No, seriously. What humbles you?
A sure-shot success that turned into a dud at the last moment?
An imaginary bubble that got busted?
A plan gone haywire?
A reality that’s 180 degrees opposite of your dream?
All the so-called failures or setbacks are not about what I aspired for. I didn’t even need them. But I still faced them and they humbled me. They reminded me that life is bigger than my plans, that my imagination often outpaces reality and that growth comes from challenge.
Failures, setbacks and missteps are not obstacles; they are lessons we often take for granted. They force me to see beyond imagined “what ifs” and embrace situations and people I may never have anticipated. I often become complacent with my idea of reality, and when it turns out to be different, I get upset. Yet in the long run, these experiences make me stronger, remind me that my plans are just “my plans” and there’s a whole world out there.
Chasing the ideal workplace
For years, I had a clear definition of an ideal workplace. I had lived it. Nothing made Monday mornings exciting or Friday evenings sadder. I had the best of friends there—not just colleagues, but guides, shoulders to cry on, 3 a.m. callers, Saturday-night partners, Sunday-morning breakfast gang. Weekdays and weekends blurred together. We were young.
Looking back, I realise this expectation of running after an ideal workplace with people I loved was, in a sense, a failed expectation. Workplaces change. People change. Time passes. Holding on to the idea of a perfect environment can make me resistant to reality. When reality diverges from my dreams, it humbles me.
Life is not meant to be fair, only eventful
After the pandemic, many of us hoped the world would grow kinder. It didn’t. It became more competitive, more cutthroat. And what did we learn? Very little. I found it easier to be myself before the pandemic. Post-pandemic, it feels like every flaw is under a magnifying glass.
Yet I have also reclaimed the value of time and life. The moments I took for granted, I now cherish. I prioritise how I feel over how I am expected to feel. Life is not measured in workweeks but in moments of liberation and genuine joy.
If someone asks, “What humbles you?”, look at the gap between what you are doing and what you feel expected to be doing. Unless you take charge of your life, you will not know what keeps you grounded. Service to others is noble, but disserving yourself is not. Make plans for yourself. Plan your life around them. These are not just words—they are achievable, once you realise it.
A slow life on own terms
I learned this early in my career. Around two years in, I pulled myself out of the bell-curve comparisons and the rat race with colleagues and friends who had different life experiences, upbringing and goals. When the places we come from and the places we aspire to reach differ, how can our approaches be fairly compared?
Around my mid 30s, I shifted my perspective. My career is part of life, not life itself. It provides identity, purpose and livelihood, but it is not the entirety of my existence. Viewing ‘work’ as work renewed my perspective and allowed me to perform with clarity, achieving twofold benefits: boosting my confidence and expertise after each successful projects and growing personally.
Life is not a race. Move slowly, live fully and live on your own terms.
A poem I often recall captures this truth.
Time brings everything to a full circle
Early in my life, I learned one fundamental fact:
If we remain honest and true, what we hope for will happen.
Things will fall into place.
Truth will come out.
People will recognise it.
What we hoped to prove will be proven.
What we wanted with heartfelt conviction will come to fruition.
But when these things finally happen,
They may no longer hold the same importance.
We will feel joy, but life moves on.
As a believer in the right time,
When it arrives, what once seemed daunting becomes easy, even trivial.
Wait for that right time.
