My friend is an
economist and has before acted as a policy advisor to various ministries in
South Africa. Early in 2012, his contract as an advisor had come to an end.
Now, he was out of employment, and had a potential job opportunity for permanent
employment with a government department. The salary seemed good enough, and,
although he had a number of small consulting projects to do, he was not sure if
they would be enough to sustain him throughout the year and into the future.
The job offered was tempting as well. We happened to have a discussion on this,
and explored his options. My straight feedback to him was that I have never
seen him as someone who would want a desk job, and that he seemed driven by
flexibility and the potential to think about different concepts. We also,
through that conversation, realised that part of his value was that he had
gained very good experience in a broad range of economic development issues
facing South Africa, and as such he should not try to limit himself to a job
that seemed to focus on one aspect. We also came to the conclusion that his
value would start to be seen by others only with proactive marketing of his
work and knowledge. Thus began a journey for him that was also highly
influenced by this process of self-discovery. More about the end result later.
My relative is a
qualified professional in the medical field. She has been working as a
doctor since 2005. In the course of time, she has found that the surgery
and technical part of medicine is not really what inspires her. However, the
improvement in the general health of the population is something that she is
passionate about. In this case, the discussion with her, which has been running
for more than two years, has been about what really drives her, and what she
thinks she wants to achieve in life. Out of a process of discussion and
exploration, she has since discovered a post-graduate programme in a field in
medicine that will allow her in time to use her experience and knowledge, but
working more in the systems side of health than in surgery. She is completing a
number of self-assessments and psychometric tests, with the help of professionals
in the field, and is very inspired by how this self-discovery is making her
feel there is a purpose for her in life.
My economist
friend is making a name for himself, outside the limelight, as a trusted
advisor in my country to the public and private sectors. He has a portfolio of
projects and opportunities which, in the sense of professional fulfilment he
gets, make the job he declined pale into comparison. More importantly, he is
doing something he truly enjoys. My relative is about to commence her
post-graduate programme. She also is very excited about the journey ahead, and even more about how she understands herself better.
I am truly
inspired by these people, who decided to follow their passion and do not simply
dance according to someone else's script. Some of the decisions they took
appear risky, but for them the fulfilment they get is well worth the risk.
These are small
lessons in the value of self-discovery and being oneself.
