‘It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting’
When we are straight out of college, brimming with enthusiasm and imbibed with the impression of ruling the world, we hardly have an idea that the surge of energy will gradually decline and later seep away into a state of boredom, monotony, and loss of prospects in life! A lifetime seems to have passed when we realize we have been living a parallel life with a wrongly chosen path.
Reaching a juncture where overall interest in life seeps away, we often forget about rejoicing in the achievements at that point. At this stage, finding a passion and investing ourselves into a skillset that not only gives us immense pleasure but also creates a value-added positive impact in society, always helps us to find the mojo of our life. And believe me, it’s never too late!
Breaking the shackles of the cognitive biases of society and trying out new things while challenging the existing ideas can be daunting, but rewarding. Stuck against the wall of uncertainty and unsure of the direction your life should take, we need to start small and level up to break the boundaries of societal circumstances.
When we consider the delicate issue of women trying to rebuild themselves after long career breaks, we cannot ignore the fact that they require twice as much willpower to get out of the shell of being a full-time caretaker of the household, seek out for themselves, and discover a second inning. And this task becomes even more challenging when we are mothers. A family and social bubble doesn’t go far enough to confine our living and make it comfortable. We need to begin the change within and channelize it towards the outside force to rediscover ourselves. Finding support systems that cater to redesigning a career at this juncture is important.
Even when someone is comfortable in a particular professional role and tries to rediscover, revamp, and revive their career, no stone needs to be left unturned while considering and assessing varied career choices and reinventing the journey. Taking charge of life’s goals and aligning them to professional aspirations, developing skillsets, networking with like-minded people, bringing awareness, and gracefully accepting change while moving ahead becomes of utmost importance.
Taking stock of the resources and skills, navigating the career change to break out of the autopilot mode life has naturally acquired, is certainly achievable with the right approach and correct attitude. We need to upskill ourselves at every stage of life and continue to challenge our status quo to create interesting objectives and opportunities in life, be it on the personal or professional front.
Keeping track of emerging career opportunities, we should make wise decisions because our career choices impact our lifestyle, family, health, and economic conditions. However, it should not limit us from exploring further and charting our course of action. We are human beings, and we are driven by passion. Passion is derived from sentiments that keep evolving. Hence, it is important to infuse passion with work because when there’s a sense of purpose aligned with passion, the career choice seems like a dream.
One such career choice is writing. Even before we are set on the path of becoming a writer, there are several pins, needles, and knives ready to break our bubble. It is advisable to assess the current professional situation and design and plan the desired state before jumping right in. Shifting our focus from ‘what we are writing’ to ‘why we are writing’ is a powerful tool for self-reflection and setting our goals accordingly. Writing is a means to being able to cater to the literary enrichment of society through books and literary pieces, but it cannot be a financially viable option to sustain our living initially. We need to continue to discover avenues to create financial inflow, and however glamorous the literary world may seem from the outside, once on the inside, we know it is tough to survive. But it is not impossible to build a career in an unconventional field. We need dedication and discipline infused with passion, commitment, and consistency to tread on the chosen path. Dreamers discuss having a career in writing; writers simply write!
Whatever bubble we try to break in our lives, we need to understand that there should be a balance of passion and practicality, thorough research, and the willingness to maintain that surge of energy throughout as we discover a new beginning!
About the Columnist
An HR-turned-Author, proud winner of ‘Top 50 Indian Icon Awards 2025’, Columnist, TEDx Speaker, Speaker (IITs, IIMs), The Times of India Write India Winner, Jyoti Jha has authored, edited, and translated several books in both English and Hindi. Awarded ‘Vidya Vachaspati’ and ‘Dr Shanti Jain Smriti Samman’, ‘Iconic Authors’, ‘Savitribai Phule Raashtriya Samman’, Judge at IITBHU (Kashiyatra), she has conducted Writing Workshops at IITs and NITs. She is the Chief Coordinator, Let’s Inspire Bihar’s Literary Chapter, and Sr Editor, Today Magazine. Known for her bestselling novella ‘Aanandi’, her writings have been featured and published in international anthologies, prominent media houses, prestigious literary magazines, and journals. Her poem has been appreciated by the Karnataka Sahitya Parishad. To help raise awareness at the very core of a caring society, her latest book, ‘Spectrum and Beyond’, is on autism.
