7 Things I Never Regret About My Life And My Career....

Most of you might be aware that I have made some dramatic career choices in my life
Choices which seemed highly risky at those points in time ( some would even say foolish choices )
Like….
Leaving a well-settled and well-paying job as a Ship Captain during the peak of an economic recession to pursue higher education in 2009
Similarly, leaving a well-settled and well-paying corporate job as Senior VP with one of the most coveted investment banks on Wall Street in 2019 to start my entrepreneurial journey

Ofcourse, there are so many more decisions I have made which have shaped my career and my life as such – all of those have led to where I am today and define me as a individual

Come to think of it, we all are a sum total of all such choices and decisions we make, right ?
I always believe that :

The life you choose to live will determine the choices you can make in life OR
The choices you make in life will determine the life you can live
Would you agree ?

Anyways, as always, some choices and decisions we make work in our favour and some do not

For those which work in our favour, we tend to celebrate
And for those which do not work in our favour, we usually end up having regrets
Ofcourse hindsight will always be 20/20, and regret never helps, except for learning from our mistakes and moving on
Same is the case with me
There are things that have gone well and things which have not gone as planned
But today, I want to share 7 things which I DO NOT regret and why
Here you go :
1. Letting go of the comfort of a salary to start something of my own
Financial security is important and having a monthly salary can really create that comfort and confidence to be able to provide for your near and dear ones
But that comfort can sometimes, hold you back

Growth happens when you get out of your comfort zone
So if you feel comfortable wherever you are in life today, you should reflect on whether that is also holding you back from doing things you have always wanted to do, things which you are really passionate about ?
2. Taking time-off to figure out my next career move
Most of us are so busy in our lives, we jump from one company to another, one role to another, one life stage to another….
We never take a pause to reflect where we are headed or where we want to go
Our careers, our lives almost run in a default mode, as if running on autopilot
I took a few months off after I left my corporate career to really pause and think about my future
So it is OK to take breaks if you need to sort things out
You do not just need those breaks. You deserve them
3. Losing my job titles and rank ( Captain, Sr Vice President ) as I switched careers
Leverage your experience, but do not make your experience your baggage
Letting go is never easy, especially when you have worked so hard for something
But again, that can sometimes hold you back
I knew what I was losing, but that was a very conscious decision
You have to leave something behind in order to move ahead in life – that is just a natural order of things
4. Taking risks, despite knowing the odds
It is a bit cliched when we say no risk, no gain
But it is nevertheless true!
Sometimes, you just have to go for it. Call it the leap of faith or something else
When I left my job for higher education, I was not even sure whether I would get a job or not. But I knew I had to do it anyway
Deep inside, you usually know what you want. More often, if you really want it, you will figure out a way to make it happen
5. Decisions I made despite the consequences
Decisions are never good or bad. Consequences are
Indecisiveness will never help you. Sitting on the fence will never help you
So, take decisions and own them
Learn from them and move on
6. Taking action and not waiting for the right time to act
Most of us are waiting for our lives to become easier, before we start “living”
You are waiting for an assumed future state, when everything will align for you to take some action which you have always wanted to take
But that time usually never comes. That is how life it
Remember….There is never a wrong time to do the right thing
7. Dreaming big and bold. More importantly, taking action
Most of us limit our ability to dream and create because we always get constraint by what is possible and what is practical
But if you observe the world around you, you will realize that many things which were considered impossible in the past, are now very much possible
Second point - A dream without action will remain just that, a dream, right ?
So do not create your own limitations. Stay in the realm of possibilities and take action to make things happen
That is all from my side today - those were some of the things which I do not regret
Ofcourse, there are things I regret as well, but that is a discussion for another time
For now, here are some questions for your weekly reflection :
1) What decision are you afraid to make ? What will happen if you make that decision ?
2) What are you afraid to lose ? How is it impacting you ?
3) What do you regret in your life ? What lessons have you learnt from that experience ?

4) What do you NOT regret in your life and why ?
5) What is really holding you back from making your next big move ?
Do share your experience as you reflect on the above
And if and when you really want to transform your life, drop me a note or book an exploratory call here (Book Your Call)