At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Major Meenakshi Malik for an exclusive interview with us. Major Meenakshi is a Leader, Army Veteran, Entrepreneur, Life and Business Coach, Mentor, Consultant and Change Enabler. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, her background, and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Major Meenakshi:
We are aware of your contributions to our country and the ecosystem, could you please talk us through your background and your journey, please;
Well, I hail from Haryana and from a family who has a tradition of sending their sons and daughters to Military Service. My father was in the Army and my mother was a Teacher by profession.
People get to choose one profession as a dream job and then they live it for the rest of their life, I have been fortunate to not only dream and live one but many of my dreams as my dream job and continue to do so till now.
My journey started with my love for writing and pursuing journalism and mass communication, worked as a stinger for the Times of India and Indian Express as a crime reporter.”
It became a basis for my biggest passion in life “Armed Forces” and I went on to join the Military Intelligence of the Indian Armed forces for a decade plus, “Olive Greens “as we call it, taught me that Army is not just a profession but a way of life.
I often use to cross 6 sansad marg in Delhi and use to be in awe of those magnificent tall statues of Yaksh and Yakshni in front of the Reserve Bank Of India never realizing that one day I will be entering the same building to start my third stint in life, what a stint it was which started during the demonstration and I witnessed worlds biggest democracy’s economy transition. Walked the power corridors of the finance ministry before once more undergoing a transition to the Home Ministry for the post of ADG Communication (Disaster Management ) which I declined later on.
Worked for the T20 World cup as an SLO for team England for BCCI. Meanwhile worked on a long cherished dream of mine of working for women safety. Got myself trained in self-defence and started freelancing as a women safety self-defence trainer for various corporate and Govt bodies.”
COVID taught all of us a big lesson and for me, it was time to give back to society what I had learned so far. Got Certified as a soft skill trainer and a Life coach /PoSH trainer and a Business Mentor for school children for their start-ups. I believe in constant change in life and in yourself..we are all works in progress. Happiversity.com is my joint venture with a few like-minded coaches who aim to serve society.
Also, as an old saying goes there is no bond better than a bond of friendship.. so Coffee lovers presenting to you a beautiful beachside cafe called Cafe Conki @puri ..you might wonder why so many facts, well my life motto is “One Life” you don’t get to live again ..so why not tick everything in your bucket list.
How did you discover your passion as a ‘Coach’?
I am known among my friends and colleague as an agony aunt, but never realized how merely listening to someone can actually help one remain mentally and emotionally healthy, During COVID I started as a volunteer to lend a helping hand and saw a very positive response of my sessions.
This positive response along with the fact that I can really make a difference in someones life, motivated me to take it up as a full-time work as a freelancer and got myself professionally trained from ICF.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
To keep going despite the challenges life throws at you, it’s important to take a moment or two to look around. Look at where you are standing now compared to when you first started. Look at how many obstacles and challenges are behind you that you managed to overcome successfully. Reflective practice is something which keeps me afloat.
As motivation master David Goggins puts it: “Why am I here?’ if you know that moment is coming and have your answer ready, you will be equipped to make the split-second decision to ignore your weakened mind and keep moving. Know why you are in the fight to stay in the fight.
I make it a habit to move forward and once this habit is formed then you move forward no matter what challenge you face When the going gets tough in your life, one of the most effective frameworks that you can put into place is called if-then planning. It helps you to make sense of confusing situations and to be able to take action when you are really struggling.”
“If x happens, I will do y.” Ruthlessly forgive yourself, take smaller steps and finally accept that your motivation will wane, it happens to all of us….point is when and how fast we accept the situation.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My Father and my Grandmother are my biggest source of inspiration and motivation in my life, like most of the girls, my father has been my hero and will remain so till my last day for the mere fact that he never judged me for my flaws, when everyone written me off, he pushed me to fight back in life again and again, there is always a way out in life is what he taught me.
One person who doesn’t make me emotionally weak but mentally strong. My grandmother who is still running strong at 101 yrs has had one guru mantra for me all my life. If you want to sustain life, do things with your own hands, don’t be dependent on anyone for anything and both these things are only possible when you take care of your health.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
Keep learning. The ability and desire to learn are powerful skills that always had a positive impact on many areas of my life, including professionally.
Accepting responsibility and accountability for all my actions. power of Conviction in myself, Volunteer time, Experience new things and places. Making health a priority, Evaluate life periodically, Manage your time and value the time of others.
Living with dignity and integrity, recognize opportunities to grow and change, one belief that I am a work in progress always and if anyone can change its me. The balance between preaching and practice. Being a good listener.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Passion, vision, preparation, courage, perseverance and integrity, learn from mistakes, accepting new changes, ability to take risks.
Success does not necessarily mean that you have to be wealthy, accomplished or powerful. But it means that you have become the best version of yourself and have utilized your abil-ities to the maximum. This may also help you lead a happier life.
What advice would you give to our readers?
> l Forgive and let go
> l Whatever you do—give it 100%
> l When we carry unforgiveness, it’s literally like taking a huge rock, putting it in a ruck sack, and carrying it on our back wherever we go. I know that the person who hurt you may not deserve your forgiveness.
But forgiveness brings YOU freedom. Nelson Mandela once said – ‘As I walked out the door toward the gate that led to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.’
> l Read (A LOT) makes you more adaptable, smarter and keeps you alive
> l Never stop learning and growing as a person – Be always like a child- curious, and there will not be a dull moment in your life
> l Save a portion of your earnings and avoid credit card debt.
> l Change your thinking, change your life. I used to think that if my circumstances magically changed, then everything would be great. But then I discovered—it was not the circumstances that were the problem. There’s a phenomenon called the ‘snap-back’ effect.
Because of it, regardless of what changes in our life—a change in income, change in relationship or environment—we will always revert to what our self-image ‘tells’ us we de-serve and what we expect from our life.
> l Be kind to people; treat people as you would like to be treated.
> l Never, never, never give in-Disappointments, pain, failure, resistance, setbacks, and criticism from others—you’ll go through all of it on your path to your dream.
Last but not least, what about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
Every morning when you get up with a belief that you have the potential and the ability to make even a small positive change in the lives of others is a huge blessing. Knowing that if even one person has that faith in your ability to make a difference, it’s a pat on your back.
Life is a beautiful road filled with hardships, celebrations, success, failure, heartaches, joys and special moments, which finally leads to the destination; the purpose of one’s life. The path might have a lot of bumps, potholes and harsh but it certainly leads to a blissful destination. I believe you should have “: NO REGRETS”
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
