Some mistakes that are worth making in life?

This goes back to 2021, I was lying on my bed in my small cabin onboard a bulk carrier vessel in the middle of the mighty Atlantic Ocean, I’d been away at sea for more than 11 months straight and the time for me to disembark the vessel and to go home was near; Lying on my bed I was reflecting upon my life choices until now, the choice to choose this career in the merchant navy, the choice to leave my home, my family, my friends and live away at sea for months and months.

The only question that used to repeatedly come to my mind was if this was really what I wanted to do, or most importantly if this was the most that I could do with my life?

I wasn’t quite clear on the answer at that time, it was true I wasn’t thrilled and satisfied with what I was doing and all I wanted at that moment was to get back home and be with my family and do something else.. something that could mean something for me and make me feel that I’ve some purpose in life.

Today I’m doing my masters in development, and to be honest, it’s quite a demanding course, we have to read a lot from academic journals to writing assignments, submitting reviews and whatnot, but still, I never find all this that difficult because of the resilience I developed in my previous career, even though I didn’t pursue my career in the merchant navy, it still changed me a lot as a person, it made me strong, resilient and disciplined, it taught me the importance of time and to respect my job.

So, in one way I might say that I wasted so much time doing what I wasn’t going to pursue further in life, but I choose to define that journey as a life lesson that changed me a lot as a person, I got to see the world and the beautiful ocean.. It allowed me to live a life full of adventures and helped me to overcome my fears.

It’s just the way of looking at things, even a mistake of yours can give you a lesson worth more than a short-term success could ever provide.

- Reshu Kumar

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Reshu Kumar

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