How priorities change in the life of a college graduate, as one grows in his/her professional career?

I work for one of the largest multinational corporations, and a name that probably everyone would know. Safe to say, it was my dream company to work for while in college.

Back in 2014, I was 24. Fresh out of a renowned college as an institute medalist and with numerous accolades to my name — I was offered an internship with this esteemed organization which eventually translated into a permanent role.

I so so loved my job, I really did.

I loved my job and everybody loved me. I worked 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. everyday, and amazed everyone with my skills and learning ability. Everyone wanted me in their team — literally everyone. I had no doubt that I am going to change the world, and being the CEO of a 100,000 employees company was nothing but just another step in the journey.

And I loved the money that came my way! From a college student who, on best days, would have a maximum of 200$ in his bank account— I was meeting clients across the globe, travelling business class, and staying in the best hotels. Anything less than a 5 star hotel was never even a consideration. If there is a hotel where Cristiano Ronaldo would be staying, I would be booking the same hotel. It so happened that because of my frequent stays, Hilton hotel eventually offered me a Gold membership!

Yet I have come to a point, where every morning I wake up and instead of heading straight to my office, I sit at a coffee shop for breakfast for almost an hour, doing absolutely nothing. I wonder how and when did this change happen. As I am writing this, it makes me truly sad — if I am being too selfish or too ungrateful to the organization that has given me so much over the course of past 8 years — but I need to evaluate the reasons for the same.

I. The learning will stagnate.

For someone who has always loved exploring new things, I absolutely thrived in the transition from academia to industry. The first 3 years were the years of ascent and I was flabbergasted by the technology available at my hand. Even having a free printer sounded like a luxury back then but here I had the most expensive softwares available at my disposal. I loved all of it and tried to grasp as much as I can.
But it eventually comes to a point where learning stagnates. You don’t see new things everyday and are maybe just wrapping the same stuff with new glitters.

II. Delivery pressure surmounts!

The priority is the billable hours for the client or the ongoing project. Nobody wants you to learn anymore. If you want to learn, you have to do it on your own time — only if you are able to make time for yourself after numerous presentations and never ending deadlines.

If no one has ever told you this, let me tell you — there is an amazing high in giving the most amazing presentation and soaking in all the appreciation of the audience. But you have to do it again, and again, and yet again. You just have to fail once out of ten times for people to raise questions at you, and nobody will even remember the previous 9 times.

III. There is always a next promotion!

However, high you may climb in the corporate ladder, there will always be a next promotion. And if you don’t work hard enough, it will go to your peers. You have absolutely no envy with your colleagues and with them rising up, but you do not want yourself to be left behind. The carrot is always dangling, and we inevitably end up working for it.

IV. Office politics will kick in and it will hit you hard!

What makes you believe that in such a big organization, it is purely your hard work and dedication that will help you succeed? Either of your relationships or visibility in the organization is more important than your intelligence and hard work combined.

Your dedication can get you a good year end appraisal, but it is your presentations and big talks that will get you your next promotion. Learn to make peace with it!

I remember one of the very senior leader telling me, “You need to have a Godfather in this organization. Let me correct myself — you need to have multiple Godfathers in this organization. Keep it dynamic, as you never know when and which of your Godfathers is asked to leave.”

I have great relationship with all the blue collar workers in the office — the toilet cleaners, the admin staff, the pantry in charge — the ones who do all the donkey work. I talk to them almost everyday (in fact for hours at times), but in the corporate scheme of things — these are not the relationship skills that matter. They can get you the best oranges, but if they cannot assist you with the next promotion, it does not count as a valuable relationship.

However, it would be wrong of me to say that the reason we do not love our job anymore is purely due to corporate culture.
It is all the same as it was 8 years ago. It is often the change within ourselves that prompts us to look things differently.

V. Your health is no longer the same!

You do not have the metabolism of a 24 year old who can keep on drinking coffee, and not have any acid reflux. Whatever you eat, it will eventually reflect on your stomach. You have to eat healthier, go to gym regularly, and keep a check on your LDL/HDL cholesterols. For all those who say age is just a number, you can not be more wrong—I did not even know what Triglycerides are until a few years ago.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is time consuming. The day I have to go to gym, I have to leave the office at 5 — which means no more working till 10. I cook my own food, which means on any given day I have to be home latest by 8. Safe to say, healthier lifestyle and a high work pressure environment do not go hand-in-hand, and it often changes the way you look at your job.

VI. Our priorities change as we age — maybe more Wisdom kicks in!

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. — Rumi

At 32, I no longer think the same way as I used to think at 24. Maybe I have been through so much in my life in the past few years, that more wisdom is kicking in. The 24 year old who wanted to change the world, is now wiser and instead focused on changing himself. Our personal growth becomes more important than our professional growth — and I consider that as a welcome change in mindset.

VII. Financial stability changes your perspective!

I say this with utmost humility and gratitude that financial stability often changes the way one looks at life. Working for 8 years with such a big organization has given me a sense of financial security, and I am always very grateful for that.

But it is also easier to be philosophical when you are rich than when you have nothing in your bank account. At some point in our life, we are busy chasing only money. But as we grow, we understand money is important (and continue to chase it) — but this is not everything, and there are other things that matter.

VIII. You don’t like bigger corporates any more!

I wonder what it would be like to work in a smaller organization. I might be able to make a better impact on the organization than working for a big corporate where often your work just ends up as a report on the SharePoint — only to be referred by someone 10 years later. You want your work to have an impact, and impact per unit employee is always higher in a smaller organization.

As I continue to reflect on all of this while sitting for breakfast at the coffee shop — I wonder if anything has changed in the company that I worked for 8 years.

It is the same company with same values and same culture. If something has changed it is me — my priorities, my skillset and my perspective.

And it would be totally wrong of me to criticize the company or the high intensity corporate culture that has given me (and continues to give me) so much.

At 24, my job and my life were synonyms. At 32, not anymore and rightly so. All these dilemmas and change in perspective is nothing but just another question life is posing in front of us. And as we always do, we have to find answers, and constantly reinvent ourselves.

Life has changed so much in the past 8 years, and the Stupid Monk wonders what would be his perspectives and priorities at 40 — i.e. 8 years down the line? I hope my wisdom outshines my gray hair. But I guess we shall cross the bridge when (or if) we reach there!

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