Tuesday, May 29, 2012

What I learned in the last two years.

My first job has been a great learning experience. The work was pretty banal but I learned a lot of life lessons in the last two years. These are best summed up in the adieu letter that I wrote to all my colleagues. Here goes~

Hello Friends,

All good things come to an end and rightfully so. When the fruit is ripe, it falls of the tree and similarly I'm metaphorically falling off the tree that fed me for two years. The time has come for me to move on gracefully and tomorrow is my last day at Avaya.

My journey has been sinusoidal and now I wish to share my learning with you. Nobody would like to read a morally instructive email coming from somebody smaller their age, but this is my adieu email and everyone reads adieu emails, or I would like to assume so. Here are my two cents.
 I have learned that every person has at least one special quality. We must desire to learn from everyone.
  • People often judge other people too soon and not surprisingly these judgments are hollow and a result of biases and prejudices. We must always give a person enough time before judging him.
  • There isn't any harm in running after something that makes you happy and does not leave you exhausted. If running after money makes you happy, keep running. Some people run after knowledge and happily so.
  • One cannot judge a fish on its ability to climb up a tree. Everyone in their heart knows what they are best at. Trust your intuition and fight for your right!
  • As we grow older, we tend to bottle up emotions and not express ourselves. Don't let this happen to you! What would happen if you cover a light bulb with an opaque black box? There wouldn't be any light. Enlighten the world with your ideas.
  • I learned that maturity doesn't necessarily come with age. Neither does it come with quality education. It comes from introspection.
  • One shouldn't spend too much time and money on material things. We must take out time for ourselves. Spend some time closer to nature with family and friends. Money might bring you an AC car, but you feel so much better in the cool monsoon breeze.
  • One man may not change the system, but one man may inspire many others who can collectively change the system!
This is best I could do, summarizing my learning of the last two years. My interactions with you have been enjoyable and rewarding. I don't promise to stay in touch, but I'll do my best. Take care and have a great life. You aren't here for eternity, make every second count :)