I Missed My Work Anniversary. Turns Out, That Was the Real Celebration

I was so busy with my mentoring journey, research, curriculum design, content creation and workshop planning that I actually missed a major milestone – the first anniversary of The Write Compass.

When it dawned upon me that it had been a year already, that’s when I realised I had reached my ‘ikigai’ moment. I feel grateful and blessed to have rediscovered my ‘ikigai’, where I’m driven by a deep sense of purpose, aligned with my skills and abilities, which allows me to earn, albeit a frugal amount now, but it brings with it a deep sense of accomplishment. Mentoring students, professionals and homemakers has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career, and I couldn’t thank the universe more.

It was one year ago that I took the leap of faith. Maybe it was a sign from the universe to let it go. The years of conditioning to get a job and climb the corporate ladder are not easy to shake off. This was when I remembered an extremely valuable lesson from my swimming coach back in 1986.

Thrown Into the Deep End — Literally

I recall my swimming lessons when I was a first grader. My father would take my brother for swimming lessons. Looking at my brother, I was keen to learn swimming. My parents bought me a new red swimsuit. I wanted floats like the other fancy kids who came to the club, but my father said he’ll check with the coach and then buy.

It was my first day, and the coach wanted to see whether I was fit or driven enough to be coached. Before my father could finish his sentence, the coach just flung me into the pool, while my elder brother, an ace swimmer, was already in it. (I know, in today’s scenario, that would have become a ‘cruel’ act by a coach, and the episode would have gone viral).

The next thing I knew, I splashed and kicked my way out of the water, while my father, completely aghast, wanted to fetch me out of the pool. But the coach asked him to remain calm, as my brother was right behind me.

I came out of the pool, soaking wet in my brand new red swimsuit, walked up to the coach and started scolding him. It was a comical sight: a tiny 6-year-old, soaking wet, scolding a huge swimming coach in blue trunks. He then looked at my father and said, “She’s good, I’ll coach her!” And I was like, “What? Hell no!”

I protested for days. Even pretended to have a phobia of water by refusing to enter the bathtub or take a bath from a bucket of water! I continued protesting even as my father drove my brother and me to the Rotary Club on his Vespa. I wanted to learn using a tube/ float like other fancy kids who came to the Club in Asansol. The coach scoffed and said, “No floats. No one learns with a float!”

Learning to stay afloat

I cried in the first few days, and gradually I started loving the water as I learnt to kick my legs, float, and breathe consciously. I hated my coach at the beginning. I was always angry with him (much like Calvin, always annoyed, while Hobbes patiently stood by him). The coach told me, “Fine, you don’t want to learn from me, just swim towards your brother, that’s all.” And I started swimming to reach out and grab his hand, and my brother kept moving farther back until I completed a couple of laps in the big swimming pool (there were no kiddie pools back then).

From Fear to Flow: A First Grader’s Breakthrough

One day during my swimming training, I got angry with my brother and in the middle of the pool (toward the deep side), I yelled at him, “Dada! Why can’t you stay put in one place? I’m trying to hold your hand!” And my brother smiled and replied, “Look where you are!” And that’s when I realised, probably that was the first breakthrough moment for me. I was floating effortlessly and having a conversation with my brother in the middle of the swimming pool. That’s when the fear, the apprehension, and whatever negative mindset I had created about swimming and my coach just melted away.

And gradually, from the shallow end, I started swimming up to the deep and even aced at diving, and eventually I would ask my father to take me swimming seven days a week, even twice a day! And he had to literally pull me out of the pool even after sunset, when the other children were all ready to go home from training. Later on, when we moved to Mumbai, I even went swimming in the Arabian Sea at Marve Beach a few times.

The Lesson That Stayed With Me for Life

The lesson in life is there’s no mollycoddling. The best way to get something done is to go through it and not around it. Just dive into it despite the fears, the endless chatter in our mind, unwanted thoughts or doubts that creep in. It is not overnight that we overcome self-doubt; we swim through it,, eventually leaving no room for procrastination.

I still remember the swimming lessons as a first grader, where my coach, refusing to give me a float, taught me not to depend on anything, but to depend on my own skills, will and abilities. And if I am willing and open to learning, I will see the change.

His method may have seemed unconventional back in 1986 and even now, but that lesson stayed with me: you have to go head-on.

As for me missing the first work anniversary at The Write Compass, I realised I was completely focused on the journey, pitching in close to 300 hours of mentoring in the last year, and publishing over 60 articles on The Lifestyle Portal, some written by my students and some by me. My write-ups were more about life’s lessons, personal throughsbreaks, and documenting my mentorship journey along the way. I’ve stayed afloat on the deep side of the pool, ready to swim a few more laps. I’m just enjoying my small victories as I keep swimming, keeping my head above the water.

Swimming Into My Second Year With The Write Compass

Coming back to my mentorship journey, I took the dive into the pool, from the so-called ‘safe’ comfort zone of a dead-end corporate life, and I kicked hard and splashed in the water and came out soaking wet yet proud that I did not sink. I learnt to swim, float and breathe, with no fear of drowning or failing, just swimming toward a goal of making a positive impact with today’s youth – children, teens, young working professionals and homemakers to be more grounded. I may not be the best swimmer, but I was certainly not afraid to swim in new deep waters and enjoy the journey.

If You’re Ready to Dive In, I’m Here

If you’re looking for mentorship programs for yourself, your teen or your team/ staff, let’s connect over a Discovery Call. I use writing, art, and NLP techniques as tools to guide mentees on a gentle journey. No prior writing and art experience required, just an eagerness to learn and make a positive shift, that’s all.