Introspect!

Let me tell you neither I am a psychology consultant nor I wish to be one, I am someone who has explored his own thoughts and made plans day in and day out, all by answering few simple questions i.e. what excites me the most? what sort of life do I want? what motivates me? what I can learn from others and how I can pass it to someone in need

Today many people across the globe are struggling to get clarity; clarity of what next in life? profession, friends, family, status quo, social lifestyle, almost in all the aspects we are struggling with, are related to lack of clarity which becomes our biggest obstacle to realize the maximum potential we as humans have

The race to raise has complicated things furthermore, wherein most of the people instead of learning, end up advocating or envying from others, in the due course, we forget that everyone is running his or her own race, overcoming an altogether different set of challenges and barriers, everyone is different with a unique mindset, and it is perfectly all right to not compare ourself with others

Since this lockdown has happened, like others, I too have enough time to Introspect but my thought clarity actually started long-back, these were those days when I was planning to get into masters in engineering from Germany but end up getting a job in Africa, the job that transformed me in what I am today, and like others, I didn't realize it back then

The pre-conceived generalization that we make about a particular place or a person can never let us learn, grow, and excel and this is what I avoided when I moved to Africa in 2015. Since I was living in a plantation surrounded by dense Gabonese tropical rainforest I had enough time to introspect, what I wish to pursue next in life. Africa helped me learn not only about sustainability and circular economy but also how we as individuals are so bound with the materialistic things and forget what nature has to offer us

Those 3.5 years were filled with millions of joyful moments and equal outbreaks, seeing Gabon grow and contributing to its socio-economic development was no less than a sense of accomplishment, the people who had no access to safe drinking water, concrete houses, energy, and basic necessities, started becoming consumers. Throughout their life, they lived a very minimalist lifestyle, they were happy, contained, satisfied, with a positive attitude towards life, responsible towards their community and society in which they live-in, and this is what which motivates me even today

I had many adventurous moments living in Gabon, from traveling 500 km just to visit a city to visiting waterfalls, jungles and spotting wildlife just next door, but that was not just adventurous, that was inspiring too, inspiring in a way that it introduced me to myself, the 8 months of the wet season, the challenges to accomplish tasks and meanwhile opportunities to interact with people from across the world, and that too in the plantation was no less than a small world within a nation

Africa introduced me to music, it introduced me to my inner being, my soul and I started relating it with all the positive energy within me, be it talking to myself, sketching my life ahead, or dreaming with the eyes wide open

I still remember the day I and my colleagues went on a 3-hour long boat ride in Ogooué river to spot hippos, it was majestic! above all, I was stunned when we stopped at an island early in the morning and people over there were actually sitting together drinking and dancing, just imagine, with very little in life, they were actually happy and making full of their lives, not only that they offered us food, drinks but welcomed home with all their heart

By 2018, I was ready, ready to take the next step in my life, not because I was bored but because nature gave me the purpose, it already introduced me to something which I always wanted to do but was so shallow and unclear that I wasn't realizing it back then, I left Africa with a heavy heart but with a promise to myself that I will become a better version in the coming years and will invest all my energy for the people and planet

It was September 2018 when I moved to Italy to pursue International Business from MIP Politecnico di Milano, the next 15 months was a roller-coaster, 5 universities, 4 countries (last leg of which was Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow), and tens of subjects ranging from usual business to sustainability, circular economy, low-carbon development, and what not!

The journey from Italy to India was published by me last year, here's the link to it https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/interconnections-shivam-batra/

Today when everyone across the globe is locked-in, I am pretty sure that together we all will overcome this pandemic (covid19) but what we should learn from it, is that nature is fragile and inclusive growth is what we should focus upon next and by doing so it is important for the next generation to understand their responsibilities towards the people and the planet but not just profit, though, the younger generation is much smarter and digitalized but what's important is to invest and channelize the energy in the right direction, and for that, they need to INTROSPECT! and believe me they don't need an Africa to do that, all they need is empathy, connectivity, respect for people and the planet, and I am sure at the end they will realize that it's the "WE" that actually work always!

SHIVAM BATRA