The Right Job

             

  We are in an age where we give the children a free hand in selecting their professions, the courses they need to study, the future they plan to select and  the parents just had to open the wallet and pay, nothing more. That was what I was thinking until today, when I met a girl who was studying for the entrance of Civil Services Preliminaries.

            I was real awed, because I had spoken and worked with lots of IAS officers and the like but not a fledgling, aspiring civil servant. So I asked her, what made her decide to select this job? She said, "Actually, I didn't  have any idea about my future profession, what I should opt for." So after her degree, she went for a retreat and they guided them to opt for the civil services according to the Intelligent Quotient test conducted. And then too, she didn’t know, what she was involving herself into. But now after studying so much in the coaching centre and being with other students and previous candidates involved in this she started liking the profession. But the “started” part stuck in me. How can one start to love a profession? Shouldn’t it be in there? She wrote the entrance test and failed the first time and she is planning to do it one more time, if she fails, then she would return to her native place and study for a Post Graduate course. That too no idea what to do.  I was really shocked, when I saw a girl’s life being squandered because she hadn’t been guided properly. It was really a sad situation.

            It should have been done when very young. The parents and teachers are responsible for moulding the right aim in a child and a confidence to reach whatever goals they set could be fulfilled.

 Aims are not set just anywhere or for anything. In the beginning we have to give conquerable goals for the child and when they overcome it, their confidence grows. Then the goals should be set higher and higher, and according to the aptitude you feel would be suitable to the child’s talent.  Ultimately the child feels that he can conquer any goals and he would have aims and ambitions in life.

It is easy to pamper your child, life long, but for how long? That is what you should think. You are the masters who ruin the child’s life, because you don’t let the children go at the right time. Let them grow on their own, they need just a push or a restraining hand and not a palanquin bearer of you. And you know what the child would do to the palanquin bearer? Make you bear (carry) him lifelong. So before you fulfill your duties to your kids, I would like to give you an advice (to the parents). Be the guide, make your children be the best, by letting them have a free hand in their decision making, correcting them when necessary, guiding them when they are lost. Then you wouldn’t have to worry for them when you rely on the walking stick, or else, you would have no peace even when you are in the grave.

            The profession they select should be what their heart feels happy about, the subject they love, the field they are comfortable with. You might be outdated in the new professional courses, but you know your child. You can ask them the basic three questions before they select a profession:-

1.     Which subject do you love?

2.     Which activity makes you happy?

3.     Which place of activity do you like to be? (hospitals, IT, Social work, etc..)

Then you would get an idea of your child’s aptitude, then get the help of their teacher, she would have some suggestions, then we can search through the internet or through an educational counselor. Get minimum two to three options, when you select professional courses. Go deep into the options, like study the advantages, disadvantages, talk to the people who are working in the jobs in the presence of your child and then give your child the opportunity to select whichever, they feel comfortable and then, make sure that they set heart not in just one option but two.
                   
             Do you know why?  When the first option flops, he doesn’t have any goals in life to reach, which makes him lose heart in life, They would think, “I had an aim, I tried to reach it, but I didn’t get it, then what to do? I’m just roaming about, and good for nothing .” To avoid that, it’s better to ingrain in him at least two to three options.

 We all know, that no aim is unconquerable, but circumstances, do lend a hand in our failure to reach the goal. So it’s high time, the parents knew, that just procreating, giving food, dress, shelter and education is not the only duty you have. Make your child the best and let not somebody else decide the future of your kids. Help them and guide them till the very end, until the very time when they leave you to live on their own. That is the time you should be gratified, that you have fulfilled your duty in your child’s life.

So parents, open your hearts and just give only your forefinger for your toddler, so that he knows, how much care he is entitled from you. Then he would earn the rest.

Bye, take care and be happy.

Meena