The true essence of life...

Seeing people venturing out into new fields is such an inspiration that it makes one feel brave.
When fresh graduates are waiting for their first break in life, there are people who have completed their first innings and have moved onto the next one and are flourishing.
If you are just beginning, let me share a secret - it helps to be on time. It is even better if you are early. Being early allows you to have the privilege of being prepared.
This is why these thoughts came to mind. I'm at a college campus for an event, and it has given me an opportunity to look at the young faces of enthusiasm and the matured faces of experience.
While the youth prepare for the future, the dynamic economies of the world continue to move. They are already discussing what the jobs will be in demand by 2030 are.
One thing is for sure - having the right attitude would be part of the qualifications.
Time management would be one of the prerequisites. And that is a tough one. The one who taught me the hard way was my biology professor, who designed his course in such a way that he held a pop quiz in the first five minutes of his lecture. And his class was at 8 am. If you missed those five minutes, you lost points, and that could easily affect your grade. Soon, it became a race with time to reach his class on time to answer the five questions.
Until then, no matter what I tried, I used to end up being late. Time has a cultural element to it. In some places, it is more relaxed. In some countries, you can offend a person by arriving late for their appointment.
On the other hand, there are many benefits of reaching early. Take the time to collect your thoughts, or even better, just read through your textbook before the class begins. You will invite a pop quiz with open hands and excel too.
Of course, today's college students are different. There is information everywhere, but life has to be challenging to bring out the best in you. AI tools might make it easier with our projects; however, this is the time to exercise our minds and be creative. Being prepared means you have also been thinking of your goals. So many of us forget about the importance of having goals and at times do not even know what it is that we want in life.
What is it that you really want in life?
If we can answer this question, then we can almost find our path. Then we have to answer other questions that we must dwell upon. Distractions would be many, so we must pick our fights wisely, although peace is what we strive for.
Then again, it is never too late to make the changes. We need not be stuck forever in any mode. But it takes courage to shift directions.
There are some people who may not ever be on a set path, and then there are some who sail across unhindered. Could it be that they know what they want? Maybe, but it could also mean having the right knowledge.
So no matter what, the way toward achieving your goals is a combination of talent, skills, knowledge, and most importantly, dedication with consistency.
And for those who smoothly transition to their second career, life is full of adventures and experiences. As one friend put it, 'They can never retire. They will always find ways to be useful.'
In other words, the true essence is in finding the purpose in life.

Lakshmi Kothaneth The writer is senior editor of Observer