A lot of us have at least at some point in life faced that tug between the heart and the mind. And it sure is not an easy struggle. More so, for young adults faced with career decisions.
In traditional Indian society, most parents, especially of the current generation, have stressed so much on achievement, that it is assumed to be the correct approach to life. Attaining the best degree, getting a high paying job, or even going towards entrepreneurship, the focus has always been on accumulating wealth, respect, recognition, abundance and fame. Why? Because obviously, once you have all these, happiness comes along. This achievement driven approach in so ingrained within the society today, that it is not even questioned.
What is the result,? People who are smart enough and can sustain the pressure survive, and the ones that don't, fail. But the real winners are neither of them. The real winners are the ones who do not accept this approach. They are the ones who don't run in this rat race. Because even if you win, you'll still be a rat.
So how does one escape this Rat Race? I have in this post, attempted to answer this question.
Every individual has a dominant side to their personality. And no, we don't need to take any of those fancy personality tests to find out. We just need to reflect on our past and try and figure out how have we taken some of the most major decisions of our lives. By going with what looks more reasonable and logical, or by doing that which has made us feel good. The former means that we generally follow our mind more often and the latter means that we go with our heart more often.
Now, the general tendency is, emotions die hard. The mind is quick and agile. Emotions are slow. They are deep seated and difficult to control. For a lot of us, although we may be emotional, we tend to take our decisions against them, going with what "looks right" or the more "prudent" thing to do. And these are the very people who face the heart v/s mind struggle, more often than not. The key here is, like you would have already guessed, making a career choice which appeals to you emotionally will naturally keep you stuck to it. You will make greater efforts at it. You will be more involved with it, naturally increasing your chances of being exceptionally successful at it. (and happy too)
The point being, take a moment, to access the real reason or motivation behind a particular career decision that you are taking or have already taken. Whether it is the fact that you really want to do what it offers, or just that it will bring you money, fame or recognition (and because the world said so). The mind (and the society) is very skilled at keeping you in illusions. It will keep showing you the happy consequences of putting efforts in the direction that your heart doesn't approve. And if you are unlucky enough to yield to these goodies and even experience that temporary bout of happiness, your mind continues to keep you in the illusion and motivates you to work towards that temporary bout of success or happiness. And, it is not a bad thing to yield to it either. It just means that you will always be mediocre. You may do well, above average, but it will never bring you greatness. You will never be a legend. If being legendary is not your aim, and if you are okay with being mediocre or "fairly average" all your life, then you may well go with your mind, with the option that "looks good to you" or the option behind which the principal motivation is that it will bring you respect or money.
But if you choose the career just because the motivation behind it is that you love doing it, and if you give it your all, you will at least stand a chance to achieving greatness.
So the answer is pretty clear. If the risk of being "mediocre" scares you more than the risk of trying and failing, then go with your heart.
