At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the entrepreneurship world. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate women entrepreneur – Aradhana Kaul Kathju for an exclusive interview with us. Aradhana is a Psychologist, Trainer, Coach, Mentor, and Change Maker. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey, her background and her valuable advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Aradhana:
Talk us through your background and your journey, please;
The easiest answer, when asked about my background that I have ever given, is that I am a Military BRAT. It is what encompasses what I am, where I come from and what I stand for. BRAT means Born Raised and Transferred. Having grown up in the cantonments across the country, we BRATs share many aspects of our upbringing. That’s what makes me the person I am today.
I have changed 10 schools and studied in institutions across the length and breadth of this country, and I love that about my childhood. It has given me PERKS, like perspective, exposure, resilience and knowledge and sincerity, not to forget loads of curiosity. The Indian Army gives its BRATs a lot to learn from, as I’m sure many other such establishments do. I have grown up with uncertainties that are hard to imagine.”
But it was the foundation of what makes me a better professional today. Understanding the kind of emotional turmoil and sometimes trauma that people go through before they reach my clinic, it becomes my duty to ease off the pressures they feel.
As a parent and as a counsellor I can only facilitate the change required, but the empathy comes naturally and that has a lot to do with my BRAT background.
We grew up learning to face adversities in situations that were literally a matter of life and death.”
Walking out of such storms unscathed yet wiser, I can only work towards helping people make their life a little less complicated and lot more sorted. The situations I learned in may have been different, but processing patterns are quite similar, we are all human after all.
So, I fuel my today with my yesterday and head towards a promising tomorrow, with an adaptive ideology, disciplined thinking, a smile and an adventurous heart… I’m good to go.
What made you passionate about ‘Psychology’?
I’ve always been a people’s person. I know that sounds clichéd but the fact is, we are who we interact with. I chose to interact with people who simulated my brain in challenging ways and that gave me the push into their minds in turn.
Psychology was an interest during college and the years after that, but sometimes you need a push to get out of your comfort zone.”
Life presented an opportunity and I took it. I’m glad I did. Now as an RCI registered psychologist I get the opportunity to work with a variety of people, and what keeps me going is the curiosity and the peep into their minds.
I’m fascinated by what people think and how they comprehend their environment, how they process it all and what makes them choose to react the way that they do. I guess that is what we psychologists do overall, but I’m genuinely excited about this learning.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
The journey of life is basically a process of change. And in order to complete this journey, one must learn along the way.
Challenges are a mere opportunity to learn. I have never kept one single goal in life that I must reach. I have a few long terms goals I’d like to achieve, a few short term goals that help me reach closer to the long term ones, but I’m really more a person who would much rather enjoy the journey than being stuck to the illusion of a destination.
Life is unpredictable, that’s a truth I have learnt the hard way. And if one must achieve something, the only way is to keep pushing.”
I mentioned that adaptability is part of who I am, and thus my outlook towards life goals is pretty much the same.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
I would say till he was alive, it was my father. From a very young age, I followed the “If he can do it, so can I” anthem. But since the past 12 years, I’d say my husband is my strongest motivator. His unconditional support and regard is what fuels my energy to go on.
What are some of the strategies that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
If you’re asking for a mantra, it’ll have to be “Bash on regardless”, something my dad used to say to me.
To help me grow, however, it’s been the foundations of virtue, belief, faith in oneself, being considerate, being respectful towards oneself and others, but most of all I think it is taking a decision and then sticking to it.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
It would be a lie if I said that I am always positive and motivated. I’m human. I have my ups and downs.
But what keeps me going is knowing that when you walk into a storm you don’t know what to expect, you just need to focus on walking out stronger, more determined and grateful.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Not sure if I know the keys to success in general, but I can share a few pointers that help me remain focused.
(1) Believing in yourself
(2) Trusting your instincts
(3) Being respectful to yourself, others and the situations you will come across
(4) Being considerate to your surrounding and the people in it
(5) Gratitude – I cannot stress on this one enough
(6) Resilience gets you where you need to be
(7) Most of all acceptance of what is, rather than striving for what may be or should be
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Do your homework! Make sure you know where your starting point is.
I see a lot of youngsters today who want to ‘make an impact’ but have no idea where to begin because of a lack of awareness and irrelevance of their thinking. There is always a huge potential in the next generation and it must be channelized well.
Get the right education, guidance, counselling even.
Don’t be in too much of a hurry. The Sun and the Moon both shine but in their own time.
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.
