Second Thoughts After A Career Switch - Are They Normal?

Who says you can't turn your life around in your late 20s?

Hello dear friend

I still get several notifications from Research Gate and Google Scholar in a month - notifications that someone cited my research in their work, or that someone loved my publication so much, that they recommended it.

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, check the story of why I left my Government job to become a full-time writer here.

You see, had the pandemic-induced lockdown not happened, I'd still be pursuing my Ph.D. at IIT Guwahati, and instead of publishing articles on LinkedIn and Medium, I'd probably be publishing loads of research papers in SCI journals.

I gave up academia and that path of career after a lot of thought.

A small part of me still wonders what life might be like had I not given it up.

I'd probably be attending conferences, rubbing shoulders with geniuses of civil engineering from all over the world, and solving some real-world problems from the people living in hilly regions in earthquake-prone areas (that's what my thesis was about).

I would have still been impacting lives - just a lot different from the way I do now.

You wouldn't get to read my story on this newsletter.

And if you knew me from Quora days and came across my name somewhere in the news, you'd probably think that the girl who used to write now chose to pursue different dreams.

No dream is good or bad.

Dreams are just that - dreams. It's up to us what we make a reality.

In this life, I chose writing. And I'm blazing my trail, living a new adventure each day, working towards impacting thousands of lives a few years down the line.

In another life, I might have chosen research.

I might have remained an Assistant Professor at NIT Silchar and I'm damn sure students would have loved me. (Well, hated me too, but loved me mostly).

Which life would have been better?

I don't know.

But I know one thing for sure: no matter what I pick, I would 100% give my best to make the most of that life.

What happens isn't in my hands, for sure. But how I react to it is.

And I'd always respond to whatever challenge I picked with curiosity, not fear.

I think that will make all the difference.😊

As Ratan Tata said,

"I don't believe in taking the right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right.”

Can you relate?

Please leave a reply or comment to let me know your thoughts.

Lots of love and see you next week,

Anangsha

PS: If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, check the story of why I left my Government job to become a full-time writer here.