JOB...or more??

It has been a while since I sat down and words flowed uninterrupted. This Sunday evening however, has broken all the barricades, with a little push from the over-whelming emotions that I have been experiencing of-late.

Reason??? Well, I have just (no, not JUST...about 10 days back) reported at my new profile...a far cry from the 'Sales & Marketing' one that has been a way of life so far...hmmm...come to think of it, almost 8 years! And believe me, my definition of  a job or career has gone for a toss!

From this excitement filled, fast paced and often high stress inducing profile, I have migrated to THE strategy part - the dream job for many but yet something doesn't feel quite right! Yup..and that's what has kept me edgy all week long...

I am told that this feeling is quite "natural" as it might take me sometime to get used to a different office ambience, a cell that does not ring as much (which is quite unnerving..makes you feel so unwanted!), a huge chunk of unknown faces and above all, SILENCE! Yes, that's what is the biggest of all troubles at hand currently.

Having been a chatter box all my life, it has never been difficult to be-friend people and adjust myself to otherwise unfamiliar surroundings. Part of that also, comes from having travelled a lot as a kid and making new friends everywhere. But here I am, saddled with loads of manuals and case studies and what-not and very little scope for chit chat..SOB SOB! 

That brings me back to the point...is it that I'm giving a little too much of weightage to this particular CHANGE and making it out to to be a bigger and tougher one than it actually is??

Maybe..after all, I have always believed that job is just a part of life..the one that helps you make money and the money, in turn, takes care of all that u need...n sometimes, want ;)

Haash...now, that's a nice thought!

And pleasant enough to keep my energy bank charged enough to ride over the Monday Bules that lay ahead..

Expect an update soon...and this is gonna be my journey of transforming the unfamiliarity that envelops me currently to a sunnier n  friendlier surroundings!!

While i kept breathing, I forgot to LIVE....

This pretty much is the story of my life's past 6 months...and a lesson well learned!

It started with me feeling a little too anxious to deliver an even better performance (yess! it's been pretty good otherwise too!) and surpassing all my prior benchmarks as far as my career was concerned. And today, as i ponder, i realise that this was nurtured by the underlying dissatisfaction/vacuum within me that led me to believe that more number of working hours, too many e-mails, ultra-fast responses at any hour of the day could get me that "Performance Level" that i was targetting.

With this began the mindless chase of deadlines which were always "So near, yet so far", putting professional life before personal priorities, hoping the Gods to rip open the skies to praise me for every little deed (some as foolish and self-destructive as skipping my meals to attain a higher throughput) and so many other not so worthy things (that i am still a little ashamed to accept [:)] having done). Oh yes, let me confess it...i did it for a good 6 months.

Results??? Well, the dissatisfaction that i had talked about earlier grew manifolds leaving me feel miserable :(

And then, i just happened to stumble upon "First Things First" - a book by Stephen Covey of the "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" fame. All thanks to some old, good habits, one amongst which is reading! No, no...this post is not meant to be a review of the book, in case you though so 'cos i have just finished some 50 odd pages as of now!

As i began yet another journey of introspection (yup! it's my all time favourite stuff..), suddenly i could see light at the end of the tunnel. N here's how! The first few pages taught me (or shall i say "reminded" me) of the wisdome that Life is meant to be lived and not analysed..And while I live it, all that I need to do is to keep an eye on the direction of the tides of life's tumultous waters and not on the time i spend treading those.. In simple words, it is the compass that matters and not the clock!

With a little understanding and probing, i have managed to decipher the code of happiness and it lies in doing things that matter...And mind you, only those that MATTER!

I figured that finishing 15 out of 20 of the "to-do tasks" did not give me the kind of pleasure that was derived by accomplishing just one or two of those which meant more to me!

N with that, i am a happy soul! Much happier and more satisfied...grateful to have luxuries of life to cherish :)

Let us try & understand...

This is a re-cap of my feelings as an Oil PSU officer post Jan 2009 strike:


With all of us blaming the striking officers, has someone really gone beyond the inconvenience caused due to the strike or disruptions in our otherwise so comfortable, routine bound lives to really understand the reasons behind this extreme step?

Have we ever thought of how each of those officers wud be feeling right now..do we know that the strike was proposed in November 08 and had been deferred several times (once bcoz of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai) by OSOA on Governments assurance time in and again to re-look into the deamands put by them?

 Are we actually behaving as responsible citizens by hating or cursing a set of people whose problems are not even known to us..is this what the young and democratic India is all about??

Did we notice that while media went all out to report/ cover all ministers comfortably blaming the "striking officers" & the gung ho raised by the so called "Aam Junta", how many news channels did actually report the point wise demands made by OSOA???

Is not this just one side of the story??

I'm an officer with one of these companies and have tears in my eyes everytime i switch on the TV or read the anger/expressed by my country mates against us.

Let us at least try and understand the underlying need to take this EXTREME STEP...Letz b responsible enough to be informed and then judge..

Little things...a Re-union of sorts!!

The joy of little things..

There was a day in my life when all i wanted to be happy was to see my mum in a saree or may be a bowl of Suji ki Kheer (porridge that is, for the angrez out there!!)..

Suddenly, when i remembered these today, it set me off to think if i agree with so many people around who are hell bent at proving that as we grow up, we tend to become materialistic..that the charm of the LITTLE THINGS in life withers away...that it gets replaced by aspirations that we dream of while asleep and chase while awake..that relationships if personal, are low on the priority list and if professional, the most sought!

Without being judgemental, i decided to peep into my inner self and understand how materialistic i had become (it sure would lead me to some kind of a revelation that you must watch out for!).

As i sat down to think, the best way of analysing my own reasons of happiness turned out to go down the memory lane and pick up one such moment that i still rejoice in.

No, it has not been ages since that happened.

Just about 10 days back... A long lost friend called up after months (don't even remember how many!!) and then as we started talking, we got along as well as a house on fire. It took us minutes to reconnect and the gap of months or may be years seemed to evaporate fast enough to bring us as close as i always remembered us to be!

Let me tell you, that here i am talking about a friend who has been amongst the few people i have really been close to in my LIFE!

The thrill of being back in touch was more than sufficient to engulf the pangs of isolation that i faced when the whole relationship had come to a standstill at some point in time in our lives...

The obvious questions that led to finding faults or resurrecting seemed pointless and a waste of time. What mattered was excitement that echoed loud and clear in the conversation, the threads that took no time in connecting, the never ending " KISSE" of each other's lives and finally, US...just the two of US and those innumerable tests of time that both of us, who are so very different from each other, have managed to withstand and overcome.

Now, isn't this a classic exmaple of how LITTLE THINGS go a long way in getting us the kind of happiness that no so called " materialsitic' stuff ever can!

So, my dear friend out there...yess, U...who had the GUTS to do it! This one's for you...n all those PEOPLE around who think that the LITTLE THINGs don't matter enough..

Think again..think harder...n may be, use a little bit of your heart there!