Dear Readers,

As the year draws to a close, it’s not uncommon for most of us to take stock of various aspects of our lives. And naturally, we start with those areas which seemed shaky. To some that may be health, to others finances or relationships, and so on… But there’s one area that forms (or should form) an integral part of our lives and needs to be seriously considered while taking stock – and that is our work or careers, or any area that reinforces our sense of purpose or productivity and thereby, existence and identity.

As a community regarded to be educated and progressive, the spirit of ambition used to be synonymous to us. Parsis were known for their inimitable acumen in entrepreneurship and enterprise. We used to be an industrious lot, and just a small but dynamic handful of us made our community the cynosure of the nation. But that was decades ago. Things have changed. The love for entrepreneurship, that was the trademark of our community, like our population, has seriously dwindled. And many consider a career just as a means to get a pay check at the end of the month.

We seem to have fallen out of love with our careers. We return home from work tired out mentally, and we head to work stressed out. We can’t wait for Friday eve and our Monday blues start on Sunday eve. That’s not how it’s supposed to be. But if that’s how it is, it’s time to seriously take stock of your career, or then, the lack of it. Happiness is the ability to strike the right balance between your personal and professional life. Given that we spend most of our waking hours at work, that’s where we need to focus our thoughts and ask ourselves important questions. Because, after all, as Steve Jobs (Founder and Chairman, Apple) put it, “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.”

-Anahita