DO NOT ALLOW WHAT YOU CANNOT DO COME IN THE WAY OF WHAT YOU CAN

It’s not just a real emotion this time but at a real time too. I usually keep such emotions to myself but want to share with you all this time. The reason behind sharing is very simple. Knowing me, if this emotion can dazzle me all the time, majority of you must be dealing with this too. This piece of writing is not to glorify this feeling, but to normalize. I hope no one goes through this enigma, ever.

All my life, I have been very selective about things and people. I talk to everybody, but my respect goes only with a few. I had always dreamt of a hectic life when it comes to my career. Meetings, learnings, planning, discussions all bundled and packaged nicely. Contrary to this, I am sailing through an unexpected phase right now what is kind of a standstill. I could not even box myself to write what I feel for a while. It was a state of no thoughts yet all the thoughts. This was followed by a mercurial temperament which is rare for me. I know my path, but I do not know how to navigate through and reach my destination. Choosing a path to reach where I see myself 10 years down the line is a constant dilemma I am living with. Confusion comes with options of picking X or Y thing and usually not about doing or not. To guide myself, I listen to podcasts and interviews of the people I like. Being honest, not every good piece of advice can penetrate my mind but if I respect that person, I give serious thought even if I cannot follow their advice.

I recently listened to one of the lectures of Harsha Bhogle at IIM-Ahmedabad. As an alumnus, he was invited to address the forthcoming batch of students. I anyway like that person a lot but what was really appealing in this lecture was his ground level understanding. Out of his many life experiences and lessons, he shared one which most of us do not know.

On the day of the 2007 T20 Worl Cup Final in Johannesburg, he was well prepared to anchor the entire match. He titled that day as one of the textbook cases of what a bad day looks like. It was one of his career’s biggest matches to cover but exactly before the commencement of the match, everything went wrong for the commentary box including technology, equipment, sound system, etc. Adding to this chaos, he used to ask person A to come for a short interview and somehow person B would show up. He confessed that the situation was so out of control that he had to go solely by his instincts as nobody could hear anything. They were already on air and whatever he did misfired. The team momentarily stopped the broadcast and took a pause to repair and restore. He placed his hands over the head having no idea what to do next. He then called his wife saying, “I screwed up”. This was all happening behind the scenes. He thought he was almost finished at work. And today, we know where he is.

Harsha Bhogle was a person of extreme low self-esteem when he kicked off his initial professional years. He neither had good academic grades nor broadcasting background. Once, he asked the producer of the channel who gave him a break in broadcasting, “You had other options, why did you choose me?”. That person frankly answered, “Your face and style were possibly one of those types that could never work in broadcasting, but I saw that you listened, you learned, and you delivered. I then had no other option 😊”.

To summarize, he urged the students to work and focus on what you can be and not what you possibly cannot. The social media obsessed culture, the show off mentality, this race of success propels us to be everywhere and with perfection. Over the years, we have to evolve to accept the fact that using our strengths and creating good results with those strengths has to be our aim. My plateau phase taught me this. Sharpening our weakness is good but batting on our strength leads to that place where we are ought to be. Not trying to touch every goalpost, not proving that I can do this too, is the way to be. Being okay with the fact that this is not my way forward leaves room for others to come forward and showcase their skills. This is a highly underrated and boycotted fact (if I may say) but you cannot chase everything in life. Virat Kohli may be good at other sports also, but should he forgo cricket for the sake of playing every other sport?

Making peace and finding joy and excellence in what you have and what you can is the real definition of a satisfied life. Setting boundaries is not a limitation to exploration, but a shield to protect our mental peace.