Driving thru the Desert!
#sundayseries #nskspeaks
Work made me travel to different parts of MEA between 2016–18. During this time, a particular consulting assignment took me to an interesting mining town, literally in the middle of nowhere! I would fly to Dammam and then drive 200+ miles thru the desert……
Driving thru the Desert always had a mixed bag feeling. Few instant observations, it was vast, it was hot, it was dry, it was calm and have to say, it was beautiful too! And of course sunny too when we drove during the day. On a single occasion due to the delayed flight, the drive late evening, was cooler and calmer. What strikes you is the mirror image on either side of the road and desert till where your eye can reach before merging with the sky above. The sand dunes watching you silently, as the desert dust on the road makes way for the car.
200+ miles, first 50 miles you are all excited, looking out, trying to spot things, clicking few random shots, asking questions to ascertain local information. And then it starts to hit you, that you are in middle of nowhere, haven’t crossed another vehicle for sometime. The questions start to flow, am I moving in the right direction, have I missed a turn, was it supposed to take this long, and many more. The most difficult being the rear glance to notice the deserted road……
In unprecedented conditions and ever changing situations, life journey is like Driving thru the Desert! Lots on the plate, lots in the pipeline, action in full swing and suddenly we find ourselves in middle of nowhere – feeling lost, cast doubt on self, process, people, destiny, present, future! Hmm, common outburst. Let’s rewind a bit, it was a consulting assignment, I knew travel would be a mix of flight and drive, the destination was a mining town. So the goal was known, plan was in place, destination identified. And then came the long way. Let me reiterate that the desert was indeed beautiful. These assignments too were successful and satisfying in every respect. The point in context of life journey is, that Driving thru the Desert can be a tough affair in absence of goals. It further adds to the challenge, if you have no strategy or execution plan and are short on self-belief that can help you see through the long way.
We have little or no control over desert dusts or the desert storm. But we can and need to prepare ourselves to stand up to such situations in life both personally and professionally. Be it working on our emotional strength or work related skill sets. The long way through a desert like situation is part and parcel of the life journey. And desert being beautiful is about spotting the opportunity in adverse conditions too. Are we prepared, are we passionate and do we have it in us to find the Oasis!
Driving thru the Desert is about us finding the Oasis! We all need to have a purpose, broken down into goals and a plan to achieve them. PlanB to manage the desert dust. And the agility and resilience to see through the desert storm! Keep your eye on the Oasis.
In your life journey, to manoeuvre through the desert drive, keep working on developing your OASIS……..
- Openness to learn-unlearn-relearn
- Agility to adapt to all conditions
- Self-belief to handle adversity
- Independence from all that holds you back
- Smile in and through every situation
Remember, what comes up as a situation in life may not be in our hands but how we manage and manoeuvre our life journey, definitely is up to us! Regularly work on your Oasis and keep evolving.
Driving thru the Desert, look out for the Oasis!
#nskspeaks
