When you are a Ferrari stuck in Nanjappa Circle

Have I grabbed your attention now? I was told the specificity of how I feel is hilarious. ?To set the context right – Ferrari needs no introduction. Ferrari here symbolizes possibilities, capacity, inherent potential, burning desire (thanks to the fuel consumption!) – the zeal to win races, get ahead, lead, start a revolution. Well, you can argue it can be a Bugatti Veyron or a Lamborghini Huracan, but the point is these are revving engines waiting to win thrilling races and win crowds.

Nanjappa Circle, on the other hand, is anything but a grand prix circle. I have lived in the neighbourhood of Nanjappa Circle for a decade and I am very emotional about the feelings that it invokes in me. You can look it up – it is at the heart of Langford Town/ Shanti Nagar in Bangalore. That entire stretch of the road from Nanjappa Circle to my erstwhile home is the mother of all traffic jams. I remember waiting for hours (literally hours ) just to cross the few meters to get to my home on the other side. I could plead, I could wail, I could demand the Creator of the Universe show up – but it is impossible for anyone to inch through the traffic at Nanjappa Circle.

There are cars, there are autos, there are cows too sometimes. Sometimes there are horse drawn carriages as well! Yes, I am not kidding. Things like these happen in places like these.

Now, imagine yourself as a Ferrari engine in this congestion. You can affirm and announce – I am the Ferrari, I have power to win thrilling grand prix races. No one really cares! Because it is Nanjappa Circle, and not F1 circuit. The road has its purpose of connecting places to people. So keep your burning desire and horse power to yourself, they would say. Everyone here has an important mission – to get to work, or to homes, or to schools. You are stuck in this congestion amidst automobiles of various configurations and purpose. You feel wasted. You feel demotivated. Why wouldn’t the roads open up for your engine to rev? Why wouldn’t anyone understand the miles you can go?

The fact is no one ever will understand the revving Ferrari inside unless you make it clear, especially, if you are in a misleading chassis! No one in Nanjappa Circle really cares about the revving horsepower because one really has no use for such power in Nanjappa Circle. So what do you do – change the track, transition to an F1 circuit. Get the right pit crew, talk to other drivers who will lend their skill and their experience for competence that you want to build.

The fact is many of us may feel like Ferrari stuck in Nanjappa Circle in our lives or in certain phases of our jobs. Or may feel like the proverbial lion cub raised as a cat, failing to understand why it can’t do a good job of being a cat. He is a lion, his essence is to be the king of the jungle and not in homes! ?

But the point is how do you transition to a grand prix circuit so that you can run your race, especially if you are stuck?

-?????????Acknowledge the Ferrari and the lion in you, acknowledge your inherent strength, skills, and the goals that you want to achieve, the races that you want to win. One of the most important advice that I have got is – “With grit and gumption you can build any muscle, but the point is do you want to ?” . Acknowledging the gifts and natural strength we have, and the value that we can create joyfully for the larger good is the first step to a fulfilling career.

-?????????Most importantly, no whining and no frustration ever can get you out of Nanjappa Circle. Rebellion is never a strategy, nor is self-loathing. One need skills to manoeuvre, and perhaps find a traffic cop to understand and empathize to help clear the way – someone who understands you are a revving F1 engine and you need to get to the race track to be in your essence, to fulfil your purpose. I would translate this to investment in honing one’s inherent skills to enable the transition. The other important enabler is investment in building honest relationships and having vulnerable & meaningful career conversations.

The dots always connect in hindsight. And as Rumi says, “ If you are not brave enough to take the first step, then you will never know how far you can go”

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