If it is not broken, then break it!

Pursuing Passion – If it is not broken, break it!

Over ten years ago, I made a life changing decision to leave my successful IT career to pursue my passion in school education. Two years prior to this, various thoughts continuously crisscrossed my mind that put me in a quandary – do I further my career within the IT industry or follow the call of my heart? I think most of us when we reach our forties face these questions which make us reflect as well as sometimes start the journey of seeking answers to “What is the purpose of my life?”

I had everything that I needed in life - supportive family, friends, supervisors and colleagues yet there was turmoil within me to follow my heart. When these thoughts hijack the mind then it is an emotional havoc which is only resolved by seeking and finding answers, an agonizing process by itself! When answers are discovered, the bright sunrays of exhilaration quickly replace the dark clouds of agony and a new beautiful world is born.

I look back with a sense of satisfaction of following my passion in the field of school education that continues to provide exciting opportunities, meeting people who impact me and enriching travel experiences. ?My journey is growing my life’s balance sheet – stronger than ever!

This made me reflect, to identify significant factors that helped me to pursue the call of my heart. I hope that they provide insights for those desiring to do likewise.

1.??????Identify your resonance.

Resonance is a permanent deep emotional connection with a cause or belief whose identification involves a steep learning curve. When done, it becomes the compass for the journey.

This search made me reflect, continuously question to identify causes that I strongly associated with. Since my childhood, I have had a deep interest in school education as I firmly believed that this important formative phase can only build the strong foundation for the journey called life.

In my workplace, I was always personally involved in campus recruitment where I observed that the high scoring fresh graduates needed significant social and emotional development. The resulting analysis precipitated into sticky recurring questions - did their school environment and teachers stress the importance of communication, development in language fluency, ability to identify or define problems, articulate their thoughts to solve it and being able to work with each other irrespective of race, gender or age?

Over the following months it became clear that school education was a latent passion which should be my new journey. Intrinsic belief that societal development needs active participation led me to make up my mind to pursue this on full-time basis.

2.?????Shut the door.

I took a conscious decision to always travel the new path irrespective of the hardships and obstacles and would never return to seek positions in my earlier career. I told myself that there will be no going back. ?

Pursuing passion has its own set of problems, the biggest being the doubtful mind which has the habit of often questioning the correctness of the decision and I am no stranger to this experience. In these moments of doubt and uncertainty, I always revisit those fundamental questions that helped to identify my passion which quickly re-focusses the turbulent mind.

Firmly shutting doors to former professional life is an essential part of pursuing passion. ?

3.?????Support only matters.

Support from my family and friends was a crucial factor in implementing my decision as they provided an emotionally stable environment that helped me to bravely face the new world. Pursuing passion is a difficult journey that requires one to stay calm and centered in midst of internal emotional turbulence. Family and friends always helped me to find the inner strength to continuously move ahead.

Making sure that one is nested in an emotional cocoon is a critical need for this journey.

4.?????Cover your risks.

I accepted the opportunity cost of pursuing my passion. It meant changes to our lifestyle, being thrift in our spending, postponing vacations as well as accepting the truth that the amount of savings that we will put away in the future will significantly reduce. However, being debt free was a saving in itself.

By personally subscribing to adequate health, accident and term insurance, we ensured the cover of safety provided by the corporate world was adequately substituted.

5.?????Student for life.

Reskilling was the first step that I undertook which required exploring immersive options to develop my knowledge and skills in the theory and science of education along with teaching children. After twenty-three work years, I went back to the classroom, became the eldest student and a lifelong learner.

This educational programme laid a strong foundation that continues to develop and grow myself in the field of my passion.

Growth mindset, investment and commitment to continuously develop oneself are essential ingredients in pursuing passion.

6.?????There is no tomorrow.

Often, I hear - “If I had the choice, I would have done something else” or “I would like to do this after few years when my children have completed their education or settled in life”.

We need to realize that life is not about choices rather it is about “making the choice”.

When I made the decision, our daughter was in her 10th grade, therefore it was important that our home environment was stable to support her for her board exams. However, this did not prevent me from procrastinating as I felt that we will always be faced with one challenge or other in the future. I also learnt from this experience that this is an important leadership quality - do not delay in making decisions!

It is my strong belief that we should be the masters of our destiny and the right time to make the decision is today!

7.?????Be the River.

Initially, I had the objective of teaching children in schools, however during my programme, I discovered that the teachers are the lifeline in a school as they primarily contribute to the development of children and the school itself. Within a short time, my philosophy underwent a paradigm shift from children to teachers! I redefined my goals to unhesitatingly pursue a new course in my journey which later helped me to become the leader of a school defining and implementing its vision with teachers being an integral part of it.

I realized that one should be the river which continuously changes its course to reach its destination. Enjoy the ride however bumpy it may be!

To summarize, following passion requires vision, courage and self-belief to sail unchartered waters where one is permanently out of their comfort zone. It requires challenging, questioning and forsaking conventional wisdom by breaking that which is not broken.

Being open to continuously challenging one’s philosophy, seeking and following answers which could be counter-intuitive are integral to this journey. Every opportunity leads to another and when one looks back, all the dots will connect to display a beautiful painting sketched by acceptance and open-mindedness.

Success in this journey is just the decision to follow the heart.