A difficult yet necessary decision

Last year I decided to exit my first ever job and enter an unchartered territory with unforeseen challenges in an area I had never touched upon earlier, within the risk management domain. This move was necessary and easy given the challenges facing my then employer. Though it was tough to leave an organization where you have dedicated your first 4 and a half years of professional life, but the decision itself was not so difficult.

A year and a half down the line, I had made a similar decision and this time around though it still is a necessary decision, me having to make it, but it's a difficult one. I have been pondering over the circumstances that made this decision so difficult for me, and concluded the best way to analyse is to write it down.

Well first, there is the professional aspect, and though I have written off the financial aspects of this transition, I just concentrate on what I have to gain and to lose professionally. First, it's that professionally cosy environment you work in, where you have performed well in the last year and have the required knowledge and understanding of the functional aspects of your job in order to be able to perform well in the next year. This confidence or support is difficult to find in any new role or job that is being considered. Of course, if you don't have any option this factor is ruled out, but it becomes difficult when you have the option - the option to stay and be confident that you are secure for the next year or to move on and take the risk of being exposed to unnecessary insecurity. Probably, if this was the only factor influencing my decision, I would have never moved on, but there are yet others carrying more weight than this one. The second factor up for the trials would be the learning curve. I have a general notion that you can do anything you would still learn and be more experienced after each task you complete, the thing that matters is the complexity and the quality of the task you do and the value addition to your profile once you have completed this task - successfully or unsuccessfully. This is something that influenced the decision to a great extent, as the new opportunity was providing me a chance to move on to the business itself, probably to a support function within the business from an external support function where most of the complexities of the business itself are abstracted and it's more the technical aspects that you focus on. This movement to the business side and it's immediate impact on the learning curve was a big deciding factor. Finally there was this sense of leadership that I have carried around for long but have never got a chance to exercise it. Though I had a hazy view of me having a chance to do so in the near future in my current job, but the new one offered this in a much more complete way.

The three factors mentioned have gone through my mind a million times in the past couple of weeks, and have confused me what should I vouch for - stay or move on, This was further complicated as I was finding it difficult to assign weights to these factors to come to a final conclusion. I had to resolve this by assigning more weight to factors carrying a high risk but high return and a low weight to factors associated with uncertainty and unchanged return. Having done so, I got an almost balanced outcome -  now what should I do, I have wrecked my brains at such a complicated analysis and still I am undecided.

This is when the personal aspect takes the front stage in driving my decision, The only question to be asked, where do I see myself in the next ten years, once I answered this and was sure of it, it became necessary for me to take this decision. I am not sure if this is the right decision or the wrong one but the important thing is that it is absolutely necessary for me to take this in order to find out and give myself a chance to be where I want to be in the next decade.

Hope I have not bored you, even if I have, I hope at least 1% of this would influence your next big decision. I would like to end this with a quote which my dear colleague and friend shared with me after I resigned -

“As every flower fades and as all youth
Departs, so life at every stage,
So every virtue, so our grasp of truth,
Blooms in its day and may not last forever.
Since life may summon us at every age
Be ready, heart, for parting, new endeavour,
Be ready bravely and without remorse
To find new light that old ties cannot give.
In all beginnings dwells a magic force
For guarding us and helping us to live.

Serenely let us move to distant places
And let no sentiments of home detain us.
The Cosmic Spirit seeks not to restrain us
But lifts us stage by stage to wider spaces.
If we accept a home of our own making,
Familiar habit makes for indolence.
We must prepare for parting and leave-taking
Or else remain the slaves of permanence.

Even the hour of our death may send
Us speeding on to fresh and newer spaces,
And life may summon us to newer races.
So be it, heart: bid farewell without end.”
(Hermann Hesse)

Thanks to all.
Chetan

Trip To Tioman Island

This Lunar New Year was probably suppose to be a special one for both me and Shipra as we travelled to the beautiful Tioman Islands during the 4 day holidays. As heard, the island was truly magical in every sense, with it’s untouched green blanket of trees and the blissful beaches.  Though the coastline was dotted with dispersed resorts and ferry terminals, the dragon island still appeared to be wild and untamed.

Our Journey began on Saturday early morning 5 am with a bus from the Newton Circus carpark. The bus took us all the way to Tg. Gempuk in Malaysia, from where we were suppose to take a 9:30 am ferry to the island. Well I cannot describe the bus journey as I was asleep for 3 hrs out of 31/2 hrs spent in the bus.  I Suppose like me, the ferry driver was also fast asleep as the ferry was 2 hrs late, starting only at 11:30 am. We spent most of the 2 hr ferry trip trying to catch a glimpse of the surroundings and waiting to get the dragon island in sight, but it seemed that it was not a good day to take the ferry as the ferry tumbled and jolted in the rough waves of the ocean. We were hardly able to see anything outside as the rough ride kept our windows covered in water for most of the trip. We reached Tioman island at around 2:00 pm after 9 hrs of travelling + waiting, but really forgot everything when we saw the island. It was beautiful! we were excited at the thought of spending the next 2 days on the island.

We booked the Berjaya Beach Resort and Spa, It was nice to see that the resort shuttle was waiting for us at the ferry terminal. We quickly took our seats in the open bus which represented Supersized golf car. The ferry took us to resort which was just 10 minutes away. The resort itself seemed to be mingling with its surroundings with wooden chalets, surrounded by trees and facing the rushing sea. We checked in and were taken to our chalet again in a supersized golf car as our chalet was 1 km from the reception.

Having settled down in the room, we realized that we have not eaten anything since morning and immediately felt hungrier than ever. We found out the nearest restaurant inside the resort (there were 4 within the resort) and rushed to have a quick bite. The restaurant served a good mix of international cuisines and we were surprized to see our desi Indian dishes on the menu. Though we wanted to try different things as well, but were  so hungry that decided to go with the desi food for the time being.

After the Lunch we explored the surrounding, the resort was good with the mountain on one side and sea on the other and long beach. As the name featured the resort also had a spa which offered a host of different and exotic massages. There was a gaming area which had pool and snooker tables along with a range of video games, probably to keep the children away from the romancing couples;).  Apart from this the resort had an almost open bar with live music.

Next day after having breakfast we headed to the beach grabbing one of the hot spots along the beach. Spent the entire afternoon relaxing by the sea and crashing into the strong waves occasionally. In the evening we got the spa booked for both me and Shipra. They offered us an independent spa cottage. It was an experience in itself. Shipra went for there signature Ayura massage, while I stuck to my favourite head,neck and shoulder massage. The massage was definitely very relaxing and soothing and we came out relaxed and fresh after 2 hours, though a bit dizzy.

The last day of our stay at Berjaya, was very short as we had a late breakfast and than proceeded to checkout. Though during our stay we missed many of the activities like Snorkelling, diving, Kayaking, but this time we went there just to relax, saving these for our next visit.

The backward journey was again long and tiring, as again the ferry got delayed, and the bus was slow due to the heavy traffic on the Malaysian roads. Next time I would rather fly than take a ferry to Tioman. The bus dropped us back at the Newton Circus Carpark at 1 am on Tuesday.

The trip was indeed a memorable one and relaxing, a long needed break from our hectic lives here in Singapore.

My First Blog

This being my first blog is a special one for me. At one hand I am trying to understand what should be the content which would be important enough to be shared with the rest of the world and at the same time would not violate my personal parameters and at the other I am trying to find words to express my thoughts in the most intricate way.

I have also realized, that my blog would not only be a means to put forward my personal life but will also be a means for me to express my views on the current events which might be important enough to get my attention. It can be a latest movie at the box office to the boring political equations of the world to the exciting financial & economic events to the latest time changing discoveries in science and medicine. After all I am a global citizen and all these events affect me in one way or another, or do they? Probably not, probably changes in the local transport system would affect me more than any of these events does. So, till the time I have actually figured out what the content of my blog should be, I have left it to the mood of the day to resolve this hurdle for me.

I think have boggled you enough with my blog so far, but its not over yet. After talking about my blog above, let me also talk about myself. I definitely would like to tell you that I was born in the Himalayan state of Himachal in India and spent most of childhood there before moving to New Delhi to take up my first job. With a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology I worked as a Software Engineer for the next 2 years before being transferred to Singapore in December, 2006 (on my request) as a Business Analyst. After I got married in February, 2008 my sweetheart wife came to Singapore with me and since then we have made this our second home.

As of now I am working as a Business Consultant in Singapore and hope to be here for long. I suppose its enough for my first blog, after all I need something to write in the next one too. I only hope that this would give me a chance to put forward my thoughts openly and discuss these with all you out there.