What you really love?
Children are expected to know what they want to become before they reach their 10th standard. In fact, the children who don’t know what they want to become when they grow up are looked down upon (I swear!). To be honest, even I didn’t know what really was out there when I was in school. I really didn’t care what I wanted to become. But when people started asking me “what do you want to become when you grow up?” the word that came out of my mouth was Doctor. I didn’t know there were these 3 words which I could use and that is “I don’t know”. I had to have answer to all the questions asked in school or outside the school. There was no option like “I don’t know”.
But as the time went by I realized I myself was paranoid with injections and I had no interest to dissect a frog let alone dissecting a guy. So, I dropped the idea of becoming a doctor. Then the next thought that came into my mind was to be an engineer, a software engineer. And the only logical reasoning I found to that was I assumed that there were only two professions that are paid well and respected also and those were doctors and engineers. I never took the pain to look what other options are available. In fact, I had considered that any profession beside doctor and engineer are not worth it. People around me were either doctor or engineers and I did not take the effort to look beyond them. So, the result was I was finally a software engineer. But the truth was even after the graduation I was not able to find what I really love.
I had done software engineering only for money and respect. That’s it. I didn’t even realize that I would need to love the profession in order to pursue it. As the time went by, I realized that I had become a good software engineer but it wasn’t the profession that I love. I began thinking that may be I am the only person who does not know what she really loves to do even when she had graduated and is doing her post graduation in that field and already doing a job in that profession. But when I started discussing about this with my colleagues and friends I realized that nobody had an idea of what they really want to do. They still don’t know what they want to do. Everybody had come in only for money. It was like I am walking down the street thinking everybody knows where they are going but in the end I come to know that everybody doesn’t know where the hell they want to go. They were equally confused and frustrated.
So, as the time passed by I saw people moving to another jobs in the hope of finding better pay and better atmosphere making themselves feel better that though they still don’t know what they really want to do they still are happy to get more salary. I saw people changing profession and going for MBA. To quit IT profession the only thing you can do is do your MBA and become a manager in a well-known company. But it still brings to the basic question do you love what you do? Though there are people who wouldn’t confess but deep in their heart they are still searching for something that they would love to do. MBA has become escapism to the IT people but it is still not the solution. It will pay you more than enough but will it give the internal satisfaction that your heart is searching for is the real question.
It’s not long that I realize that may be in my childhood instead of people asking me “what do you want to become?” would have rather asked me “What is your hobby? What do you love to do?” my profession would have been a lot different. As a childhood I assumed with the question they asked they wanted to how well you would earn. I did not realize that my profession would be what my life would be. I would give more than half of my life to my profession and if it’s not what I love then I surely am wasting my life. My life would have been a whole lot different if they would have asked me the right question and I would have known that, profession does not mean how much do you earn it means what you really love to do. For the society it is still the money that counts. If your hobby or what you love to do isn’t the profession that fetches you good money then it’s not worth it. That is still the common man’s mentality.
However, I have started thinking beyond that. I have realized that I could not spend my entire life doing something that I don’t love. It is said that it is better to do nothing and be happy rather than doing something that you don’t love. So, following that I have made it a point to stand up and make my life better and be proud of what I have done.
P.S.: If you still don’t know what you love, you can try this step. Close your eyes and think that God is ready to bless you with wealth and prosperity in any damn profession you choose. Now think what would be that profession?
But as the time went by I realized I myself was paranoid with injections and I had no interest to dissect a frog let alone dissecting a guy. So, I dropped the idea of becoming a doctor. Then the next thought that came into my mind was to be an engineer, a software engineer. And the only logical reasoning I found to that was I assumed that there were only two professions that are paid well and respected also and those were doctors and engineers. I never took the pain to look what other options are available. In fact, I had considered that any profession beside doctor and engineer are not worth it. People around me were either doctor or engineers and I did not take the effort to look beyond them. So, the result was I was finally a software engineer. But the truth was even after the graduation I was not able to find what I really love.
I had done software engineering only for money and respect. That’s it. I didn’t even realize that I would need to love the profession in order to pursue it. As the time went by, I realized that I had become a good software engineer but it wasn’t the profession that I love. I began thinking that may be I am the only person who does not know what she really loves to do even when she had graduated and is doing her post graduation in that field and already doing a job in that profession. But when I started discussing about this with my colleagues and friends I realized that nobody had an idea of what they really want to do. They still don’t know what they want to do. Everybody had come in only for money. It was like I am walking down the street thinking everybody knows where they are going but in the end I come to know that everybody doesn’t know where the hell they want to go. They were equally confused and frustrated.
So, as the time passed by I saw people moving to another jobs in the hope of finding better pay and better atmosphere making themselves feel better that though they still don’t know what they really want to do they still are happy to get more salary. I saw people changing profession and going for MBA. To quit IT profession the only thing you can do is do your MBA and become a manager in a well-known company. But it still brings to the basic question do you love what you do? Though there are people who wouldn’t confess but deep in their heart they are still searching for something that they would love to do. MBA has become escapism to the IT people but it is still not the solution. It will pay you more than enough but will it give the internal satisfaction that your heart is searching for is the real question.
It’s not long that I realize that may be in my childhood instead of people asking me “what do you want to become?” would have rather asked me “What is your hobby? What do you love to do?” my profession would have been a lot different. As a childhood I assumed with the question they asked they wanted to how well you would earn. I did not realize that my profession would be what my life would be. I would give more than half of my life to my profession and if it’s not what I love then I surely am wasting my life. My life would have been a whole lot different if they would have asked me the right question and I would have known that, profession does not mean how much do you earn it means what you really love to do. For the society it is still the money that counts. If your hobby or what you love to do isn’t the profession that fetches you good money then it’s not worth it. That is still the common man’s mentality.
However, I have started thinking beyond that. I have realized that I could not spend my entire life doing something that I don’t love. It is said that it is better to do nothing and be happy rather than doing something that you don’t love. So, following that I have made it a point to stand up and make my life better and be proud of what I have done.
P.S.: If you still don’t know what you love, you can try this step. Close your eyes and think that God is ready to bless you with wealth and prosperity in any damn profession you choose. Now think what would be that profession?
I didnt know that everybody were in the same place as I am. I never in my wierdest nightmare would want to be a software engineer but no money in any other fields so here iI am with my fingers glued to the keyboard and my eyes to the clock :-). The best part is i dont even know what I wanna become sometimes I get sooo fustrated that I decide to quit but then i think to my self if not this then wat and I quietly accept my defeat against destiny and get back to my job. There is only one hope left now earn big earn quick invest and then quit and pursue ur dreams. As for me I wannna become a wildlife/nature photographer and a NatGeo explorer (wierd dream) but who knows this is wat I was born to be before I decided to ruin my life. As for now all i can do is dream and dream.
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