She was a Senior Manager and noticed a bunch of us young greenhorns sitting around the window at Level 64, chit-chatting amongst ourselves. Realizing that the appointed trainer who was supposed to cover some topics for us as part of our New Joiner Orientation week was not around, she took it upon herself to spend some time talking to us.
That impromptu chat would turn out to be the best advise that I would heed for life. It began with someone asking her the question on what we should do to be successful in this consulting firm. She paused, reflected and began the words that would literally shape my career in years to come –
“Take your first year to learn. Don’t be in a rush to learn everything. Don’t be a hero. There will come a time for you to step up and when that time comes, take it and do your best”
Those words, those career-advise words have never rung so true for me. And to hear it been uttered in my 3rd year of being in the workforce was something that I would go on to treasure and remind myself often that I shouldn’t try to be a hero.
And it was only recently, after more than 15 years, that I found myself recalling that piece of career advice. To not try and be a hero, because that’s what I feel like doing in my new job. To show that I am very good. To flaunt my expertise and capabilities. The temptation and urge is there, almost every day in fact.
Being in the Purple consulting firm for almost half of my working career has accelerated my capabilities to a degree that I found it hard to slow down in my first 2 months at the Big O. I found myself getting bored at times, sometimes even giving in to laziness as i juggled to balance out my work. I remind myself I am in a good place. And truly I am – I couldn’t have asked for a better career move where I am paid more and have more time to see to my kids (the working from home perk is amazing!) and I get to do a job that I am relatively good at and most importantly, I do enjoy doing.
Sure, I am not growing my career in a way that I am exposing myself to do more exciting cutting-edge stuff. But truth of the matter is, the exciting stuff is actually happening at home – albeit not in an instant-gratification high rewards, high visibility perspective, but seeing my children every day at this age is such a blessing.
To drop the boy off every day at school and see him on most days at home, although I am busy working in my study, to hear his voice and be amused by his infinite energy is a real blessing
To see my baby girl learning how to do new things every other day, and how she’s increasing her vocabulary range by the day and just watching her grow up from this tiny infant to this cute little fiesty girl with gold studs in both ears is truly a precious gift!
Really, how could I complain? How could I try to be unsatisfied with my current situation and yet yearn for something else? Sure, I may not be jet setting to places (yet), but time is a valuable commodity, and more importantly a teacher. In fact I would say, time is far more valuable than money! You can earn back your money, but never the time you lost. You can think you are securing your child’s future financially, but what they need now is emotional security that would form the building blocks to secure their future, be it financially or mentally.
As for the job, I am learning to take it as it comes. As I shared many eons ago where I discovered my panacea for living –
And for me, that is how I can live my life so much more better. Learning to be contended with myself, learning to give importance to other things, basic things that too such as God, my family and excercise (yes I still go to the gym every now and then!). I’ve learnt to spend more time reading on non-work related stuff to build a broader mind. I find myself being less anxious about work, about meeting deadlines, about worrying less about my performance.
Mind you, I wrote that as a 25-year old kid, with no commitments other than being committed to his work. Today, as I read that, a broad smile forms across my face. Nothing much has changed (maybe except the exercise bit as I have found it to make that a habitual routine over the years!), but I am learning to just do my best at work and focusing on the other more important things in life, like my marriage, my family, my relationship with God and being charitable to those around me.
And to add one final point – one thing I should do less off is not think about “I am good…for now”. This point is so important, I need to quote it for remembrance –
The “for now…” mindset needs to be curtailed. I should stop imagining when “the good times will end” like how my previous bosses will always bring that sobering reality to some of us when bad news hits us. Good news or bad news, ups or downs, rain or shine, the center of my life doesn’t change. There is no “for now” with Him. Instead, with Him, it’s always “it is”. God is always present, He never changes, He doesn’t operate in a “for now” constraint. And He would not want me to also live in this constraint either. Rather what He asks is my trust in His hands.
As I said, just take it as it comes. There’s a time and place for everything, and if God has taught me anything – it’s about learning how to be patient and wait of Him. In the meantime, I stay focus and do my best.
Consider that my new Panacea for living!
