This is a continuation of the last post.
I am at a cusp of a new chapter in life. A new city and a new job. This will come along with all the settling in, new social circle and new challenges of life. But in a way, life brings me full circle with this move. It is the city and organization I was in 7 years back. As this thought hit my mind, it triggered a chain reaction of overthinking. Should I be happy or sad? Ecstatic or distraught? On the one hand, it looks like I am not making any progress. But on the other hand I am in a much better situation than where I was 4 months back.
I remember having a few panic attacks back 4 months back. I realized how bad the job market really was. Plus I also figured out that my chances of moving to Europe were practically nil (Close to it at least). Knowing that Indian job market is very unkind to people with career breaks, I was forced into some heavy thinking and strategy re-evaluation. As a result I find myself going back to my previous role. Don’t get me wrong. This is a tier 1 job in India. But then it is Mumbai and not Berlin. Berlin, where I still yearn to be.
One of the purposes of this post is to document the following:
- Life situation today is better than what it was 4 months back. This is real progress
- I am quite proud of how I managed myself and my time over the last 6 months. Leaving a toxic job without a back up in hand is a bold decision. Not only did I take that decision but I also made the most of my free time of 6 months. I move into the next phase of my life with some incredible memories and stories
- Long term plans for life (3 to 5 years)
- Career – Eventually I would want to get into a tech organization in the West (preferably Berlin, Amsterdam or Stockholm)
- Health and fitness – At least once reach a point of 10% BF with a good muscle mass. At least have visible abs for one summer
- Relationships – Have a stable relationship in the West and look at starting a family
- Short term plans for life (1 to 2 years)
- Career – Upskill myself in the current role. I think this is an amazing opportunity to learn leadership skills which will be immensely useful in the next phase of my career. This can be the biggest takeaway from this role. Also re-evaluate Europe plans sometime in the middle of 2025. For all I know, I enjoy this role so much that I end up sticking with this role and building a career here
- Health and fitness – At least reach the Berlin levels of fitness and maintain that. It might be more difficult as it might be a more challenging and time consuming role
- Relationships – Keep dating to get more experience. Commit in case I find someone worth it. Otherwise avoid
- Acknowledgement of the fact that I have still not undone the mistakes of the past and there is still a long way to go. This is what relates to the title of this post. More about it in the next paragraph
Horse in the rain
There is a Youtube channel that I absolutely love. One video that absolutely hit the nail for me was ‘Horse in the rain’. The premise is that if you see a horse that is stuck in rain, what does it do? It actually does absolutely nothing to improve it’s situation. It doesn’t try and break fences, nor does it try to run long distances to find a shelter. It just stands and let the storm pass away. For the storm eventually always passes away and the sun shines after that. Similary, when you feel that you are stuck in the jaws of life, twisting and turning will only injure you more.
So, over the next 1 year, this is the exact strategy that I intend to follow. I realize that I cannot get too far ahead of myself and that I need to put my head down and wait for the times to get better. In the meantime, I need to prepare myself and position myself in the best possible situation to leverage the good times when they do eventually come along.
As a next step, as I start the new role, I intend to develop strong systems and routines to help me better myself as I wait out the storm like a horse in the rain.
More updates on that in the subsequent posts.