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Taking a chance, giving up and letting go | Part 4


Let go of something when you know you deserve something better. I’ve seen this quote written so many times on social media channels, and in forums. 2014 has seen a lot of posts about the beauty of letting go. For most young people this quote would remind them of  failed relationshipa, for some it could be the act of forgiving oneself for something they did and for others it could be a signal to continue in the journey of life.

I’ve seen a rather different perspective of this quote. Forget about the whimsical beauty of letting go and think of it as a necessity.

If we streamline our focus, isn’t letting something go simply the most natural way to make way for something better?

Young India is a powerful force to reckon with, today. We are a nation whose majority of population is aged under thirty five years of age. If all of us were to follow our dreams with reckless abandon and unfailing passion, would that not make us a superpower in the next few years?

The young boy who decides to work with a bank instead of starting his entrepreneurial dream, the girl who grudgingly works the night shift at a call center when she could be happier and so much more successful when she starts a business selling her baked goods…

What stopped them from trying?

I’ll tell you what stops us from getting there - it is the fear that the “something better” may not exist at all.

In my opinion, there is always something better, something higher and something very,very distant that you can set your sights on and be successful at. Trust me, I work with creating objects that travel amidst the stars, it really doesn’t get any further than this. Or so we think.

This takes me back to right after I finished my Bachelors of Technology. As earlier mentioned in one of my posts, the Chief Engineer of Public Works Department was known to my father. Like an easy career path for me, this gentlemen offered me a job at the Public Works Department no later than a week after I received my grad results.

My father suggested I take up the role because it was a good offer and the family might need the income, needless to say.

Of course, by this time I made up my mind that I wanted to study further in the field of Aeronautics and declined the offer.

A few weeks later when my father left for a tour, I enrolled in the Indian Institute of Science.

When I visited home after a few days, my father told me he was proud of my decision to study further and strive to be the best in what I wanted to do.

His words helped me let go of the “ifs” I had on my mind.

It would’ve been really easy for me to take up the job that was offered on a platter. But because I let go, I got the drive to pursue my passion and that’s what helped me get to the helm of my career today.

I knew there was something better waiting for me, as there is for all of us. If only we let go of what is safe or conventional or whatever other terms society decides to name it, there’s always something better, provided you work hard and focus on your goal.

As 2014 comes to an end, let’s choose to let go of negativity, negative thoughts and negative habits. There are so many beautiful things you can create, when you set your mind to do something new.

Take a chance while you’re young, and make it worthwhile.

Because in the end, the only regrets you have are about the chances you never took.

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