I woke up this morning to a phone-call from a friend I have not been in touch with for years now. She said she happened to have a dream about me as a senior executive manager of a large MNC and called up to find out whether it was true.
"Yeah, twenty-two years from now I would be double the age and right about there," I laughed casually.
"Good going! Dream big... You are only twenty-two after all."
Since that fifteen minutes conversation those words have been reverberating in my head. For someone who has had her fair share of rejections in job-offers, University offers and people, just like many around me, it seems funny as to how I could have saved myself of the temporary "grief" from time to time if only I had realised the value of what I have in hand- the value of twenty-something.
People usually ask you questions like- "Where do you see yourself in five years?"I would rather have someone ask me- "Where are you TODAY?" Believe me that is a much tougher question to crack. (Personally, I have no clue. But will soon find out!). As ambitious individuals trying to chase (or trace) our dreams we must first know our starting point. Another question I would like to ask myself (which again I have noticed not many people around me doing) is- "Where you were five years back?"; basically reflecting on how much I have managed to change (transform) for both good and bad through sundry experiences. Why is it important? Well, I sort of think it acts as a catharsis to when you invariably end up blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong. That's when you tell yourself that you have set it right before and you will do so...once again.
Moving from the age-group of identity crisis towards that of existential crisis the brilliance behind the entire process is that by the end of it we are bound to find the answers. No, I am not in an overly optimistic mood today (not really) but all I am doing is stating facts that I have observed in my life and in the lives of many people around me. Last year, one of my closest friends got rejections from every University she applied to and every job interview she sat for while many of us were bagging offers. She is currently on her flight to Chicago to pursue her MBA in Kelloggs Business School, one among the top ten B-Schools across the globe. As I was wishing her good luck for her journey to come I could not help but reflect on the thought that at the age that we are in there are more doors opening than closing. I never really believed in the whole- 'Opportunity knocks the door only once' phenomenon. At least, every person I know around me has proved it wrong. I wondered, what would have happened if she sat disheartened in one corner the whole year while the rest of us were pursuing our dreams instead of simply working harder and putting in doubly efforts to chase HER dreams?
Accomplishment comes with not just hard work, but the right ATTITUDE.
Personally I don't take rejections that well (hence, the post). I have no idea how a set of human-emotions fuse together at such moments and completely shut your rationale. But the truth is, there is no such thing as- "This/he/She/It was THE one that was meant for me!". If only one can regard situations as challenges rather than struggles, more of us will be in less of depression each time a door closes. More of us will be less afraid of being ambitious. More of us will be less fascinated by taking the easier path. Lastly, more of us will be ACTUALLY LIVING our twenty-something.
More on the lines of note to self, this is a note to all. Next time a door closes, be assured you have the key... if not for this door, for the one that will lead you to your answers. Let the adventure begin!
