The Biggest Lesson I Learnt in 2019

I was in two minds whether to share this or not, but here goes nothing –

A few months ago when I’d just got done with my final year exams, I was offered a job. This was in an industry I’ve always loved, for a role that was perfect, working on projects that I had legit dreamt about as a kid. 

I was offered a chance to live my childhood dream. And boy was I excited.

But, life isn’t a fairy tale.

The numbers just did not work out. What they offered was far too low even after considering just how exciting the offer was for me! Reluctantly, I passed over, secretly hoping that maybe, just maybe my counter-offer would work and I’d get a call again.

I didn’t get that call.

I won’t say that I was disappointed or particularly sad, this isn’t the first rejection I’ve faced in life and it sure as heck isn’t the last. But oh well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

From that day on, I went all-in on literally every single project I ever wanted to do. I started working with my father to build something we’d always wanted to build. Heck, I’m slowly entering the very industry which kicked me out so brutally.

But most of all, the kind of knowledge I gained over these past few months has been worth it all. Had I settled at a place that undervalued me so severely I might not have really grown in the ways I’ve grown in now. And I never really thought about all this until very recently, when I noticed just how far I’ve come in these few months in terms of knowledge & exposure.

It sounds cheesy, but I realized that sometimes you have to make a decision that doesn’t appeal to you at that moment because you never know just how life-changing it may end up becoming.

You need to understand what the result of every decision will be and what you’d stand to gain or lose. Because sometimes what you considered to be your dream or your goal might not be the best thing for you at that time.

Had I picked the “dream job” I would have learned a ton about an industry I really liked and networked with people, but being forced to walk away from that helped me discover other passions. And I still network with people!

Now, don’t get me wrong – this doesn’t apply to everyone, almost nothing ever does. But what does apply to everyone is the habit of critically thinking about these decisions. We often say it’s a “head vs heart” type of scenario, and that the decisions taken by the heart make you happier, but sometimes that may not be the case when you look at it from a longer-term POV.

If you’re waiting for a happy ending, I’m afraid we might have to wait a bit longer. The thing is – there’s no way of knowing for sure if this was the right decision.

I’d love to say that after picking this path I’ve impacted billions and made even more billions in the process. Or some iteration of that, anyway. I’d love to say “here in my garage, just bought this new Lambo, thanks to all the KNAWLEDGE I gained”.

But that isn’t true. Yet 😉

Remind me to revisit this article in a few years!