Describe your favorite hobby, pastime or sport and explain how it reflects your personality
I believe that one’s hobby is a close reflection of one’s passion. I believe that the hobby has to be so involving, enjoyable and enlivening that one may be involved in it for hours together – and not just with the prospect of gain alone. I can thus relate to two such areas I am most passionate about.
As a professional, my passion is to establish new benchmarks of excellence in execution. Much of my action and thought is invested towards re-inventing the way projects are implemented and transitioning them to greater levels of output quality and speed. I gain tremendous satisfaction and confidence when I succeed at handling increasing levels of project leadership and delivering outstanding results. I also ensure that I add to the positive atmosphere at work, at home and in the lives of friends and close associates.
On the personal front, traveling appeals to me the most. It gives me immense pleasure and rejuvenates my energy levels. I ensure that I do find the time to travel to different places. To date, I have visited a range of cities across Asia and the EU – I am yet to come across one place that is not unique in its cultures, tradition and the very social fabric.
The above hobby has always been encouraged by my father who wanted me to witness diversity at various levels. Over time, I have come to realize that it is this experience of interacting with a variety of people that has added to my emotional maturity. In retrospect, my key observation has been that people of different countries, cultures and religions may be seem to be very different; however at fundamental level each of these man-made systems have major similarities. Be it the farmer in rural China or in industrialized Europe, both of them love their fields and have way higher love for the farmlands and nature. The businessman in Paris is no more fundamentally different from the entrepreneur in hot, congested and humid Bombay: both seek to grow their enterprises no matter how big the challenge.
Traveling also fulfills some other core needs. Firstly, it has a rejuvenating effect since it brings in an element of change. Secondly, it brings in fresh ideas and perspectives since physical distance does create some level of mental disconnect from the challenges or situation in daily life. As I distance myself from the problem, I am in a position to assess the problem in entirety and thus arrive at a creative solution.
Finally, as a rationalist, I always tend to believe more when I can witness it. Traveling has always reinforced my belief that there is always more to see and learn in life.