The Elegant Interconnection Between Challenges, Traits and Evolution- Karthik J, XIMB

A lesser known fact is that ABG is the world’s largest manufacturer of rolled Aluminium. Hindalco, a subsidiary of ABG is the world’s largest Aluminium rolling company. The aluminium for my next can of Red Bull or Coke will have most likely been rolled at Hindalco. Similarly, not everyone ponders about which cement brand would have been used to construct the roof above their heads, and there's a high chance for that brand to be UltraTech, India’s largest manufacturer of cement. Being one of the top ten producers of cement in the world, UltraTech has seen an unparalleled growth in India.

There is no denying the fact that ABG is big in my life, not merely because I am a patron of many of its brands, but also because I am aspiring to become a part of this prestigious, 150- plus years old corporation.

How I have overcome challenges to achieve my ambitions in life so far

Life is boring without challenges. If everything is easy to get in our life, then it becomes impossible to derive gratification when we achieve what we desire. Challenges are common among all species on earth. Those individuals having some special traits to adapt to those challenges end up surviving and passing on their genes to the next generation. With each successive generation, these traits are naturally selected by the environment, thereby resulting in evolution. Therefore, challenges play a predominant role in the evolution of all living beings. In the same way, challenges enable us humans in perpetually striving to get better. 

As far as my personal journey is concerned, I’ve faced many hardships. I’ve faced bullying at high school, I’ve dealt with toxic people and have faced many challenges at workplace as well. But no matter how hard they were, I’ve learnt not to lose focus on my aspirations, thanks to the constant support of my friends and family.

One of my biggest achievements till date is that I managed to get admitted at the prestigious XIMB, even though the conditions were not so favourable. The last two years have been very tough. In my final year at college, I wasn’t doing so well and had a couple of backlogs even after the final semester. Even though I slogged hard and cleared all my arrears in the subsequent semester, I didn’t have a job at hand. Although my parents never stopped encouraging me, I could sense that I disappointed them. After all, I had the legacy of being the school topper in my twelfth exams. I wasted no time and did an internship on Software Testing and Development. I got placed in Cognizant right after my internship.

I heaved a sigh of relief after getting into Cognizant. But to my dismay, I realized that the real challenge had just begun. I was placed in an IT Infrastructure Services project wherein I had to do a lot of night shifts. The quality of work was mundane at best. Making matters worse, last year, I met with a serious accident due to which I had to undergo a couple of surgeries on my knee.

Therefore, there’s no denying that I’ve faced some serious challenges in the past couple of years. But yet, I never lost focus on my aspiration to pursue MBA at a renowned B-school. Even though my sleep pattern was erratic, I devoted as much time as I could in attending mock tests for CAT, XAT, SNAP and NMAT. Despite being a non-religious person, I prepared religiously for these entrance exams. I ended up scoring 96.5 percentile in XAT and more than 90 percentile in the other three exams. I got calls from 8 B-schools and ended up converting 7 of them.

Converting my XIMB call instilled in me a sense of gratification which I doubt would’ve had the same effect had my last two years been unchallenging. The obstacles which I faced have undoubtedly hardened me. I’ve become more confident, sensible and battle-tested. I’m looking forward to facing any googlies life might throw at me.

The traits which have enabled me to overcome these challenges are purposefulness, clarity and undue focus. These traits of mine would’ve remained latent had I not faced those challenges. Therefore, without a shadow of a doubt, challenges have helped me evolve as a person.

#ABGLP #ABGLPWooMe #XIMB