47: Change is Inevitable !

As a person, I’m not averse to risk or change. I always look forward to new challenges and welcome the opportunity to learn new things. 2020 was a year that dramatically helped me move forward both personally and professionally.

For starters, I quit a stable position at a top consulting firm after 6 years to join an aggressive market challenger. The risks of making this move, especially in a time when the market was unstable were many. But I knew instinctively that there would never be the prefect time to make a decision. I think I made the right choice there and I’m happy where I am right now.

Rather than sit down and waste my time during lockdown, I challenged myself to crack some really hard online courses. I was able to focus better and also use the learning to narrow my career path.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my wife Karen and me could get along well with each other, even during the time when we had to work and live from the same space! I learnt more about her work, and the challenges she faced and was able to help her by empathizing, instead of simply providing advice out of context. We also discovered new dimensions of each other, spent more time doing things that we never did before (including taking walks on the corniche). While I couldn’t travel, I was able to bring my folks to Abu Dhabi for Christmas 2020. We spend a lovely time as a family, and without fear.

I was never lonely, but there were times when I missed my aloneness, specifically because I couldn’t travel to my favorite destination – Goa. But the waiting makes it even sweeter – I’ve now completed both doses of my vaccination and am just waiting for the antibodies to kick in!

See you folks there!