3 Realized Strengths: The Puzzel of Life

This was written by Karan Wadhwani without the use of AI

The Puzzel 2020-07-16

3 Realized Strengths

I’m here to share some love through the written word!

The puzzle of life: We are the solver of our own puzzles; we have to fit the pieces together every day adding, removing and rearranging a piece, and let me tell you, there is no limit to the number of puzzle pieces this puzzle can hold. If there is one thing I have figured out in 27 years of existence, we design our life. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans say, ‘How to design your life’ is like building a home - you start with the foundation. So start at the foundation: Think of what is at your roots - what is at the core of your body, who you are, where you are today and where you would like to go. That could mean improving your foundation, your body and environment, a better home, food, support, and knowledge (education). Whatever you might need, it starts at the foundation. Because this home has to be able to weather it all! Live and Let Live (especially to yourself, love yourself, and be kind to yourself, it is the greatest justice you can do) Your Environments Ask, did I allow my environment to slow me down or change me? ** What I have experienced with unions, hierarchy and structure.- Please don’t define yourself by your roles (status in society is only a fragment of who you truly are!)

In a world of autonomy and individualism, and having worked in a union environment for the past few years,I didn’t realize untilnow, but the more you work, the more energy is exerted; some may say it's mismanaged energy (i.e., only work minimally and don’t take away the job from the next person). Now don’t get me wrong, I love the work-life balance; I think there is value in that (and it allows me to achieve so much more outside my working hours), especially when you are at the stage of your life to begin a family, and for these are the values are the reasons I choose to work in the public service (but remember it is only one part of you), and as times are changing, our systems are changing, our values and beliefs are changing. But what about equality, what about equal opportunity, what about quality of work, the work that gets done and the work that does not? Please note I am talking about the time it takes to achieve change, the 4 year cycles of leadership in power, the no-sawers, the risk adverse and the politics involved. I won’t dive too much into the politics as I will remain non-partisan, but I will say we are changing for the better, and I see a better future; it will just take time, and sometimes your time is finite. I have now found out sometimes these structures just don’t work for some, and for some, it's great; you also have to find your fit in the organization and be honest with yourself. Maybe you’re in your silver years (the golden years, where you’ve gained experience and become an expert in your craft, in whatever it is you did), but now you are ready to take a seat back and be a number in the cue (an employee ID) I should say. However, if unaware, this can be very detrimental, especially for those who do not know what the environment is like. I have not had family work in the public sector. Apart from my grandfather, whose first job was working on a railroad in India, I come from a culture of Strong Business Community people (Sindhis - we will speak to this in a later segment). But it seems like there is no getting around the structure these days, and it all comes down to the individual leadership at the top of that structure. Why is that? What does this mean? Can one person really be the judge or driver for all, and what are the motives and direction associated with that? Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful, especially today- the safe and secure route. A bi-weekly paycheque/a salary is something that is desired by many, especially in this age, this world we live in with this uncertainty (job loss, rising costs, inflation, ideologises, expectations and a lot of un-needed stress, with all this we forget to enjoy the little things. * and many times, the smaller dreams and enjoying the little things in life are really what brings us happiness, so it’s all perspective. I count my blessings, but I like to think that life itself is a blessing. You must do, must do what your heart desires, where your skills are, and what you are truly good at, don’t get me wrong, this can take a lifetime to find out, to build and work on your craft, and that is the beauty of life, you are living it to experience the pain and pleasure that it has to offer. I can’t count the number of people who’ve told me I am set, I am good for life, now that I have that cushy (government job) I am sustained for life ( i.e,, pension, work-life balance), yet I see some illness, I see the imbalance in individuals (myself including). But it’s not about my life cushy; I think it’s the mindset (the whole idea that we just need bums in seats to spend this year’s budget and ask for next.) I believe a calmness is needed in life, peace and security (and that is the whole journey of life) But what do you give up? Do you give up your soul, your 25 years, your health, your dreams, and your ambitions? (very ironic, as someone once told me, don’t let it steal your soul) * Please understand I am not playing the blame game; I am just speaking to my own current experiences, which may not be the case for others. My choices led me here: ** My family, like many immigrants, moved to Canada to give their families a better life, a better education, better safety and security;I think this is why they were so proud, so happy to see that I attained this path. I didn’t know how to tell them that, really, it's not what I thought it would be - In fact, I am a builder; I am a creator. As someone who watched my father strive from business to business to make ends meet, I think this provided some peace to him. I take on challenges; I do not fit one box; I can fit many archetypes and can’t be held down. I strive to do good in this world. I want to create. I want to *give back; of course, I want to help! (I think selflessness is what we achieve when we are genuinely happy in what we do and in our lives). I am grateful to work and live in Canada. I have seen the little value for human life in other countries; though it is still visible here, just not as widely spoken of and often turned a blind eye to. Take, for instance, the city of Victoria, with over 700 people homeless at once. This isa city with warm weather; I understand this is the paradise (a lot of these issues are due to larger things than just homelessness, but I will say, they stem from a lot more issues that relate to culture, family, trauma, abuse, neglect and much more I do not know of). In my first year as an intern, I was suited up and full of energy. I was ready to rock and roll, make a change, bringing in projects around blockchain technology, introduce concepts, ways of thinking and what I learned. *Entrepreneurship I worked, I worked and got the work done; I remember in my first week, my boss thanked me because I stayed past 5 pm to get some work done and sent to someone; I always put my hands up, I volunteered took the lead, I kept going, and it's not like I didn’t apply to other positions - almost 50 I would say - but the structure didn’t work for me, something inside just didn’t feel right. I started losing my health, overextending lost a lot of weight, I believe it was almost a loss of 20 lbs; this was primarily due to not eating on time, the over-caffeinated, work-focused COG in the wheel I became. ** A little more to my story and where I am today. ** Backtrack to 2011. After high school not what to do, I worked for a bit in Mumbai, India, getting a taste of the advertising world. Graduating high school, I remember my strongest interest and suit was writing (which is ironic, as I was not an avid reader as a child); I remember my high school grade 10 chemistry teacher stating I had a natural act for telling stories; I recollect writing a paper in class where I had to describe the effects of carbon monoxide, and I guess my imagery was so vivid it painted the picture of an idling vehicles in a garage ** Strength 1 found: Natural ability for written and spoken words. I am a communicator and creator. While working with the advertising agency, I found myself being drawn to content creation, the ability of words to omit different emotions through pictures and texts and how different cultures interpreted them-they , fascinated me. I remember enjoying the creation of add-campaigns, the ability to build something from scratch (and we all know marketing is everything!) Strength # 2 found: The affinity and love for cooking. I would say my love for cooking and watching food being cooked began with my grandmother's routine of prep work at 7 am! She would cut up the required ingredients for many Indian dishes; today, 12 years later, I have my own spice (dubah) box full of those same spices she used. Coming back to Calgary after the internship and (a motorbike accident), I still didn’t want the regular path, so my parents recommended I go to SAIT for hotel management; coming from an international background, one that included lots of hard work, hardship and many trials and tribulations along the way, they worked so hard to get to where we did. I was pre-mature born with a 10% chance of survival. I was then raised in Spain and in Lagos, Nigeria. My family has fought and worked very hard for what they have today; this is what I allude to my work ethic.. Anyway, I jumped into Hotel Management for some of the best years of my life, it taught me how to cook some wicked food care for oneself and others, and the business associated with it. I spent three years there in college, joined the student council in my last year, got a real taste of the political environment and understood how working boards and societies worked. Fast forward to near my completion, and what else does a good student do but get a degree? I eyed UVIC for a while (I didn’t make the deadline) and then visited Royal Roads University. I instantly fell in LOVE with the campus! (I really wanted to move to BC* I will share more on that later). It had been 12 years in Calgary, and time for a change; I started in a two year program (international business and sustainability) and quickly changed to the bachelor of commerce so that I could complete my degree in entrepreneurship and learn about myself while finishing it in 12 months. * This was a great year, again I dived into student council, learned structure, and how sometimes signing off or having your name on things is not always the best route - sometimes things don’t always work in your favour and again you are a cog in the wheel; it comes down to a good managed organization and teams. For the student population, I hosted events, started ‘the speaking house company’ and figured out my end goal. I then graduated, got a job in hotels (quit after ten days and didn’t look back - I didn’t want a job with a degree I had already completed. Plus, I preferred staying at the hotels and not working there. Following months, I worked a slew of jobs, restaurants, and a book publishing company, and then landed a Client Relations Role with a tech company, where I could help co-create a product; this felt really good! We built a company from the ground up; I, I pitched, built decks and worked with people to better design the product. They quickly ran out of money, which has brought me to my almost three years in the public sector, a great career that has taught me so much about structure, disciplines, learnings, unlearnings and so much more. **Strength # 3 found: Business, Connections and Collaborations. ** Last quote: "Nothing is perfect, nothing is permanent; live and love every day." – Brother Karan Link to book referenced: https://designingyour.life/the-book/