Fish out of water or duck in the pond?

When I come across young boys and girls saying “I want to become a film star”, “I want to become an F1 driver”, “I want to become Sachin Tendulkar”, “I want to become a teacher” etc, a strange feeling runs through my body – OMG, these kids are so clear about what they want to become, if they really pursue it they can so easily achieve it! And my mind inexorably goes to my own state of mind not so long ago (my high school days, to be precise) when I – to some extent – had a plethora of options on which career path to take. Arts, Science, Commerce, Engineering, Medicine, Computers – you name it, the option was very much there!

And of course the all encompassing, go anywhere-do anything option called MBA!

I’m not an actor, I’m not a painter, I can’t sing and I don’t play games (sic) – and that ruled out one path that is reserved for those born with God-gifted skills. This was something I realized after finishing my high school and had to make the crucial decision of which stream to select – science, commerce or arts. My career can only be out of acquired learning through education and interpersonal skills which is a life long honing process.

No, these are not easy decisions to make! And I looked confused, exasperated and indecisive. My mother shared my worries. My dad had a big laugh and would say “Great to be in this state of mind! As far as I have seen, all those who don’t know what career to choose end up choosing whatever career a majority of their friends opt”.

“That’s Engineering with Software as the destination” I tell him and he again laughs! Dad knows how much I hate being a nerd but yet insists that this is where the best paid jobs exist and I should be there. Medicine is not my cup of tea either – what a relief, dad agrees that a reluctant medical student is likely to become a bad doctor who will put the lives of many at risk.

Not Commerce. Not Law. Etc. It’s so easy to decide what to not do! In fact I find myself staring at everything other than “what to do!”

The only thing I seem to be clear about is my philosophy: “I don’t want to be a fish out of water … I want to be a duck in a pond”.

In the last few years I have thought about my career quite a lot and am convinced the only way to be a “duck in the pond” is by following some simple rules:

·         I need to be clear about my life’s vision, mission and core values

·         I need to understand my personality traits, innate abilities and natural talents

·         I need to be clear about my needs, wants, hopes and dreams

·         I need to continually acquire knowledge and skills to fulfill my dreams

·         I need to believe that my abilities are far more than what I have achieved

·         I need to be committed and passionate about what I want to achieve

As a student of mass communication in the last 3+ years, I am pretty sure I have chosen a line in sync with my natural abilities. I have learnt a lot, but more importantly there is a lot more to learn. Communication is a field that touches more than 6 billion people every minute of the day – and if we  can find a niche that belongs to us, we can truly say “Heart is where our profession is!”.

Manisha Raghunath

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