Which way to go for my career; the heart or the mind?

Ritika was in Class X when aspirations were on cloud nine and she had the exact plans set up for her future. Being a bright student at the school, her parents had high hopes on the academic front! Apart from the academics, she devoted her undivided attention to sports and extracurricular activities which contributed to the overall development of her persona.

She was clouded with second thoughts; Will my career graph run through the way I wish it should? Would I regret my chosen career path? Am I mature enough to ensure the stability of my decision throughout my life? The chain of thoughts would never end.

Her PT teacher, Joshi sir, always encouraged her to pursue her career in sports as he believed that her agility would prove beneficial as a good sprinter for the coming years. Good academics received applauds from the respective subject teachers and they had pre-decided her career options – either Engineering or Medical (whatever suits better). Her classmates perceived her as a journalist in the future as they reasoned her flair of correct and articulate communication. Also, in the corner of the heart, she had a thirst for the same.

Mostly, our career paths are encouraged by - either parent, peers or teachers. The present generation has a better understanding of what they wish, what they need and how they would put-forth their steps to achieve them. With exposure and easy access to the internet, a quick 'Google search' definitely helps to take a better decision.

How to utilize these resources better and efficiently? As an X grade student, Can the decisions go wrong? And if so, till what extent will I have to bear its consequences?

Career guidance programs can provide a fabulous piece of information for those who clearly walk through them, and a vicious circle for the others if they confuse them. Counseling sessions often help us to identify our strengths, our perceptions towards our own life. They can instill good understandings of the current situation and guide us in the directions we fairly agree to.

But, there is another side to it as well. As you may have guessed correctly, Ritika did choose Engineering from the influential choices as it was logically a safe path to move ahead. Moreover, back at times, if a student had good grades, the parents already start visualizing their children with the stethoscopes in their hands, or in a formal attire working in an MNC organization (It had a heck of value then).

There was this small part of her body which constantly urged her to take a direction against the logic given by the brain; it was the heart. She loved writing. Not that she was or she is really good at it, but the creative parts appealed her. Creating something out of words fascinated her and she dreamed of becoming one of the established writers in the country. But, unfortunately, she was not able to convince her parents and they considered the interest as a temporary fondness and chose to ignore it.

As rightfully said ”Your wish, my command”, she completed the engineering and landed up in a job that paid her decent enough. Ritika, halfheartedly, worked for 3 straight years like that. She got married, was relocated to a new city and took a break from the corporate world for a while. Happily settling down, she gave birth to a baby girl. Those three years of inactivity of her work profile started creating rifts between her heart and my mind, and tensions escalated as she found out a dearth of opportunities in my profile when she decided to start working at the place she lived after marriage.

Here, magically, writing struck her and as the conditions favored, she started a career as a Content Writer.

There are three things to be considered from this example-

a) What if Ritika continued her old profession?

b) She got a job that interests her; Should we consider this a luck?

c) How long will the heart be able to pacify the mind?

Earning is secondary; If a workplace doesn’t suit your interests, even the payroll you are on doesn't satisfy. Never be afraid to make decisions. We all make mistakes. Maturity comes with time, so even If your decision might offend a lot but please your instinct, Go for it! Life is designed to live it happily, Never forget the sole purpose of the beautiful journey waiting for you. Trust your decisions, have the patience to see results. You won’t be disappointed!