Appreciate life! #Monday Musing

Exactly around this time, last year, I was in the middle of changing jobs. I was serving the notice period in my first company while anticipating what my future in the new company would be like. At the same point of time, my best friend there had also put down her papers. She had been placed in a better company than mine and there was no one happier than me, because she deserved it.

There was a point when a lot of people told me, I was making the biggest mistake of my life by joining a company that was reviving itself. The truth was, the sector of the company I was going into had not hit a low, in the first place. But when you are in the midst of deciding your future and people mention all the possible obstacles that lay in the course ahead, it not only messes with your mind, it actually numbs it. I had to endure people smirking and mocking while mentioning my new company's name while they praised my friend's new company. She used to be more offended than I would be, no wonder she is my best friend.

Source:http://sfclipa.weebly.com/july-2013-chapter-assembly-appreciate.html

My notice period was nothing short of a pain in all the wrong places. I dreaded going to work for those two months, because I did not want to be demotivated and that was all that was happening. I also dreaded the new company I was joining and was worried if I will ever like it there. I was stepping out of my comfort zone, I was anxious, to say the least.

When we are jolted out of our comfort zone, we try to find comfort in the words of others, but when their words are uninspiring and discouraging, it's time, to pause and retrospect. It is important to reason out the pros and cons. I pushed myself to face the challenge head first. I knew I had very few things to lose and I also knew I will emerge victorious over any situation thrown at me, yet I used to get offended when everybody made they take a jab at my expense.

Everybody would speak highly of the company my friend was joining. They spoke about all the benefits she was bout to receive, while mentioning how I would not be gaining anything by joining the company I was bout to join. My friend is practical and she always told me to not give in to their mocking as brand value was not all that made a company great. I slowly learnt to ignore everybody's unsolicited advice about my career, but not completely.

I applied and tried to get into my friend's new company. I wanted to be with her one thing, I also wanted to be a part of the big name. The added salary benefit was also alluring, but I couldn't clear the interview.  At that point of my life, I felt dejected. I felt extremely hopeless, I had no option but to grab the opportunity that had come my way. I did it rather hesitatingly.

Fast forward to today, I am very happy I took that decision. Everyday has been a learning experience in my new work place. There have been interesting challenges and I have overcome them successfully. My Manager told me, when he decided to hire me, the team members who were also part of my interview process weren't too keen, because of my years of experience. They did not want to mentor and teach everything from scratch ( I had not learnt much in my first organisation). Today, the same people are giving me awards and have also told my Manager that he did the right thing by giving me this opportunity.

My team is a delight to work with. Of course there is friction every now and then, but nothing too harmful. I can only say I feel blessed to be here at this stage of my career. I have evolved to be a better person, in general and my work life has a lot to do with that.

My friend on the other hand,  put down her papers in her new company. She was a victim of office politics, there. I feel extremely bad that she had to go through what she went through but I know for sure that she has done the right thing. She will find a better place, where her life will be stress free and she will get all the credits her talent and knowledge truly deserves.

I want to now, meet all the people who tried their best to demotivate me. How can you ever be so sure how things will work out for someone? Why do you want to hamper someone's mind? I know there was not even an inkling of concern when they said mean things to me about my new company. I want to tell them to let people be, let people make their own choices as long as they are not harming anyone. I want them to understand more money does not mean better career. I want them to know, pushing someone down only forces the person to fight back stronger and harder.

I have said this before, I will say it again, when things do not work the way you want them to, bigger and better things are waiting to happen. It is important to have patience to see how beautifully life unfolds. But I myself, tend to forget this, sometimes. This post is a reminder, to myself and to all of you to always accept life as it comes, never doubt the sudden changes and never question things that do not work out your way. Appreciate LIFE, because in the end, it will make sense!

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