Ever since I was a child, I was never forced into activities or paths unreasonably by my parents. They had their expectation just like any other parent would but they were rational and doable. That helped me explore many things about my surroundings and learn about myself. My capabilities and shortcomings.
The first major obstacle was in school where I was a bright student but was not very competitive. As I got to high school the healthy, fun competition turned into a race for better ranks. Since I wasn’t concerned with the ranks and was trying to focus on being a good all rounded student. This turned against me as my ranks started dropping from the top of the class. Then I realized that I need to maintain consistency in ranking in the class and started working my way back to the top ranks.
The second instance was during my bachelors in business administration. The second term of the second year started getting really theoretical and this started affecting me. One day on talking to a faculty, he suggested I should take half the term off and do an internship to get a more on-the-field exposure. I was welcome to the idea and started interning at a startup for about 2 months. This short stint helped me understand the real challenges of a business and also of myself and helped me shape myself to improve productivity.
Challenges are vital for a person’s growth as they push us into the darkness and force us to carve a way out. That transformed person is better than the one yesterday.