The population of pune is around 50,00,000 (5 million). I am one of them. The population of Mumbai is around 200,00,000 (20 million). Who am I in this huge population. What is my identity? 5 million people make their living. Some earn less. Some earn more. People do job, buy flat, marry, raise kids. Everyone among 5 million probably does that. Then what is it that differentiates you from the rest? In other words what is your identity.
Thought a lot on it. I think people in India live their life in 3 stages.
1) Get well equipped
2) Make your living
3) Create your identity
In the first stage there is fierce competition in education to reach the top. Get a better degree. Perform well. Find a good job.
In the second stage, people buy flat, marry, raise kids and have a good married life.
In the third stage, people try to do something which is beyond their self and try to create an identity for themselves in the world full of commodities.
There is so much competition in the first stage that kids are over pressurized for the competitive performance. Each one gets equipped with his/her own set of education, training, experience, course and projects.
In the second stage, we get jobs. It is so difficult to get job if you are not among the so called extra ordinary people. One of my friends supposedly paid 8 lac (0.8 million) to get a job of 15000 per month. He poured in all of the retirement savings of his father. Somehow you get job. Then we strive hard to make our living. Get so called well settled in life. The struggle increases as time passes and you get better positions with better salaries in your job. There is hardly any identity outside your job and your family. Then you have to support your kid going through stage 1 of the process. Many people get old in crossing this 2nd stage.
The third stage remains unaddressed throughout the first 2 stages. The challenges and demands of first 2 stages hardly allow you to devote any time to put some active efforts for the stage 3. There are some people in society who had not had any access to education and other facilities. So they directly started searching for their identity, creating their identity and in the process they became hugely successful. We hear many such stories about such people - severe poverty to super rich transition. Further there are some people who directly enter 3 rd stage after crossing 1st stage e g Obama, Dr Abhay Bang etc. These people also succeed in creating their identity.
So my hypothesis in short is that earlier we target the third stage, more are the chances of succeeding in it. We need to start thinking beyond ourselves in the earlier stages of life. Earlier we do that better are the chances of creating an 'Identity' in the society.
