That's not the point though... I recently was on a long train trip and had an awful lot of time for myself and I thunk up some thoughts. And here they are...
"As the Chief Guest of the Annual Day Function," I quipped, without missing a beat. "As an Air Force Pilot!" I added with a short pause.
While I do hold on to the hope that former will happen some day, the latter has been a dream long forgotten. The story of which can be told another day, but this question keeps coming back for many... In some form or the other. It might be in college or job interviews, or when your future spouse or in some cases, father-in-law sizing you up.
The Country's Prime Minister today, is asking us to look into the Amritkaal. 100 Years of Bharat! The First Prime Minister drew out five-year plans for development. Visionary leaders, no doubt. But where does an individual stand in their quest for where they want to stand in the next 10 years?
There's never a right answer. At the same time there are many, many right answers. While hyper-masculine influencers tell you to kill it with attitude, or some variation of you're either the realest man in the room or you're nothing, I reckon most interviewers do not like being "shown" their place.
I found myself asking this question to me, recently. Where do I see myself in 10 years? The confidence I had 10 years ago, has vanished. I don't know. I don't have a plan... I don't know where I see myself in 1 year, let alone 10!
I tried out for the Armed Forces. Did not work. I tried Engineering. Was terrible at it. I tried Media and Publishing. Did not feel satisfied. Tried Entrepreneruship and Event Management. Didn't have the guts to see it through. Tried Corporate. Got bored out of my wits.
At the end of all that, here I am. A touch over 25. Worst shape of my life. Finances in shambles. A workplace toxic to the core. Work-Life Balance in tatters. Pursuing a path that can either make or break my career, or worse so, me. Trying to do everything possible, grabbing anything that seems remotely interesting with the hope that I can make it work... that, it is the one and being disappointed more often than not.
There's a little under a year left to go in my program. Somewhere midway, I'll have to face this question once again. One would expect having come 25 years, one would have more courage and confidence in attempting to answer that, than someone who's just come 15. One would not always be right. The confidence that comes with ignorance can be made up for with energy. But the lightfootedness that comes with wisdom and experience? The risk averse orientation that the system builds in you after being beaten down?
On paper everything is fine and daindy. On LinkedIn, it's the most fulfilling career. Inside, empty. And the chaos brewing a storm like no other.
I sit here, mid-night, mid-assignment, and mid-coffee. Thinking about 10 years, the hope and the disappointment, the trials and the tales, the jubiliation and the juxtaposition it brings with it...