Would I have listened?

It was on my flight from New York to San Diego that I met Rahul. I was all excited as this was my first time visiting the west coast. As I sat up observing the space around me after a quick yet slightly uncomfortable nap, my stomach grumbled. Rahul was kind enough to offer me some grapes he had received with his sandwich he ordered in flight. Even though the Indian in me screamed no, I went for it. We soon got talking and you can imagine my surprise when he told me he was working at Google.  

Rahul was a cool guy. He was bustling with energy and youthful exuberance. I was shocked to my core when I realised he had been working at Google for over 9 years now.
He chuckled as he spoke his love for the job. But then he told me how he was looking for something new. He wanted to learn and explore further. He wanted to evolve. I smiled while I tried to understand his predicament. Here was a guy who was working at my dream company but he wasn’t all satisfied with himself as I expected him to be.

And what he said still remains etched in my mind to this day. Over the course of the past few months, I have spoken to many professionals in various sectors trying to understand what they do and what they lack. It was a tiny experiment of sorts. I wanted to figure out what it is that would make me get up every morning and go to work. I realised that most people like what they do, they wouldn’t be doing it otherwise. But they also find fault – travel, salary, work hours. Those same old issues that have stood the test of time.

The struggle never ends. When I first came to the US, I knew things weren’t going to be easy. But I didn’t know that it was going to be this hard either. We sometimes paint such rosy pictures of people when they talk about their struggles. All well and good. But we often take it upon ourselves to prove everyone else wrong. Now, there is nothing wrong with trying to change the way things work. But sometimes it is just plain hard. When conforming is the only option you have, you do whatever it takes.

And that’s okay.

But I wonder someone told me that. Integrity, honesty, hard work are the buzzwords we like to throw around but sometimes being patient is all it takes – to survive, to live and to succeed. In the age of the “instant”, impatience is a deadly consequence which we must get rid of instantly. Haah, the irony! It takes time.

As I navigate through the deep bends and climb over the huge obstacles in my journey,  I pause at times to understand what lessons I have learnt. Every one struggles every day in their own way.

But if someone did tell me this, would I have listened?