Pursuing your Passions in Mid Life

Pursuing your dreams Midway through your life You are more than 40 years old, and are facing a bit of a void in your life. You would like to pursue a hobby , or take up an alternative career but are looking at various possible obstacles or hindrances that you may face. Here’s a few examples which may just prompt you to take the plunge and do your bidding. I know a very good general surgeon, Dr Khare, very successful at his practise till he was past 55 years. He was attracted to alternative therapies, naturopathy ,which at times seemed contrary to beliefs he held through his life. But couple of experiences drew him to look at these closely. He had a tremendous urge to study these . He devoted his time , energy and studied naturopathy, techniques to improve eyesight with only exercise and diet control. Then he experimented on himself. He had specs from his childhood , but these techniques worked, and he found that he had cured himself. He was energised and he worked tirelessly for almost 10 hours a day going to Varanasi to study further. He became completely devoted and passionate and worked tirelessly and treated various patients and helped them get cured or alleviated their pain. I discussed with Dr Khare and he said the secrets of his success were: 3 Ds and 2 P: Dedication, Determination, devotion & Persistence, & Positivity. These have enabled him to really gain expertise and fame in a totally new field. I will now take an example from a totally different area. This is from the field of Research in Music . I came across a site called Athvanitli Gani which had extensive and beautifully laid out information on Marathi songs . I had the pleasure of meeting the architect of this site, called Ms Alka Tattu, she being from UAE I was aquainted with her. She started building this site more than 10 years ago, and now this has become a reference site in its field. She shared a new insight: She has harnessed many skills and passions that she had acquired through her career like expertise in software, ability to do research. Collate and present information in an attractive manner, and ability to use technology in a productive manner and above all a courage of her conviction. She has another passion , which she has taken up recently of long distance running , which too require the 3 Ds & 2 Ps. Now I meet a number of people who express a desire to learn something new, and gain expertise once they cross 40 years of age. Only very few of them succeed. Many of us have a lot of fear of failure which we need to overcome to start learning and gaining expertise. So what is it, that may help you embark on starting on a new journey in mid life. Starting out and declaring your intent could be the first crucial step, and then preparing and researching what suits you is the second crucial step. In this you may enlist the help of few of your friends who have gained knowledge and expertise in the field of your interest. Seeking a mentor is an important step to help you stay focussed. More importantly you need to devote as much time and energy as possible, to these activities, and remain dedicated and passionate about what you have embarked on. Here I would also like to talk about my wife Jyotsna who has learnt a couple of new things. When she decided to gain expertise in French she had a lot of starting trouble, had to face her self doubts , but she persisted and now she is a French language coach. She then decided to start playing the sitar which she had learnt in her youth. Overcoming her fear of failure and taking the plunge was the most difficult step , but having done that she has found a new vocation. She too finds it difficult to devote energies to sitar due to her other duties but is determined to do so. In summary I can say that there are several examples in society who are prepared to , and succeed in Pursuing their Dreams. Just have Faith in your self, persist and overcome self Doubt. Good Luck..