Indian Talent, Global Content
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Indian Talent, Global Content |
July 2008: What's in the breeze |
How to Know Yourself
Thomas Carlyle, an essayist of the Victorian era once said, “The person who has found his vocation in life is a blessed human being. Let him ask for no other blessedness.” Much before him, the great ancient Greek philosopher, Plato had suggested that determining one’s vocation is by no means easy and even after two thousand years; it seems that “know thyself” is as difficult in modern times as it has been throughout the history of mankind. Since work occupies more than half of one's waking life, work and work relationships automatically assume critical importance. It was Abraham Maslow who had propounded the hierarchy of needs- food, clothing, shelter followed by social affiliations and finally, self actualization which implied satisfaction and recognition in one’s chosen profession. Despite the advances made in vocational psychology with tests like MBTI, Disc tests, Gallup strength finder, a significant number of people still find gross dissatisfaction in their work. One of the greatest costs to an organization is high attrition and one of the major causes contributing to this is people not being able to find meaning in their work. Eminent psychologists and prestigious universities like Harvard have used different words to describe what is commonly known as “passion”. Some call it deep interest, some call it deeply embedded life interest and others call it deep gladness. It is becoming more and more apparent that without this fervent involvement, it is not really possible to sustain a person in one job for long. Even the leadership books by Harvard University concede that passionate leaders are more likely to provide effective leadership in all situations and circumstances than someone who may not be similarly enthused. Even from an individual’s perspective, one would hardly look forward to such a life. One Indian consultant described life in the wrong occupation as a life full of “pain and suffering”. Another consultant stated that many people come to find only by mid life what they really want to do but it may be too late by then. Even in a country like the United States, which has excellent human resource practices, career transition can take anything between 3- 5 years. It is wastage of human resources within a company and a stifling of a life. The problem, then, is of correctly determining the deep interest. Many people unfortunately look blank when asked about this. In desperation, many vocational psychologists ask “What interested you as a child?” This is ironical because the literal meaning of the word education which comes from the Latin word “educere” means to bring out which is already in instead of blindly stuffing in. Psychologists in the US try to do all sorts of things to determine a person’s calling; apart from academics, they try to proactively pursue a person’s hobbies, community service, sports, extra curricular activities etc. Determining the right occupation is a gradual process that can take years. One of the most important primary thumb rules which one should apply for knowing oneself is to ask the question “Are you comfortable with words, numbers, data, things or people?” That can be a good broad indicator. One can of course take the numerous tests advocated by psychologists which indicate personality types instead of determining vocation. That too is an important signpost. Science is said to be a voyage of discovery over a horizon beyond which there is another horizon and so on. The inner probe can be even more profound because it is only different kinds of diverse life and crisis situations that reveal strengths and weaknesses and bring about latent potential. It involves nature as well as nurturing. What really matters is that one is aware of both the magnitude of this problem and its criticality to one’s long term happiness and success. The earlier one finds his correct vocation in life, the more likely he is able to achieve both financial and emotional satisfaction in the long run. This is provided the occupation pays reasonably well. Some others whose passion does not pay so well are destined to live double lives with one profession which pays well funding the other which is the real passion. The problem is that early in their careers, young people tend to be more commercially oriented and neglect this aspect till they begin to feel the pinch later in life. Therefore, when is as important as how to find the right potential. Ideally, the process should begin in high school itself to nip the problem in the bud. The saying “A stitch in time saves nine” is very relevant in this context. The real need of the hour is education about education itself to enable more and more people to achieve genuine fulfillment which is its primary purpose. Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.
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