Understanding Yourself

An oft-heard saying is that Work is Worship. To worship something you need to give it godly status, status that is larger than life. How many of us can give that godly status to work? Forget worship, we don’t even respect it. Lack of respect for work percolates to lack of respect for self. This builds into greater problems like lack of motivation, zeal for life etc.

The work that we do in our workplace stands for us. It is an extension of our identity, rather it speaks for us. Hence one of the fundamental requirements is to develop respect for what you do. This brings us to core issue where we need to find our true passion, which is largely dependent on our area of interest. If a subject does not interest us then it is not possible to pursue it for long. However one needs time to figure out what is one’s true passion. Also preoccupations with life are so numerous that the journey to discover the true passion is somewhere lost.

When we are in school or college we are already struggling in attaining our academic goals that other issues take a complete backseat. During these years the pressure to excel in school or competitive exams is so intense that after a hard days labor one is too exhausted to direct energy in some other direction. Automatically the radar turns to alternative forms of relaxation (often the easier mindless alternatives), which range from TV watching to meaningless gossips. Temporarily these alternatives provide relief which is relaxing & attainable. Slowly these alternatives become an integral part of your life. Little do we realize that these are temporary & they have no meaningful contribution to our future. Gradually when academic years are over then begins the rat race to achieve success in personal/professional life. Performing better than your colleague or a continuous attempt to satisfy your spouse in whatever ways possible. These entail considerable strain on the mental as well as physical skills of the person. What is one left with at the end of the day? Forget achieving the goals one is not even left with enough energy for oneself.

Hence on a deeper observation everything appears futile. Hence it is then that one starts searching for satisfaction in doing other things. However by this time the same “next best alternatives” which at one point of time provided relaxation & relief don’t provide the benefit they once provided. It is then that the absence of not pursuing ones true passion is felt. The typical wishes that strike in such circumstances are:

• I wish I had spent some more time finding my true passion.
• I wish I had not wasted time on the next best alternatives
• I wish I was not involved in the typical rat race. It did not give me anything. Probably its too late & I am too old to do anything
• How do I satisfy others when I am myself so dissatisfied?
• I want to find out where I belong!!

Probably finding answers to these questions at a later stage of life becomes very emotionally taxing & is a regretful exercise. However on a closer look one would appreciate if these questions were answered because it is a process of self-actualization. I would call it self-actualization because these answers will determine our ultimate needs & desires. Hence if we can answer these questions half the battle is won. This will pave the way for understanding whatever are our true passions.

The other point that I am trying to drive here is that age is not the criteria for achievements. The day we start believing that age is not a differentiating factor then the process of decision-making becomes less complex. At this point I would like to pinpoint that age parameters defined by the society are not pointless. Rather they are simply standard indicators. They need not be necessarily adhered to but are subjected to a lot of adaptability. This does not necessarily mean that below or above a certain age the activities cannot be carried out. Hence its unwise to make age a restriction. Let the passions grow. Nurture them because they have long been suppressed & wanted to come out. Now when they have a chance to come out, let them. Take advantage of it. It’s never too late.