YOUNGSTERS, TAKE RISKS TO BE HAPPY!
Life is an unpredictable creature. In order to safeguard ourselves, we plan copiously, to invest immense time and effort in making every measurable aspect of our lives ‘secure’ so that imminent risks are mitigated.
Facets such as education, career, choosing a life partner are just a few areas that we approach with premeditated calculation and logic.
The result? It is an undeniable fact that a vast majority of people are woefully unhappy in life – particularly in their careers and in their marriages.
To what avail was all that meticulous planning? I can tell you from personal experience, in my 30s, I took what would be described as a huge risk. Left a decadelong, well-established media career in Mumbai, moved back to my hometown of Jaipur, and decided to Teach.
Has that risk paid off ? Absolutely. Not only am I infinitely more content than I ever was, I now, finally, feel a sense of self-pride and my own existential crisis is over.
I am sharing all this today because I feel that more and more, young people, children and students in India, are denying themselves the right of discovering their true passions.
Our students are not taking a chance on what they really love to do, choosing instead to tread a clinical, predetermined path (that is too often dictated by family and/or society).
Our students opt for subjects, courses, and eventually careers, that come with some kind of assurances – primarily that of a steady, secure income.
Little else is a factor when determining life’s path. And that to my mind is a crying shame. Because these students may well solicit admissions in the world’s best colleges and institutions, even land plum jobs at big corporations thereafter – ultimately, they are becoming part of a robotic, passionless workforce that may be earning well, though, are miserable in what they are doing!
And that is what brings me to my original point. If we don’t take risks if we don’t explore if we don’t experiment, then how can we possibly fulfill what our hearts and minds truly desire!
This play-safe outlook has permeated every aspect of our lives – from small decisions to big ones.
Want to go on vacation? We will, more often than not, choose the tried-and-tested, popular destinations, rather than venture into uncharted territory.
The same ethos applies to career, education, and most everything. Imagine a young child who is, say thirteen years of age, and is deeply passionate and talented in Singing.
As this child grows older, his passion is relegated to a hobby, with family and society saying that singing can’t possibly be a career choice! Later still, during and after this young person’s Engineering or MBA, the little time dedicated to music also stops (as a natural consequence of having no time and/or energy).
We would all be pretending if we said that this individual would be happy. He or she, in fact, would be a deeply frustrated, unfulfilled individual. Should inner happiness not then dictate at least some choices that youngsters make?
Had I not taken a risk by shifting career paths, I know today for a fact, that I would have been earning a lot more money. But would I have been happy? Would I have been content? Would I have been satisfied?
The answer is an emphatic – NO! I can now, through personal experience, only use my own example to propel young people to seriously look inward, undertake an honest process of introspection, and during their schooling years, really zero in on what makes them truly happy.
The good news today is that the world is a vastly different place than it was a decade, or even five years earlier. Several socalled ‘alternative’ interests and passions – from Sports, Arts and Video Gaming can now be legitimate, sustainable and lucrative careers.
My final advice, therefore, is that there really is no reason to sacrifice one’s original passions. Take risks, and take flight!
