He was really true…we always look at our lives in the way we want it to happen. But many a time man can be pitch forked on to the horns of dilemma, where he might be faced with the unpredictability of life.In my case, I was very attached to how I thought my life is supposed to happen. I was at the peak of my career and was excited and aggressive at my work when I had to suddenly quit. I have always been passionate about my career where I had seen myself in a senior manager position 5 years from the start of my career. But I had never seen myself as an unemployed person. And life put me in that situation and here we go…

Being a working woman for several years, it was so hard for me to find myself in an unemployed situation after my marriage and I used to get freaked out about it. I had to quit my job and move with my amazing husband to United States where he lived. It’s been such an incredible experience with all the excitement of a married life and the anxiety of being in a new place. But the moment I learned that the economic conditions here would make it difficult for me to land a job, I started stressing out. And added to that, my visa restrictions put me in a weak situation too. And that’s when it hit me I was in a really tough situation.As I said, I was very attached to how I thought my life is supposed to happen. I thought I can continue my career as soon as I reached here. And now this is where I am…

You can’t connect the dots looking forward;
You can only connect them looking backwards.
So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.
This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

As Steve Jobs said I cannot connect the dots looking forward, but backward… I decided to take PHR certification to add value to my career during this break. Do networking and get along with professionals, attend local HR chapters to involve in meaningful discussion and keep my eyes open for the volunteer opportunities.Along with that I started developing interest in artistic works too. It happened unexpectedly though… My husband used to paint and do some art work occasionally before we got married however he never really put too much time into it.

When I got here I found a lot of his old painting supplies and blank canvases lying around. One day when he was at work I decided to attempt painting using acrylic paints on 16′ x 20′ canvas. To my surprise, I begin painting better than I thought i would. When my husband got back home from work he too was pleasantly surprised to see my painting. We decided to sign up for a painting workshop. The instructor at this workshop was a wonderful lady who gave some advice that i thought was very valuable. Her opinion was that painting is not only about creativity but also about problem solving. And that the skills you acquire while painting will also serve us well in other facets of life. I found this very enlightening. A lot of our success on life is determined by our problem solving abilities whether it is managing our relationships, our work or creating great art. Even though I could not necessarily point out how my paintings and art work would help me with my career in HR field, I strongly trust that in many ways that it will and while in future when I get my career going again I might be able to look back and point out to specific skills picked up doing my art work that helped me achieve my goals.

Some of my art work can be seen here at this link – My Art. This is the very first painting that I created.

I also now do some clay sculpting in my spare time and you will find some at the above link. What more, my art work has encouraged my husband to resume his art work and painting again and we have enjoyed so many happy moments working together at this.

I am happy with whatever I am doing now and hoping that in future when I am looking backward it can connect in so many ways.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.

Career and Life partner- both cannot be put up as options to choose from…You have to get going with what/who makes you happy thus you can be satisfied and succeed in both. You cannot love one and live with other. The same way you cannot love one career and settle with other just for the sake. Therefore don’t just compromise on your career goals. Otherwise you will end up continuing an unsatisfied life.

It might take a day or a few years to find out yourself whether this is what you have been looking for. Whether you find being yourself, with what you have, makes you happy. If its not you might continue with the search for what you have been waiting for. As long as you have not found what you love to do, don’t just settle in whatever you have with you now. Rather make use of the situation to understand what can help you to find what you have been looking for so as to earn a life time of success.