Wondering and Wandering
By: Garima Arora
Tags: Dreams And Visions, Live, Follow Your Passion, Side Hustle, Passionate

Photo by Jordan Benton on Pexels.com

Someone rightly said:

“I do not have a dream job because I do not dream of labor.”

I created a list of things that I wanted to do before I turned 30 — reading all the classics, learning the techniques of at least one dance form (have been trying my luck on ballet), writing articles that are worth, and many more. You see? It didn’t include having a 9 to 5 job. Why would it?

In reality, it’s not always easy to just quit a job and pursue dreams, not for everyone. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have both and as Elena Gilbert always kept reminding us:

“I still have hope.”

I have been wondering a lot, questioning a lot of my decisions. Should I have just listened to my heart and followed my dreams? Should I just keep a steady hand on my job which helps me fulfill financial needs? Should I pursue both? If yes, how can I do it? How do I find time? And what should I do?

Well! I’m not going to bore you with many more such questions and curiosities. And life is too short to just keep wondering about things and not do anything about it. So, it’s time to wander. To wander, I mean, not to have a fixed mindset but to explore. It is about finding the perfect path by becoming directionless. You must be feeling, “What a stupid thing to say? Finding the right path without having a goal in mind?”

I have a theory that life is about finding a balance. This is how everything works. If positive energy exists, so does the opposite. We always get fully emerged in happiness that we forget our sorrows. Similarly, we become so overwhelmed by negative emotions, we forget to embrace the little things. So, if you really want to find answers to all your confusions or curiosities, ask more questions, dig deeper. If you are stuck in the middle of a stressful job, try to create a balance with something creative. While many would encourage you to just leave your job, it’s not always the right decision.

In today’s time, side hustles have become a new ray of hope. I have been reading about side hustles a lot lately and honestly, it did give me hope.

According to an HBR article:

Side hustles empowered individuals so that they feel they are the agent in charge of their work, which led to being emotionally and cognitively invested in the side hustle.

A BBC article has brilliantly argued that side hustles are more important for women than men:

Former Telemundo boss Nely Galan says women are more vulnerable than men to job instability, making side hustle even more important.

Lauren Stiller Rikleen says women disproportionately suffer from ageism in the workplace.

To combat discrepancies, workers today need to have a backup plan, according to Galan, who says that women shouldn’t waste time waiting for corporate settings to become more equitable. Instead they should find other ways to become self-reliant.

According to another HBR article, to many, starting your own business means leaving your job and your company behind. But many of the smartest professionals recognize that you can — and quite possibly should — keep both. The combination teaches you more, and faster, than would otherwise be possible, and enables you to custom-craft a career that’s uniquely interesting and meaningful to you.

Let me point out the gist:

You don’t have to quit your day job — you can start small and build to something bigger.

You can start by just giving 1–2 hour to something that your soul loves. It’s all about channelizing your emotions and finding the perfect balance.