Engineering Lessons Part 3--The Secret

It was the end of 5^th semester and we for the first time were all invited by our TPO(Training and Placement Officer) to the auditorium. I thought it would be some kind of alert to start medicating the bruises of the academic record if required because the placements usually begin in the 6^th semester but surprisingly it was not so…

Everybody was silent as he entered…is anybody thinking that we were being disciplined…no we were just curious to listen to nothing but him. Mr. P.N. Koul a smart personality…must be in his 60s but quite in control of every block of his mind…and body. He seemed to be a very intelligent man and he was to some extent. He always knew what he wanted and how to use his resources to get to it…a commanding leader. He had an influential network and hence was paid so much by the committee. He had a history of being known as an efficacious TPO and that was partly the reason of our alacrity. Mic testing ‘Good afternoon everybody’...he said with a smile as if he was  going to announce a jackpot to some selected beggars who have been starving all their lives…and that increased our premonition. Just after five minutes our minds were scanning through all that we had and would be requiring to take the screening test as he had announced a placement opportunity the coming week.

Initially I was not included in the list of eligible candidates as I was falling short of a few marks but later on due to some misunderstanding I was allowed. Since it could be an embryonic juncture of my life I decided not to share it with my family. It was a win-win situation. I set free all my butterflies which I collectively describe as ‘Anticipatory Anxieties’ to adorn my life thereafter with colors of success. I used my weakness as my strength…read through and you will understand how. One week was over and I had imagined all what was going to happen if by any chance I get selected in this company. Stepping back into the real world…it was the day of the screening. Some of the questions were really interesting because I solved them myself and some were more than interesting because I didn’t have to solve them at all…thanks to my seniors. I cleared it…and started preparing for the interview as there was no GD. I was hopeless technically so I didn’t even think of preparing for it. But what I did was…I made myself very sure that even if I don’t perform well I am not going to feel disappointed about it and I never thought of not getting selected. I only kept on planning my celebration…I was actually living it. And it did happen…I got a JOB and the celebrations begun…which lasted for only three days. We were asked for our mark-sheets which clarified all the misunderstandings and the TPO said he will get the offer cancelled. I took it only as a threat from his side and remained in the misconception. I continued telling people about getting placed…never stopped partying…didn’t even avail the coming opportunities for the next one whole year. Last semester and I slightly touched the panic button…reality was horrible…so I released it again and returned back to the dreamland…and I could not disclose it to anybody because it was too late then…apparently not even to myself. But I started going for walk-ins etc…but just for the sake of going…at the back of my mind I never had any negative angst about job struggle…instead I was busy preparing my shopping list. Every time my friends who knew the actuality asked me about job, I gave them a worried look and simply say…’lets see what happens…’ only because apprehension was expected at such a stage but I could never accept the fact that I need to put in some effort as it was disquieting. Such a behavior is usually known as carelessness or over confidence but it gave me strength…or rather it kept the stress away. My motive was just to be cool and for that I chose to be in the fallacy. Sometimes assuming the cancellation of offer as just a commination…and other times believing that I won’t be struggling…but the real test of my patience was the ceremony of the offer letter distribution…I was really upset that day and jealous as well, it was kind of a farewell which I was not allowed to attend…or as if I could not graduate and hence was not invited for the convocation…I was sad…mainly because he had actually got my offer cancelled…’Curse Him!’

Exam pressure relieved all other pains and I was busy studying when one day out of nowhere I got a call from my friend who had his brother in some consultancy. He told me about this aviation company which had some requirements…initially I ignored but he insisted as I was required to send a confirmation mail for my appearance within half an hour…it was just a mail so I sent it. Just on the next day of my last paper of final semester was the screening test scheduled. Everything went well and I had an offer again as I had always believed. There was no chance of cancellation this time because I had a completely repaired resume. College life came to an end…nothing to do…no specific joining date was given so I could not leave the city. A diligent life had transformed into idle days and dull nights. Only one thing kept me alive…the sound of jet engine. I stayed in the southern part of the city quite near to the airport where a lot of air traffic movement took place. My eyes craved to arrest those giant birds within the focal point. Just after two months I got the joining…18^th September. It wasn’t as easy as I am sounding…there was some power backing up my destiny. I was among the four candidates out of more than four hundred who were finally selected. The final forty were supposed to be interviewed in four lots of ten each in which only two lots were invited and I was luckily in the first. It was a very normal interaction where u cannot understand what the IO would be looking for in you.

The story was all about the secret…which only a few may understand and even fewer may be able to absorb…and that is why it is still a secret. I never prepared myself to cross any hurdle...instead I imagined myself already on the other side. I agree with the fact that the intensity of disappointment increases ten folds when you don’t get something which you had imagined you already got. But its worth the risk…you have to be brave enough to let luck favor you. But we all have encountered a harsh reality…if you really want something to happen…it never does. You only wanted to get the passing marks though you did better still you get a compartment…you wanted there should be no rush on the street but it turns out to be most difficult time on road…you wish nobody would disturb you coz u were too tired and wanted to sleep for some time but people start remembering you all of a sudden. What was common in all these…there was a fear of getting a compartment, a fear of rush on the road, a fear of disturbance and guess what…u were gifted with all, the point is…all the time you were praying what was in your mind??? You were imagining yourself in the situation you did not want to be…the picture was negative. If you feel positive from inside you attract positive and if you feel negative you attract negative. Instead of praying for less or no traffic imagine a clear road ahead and feel that you are racing through, similarly don’t let the fear of failure irritate you…enjoy…either don’t think about it at all or assume that you shall pass. It’s the power of subconscious mind more commonly known as the heart. It has been believed that the subconscious mind of an individual is so powerful that it can control the position of the planets which govern the destiny. Hence the destiny is in your own control. Good things happen only to those who feel good from inside…

“Worry attracts more worry. Anxiety attracts more anxiety. Unhappiness attracts more unhappiness. Dissatisfaction attracts more dissatisfaction.

AND . . .

Joy attracts more joy. Happiness attracts more happiness. Peace attracts more peace. Gratitude attracts more gratitude. Kindness attracts more kindness. Love attracts more love.

Your job is an inside one. To change your world, all you have to do is change the way you feel inside. How easy is that?”

--Rhonda Byrne

I never knew all this…its only a nexus between what I thought and what I got. Had I known the secret I could have been anything and everything which I can imagine myself as…and only knowing the secret isn’t enough…you have to practice it…which my friends is far from possible to some people and impossible to others(most of them)…its completely your choice what you believe in now onwards…just remember that far from possible is still achievable…and I am just trying to believe in this fact…that is why I have related it with my story…and I want you all to believe in it and may good things happen to you as well.

It is necessary to dream big to achieve big and to dream big you need to have all the information about your destination…so that you can imagine yourself at the acme.

I wonder why the character of expectation is qualm in nature more often than not. You can always let the grief effect you after the results and be relaxed…continue making efforts with a positive heart (subconscious mind). Your positive approach may attract positive conclusion. May the Anticipatory Anxieties always be colorful butterflies…