Philosophy of Work

"The day I stop learning is the day I stop growing." I have always believed that learning is a constant process. The day I stop learning is the day I stop growing. There might be odd days when learning takes a backseat, but that doesn’t mean we should halt the journey. I live by a simple mantra: “To become a better version than yesterday.” I believe in competing with myself rather than comparing myself to others because each person is an individual with different experiences. This personal philosophy was formed based on the many terminal values I discovered on my path to today, three of which stand pivotal. These terminal values not only helped me personally but also assisted me in becoming a good leader during my professional career.

Growth, Knowledge, and Excellence: These values combine to form my most significant value, and all other values strive to complement it. I love gaining knowledge, improving myself, and striving to give my 100 per cent. This particularly helped me a lot in learning and understanding myself. For me, each day is a learning experience, and every moment is an opportunity to grow. Even though it is not possible to do a task perfectly in the initial stages, trying to make it better will help us grow. My relentless pursuit of excellence has helped me become a better person. This forms the core of my values. When an employee always looks for growth by gaining knowledge and striving for excellence, a company will benefit the most. Not only the company but also the teammates will be inspired, which is even more helpful for the company.

Family/Friends: They are the catalysts who directly or indirectly impact personal development. Hence, they are at the heart of my values as they play an important role in my life. They either shared tasks when we worked as a team or helped me manage distractions when I worked alone. I was fortunate to experience the same warmth from my teammates in a professional setting and reciprocated it. It is important to have people in your personal and professional life who can offer suggestions without bias when you bounce ideas off them. This makes me value this as one of my top terminal values. While working in teams, bonding is essential to achieve optimal results, which can only be accomplished when team members understand that each individual has different abilities and perspectives. Once they understand each other, the gaps can be filled easily with the strengths of others.

Realism/Acceptance: While the other two values form the heart and soul of my values, this one forms the mind. It is one of the qualities that helped me in the introspection process and made me work on myself. For me, being able to accept who we are is one of the greatest strengths because it paves the path to success as we work on ourselves. Success is not about winning a competition but rather knowing our limitations and striving to be a better person than yesterday. Though being realistic has its implications in personal and professional settings, when looking at the bigger picture, it pays off. Pretending to be someone or not accepting the facts will only hinder the way we operate. This terminal value of mine is very important in a professional setting; it provides a clear picture not only to the internal teams but also to the clients, ensuring that no false promises or misunderstandings occur. Also, being realistic and accepting the way things are will help an employee/team learn and upskill.

Regardless of the place or type of work I do, my first thought is how I can best contribute and what knowledge I can gain. If I could define work, it would be an opportunity to learn more through practical experience. Work not only helps us grow as individuals but also brings in financial stability. Work is worthwhile when it challenges and pushes you out of your comfort zone; in the end, when you complete it, it teaches you and adds value to your life. Work without fulfilment doesn’t contribute to the journey, even though it pays well, just like a life without work-life balance. I believe success follows when you grow with your best people by gaining knowledge and striving for excellence while being realistic and accepting facts.