Continued from VOYAGE OF SUCCESS: The Prequel
1) More than imagination: What fascinated you earlier appears totally different. The shine seems dull, revealing the surface beneath. “It wasn’t what I imagined it to be!” is a recurring thought. Now that one has betted most of the time thinking about this, there seems to be no way out but continue finding out more about this. The fascination and day dreams give way to ‘real’ work. The timeless days now seem weary and often a drag. The dream career loses its charming luster much like a superhero film would seem sans the background score – all work!
You begin seeking fascination ‘in’ work than ‘about’ the work. This phase ends with taking concrete steps towards the charted goal.
2) The horizon: In the early days, with each day at work, reaching the goal seemed a cake walk. As time goes by the enthusiasm of heydays slowly decreases. The desired goal moves far as we continue the journey towards it. The more we speed up the further it moves. Sometimes we are left dumbfounded: “Why does it look unreachable?” Confusion and unimaginable doubts creep up at any time of the day. Our ability to trust people is affected badly. Work seems too much with every step on our mapped path.
3) Give up?: Our perfect plans prove to be faulty, some work crumbles down, re-work seems challenging, trusted people leave us creating a vacuum, time is running ahead, things aren’t available- everything seems moving in the wrong direction. These are pointers that tell us one thing – give up! “Should I quit?” you are confused. “Why did I choose this career?”, “Maybe father was right…”, “This is too tough for me”, “I don’t have it in me”, “I’m not destined for this” questions gain unauthorized access into your mind.
Do you remember the efforts you made to practice the first alphabet on the slate or ruled pages? What a herculean effort it seemed! The days of paining fingers, teary eyes, scolding teachers to the moment when you could fluently read the first story in your life- what an achievement it is. “How did it work?” It did because you kept on working. Tracing the alphabets day after day until it was fun and easy. Then came words followed by sentences and ‘boring’ grammar. Today you want to write your own story- what if you had given up then?
Hammer the peg of work deep into the foundation to avoid getting blown away in the winds of cynicism.
4) The guilt factor: Your work spills into every other activity you are supposed to be do. Allotted time for family, friends and social activities decreases rapidly. As you devote your time to this there are high chances of guilt building up within: being unable to share time. Make all the people you are connected to a part of your goal: involve them in your activity and speak to them about your work. Show them the collective good that will be the outcome of your achievement.
5) The flowering: As you continue to dig for the ‘gold’, suddenly things seem to fall in their own ‘rhythm’: efforts don’t trouble you anymore. This phase marks the beginning of the flowering of your efforts. You are at times surprised: “What was I struggling against so long? Why does it seem so easy now?” Time seems to slow down. It is as if everything is on autopilot. The goal is now attracted towards you.
To be continued…(link to Voyage of Success: Post Production)
