Compromise or being realistic?

I have always wondered what is the difference between being compromising and being realistic or practical. We all say that one should never compromise in life, but what is a compromise? Consider this example; I say to myself that the next girl I sleep with should be Priyanka Chopra. Now if I sleep with another girl, am I compromising? Or am I being realistic and practical as I have a better chance of becoming India’s Prime Minister than sleeping with Priyanka. The reason why I chose this example is to emphasize on what is realistic and what is not.  

In life there are many occasions where we have to take decisive decisions. One of the main things that creep into our mind while taking a decision is whether we are compromising or not. Most of the time, as the narcissists that we are, we forget what is a compromise. Compromise happens when we set standards for ourselves and we fail to meet those standards. Now what if the standard we set for our self is too high? Now there is a point of view that nothing is out of reach. Now even if it’s true is it practical in this world. Is it viable for one to stick to a particular path, no matter what, even though there is another path which is more reachable?  Even if nothing is impossible should one spend way too much time than normal to get there? Doesn’t the amount of time spent chasing the dream make any difference to the dream itself? 

The answers to the above questions, I don’t know. The reason that these things came to my mind is because I am in a predicament. I had set a certain goal for myself (short term) and was not able to achieve it even after taking twice the "normal" or the preferred amount of time. Was my goal too unrealistic for me or should I postpone my goal or should I lower my expectations, well these are questions to which I guess there is no correct answer. Am I compromising if I alter my goal? Was my goal too unrealistic to be achieved at this point in time? 

People will have short term goals and long term goals. Short term goals might be the various steps that are required for reaching ones ultimate goal. A person might plan out on how he will reach his ultimate goal. I feel that the ultimate goal is more important than the various intermediate steps taken to reach it. The ultimate goal that a person has is the meaning of that person’s life. Ultimate goal may or may not be achieved, even if it’s achieved it will be towards the later part of ones life. To enhance ones chances of achieving his/her ultimate goal, I feel that too much unnecessary time and importance should not be given to various intermediate steps that are to be taken to reach the goal. If there are two ways of doing a task and if the first option doesn’t work, we should always be open to the second option (as long as there is no drastic decrease in standard) instead of spending more than the necessary time on the first option.  

Whether the conclusion I came to is right or not, I dont know. I might change my point of view a couple of months down the road. I guess no one will ever have a correct answer to the question. I guess all must judge themselves honestly and objectively and have a measure of ones ability. Its one thing to aim high at every point in life, but at the same time one must be realistic also. I feel that going for a wild goose chase is pointless. I also feel that every dream should have a realistic time limit. If the time required goes beyond that, one should always seriously consider plan B or C. Now am I being pessimistic or realistic is a topic for another debate.

Am I doing the right thing ?

Even though I had promised myself that I won’t be writing any personal blogs, after getting loads of advice and opinions from concerned well wishers and bystanders, I thought that I should contemplate my decision here.

I just finished my final year of engineering and hopefully I wont have to write anymore exams under Kerala University. Last year I attempted CAT and after the exam was over I knew i got screwed or i screwed it up big time. The answer I gave when people asked me how did it go was that, I got gang raped over and over and over again for 2 hours 30 minutes. When the results came, I felt that to say that I was gang raped was an understatement. I was expecting the worst and what came was worse than the worst. It was like getting AIDS, herpes, gonorrhea, and various other STD's after getting gang raped and then finding that I would be the first male to give birth to a child. In the various other exams i fared decently. Not good enough to get into a good B school but was quite ok.

Now I had 3 options after passing out, join a software company or repeat my MBA exams or do both. Joining a software company and just settling down was not an option for me. Almost all my seniors who joined companies have told me 2 things. One that they are fed up of their lives, second that "MBA its now or never". Even if I ignore the second statement the fact that most of them hate their jobs and me being in that position was not something that I was looking forward to. To work and prepare for my exams seems quite impossible. It’s like trying to be good at two completely different and complicated things at the same time. I would reach home by 6 then be all tired and you know the rest. So I logically came to the conclusion that I got to repeat my MBA without going for any job.

Now is my decision right or wrong? People have been telling me, its a huge risk. if you do not get this time what are you going to do? You did not perform well last time what makes you think you can do well this time out? If you have work experience you will have an edge during the interviews. My parents were worried at first and I think they still are but are not showing it out.

The fact that I want to do an MBA shows that I got brains in my head. I know what i am doing is a huge risk. I know that there is absolutely no guarantee that I would get into a good B school this time out. Going for a job would be the easiest thing to do right now. You don’t have to study anything, you get paid for the work you do. You can party, do all kinds of stuff. I decided I did not want the easy way out. The fact that I am in touch with studies at the present moment and I would be more or less totally blank 2 years from now kind of went in favor of me repeating. The whole situation is filled with if's. If I go for a job I might grow roots there and would never do an MBA or 2 years down the road I might quit my job and prepare for MBA. Either way what I am doing now seems far less risky than the other options that I have. If you are wondering what all the fuss is about MBA to just clear the air, for having any kind of success in the corporate world you need an MBA, unless of course you are an exceptional person, which I might be but am not willing to bank on that.

Now I have taken a decision and there is no going back. Is my decision right? I do not know and do not think that any one can tell that. No one can ever know what would have happened if i had gone for the job. I might have become a millioner in a year or I might have quit and went for sanyas in the Himalayas. I have taken a decision and I got to stick by it. I may or may not get into a good B school. What i have got to do is give it my all. After that things are not in my hand. I do not want to be in a situation in which I would say to my self, if only I had done that.

So in general I would like to say. Take your own decisions, be responsible for it. Never regret any of the decision you have made for your on interest (by this I do not mean that if you think killing a man is good for you, you should do that). Do not worry too much about failures, better have them now than 20 years from now (you got to learn from them though :P). As they say failure is the stepping stone to success. Individual failures will be insignificant when you look at the larger scheme of things.