I had just turned 28, had a job (more on that later), personally couldn’t be in a better position and was making decent money. All that changed during the course of the year that was 2014. Here is my account of it.
As January rolled in I had made following resolutions
- Read more (Love it)
- Get in better shape (Not that I was in any worse shape back then)
- Travel to Turkey (why Turkey? I don’t know, it was on a whim)
- Get a new job (Was not a fan of the one I was in)
- Buy a Mac (I am a materialistic pig)
- Buy a Kindle (Please refer to earlier point for the reason)
- Give back something to the society (something more than taxes)
- Be friendly (I was not much)
- Learn how to dance (Convert two left legs to two right; if such thing exists)
- Write more
The year began with optimism of the highest order. This was going to be my year and I was going show everyone who is the boss. Awwwww Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!
Not everything went as per plan.
So here is what happened.
Act One: Triumph
I realized that to read more I shall have to make time for it (duh!). But the downside of this was I was not interacting with this species called Homo sapiens. I have realized in the course of my 29 years of existence that homo sapiens are very complex creatures, females of the species are more complex and you have ensure you do not rub this animal the wrong way or it will bite you (invariably on your ass). The books recommended to tame this animal you have to smile a lot, talk nicely (I have a very sarcastic sense of humor so you can imagine), and give it what it wants (Yay, a chance at playing GOD). Here I was embarking on my latest adventure with little experience as my companion. I started applying these principles to my flat mates who are quite a curious collection of people. Since I usually am cooped up in my room with my books my interactions with them were limited to weekend plans. So when I started mingling with them more often they viewed me with suspicion but soon they fell victim to my charm (see my sarcastic sense of humor) and accepted me as one of their own. With the home front conquered I boldened my ambition and set out to conquer office space which was easier said than done. The species in office was a far more advance version of my simplistic flat mates. This one was armed with ambition, gossip, backstabbing and with gains to be made from your failure. But the principles held in this case too and I was making gains in this unknown but dangerous territory as well. So this was going to be my year after all. 1 resolution down, 9 to go.
Life is strange in the way that it offers you chances out of the blue; which you are too scared to take thinking what if it is not the right thing for me. But let me tell you something, unless you take those chances you will never figure out if it was right or wrong to take them and since we do not have the gift of hindsight at that particular moment it is wise to take them if you feel like it.
I had one such chance when it came to buying a laptop. I was strolling in a mall after taking a break from back to back work meetings and came across an Apple store. I went inside and saw this beauty in all her glorious form; the curves, the feel, the wow-ness when I first laid your eyes on this creation - MacBook Air. It was love at first sight for me and I was sure the it was to be the object of envy to the people I know but like everything that is so beautiful this one comes with a hefty price tag. I consulted my close friends asking them if they approve of the match, is it worth investing my time and money in it and they said it's up to you. Well that was a bit anti-climactic. Don't you hate it when you ask someone for their opinion and they come up with this gem? I pondered for hours and I could not take it anymore so I went back to the store and said, "Can I get some discount?" and the salesman gave me a look as if I had insulted his 7 generations. Finally after much talking I had acquired what I had desired for so long and could not wait to show it off. 2 down and 8 to go.
By this time I was already in April and was awaiting my annual increment in salary and a bonus for doing the job well. When we finally changed the calendar to the month of May, I had my increment letter in hand and bonus in bank and let me tell you I felt rich but only for 10 minutes as my company had mysteriously decided to give me only 55% of the total bonus I was entitled to. I did not think it would be wise to complain as my boss was already sitting on head for something or the other. I had a premonition that my days are numbered and I am marked man. Time to look for a new job then. Many people especially parents think jobs are easy to find, like going to the corner store and buying one. But as many of you may know it is like finding the Holy Grail. It is the Promised Land where one will start fresh, learn new skills, make new mistakes and meet new people and like the Promised Land it is further than one imagines.
In June I got an opportunity to write for an online football magazine allowing me to mix my passion for writing along with football. It was again one those chances life offered me which I initially hesitated to take but then took a leap of faith and marched on. I met a person through a common friend about writing for his sports website which he was about to start. But then the project never took off. I found out where this person himself works and after much moral wrestling about using this person as stepping stone in my ambition to write I wrote to the editor of the website with the sample of my writing and they asked me to write for them. 3 down and 7 to go.
Here is the link to one my articles The man who saved Manchester United - John Henry Davies
*The reason I am writing this is I am planning to stop writing for them at the end of January, 2015 because it does not make sense to continue doing things you are not happy doing. Don't get me wrong, I love writing but not at the cost of losing creative freedom and working on a schedule.
As my search for a job continued I welcomed winter and joined a gym. What a place this gym is with all its shiny equipment, girls to look at (while trying not to be creepy) and the dreaded weighing scale. I bought supplements and went about working out like a man on mission. I had decided by the end of my subscription I shall have the body of a Greek God. Unfortunately, the mission lasted only for 2 weeks. Yeah yeah, mock me but you know you have done the same thing at some point in your life too. All my dreams, all my hopes were washed down in the sea of laziness. I did go in between but then the sea of laziness is quite vast and I stopped altogether. I did end up with somewhat better physique and I looked like a poor man's version of Greek Gods. There goes one resolution.
As I sweated and rolled towards the end of the year I had my 29th birthday and completed one more of resolutions, buying a Kindle; less of buying actually and more of receiving it as a gift. I count my blessings for having a core of friends who will go to any lengths to see me happy. On my birthday I held my own Kindle in my hands and was smiling at it as if I am holding my baby. The sheer joy it brought me is something I cannot explain and the knowledge that I have such people around me multiplied the happiness.
Act Two: Failures
Failure has an unique quality, in that it gives you an opportunity to choose what you wish to do with it. Some choose to cry, some choose to blame and some choose to learn from it. I am a mix of all the three and depending on what I fail at my reaction is decided. Think of that one thing you really wanted, now picture your life with it and how happy you would be with it (can be a person too); now that you have that image in your mind think of what will happen if you do not get it or worse it is taken away from you. Many such things have happened to me and I am sure they will continue to happen in years to come. I have a feeling there is a lesson to be learnt here somewhere so I am looking for it.
My 2014 started with a disagreement over my habit of having a cigarette when I am consuming alcohol. My other habits when I am consuming alcohol are; believing I am the smartest person in the room, thinking I can dance, being eloquent and charming besides being a daredevil. Quite a winning combination we have here, ladies. I list this as my failure because I cannot conquer this vice whose reward I know is momentary but effects are lifelong. I did not list "quit smoking" as one my resolutions because it need not be one that you make on a particular day. One should never take it up to start with and quitting should be your daily goal even if you fail daily. The habit starts in mind and then takes the shape of an action. Following few months were relatively failure free.
The next failure came in May when I saw my bonus. While this failure is not a failure in terms of getting what I am entitled to but failing to stand up to my boss who decided to give it as per his whim (read favoritism). Since hindsight is beautifully 20/20, I have come to believe that I was too scared to stand up to him for the fear of losing my job. Being scared might make you survive for another day but what counts is the courage to do what you feel is right (does not mean I support crime). Had I stood up to him he would not have done taken me for granted and would have treated me as an equal.
My last and most monumental failure of 2014 came on Christmas Day. My boss called me to his cabin and dropped a bombshell saying, "The company has embarked on a cost cutting drive and we will have to let you go." I wanted to tell him what I actually thought about all of this, about the unfair bonus and what I thought of him but I kept shut out of fear of losing my salary while serving my mandatory notice period. So does my failure lie in losing the job?. I do not feel so. My failure lies in not being able to convince my value to the company even though I was one handful of the better performing employees and in not protesting against this. Very few times in life will you get such opportunities and I blew it away when it was presented to me. But I also see this as one of those opportunities in getting out of my comfort zone and applying for jobs which I will love rather than not applying at all. I know I will turn this failure into triumph if I do it right and this is one of the reasons I look forward to 2015. Over the next few days the company cut down costs by ensuring employees get coffee in small paper cups instead of coffee mugs and tissue papers suddenly disappeared from the pantry. I fear soon we will be charged for using internet and lights for office work.
I do not regret taking up this job because it had a ripple effect on my life. It set into motion a chain of events which allowed me to grow as a person and meet people to whom I owe a lot. So not all was bad.
Finally I did not let any of this get to me because I have acquired through penance and practice the dark art of "compartmentalisation". It means creating compartments in your head for everything in your life. So once something is over you store it in that compartment and put it in your brain's attic until it is needed the next time. This helps one in living their life happily without letting one incident spill onto another.
I do not regret taking up this job because it had a ripple effect on my life. It set into motion a chain of events which allowed me to grow as a person and meet people to whom I owe a lot. So not all was bad.
Finally I did not let any of this get to me because I have acquired through penance and practice the dark art of "compartmentalisation". It means creating compartments in your head for everything in your life. So once something is over you store it in that compartment and put it in your brain's attic until it is needed the next time. This helps one in living their life happily without letting one incident spill onto another.
Act Three: Lessons Learned
Here is the list of 7 lessons I learned in 2014
- Reading is important as it will make you sound interesting, well-versed and will impress people when the need arises. Read anything even food labels if you can't find anything better because it's important to know what you are putting inside your body.
- Exercising is important (one should be able to rock any clothing item)
- Travelling is important because adventure isn't watching Nat Geo.
- Standing up to your boss and doing what you love is important otherwise you will never grow and you will never be happy.
- Spending on quality stuff is important (but only if necessary) rather than buying cheap substitute because if handled properly they will last you longer than you thought.
- Being friendly is important as you will meet so many wonderful people and each one of them will teach you something new.
- Remembering you colleagues will always be your colleagues at the end of the day is important too. Gossiping with them will get you in tight spot, so avoid that.
As the year ended and a new one rolled in I had a thought about trying to be a better than I was in 2014 and that meant I had to understand what I had achieved, lost and learnt. I had learnt a lot from my experiences at work, with people and with my ambitions which has equipped me to tackle the challanges 2015 has to throw at me. Do I regret anything I have done or think may be I could have done somethings differently? Not one bit because I gave 2014 my best and I am of opinion that these experiences will lead to some awesome future adventures.
In 2015, I can safely say that at the end of 2014 I was a well read, mildly fit, not at all travelled, jobless, Mac and Kindle owning, friendly 29 year old. So you can say it was a year well lived.
In 2015, I can safely say that at the end of 2014 I was a well read, mildly fit, not at all travelled, jobless, Mac and Kindle owning, friendly 29 year old. So you can say it was a year well lived.
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