisfaction. as a result of which the creativity gets constrained and the very act that once made a person happy, drives him into depression. but then you still have a reason not to worry because most organizations have a yoga or meditation or dance classes in order to help you relieve your stress and perform better. in short, a company follows a simple policy- if u love to swim they throw u in the deepest ocean giving you an "opportunity" to cross it with a few logs "just in case".

However sarcastic i try to be i cannot change the ground reality. the entire system has that kind of flow to it. hence, i chose not to make my passion, my profession. for me, my profession is a challenge. if i win, it elevates my confidence. if i lose, it lowers my confidence. yet, i realize that at the end of the day if i lose i will never break. because there are these "things" i do that help me understand that there is more to me and i can allow a fresh start next day. i write, i draw, i play, i travel, i cook and i read tarots; all with utmost passion and i know that till the day i am alive i have all these "things" i can do which make me feel real, feel alive, feel worth because they are my passion and not......my profession.