Rat race - it hurts

Ever wondered why are you one of those people who are caught in the race? You must be an engineer who did his/her graduation in Computer Science/ Electrical/ Mechanical / Civil from one of the many good colleges in the country. You completed your graduation by copying the answers from your friends, googling projects or even strong guesses. You always dreamt of big things during graduation but yet appeared for campus interviews. Probably you were the lucky one to get selected early or you were the one who scraped through. You then joined an IT major and became one of 25000 candidates selected that year from different colleges/ universities to do an outsourced job... and then?

You became a rat.. you joined a rat race. The rat race of appraisals, on-site opportunities, promotions, buying a new car, flat etc. etc. Didn't you?

Question: Does it hurt to be in the rat race?

Busy running a rat race, many people forget the real reason they are chasing a dream. Some people get into the habit of running a rat race because they are trying to compete with people or make people in their lives, such as their parents, happy with the decisions they make.

I am a Software Engineer. I've developed desktop and mobile applications, product development using SAP. I also did an executive MBA during my job tenure. But none of my job profiles offered me to "manage" and "grow" something until lately I took the reigns in my hand. Wondering what I did during my last 6 years, was it something I real wanted to do? Sadly, the answer is NO. I always wanted to run my own business.

Life beyond the Rat Race


The life beyond the rat race only begins when we take a small but meaningful journey within us. It is important for us to know what we really want to do, what you are passionate about. For example, if you think that you are trapped in a lousy career, its a good idea to look back and see why you are in a career you hate.

Second good way would be to stop trying to compete with other people. Whether you are competing with someone with better possessions or better job, you will be stuck running a rat race because you probably won't be able to catch up with them. You are only in competition with yourself. 


Every one imagines a life beyond a rat race. But hardly any one dares to try and live it. All we need to do it first know what we want and then take steps to do it. Money is secondary. If Edison invented electric bulb because he wanted to earn, he’d have never invented an electric bulb. Do it if your heart says. Do some thing new, some thing better and do it if it is fun. If you are good at it, the money will follow.