Do not just live to dream….Live your dream….

It is said that ‘Life is a journey from what you are to what you want to be’. Wish life were all that simple, which everyone could understand and steered it the way they wanted. Unfortunately, a vast majority falter at the first step; most are not aware of their own capabilities and what they want to achieve in life.

Youth are wasting their time running after job security when what they should be looking for is just happiness, some finances and lots of will to pursue their dream; job does not necessarily guarantee financial stability but pursuit of a dream does to an extent guarantee satisfaction. It is deeply ingrained in the mind of the Indian kids that the sole purpose of their life was to study well and get a good job; the happiness lies behind a workstation in a big MNC. Most kids waste their life in pursuit of a mirage; ‘happiness wrapped in a job’.

The kids are put through such a work life schedule in their growing years that most do not learn to dream; they are either so tired after a busy day that they buzz off to a dreamless sound sleep moment they hit the bed or are under so much tension because of studies that they see only syllabus books in dreams (actually nightmares) too and are woken up by the shrill voice of usually their moms “uth ker padoge bhi ya bas sapne hi dekhte rahoge” (They are barred from dreaming till they get an admission in a good professional college and land up in a safe job).

The kids start getting labelled from very early in life; labelled by their elders, teachers, peers and by themselves too. They are given labels like “Good for nothing”, “ Maths and science are beyond him”, “Risk averse”, “ Can’t run for nuts”, “No good at games”, “ Book worm” and the like; most kids even start believing in that label and doubt their own capabilities. They get used to giving up even small things before trying; dreaming is way beyond them.

The youth got to understand that labels do not matter; never give up without making a fair attempt. From the time a student gets out from the college, picks up a job to till he/she gets married/ starts a family there is a period of six to ten years; this is the time when the youth should make a sincere attempt to fulfill his/ her dream. When you are single your personal requirements are less and every minute of the 24 hours of every day is yours, available to you to do what you want. You can go hungry, work 18 to 20 hours a day (including a 9 to 5 job to give you money to survive and follow your passion) to give yourself a fair chance of realising your dream. Hard work, dedication of six to eight years is good enough to make you realise your passion and fulfill your dream.

Indian youth and their parents got to understand, difference between financial and job security, between following a passion and wasting life buried under a job, between running after happiness and being happy and finally the difference between achieving a dream and having money (but no time to enjoy it).