Life came a full circle: 26 years at work

Today I complete 26 years of being in the workforce! 

A lot happened over 26 years but some things remained the same. I was thinking to myself that Life seems to have come a full circle, as you can see in the pictures: The 1996 pictures holding 9mm carbine machine gun, shooting rifle and the 2022 picture as being part of an ace team building a fab Shooting Battle Royale! :-)

24 Aug 1996: I wore the olive green military uniform and along with that, a pair of Rayban wayfarers. I don’t think I can define in words the euphoric expression I had every time I stepped into my lieutenant avatar and headed to work. The dream had come true. ?? But,10 years later that had to change. What do you do when you have to let go something you love? 

A decade long relationship of mostly love and some heartache came to an end in 2006 when as a woman in uniform, I had to choose between a four years contract as an extension of my military career or call it quits and figure my life out. Without seeing a successful career ahead in the military, I decided to hang my uniform and I moved out to the totally unknown territory of a corporate career. 

I had zero digital experience, no survival skills in a big city and absolutely no idea what to expect from a new career but I made the decision to opt out of my most loved workplace. 

New life in Bangalore : Each day it was a learning. A lot of unlearning too. For someone who was already a celebrated soldier, there were some very hard lessons to learn. It was important to always remember that I was starting all over again, right from the scratch.

It wasn’t easy.

Just to illustrate, After driving at 100-120 kmph in the mountains and deserts, when I had to clutch break through the insane road traffic, every day to work in Bangalore, I died every single day! My head started to hurt as soon as I had to open spreadsheets and figure some data. In many cases I needed help to understand the jargon written on emails ! ??

I recall telling a colleague who was leaving Wipro “ Please share your ‘civilian’ email ID to keep in touch”?? because for me, only two kinds of people existed until then: Military Folks and the Civilians. Therefore, whatever was not work related, was ‘civilian’ for me.

Year 2006 was the biggest year of transformation where I didn’t know what hit me right on my face, but then slowly and steadily I found my way. 

The 16 years that went by since, have been amazing, and a huge learning. I experimented with multiple assignments, learnt a lot. Learnt both: The do’s and the don’ts. 

So what have been the key learnings in this journey that come to my mind as I write this note ?

1. Resilience is the key : no matter how hard it seems, one finds a way.

2. World is a beautiful place, filled with very kind and compassionate people. While I have had my share of pains like everyone else, I truly believe and have always found angels on my way who helped me and guided me to the right path every time I derailed from it.

3. Compete but only with yourself: the only person you need validation is you. Be a better version of yourself each day. 

4. Success: the definition of success changes over the years. When I was younger, it was to reach on top of my career and always do well. Now Success means happiness, peace and well-being not only for me but everyone around me.

5. Love your family, friends and work colleagues who stand by you in your lows. Also make sure you never let them down when they need you. Thank them as often as you can.

6. Take calculated risks: Worked for me almost every-time. When it didn’t, I realised in the long term, it was in my best interest when I failed. 

7. Work in places that energise you. We spend most of our adult life in Workplaces besides home so it has to be somewhere we are valued, recognised and loved. Give your best each day and expect the same. If you do not receive back the same level of gratitude and love, it’s not meant for you.

8. One life, live well. 

It’s been a hell of a ride and can’t wait to see what lies ahead!

Come ride along????