When I decided to quit the corporate world

I had always been in job, a part of the dazzling corporate world. So much so, that my earliest memories of young age all have a workplace in the background. Straight out of the university, I finished my bachelors of law degree along with a B.com (Hons) and earned a Corporate Secretary certification. I was proud, I was the only 'legal' head in my family and had supposedly accomplished my desired education. I was ready to face the world. Little did I know, education is a smaller chunk of the necessary ingredients for the 'success' at workplace, there are so many other factors you get to learn on the way, not only to get to the top but more so to remain relevant (sometimes to merely exist in the competition). 

As my fellow legal professionals would agree, a job in the legal field requires strenuous learning, improvement while keeping yourself updated at all times, else you can be thrown out of the rink. The complacent easy going me, was always handful, trying to remain relevant, doing justice to my education, to the plethora of books I had stuffed into my head. I slowly became good at my job, learning how to apply the sections and sub-sections of the laws on the issues in hand, gaining trust and credibility, giving all of myself in every single task I undertook. I thought I could survive.

But, every now and then, I came face to face with some harsh realities as well, the good and the bad that encompassed the corporate world and the intricacies of it. Your hard work, passion, dedication, eagerness to learn and subject matter expertise certainly pays, but at the same time, the favoritism, the nepotism and unfairness which is so deep rooted, disappoint you. Your sluggishness is criticized so is your proactiveness. The praises and appreciation on job well done is rare to find, but a rare mistake is hardly forgiven. In your endeavor to balance work and personal life, you feel you are always on that thin rope, trying hard not to fall but never balanced enough 😁 The task to balance between the good and the bad around you isn't easy either, and while some days are absolute breeze, there would be some which are crazy. You seem to find more and more work piling up, though your memory tells you had check marked the to-do in your diary last night. How come we are fire-fighting situations and looking for answers to the problems which seemed to crop up daily like mushrooms appear suddenly after a rainy day, even conquering most of them, yet we are never getting breathers. Its a little world within the big wide world, which is surreal. It accepts you with all its might, pampers you, spoils you, and yet when you are done and its time to leave, it makes you feel like a total stranger. We think we got it, but do we?   

I spent 21 years learning what I learnt, loving this world and wondering about it sometimes too😃 I juggled work and life, trying to be good at every role I was playing in office and in personal life. I had a satisfying career, some great mentors and colleagues and plenty of lessons to show me the way ahead. Then, one fine day, I decided to try a new road, to step into a world outside this little beautiful corporate world which had nurtured me all this while. What exactly I was going to do, I didn't know clearly. I could venture out something of my own or join hands in a family owned startup, I hadn't decided. It was pretty scary. I was intrigued, thrilled yet very unsure what I will do without the comfort of my job which had brought me all the way here. I was nervous on my last day at the job, I was sure I had done the wrong thing. My fears were about to be shown the door.

There was this unknown feeling of being on your own, of finding a new identity all over again. Your fancy job title and the comforts of the organizations you had been associated with, are gone. Your experience certainly follows you everywhere you go like your best buddy. Your resume eyes you intently, your LinkedIn profile patiently waits for a status update. Amidst all the newness that can surround you in such situations, you then realize you are your own boss. You can do what you love and love what you do. Without the security of a regular job and salary which comes every month, you push your self-made boundaries to make ends meet, to stay afloat. You also find some time in between, to read that book you had left unfinished or reviving music lessons on your favorite keyboard which was accumulating dust or may be have a pet finally, since you suddenly had more time back into your life. You could travel more without the worries of getting your leaves approved way ahead and mix work and pleasure now without guilt 😆  Your new title can be what you like, there is no Human Resources team around to correct it. You might learn you could write, and bring smiles & joy in the hearts of others.  

Life teaches us to be ready to unlearn and relearn and it presents us with endless opportunities. It tells us to leave the comfort zone and embrace the unseen, leaving the rest on Him. Here's my little tribute to all the people I know or I have read about (and would love to know), who embarked on a lesser travelled path. Who faced their fears, went ahead in the dark path and found their light, found their way out, and most importantly, found themselves. Are you scared? Good. You might be ready to discover yourself too.