Shortlists!

I will start with a quote.

"Confusion is too strong of an expression. Is it not rather "choice"? But then what is freedom of choice? Confusion!"

Extract from Knowledge sheets, Sri Sri Ravishankar.

So here is the deal. Its chaotic, messy. Too much uncertainty. Some of us have got tons of shortlists, some a few and some none. Here are possible reactions:

1. Disappointment : All biggies have slipped out of my hands. I wanted consult, got fin shortlist. Wanted fin, got consult shortlist. IBD chahiye tha.. markets mila.

2. Jealousy : "Dude, I think < I am sure> I am better than him/her." There are so many emotions that come to our mind when we see any shortlist for the first time. " His resume is fake." "So many girls in the shortlist" < I am sorry but this is one concern all boys have. I am not being politically correct. Excuse me for the liberty I have taken>.

3. Self doubt: "Is my resume not good enough? Is there any mistake in my approach? Do I need to be more friendly with seniors? CP.. Is that the problem?" Or worse still " Do I even belong to this place? The competition is so tough. Why the hell did I leave my old job?"

4. Humiliation : Everyone said I will get this shortlist. What really happened?

OK. What is the point?

The first step towards keeping you motivated over next few days is to accept these emotions. Don't resist when they come to you. It is only when you accept (rather than fight) these that you can tame them. Don't believe me? Here is an example.

Suppose you are in love ( Again see not getting a shortlist is not as bad as this :P) . Now you can forever live in denial or accept this. The next step is to do something about it.

OK. What do I do?

Now that we know it is only natural to feel all these emotions, let us think about if we can do something about them. Disappointment? Humiliation? You can only be disappointed or humiliated about something that happened in the past! And you can not change it. This is what we call in our language - Sunk cost. Whatever has happened has happened. Chuck it. The way to do it - Think about what you want to do next and quickly get going. Reminds me of a quote from Leaving Home ( a movie on Indian Ocean) - Only those people have disappointments who have appointments with future.

Jealousy is a tough-y. See this relative grading system has screwed us. We probably do not realize it. Do you remember those good old school days when your target was getting the 100% marks - not beat anybody. Decide for yourself what your 100% is and give your best. Each one of us is competing against our own self and not against each other. Remember our break-through session during orientation week? And this is some bad advice but bitch if it helps you. Make sure the other person will never know what you said. XD Continuing with the love example, here is another quote : "It is not love that is blind, but jealousy - Lawrence Durrell "

Self doubt : See guys you made it to IIM Bangalore. Now that means something. Do you remember how happy you were to have raced past those 2.5 lakh other people? If I were to quote prof amit gupta, people think of you as " God's gifts to Man kind"!!! Now just because Steve Jobs is considered the greatest businessman in his era, there is no reason why Narayan Murthy should feel inferior. ( You can compare yourself to Bill Gates as well :P). So in moments of self doubt, think about all your achievements. If it helps , read the awards and achievement section of your resume ( XD) and think how many people on this Earth can achieve what you have achieved. :) There you are! God's gift to the mankind !!! If this does not help, reach out to parents - yes , these are the only persons who will never doubt your ability!

I am going to conclude by saying each one of us is more than our resumes. Just look around you. There are such amazing souls here and each one of them is special in its own way. Summers is important indeed. Let us just remember that a particular shortlist is not a final judgement on our capability or who we are as a person.

Life is a box of chocolates. You never know which one you are going to get. - Forrest Gump

The fact is that you may be targeting a Cadbury Fruit and Nut today and end up with Bournville. But then you would have earned it!!!

PS: It is my suggestion that you write down quotes in italics somewhere. Read them once in a while if you feel low.

PPS: A lot of these suggestions I have tried for myself and they work. Also, the original idea-creator for such solutions may be someone different. e.g. Competing against own self- I learned that when I did my YES+ course.

PPPS: Please let me know if this is of any help.