Life after Life…

I consciously chose the title of my first blog as ‘Life after Life’.

For most of us work has virtually become inseparable from life so much so that Work is equal to Life! We are in touch with our work long after we leave our desks through a multitude of devices and tools that ensures we are always in touch with our work. I am aware that many of my friends and acquaintances access their smartphones as soon as they wake up, whatever time of the night it is. Quite a few of them do respond to mails at very odd hours. 24x7x365!!! Is there Life after Life?

After working for about thirty plus years, I chose to give up full time corporate work in the year 2011. The decision was not made just like that but was made almost a decade earlier. Even as I was sure that I would quit full time corporate work, I was equally sure of wanting to keep myself busy with meaningful work. 

When I actually quit in early 2011, I had a mixed bag of emotions – happy to have quit full time work but unsure about how I would fill in the void. Suddenly I was in  a situation where I had lots of time but unsure of my next steps. Lots of interactions with near and dear ones and reflections on my career led me to two distinct and different choices – a philanthropic venture in education, and coaching.

The first meaningful activity that I am engaged since April 2012 is ShikshaDaan, meaning, ‘Giving for Learning’. ShikshaDaan is a platform that connects those who are academically brilliant but lack access to financial resources(Receivers) with the ones who can provide them the resources(Donors) in the Education space, using technology as a Catalyst. We use a combination of online and offline resources to achieve our objectives. In the first 18 months since its inception, ShikshaDaan has funded about 20 students across India. We have also supported our partner institutions with a number of initiatives that make a difference to their area of work. 

The other one that I have been engaged actively since last year is executive coaching. After getting certified by International Coaching Federation, I started tentatively in the beginning but have gathered momentum in the last six months, coaching at least three executives at any point of time. As I get involved more and more in coaching, I realise that coaching comes to me naturally, and I enjoy the same immensely. I get tremendous satisfaction when I see that coaching has delivered value to my clients not just from their work perspective but from their life’s perspective. Although I did attend a few workshops/events related to Coaching, I have received a lot of inputs from the books that I have read.  

My engagement with ShikshaDaan and Executive Coaching takes quite a lot of my time and most times I don’t even realise how time went flying by. I certainly don’t have the stress, and the feelings of ‘one more day,’ ‘i have to go to work today’ bothering me any longer. Life after Life (work) is exciting, energising and enriching, at last. I now find meaning and purpose, every day of my life. 

For those who believe that there can be No Life After Life (Work), I want to assure you that there is definitely Life After Life! It is a choice that you can exercise, if you choose to.