For the sake of IT

When was the last time you did something genuinely out of interest that you didnt feel obligated to do? Or did something that you were really passionate about, and not just be- cause it would look good?,either on your CV or in your virtual presence on social media?

More often than not, we millennials end up doing things under peer pressure, societal pressure, family pressure, all sorts of pressure. Many end up crumbling under the pressure, attributing them to the wrong people and souring relationships, or turning towards the wrong kind of distractions. While more serious problems like addictions, work-life imbalances or mental health issues can?t be directly linked to not doing things of one?s liking, one does wonder whether the situation of overworked and overstressed millennials could have been better had there more enthusiasm in our everyday workings.

We are hardly a generation to hold back. With planned obsolescence and other marketing gimmicks dictating our short- lived material preferences, and the extent to which social media has penetrated into our lives, there is hardly a moment that isnt recorded and shared. Going out to a restaurant or movie is instantly declared to everyone in our friend circle, because, thats the ?cool? and ?trending? thing to do. In all of this hullabaloo, we forget the one real experience that should be driving our lives: our own pleasure.

We have stopped smelling the roses along the way, because we also fear. We live in the constant fear that if we don?t do something different and innovative and creative and unique, we wont land that double digit package and won?t be able to buy those Calvin Klein jeans or BMW car (because a double digit salary isn?t really enough for Prada or Porsche).

This doing of things just for the sake of it is far more common that one could imagine. If we look around, we will start to notice its much subtler everyday manifestations too. Sub- standard assignments, project reports, office presentations, company performance, not-up-to-the-mark Board Exam results, and a never-ending list of disappointments are all the outcomes of a lack of real interest, because they were done just for the sake of doing them. It has led us to make peace with mediocrity, while striving for that differentiating factor that will make us stand out from the crowd. How can we continue to co-exist in this conundrum of contradictions? Until we put out heart and soul into every activity that we per- form, lets not perform them at all. Until we know we have found our true calling, lets keep exploring the endless opportunities. Until we discover why, lets stay curious. Let us not do things just because someone asked us to or because it was expected of us, or just for the sake of it, but because we really want to.

By Ipshita Paul | MBA Full Time programme | 18-20 Batch