Why Do I Teach?

Have been teaching for more than a decade now and when I look back at my journey as a teacher, I often ask myself one question:

Why do I teach despite having a full-time job that's good enough to put bread, butter and beer on the table?

Woke up early this morning to gather my thoughts to pen down the answer to this one.

1) Makes me a better public speaker

When I face an audience day in and day out, it makes me a more confident public speaker - a trait that pays handsome dividends in the corporate world.

2) Makes me prepare harder

When I know that I will have to face a barrage of questions in public, I prepare hard. Really hard.

After all, I'd want to have answers to as many questions as possible.

3) Keeps me grounded

I do not always have the answer to every question thrown at me.

However, saying that "I do not know the answer to this question, but I will learn and come back to you" in front of a large audience drives me to keep learning, makes me more humble and helps me make peace with my shortcomings.

4) Makes me mentally tougher

When you put in the hard yards as a teacher, high chances your students will appreciate the sincerity.

There's an ugly side to it too - for every ten students who'll wish to shower you with rose-petals, there'll be at least one student who'd want to batter you with stones for no real rhyme or reason.

The more I deal with unwarranted belligerence, the more prone I become to developing a thicker skin. In today's day and age, having a thick skin is a virtue.

5) Helps me evolve as a person

Being a teacher has presented me with the opportunity to interact with college students, working professionals and entrepreneurs from different parts of the world, from various industries and from different schools of thought.

This automatically results in a zeal to be more informed, broaden my worldview and constantly evolve both personally and professionally.

6) Makes me a more skilled professional

When I taught Verbal Ability to CAT aspirants, I developed a stronger command over the English language.

When I trained IIM call-getters for their B-school interviews, I became more skilled at appearing for interviews.

Now that I teach Digital Marketing, I'm getting better at my day-job as a digital marketer.

7) Makes me a happier person

When you teach well, the satisfaction derived from the experience warms the cockles of the heart.

When your students tell you that your teaching has added value to their lives, you have another reason to smile.

When your former students come back to share their success stories mainly because they believe that you have earned that privilege, the emotion is that of unadulterated joy.

All in all, I'll conclude with this James Clear quote - "The teacher learns more than the student."