Metamorphosis Part II: Change Is Inevitable, Whether You Like It Or Not
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Oct 27, 2024
Oct 27, 2024
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Part II of Metamorphosis: Transition From Being A Student To A Corporate.#-Link-Snipped-#.
The value of the average life expectancy for human beings, as of now, is 67 years. Maybe it will vary depending on the geographic demarcation you belong to. But 67 years… can we live a full life in those many years? What exactly does living a full life mean anyway? We can safely classify our needs in two categories – primary, secondary. Most often, we falter a bit when it comes to achieving some of the secondary needs – success (professional, fame) and happiness amongst others. In the previous article, I had mentioned that to achieve the former, you need to live a purpose driven, focussed life but at the same time in order to avoid compromising on the latter aspect, you need to never stop doing what you love to do. However, had this all been so easy, we would have all been cruising in a Lamborghini Gallardo on one of those German Autobahns. What really stops us all from doing so by the way? Perhaps, it is the permanent and indestructible concept of “change†and our failure to respond to it appropriately.
#-Link-Snipped-#<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Who moved my Cheese? – Spencer Johnson</em></span>
Well, to be frank, even I asked this question to myself after coming out of my shell – my family, my friends, my college, my home city – when I shifted base to corporate life. This transition initially spurred me on with a new found sense of freedom, self-reliance and above all – the satisfaction of earning my own bread and butter. However, as the novelty of the new phase of life wore itself out, I was gently pulled out of my comfort zone. Things were so rosy initially – you are a newly joined employee, fresh grad student and work related things, if there are any, are pieces of cakes. But slowly, you realize what you are really into. What changed for me? I guess the most major aspect of life which has affected me during this metamorphosis is – change in the level of responsibility.
During college, everything I did had ultimately affected only one thing – Me. If I am good in something, I used to win. If I screw up studies, I got flunked. The relation was always- my efforts controlling my future. But things are much more interdependent in professional life. Here, you work well – the organization is helped. You screw up – the organization loses reputation (of course depending on how important your job is in the hierarchy). The organization does well – you get more moolah. The organization screws up – you get fired. The relationship of efforts and outcomes today is no more similar to that what it was as a student. On top of this, you become more responsible to your family’s well-being and need to contribute to your surroundings, your society as well. By the way, I am always serious if you hear me complaining that 24 hours a day is very few for me. Because still today, I dislike transformations, growing up – but unfortunately, it’s mandatory. This sudden shift to fourth gear from the first really got me pulled in the wheelie of my life.
But today, things are better and I am learning to adapt, one day at a time. Achieving the right balance between personal, professional and societal life is something that I am still in the process of mastering. It’s all about getting our priorities right, at the right time. Must say, the level of awareness one has – mentally, emotionally (and spiritually, for some of us) - after such a transition is indeed mind boggling. They say the journey is more important than the destiny, very true, but I would like to add here that it’s even more important to stop sometime rather than just go on mindlessly. And when you stop over, pick things up and cherish them forever. The crux of the matter finally lies in what all stuff you pick up and how well you retain them. In the concluding and final part of this series, I would like to summarise what all stuff I’ve picked up from the corporate life experience of mine, though it has only been 2 years – which will always be a guiding torchlight for me in future as well.
But before I wrap up things for the time being, one last bit. My favourite subject has been, is and always will be- Mathematics. Logic is God and absolutely nothing in the field of Mathematics can be contradicted, okay except for those complex (unreal) numbers and the concept of infinity. However, I have always felt bad, that there still exist some mathematical anomalies (7, actually) which we haven’t solved yet. And there is this Clay Mathematics Institute which offers a million $ each for a solution of each one of them. Is there any engineer on board this amazing forum, who is crazy enough to have a crack at this or is already in the process?
This article is a guest contribution by CEan Suyash Joshi, a metallurgical and materials engineer from VNIT Nagpur, currently working with ORACLE India. Suyash is a hardcore cricket, gaming fan and adores reading more than just a hobby. Suyash blogs at <a href="https://maverick-blogger.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Time of your life</a>
The value of the average life expectancy for human beings, as of now, is 67 years. Maybe it will vary depending on the geographic demarcation you belong to. But 67 years… can we live a full life in those many years? What exactly does living a full life mean anyway? We can safely classify our needs in two categories – primary, secondary. Most often, we falter a bit when it comes to achieving some of the secondary needs – success (professional, fame) and happiness amongst others. In the previous article, I had mentioned that to achieve the former, you need to live a purpose driven, focussed life but at the same time in order to avoid compromising on the latter aspect, you need to never stop doing what you love to do. However, had this all been so easy, we would have all been cruising in a Lamborghini Gallardo on one of those German Autobahns. What really stops us all from doing so by the way? Perhaps, it is the permanent and indestructible concept of “change†and our failure to respond to it appropriately.
#-Link-Snipped-#<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Who moved my Cheese? – Spencer Johnson</em></span>
Well, to be frank, even I asked this question to myself after coming out of my shell – my family, my friends, my college, my home city – when I shifted base to corporate life. This transition initially spurred me on with a new found sense of freedom, self-reliance and above all – the satisfaction of earning my own bread and butter. However, as the novelty of the new phase of life wore itself out, I was gently pulled out of my comfort zone. Things were so rosy initially – you are a newly joined employee, fresh grad student and work related things, if there are any, are pieces of cakes. But slowly, you realize what you are really into. What changed for me? I guess the most major aspect of life which has affected me during this metamorphosis is – change in the level of responsibility.
During college, everything I did had ultimately affected only one thing – Me. If I am good in something, I used to win. If I screw up studies, I got flunked. The relation was always- my efforts controlling my future. But things are much more interdependent in professional life. Here, you work well – the organization is helped. You screw up – the organization loses reputation (of course depending on how important your job is in the hierarchy). The organization does well – you get more moolah. The organization screws up – you get fired. The relationship of efforts and outcomes today is no more similar to that what it was as a student. On top of this, you become more responsible to your family’s well-being and need to contribute to your surroundings, your society as well. By the way, I am always serious if you hear me complaining that 24 hours a day is very few for me. Because still today, I dislike transformations, growing up – but unfortunately, it’s mandatory. This sudden shift to fourth gear from the first really got me pulled in the wheelie of my life.
But today, things are better and I am learning to adapt, one day at a time. Achieving the right balance between personal, professional and societal life is something that I am still in the process of mastering. It’s all about getting our priorities right, at the right time. Must say, the level of awareness one has – mentally, emotionally (and spiritually, for some of us) - after such a transition is indeed mind boggling. They say the journey is more important than the destiny, very true, but I would like to add here that it’s even more important to stop sometime rather than just go on mindlessly. And when you stop over, pick things up and cherish them forever. The crux of the matter finally lies in what all stuff you pick up and how well you retain them. In the concluding and final part of this series, I would like to summarise what all stuff I’ve picked up from the corporate life experience of mine, though it has only been 2 years – which will always be a guiding torchlight for me in future as well.
But before I wrap up things for the time being, one last bit. My favourite subject has been, is and always will be- Mathematics. Logic is God and absolutely nothing in the field of Mathematics can be contradicted, okay except for those complex (unreal) numbers and the concept of infinity. However, I have always felt bad, that there still exist some mathematical anomalies (7, actually) which we haven’t solved yet. And there is this Clay Mathematics Institute which offers a million $ each for a solution of each one of them. Is there any engineer on board this amazing forum, who is crazy enough to have a crack at this or is already in the process?
This article is a guest contribution by CEan Suyash Joshi, a metallurgical and materials engineer from VNIT Nagpur, currently working with ORACLE India. Suyash is a hardcore cricket, gaming fan and adores reading more than just a hobby. Suyash blogs at <a href="https://maverick-blogger.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Time of your life</a>