WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IN LIFE?
“Obsessed
is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.”
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Anonymous
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In
last three days, at least six parents of my students have met me or called me
just to express their one major concern about their young ones… “Sir, they have
clue about what they want to do in life.” They ask: “What can be done about it?”
Wish I had an answer to
that question – “What can be done about it?”
My experience has been
this: Each one of us has to figure out, sooner or later, what one wants to
pursue in life. Parents, with all their good intentions, education, information
and money, yes, they can only guide, inform, enlighten, inspire and support…
But, they cannot plant dreams in their young one’s hearts… They cannot set
their young ones’) hearts on fire. In other words, parents cannot make their
young ones obsessed with their dreams!
It’s a personal quest…
The early it comes, the longer one reaps its benefit.
I
have been teaching young ones over more than four decades, now… Most of them
are college students. I keep reminding them, every day, about the need for
being clear on what they want to pursue in life. “You have to figure it out by
getting in touch with your deepest desires… your talents and skills, your
strengths and weaknesses. You need to figure it out by being alone… in your
quiet moments… You need to trust your innate feelings, and make your choices…
Follow your hearts, all the way.”
Good news is that every
young one, irrespective of his/her family status, is capable of finding an
answer to the question – “What am I supposed to do in life?”
I had found it out for
myself. I was in my F.Y. B.Com… As a young boy, I suffered from a chronic
inferiority complex… I was hopelessly shy and so full of self-doubts. But, when
I watched my professor teach with such passion and dedication, I had begun to
dream of becoming a teacher… Soon, my desire to teach like my own professor had
become an all-consuming obsession in my heart… I never, ever wanted to do anything
else in my life… It was teaching at 17/18… It is still teaching at 60… I was obsessed
about teaching then… I am still obsessed with teaching now… And, it will always
be so!
Yes, even when I conduct
training programmes and write my blog posts, I am still a teacher!
And, I am absolutely
sure, that whoever has found his calling in life, it is because he has been
able to ‘listen’ to his heart… All that he had to do was: follow the heart!
Probably, like me, you
must not have heard about this small-town young man called Kartik… till his
Monday-morning stories started doing rounds on social media. As a little boy,
Kartik was obsessed with radio… He dreamt of becoming a RJ and simply remained
obsessed with it… Eventually, he became one. Presently, he is an extremely
popular RJ at Jaipur’s 94.3 MY FM radio… He has carved a place for himself on
social media… Every Monday morning, he uploads a video on FB, which has nearly
a million viewers. What fascinates me about Kartik is this: Every Monday
morning, in his video, he tells a simple, home-grown story… His style of storytelling
is incredibly simple and unpretentious… It flows with astounding beauty and
holds you in its grip... In the end, it leaves you a little warmer, richer and
wiser… How amazing to see a motivational video with such simplicity and
honesty!
I highly recommend RJ
Kartik’s videos to my readers … Not only for the message they bring, but also
for that daunting question: “How can we find our calling in life?”
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic. & Videos: RJ Kartik
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