Let your child speak his heart….

Career choice is one of the very crucial decision one has to make right after high school. Due to lack of knowledge and focus most of the students make mistakes and regret rest of their lives. It is the story of almost every Pakistani student. Being a Pakistani student, it is our biggest dilemma that usually whatever profession we choose, reason of selection is never our interests, it is always the society who make us believe that we are born to be an engineer or a doctor. No offences with the engineers and doctors, no doubt they must me having some X-factor to rule the world. If we look at the statistics 95% parents want their kid to be a doctor or an engineer in future, and if the child is not achieving that set target then he is declared as a failure. Our parents want us to learn from their experiences. I am not saying that they are wrong but they are not absolutely right as well. They are parents and they have every right to be invloved in making our future decisions but with a little flexibility.
Blame ball is always not in their court, our action and behaviors are the reflection of our intentions, and to be honest they are much more judicious than us, so they know us better than our own selves and they always want us to be successful.
Studies show that parents are the single greatest influence on a student’s career selection. Other influential people could be your paternal uncles, maternal uncles or some of your close family friends who are successful in their own lives, so they all get a license to advise us. But it is important for parents to give their child support and encouragement and to keep them motivated in this vulnerable situation. It is the duty of parents to explore as many options available to find the best career fit for them, as opposed not to try to live out their own unfulfilled career dreams through their young child.  It is important to start the discussion as early as possible because your child must be clear about his interests and determined to achieve what he wants from life. If the process is started early, there is less likelihood of making unwise decisions.
Parents’ sky-scraping standards sometimes influence children to pursue activities they think will make their parents happy and proud. More or less a child career is also a part of parent’s status symbols. We are still living in a century in which pursuing arts subjects instead of a practical profession such as law, engineering or medicine is near to commit a crime. If a child, specially a boy is interested in Art and Design, English Lit., Islamic Studies, or even Sociology, it means that his career is doomed.  In these cases, a teenager might feel compelled to select a prestigious or high-earning occupation to earn his parents’ respect or to make them proud. On the other hand, when parents don’t specify or force their child to choose any particular career then, he often feels free to explore a greater variety of professions, and choose a career based on his own preferences instead of his parents.
Choosing the right career can be a difficult decision to make, but with parent’s positive support, some planning, and some serious self-reflection can set yourself on a path towards a fruitful, fulfilling career that can be satisfying for you and your family.
by: Aamnah

Choose your Life not your Ambition

“Being ambitious is the most important characteristic one should possess,this is the common mantra of leading a successful life”, this is what you have all heard and many of you practice. What if I tell you, that you are being deceived, deceived by your descendants. Have you ever met a person saying”I have had enough success or wealth or may be power”? No, of course not, there is no limit of any of it.

Ambition is such a bull shit, its like chasing vapor or gripping sand. Whatever that is, that you think you need like a perfect job, a fancy desk, nice office, an apartment, an unlimited debit card, a dream car or anything that you want to get by being ambitious, but whats after that, there is always a better job, a bigger office, a more powerful position to achieve, a fancier house to buy, a more lavish life style and there is no boundary of any of this.

Once you get all that you get confused like you are not as happy as you thought you would be and you realize whats next and next and next. It is a never-ending race and to keep striving for more. Then one day you sit there and think why am I not happy and satisfied. I have got my desired job, luxury life and cherry on top bank accounts filled with money.

There is always anything more that your ambition is telling you to get and then when you get that there is another thing. You end up becoming a thankless person, who instead of being grateful of what he has transform into an unsatisfied greedy person.

All of it is a race in which there is no finishing line, you keep running unless and until you are dead. It is an endless cycle, then you get retired and next thing you know is that you have a big house, a living style, you can afford an expensive medical treatment and then you are dead. And wake up call! all of your accomplishments are of no use after getting your last certificate, death certificate.

What I have realized is that pursuing your so-called ambitions require balance, being ambitious is not a completely wrong thing, but let your ambitions give you direction and purpose not obsession. Life and its responsibilities will always be there. It will never magically disappeared. Don’t get me wrong, I know that in order to be great and follow your dreams, you have to take risks, move forward and progress. However, there’s a difference between obsessing your ambitions and seeking success.

Stability is important for a normal life and most of the time ambitions make you greedy  and thankless and that greed of getting more and more only give you an unsatisfied so-called ambitious life. Take a free advice do not get a living, get a life.

aamnah.