Growing up as a child of two doctors, it was never a difficult choice for me to make, regarding what profession to pursue when I grow up. However, things started getting difficult as I grew up.
Please do not expect a definite answer to all your queries after reading this. I am just sharing my experience so that you can relate to certain events in my life, identify and correct the errors in your life at a very early stage.
What matters the most? – your #passion, your #aptitude, your #priorities or your #circumstances?
I would say all of these, but please be careful while understanding the meaning of these words, it may mislead you.
Passion – Some may say this is the most important factor in your life. If you are passionate about something, you must pursue nothing else but that. I would say yes to a certain extent. However, I have seen people passionate about something getting disheartened and dejected in their journey to pursue that passionate something. More important is how do you understand, what you are passionate about? What is it like to feel passionate about something? I still don’t have the answer but I can give you certain ques which might help you understand what it feels like to be passionate about something.
If you are involved in an act, and you do not experience the passage of time, hunger or any other thoughts in mind, it is a sign of your passion in that. Well, for the time being please be satisfied with this answer. As you go ahead you might get some clarity.
We must be cautious about distinguishing passion from a mere fascination towards a profession. Fascination dies out quickly but passion always stays with you, even though it might be dormant at times. I will give you a crude example. I might be fascinated about setting up a business enterprise, giving job to many, calling myself an entrepreneur. But again if I’m not passionate about that, I may lose interest, when I incur loss, or get to deal with difficult people. You must be able to find joy in that organic process called business, in that process of climbing step 1 inspite of falling from step 10. That’s what needs to drive you. Another example might give you more clarity. You might be fascinated towards the job of a collector or executive magistrate, the respect he gains in society, the power. But, if you are not able to cope with the uncertainties in life it becomes a very stressful experience. You must be able to find joy in designing solutions to the daily problems which come before you. Stress is part and parcel of every job but if you find joy over that stress then it is your cup of tea.
Aptitude – Along with passion it is very important to understand your skills. What are you good at. I may be interested or fascinated or passionate about something, but do I possess the skills to pursue what I like. Well, some might disagree with me at this point. They may say that we must pursue whatever our passion is inspite of our limitations. Might be true but don’t you think, it would be better to contribute to the society by doing what you are good at? If you are very good at understanding a language, wouldn’t it be better to spend more time on that rather than sitting hours over a formulae which you don’t understand?
Now, coming to my story, in my child hood days seeing my parents I wanted to become a doctor. I was good at memorizing stuff and was able to outshine most of the students till my 8th grade. But once I reached my 8th grade, I realized that it was not possible to memorize everything since there was so much to read. I realized that you need to understand things, but I found it difficult since I was in an unfamiliar territory. I could not exercise my memorizing skill in mathematics and science. Hence, those two areas were most difficult for me and I found myself struggling. It is a well-known fact that without understanding science one can never make it to the medical profession and so I couldn’t.
I ended up taking commerce and joining law after that. Law was just a professional course to me in the beginning. I struggled with the class presentations at law school due to my fear of public speaking. I was never confident of becoming a good lawyer. Towards the end of the course I got better at my presentations and somehow managed to get my law degree.
During my final year at law school, I decided to pursue a career in the armed forces, especially for the post of Judge Advocate General (JAG), basically an officer post in the law department. I always admired the armed forces, but never thought of joining the army before. Even though I was not fully aware of the hardships during the training at the academy, I decided to prepare for my JAG interview. Since the vacancies were very few, I had to wait for two years for attending the interview. Meanwhile I attended some coaching classes while preparing for the interview. I managed to clear 1st stage of the SSB interview but I failed to clear the 2nd stage of the interview process. Since we are not told why we are not selected or are selected, I did not know where I had missed out. However, I came to the conclusion that I was not physically fit for the job since I lacked the stamina required for such a profession. I used to be involved in sports activities in my school days but couldn’t excel beyond a limit since I was not able to develop the required stamina for sports inspite of regular practice. Moreover, I’m a person who gets easily nervous, so the interviewing officer might have noticed such traits. Here, I would say I was ignoring my lack of aptitude for the job even though I was deeply interested in pursuing such a profession. It is very important for us to closely study ourselves to know what kind of a person we are and what career would suit us. I would never consider the overall process of preparation and attending the SSB interview as a waste of time, it was a valuable experience in life.
Priorities- It is very important to set your priorities in life. Some consider having an attractive bank balance as their priority in life, while others look for job satisfaction. When you talk about corporate jobs, you can earn a lot of money. However, you need to check with you whether you like being at the desk for most of the day. You need to be efficient and good at dealing with your colleagues and superiors in a corporate world. Some like such an environment, they adapt themselves quickly and do well at work. I was again unfit for the corporate world. It’s all about targets and deadlines. I used to stay late in office but my work still remained pending.
Not deviating, coming back to the aspect of priority. See, you need to decide what makes you happy. Staying unhappy for most of the time when you are at work, but feeling that contentment when you are with your friends because of your money and position, if that’s what you want then corporate won’t disappoint you. On the other hand, if you are happy most of the time doing what you like but aren’t bothered about the shortage in money then go for your dream.
Please do excuse if I keep switching between the above mentioned parameters.
Pursuing a career in litigation requires a lot of hard work, passion and patience. You must be eager to read each case file in your office and find out the legal position involved. It takes a lot of time to attain financial stability in the profession. Again, you need to develop your presentation and research skills when you are in profession. Sometimes you need to hurry from one court to the other and must be able to handle such tense situations. I too pursued litigation but found it difficult to survive.
Circumstances- This aspect is very important in life. I had the luxury to switch and try out every option in the legal arena since I had understanding parents to support me all this time. I did not experience the shortage of money at any stage. Now, this is not the situation with many, which is why I would advise each and every one to keep all the above parameters in life and identify your cup of tea before you finish your graduation. Even if you end up in the wrong job, and are not able to change due to financial constraints, wait for the right opportunity and then pursue your dreams.
Finally, what am I doing?
I finally chose an integrated PhD programme in intellectual property half-heartedly thinking that I would atleast complete my PG and that was 6 years back. Subsequently I completed my LLM and now am at the verge of completing my PhD. Initially, even though I was lazy and had lacked the skills required for research, I was constantly mentored by one of the best subject experts in India and I have managed to complete substantial portion of my research. I had landed in an institution with a social commitment, which is what I always wanted. During this process I discovered that I like teaching and that I am passionate about writing, more than research writing I would say creative writing. I have written bits and pieces and uploaded it on my blog and will slowly venture into serious writing. I was always attracted towards arts and cinema but I was never confident to pursue a career in that. However, I will pursue my dreams, slowly and steadily. I still don’t carry a fat wallet and constantly struggle with my limitations but I am happy with what I’m doing now. So far the journey has been tough and I do not expect it to be easy in future. My parents, friends and teachers have been my greatest strengths in life. It is very important to be around with people who keep inspiring you, who have the gift to see that spark in you even before it ignites. I wish that the young aspirants who come across my experience do not commit the same mistakes I have committed. You do not need to touch fire to know that it will burn your hand, you just need to be intelligent enough to move away. I would like to share more about my interests and experiences, but not yet, not yet!