What is Courage?

It is not the absence of fear but acting inspite of fear

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My life so far looks picture-perfect. I performed well in academics, landed a job through campus, got married, had a child, and now stand 1.5 years shy of completing two decades in IT. On paper, it looks like an ideal — almost boring — templated life.

But in reality, it is far from that.

Just because I was a top scorer in school didn’t mean I was academically inclined. I performed well because I couldn’t cope with low marks. Yes, I could study, understand concepts, and reproduce them, but I lacked consistency and genuine curiosity during my academic years. Learning was never driven by interest — it was simply something I had to do.

Getting placed through campus was the default next step. I had no idea about corporate life, nor was I inclined toward any other career choice. The rest of my corporate journey was just sliding through opportunities thrown my way. I lived life on default — Monday to Friday routine, happy on Fridays, looking forward to the weekend, then returning to office on Mondays with a sense of sadness, only to repeat the monotony.

Until one day, I decided not to waste my time — my precious time — living on default. I wanted to be happy not just on weekends, but through Monday to Friday as well. So I chose to change my life.

What did I do?