At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some of the unique and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. This week we invited Harsharan Kaur Randhawa for an interview with us to know more about her inspiring journey, her background and her advice for aspiring individuals. Harsharan is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Coach, Mentor, Psychologist, Counsellor, and Change Enabler. She is the Co-Owner at Peaceofmind Counseling Services. Let’s learn more about her journey so far to get inspired.
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Harsharan:
Talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I come from Amritsar (Punjab). I did my schooling from Sacred Heart High School Amritsar. Then, I completed my graduation in science (BSc) from Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar. After I got married, I came to Chhattisgarh and continued studying further.
I did Masters in English from Pandit Ravi Shankar University Raipur and also another Bachelors in Education (B. Ed). After getting the bachelor’s degree in education, I took up a job as a teacher and hence, initiated my professional journey. I loved being a teacher and displayed my responsibilities with dedication. My teaching career continued a long way. In between, many changes came in my personal life as well and I moved to Noida in 2003.
During my teaching period, I came across many students and parents who went through a lot of stress and anxiety. Some parents often used to request me to counsel their children regarding lack of concentration, lack of time management, discipline and many other issues.”
Parents showed faith in me. I counselled the children, not as a counsellor but as a teacher and it gave amazing results. This generated my interest in psychology. Continuing being a teacher, I decided to study further and completed my Masters in Psychology in 2018. This was another feather added to my cap, another professional degree and I was also a psychologist, now.
My journey to becoming a psychologist has been very interesting and challenging. It was very challenging because I also had my household responsibilities. Though I was already in the profession of a teacher and was managing my work and family, but to study psychology along with all this was quite a challenge. But as it is rightly said, “Where there is a will, there’s a way.” With determination and hard work, along with god’s will, I was able to achieve my aim.
We all know that to begin one’s own startup individually is not easy. Though it was very easy to get a job as a counsellor in a school or any corporate area, but I was very sure that I will have my own setup as a counsellor.”
It was perhaps my dream. One very important thing I would like to say here is that, while doing my masters, I met Meghna Singh, my fellow classmate.
We became very close friends and decided to merge together to start our own counselling centre by the name of “Peaceofmind Counseling Services.” In 2018, we hired a classroom in a school and started the journey of our dreams. We advertised about our centre through newspapers, by spreading the word around. Very few clients came for the first few months of our start-up but we did not get disheartened.
After some time, we rented a room in a house and our position improved. We registered ourselves with “Lybrate”, an online platform for doctors and psychologists to publicize themselves. It was a great help. We got many clients from lybrate. We also made our website, Facebook page and Youtube channel. This all geared up our journey. We did not stop here, to know more about this field, we kept gaining knowledge by attending workshops, webinars. We also did diplomas related to different aspects of counselling in order to be verse in our profession.”
Counselling is a very vast field of profession where there are many sub-branches out of which one has to choose the branch to specialize in. I chose guidance counselling in masters and specialized in family counselling, adolescent issues, parenting problems. Now, I look back and ruminate about my journey of becoming a psychologist, from 2018 when I started, till date, Peaceofmind Counseling Services is running successfully.
What made you passionate about ‘Psychology’?
Psychology, as a subject, was always tempting for me. I was very keen to study psychology. I was always curious to understand the mind, how it thinks and how our thoughts are so powerful to control our lives. I used to wonder about this mysterious working.
Moreover, I was clear with my vision of becoming a psychologist or a counsellor. I used to feel very distressed whenever I came across anyone feeling stressed, nervous, anxious, lonely or struggling with any other psychological problem and wanted to lend a helping hand. This feeling led me to study psychology and become a psychologist in order to help people with life-challenging issues and guide them to deal with them positively and lead a more meaningful life.”
Another fact was that I always wanted to become a doctor but could not due to certain unavoidable circumstances. The reason why I wanted to become a doctor was to study the human body and its intrinsic working.
The passionate thought that, by studying psychology, I could at least understand the working of the brain, attracted me and therefore, I took up psychology and now, the reality is, that, I am not a doctor who cures physical ailments but yes, in other words, a kind of, I am a one, who cures mental ailments in the form of a counsellor, a psychologist. Thanks to “Psychology.”
‘Peaceofmind Counselling Services’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
Peaceofmind Counselling Services is a dream come true. It is indeed unique because it is an outcome of hard work, commitment and determination. I live this dream every single day by helping and guiding people through their tough life journeys. People come to me for different problems like struggling with their marriages, adolescent issues, parenting issues, stress and anxiety problems.
Stress is an inevitable part of life. Every person, be it a child or an adult, suffers from stress. Children have academic stress and stress-related to many adolescent problems. Adults have work stress at home as well as at their workplaces, so, stress is everywhere, in every walk of life.”
It is important to understand that stress is a silent killer, the root cause of all the ailments, mental as well as physical. So, if I talk about marriage counselling or adolescent issues or parental issues, stress is the major cause and is a matter of great concern. People come to seek counselling for different issues but all the different issues are connected to stress and anxiety.
Listening, guiding and providing insight is my main motive. Clients are given therapies according to their problems. Relaxation therapy and mindfulness is a must for everyone.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
“Challenges are what make life interesting, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
My driving force is my challenges. These challenges had made me what I am today. Life is not worth living if we don’t have them in life. Challenges are like opportunities for me, opportunities to prove myself, that no matter what it is, nothing can stop me from achieving my goals.
Being a housewife and an entrepreneur at the same time is indeed a tough job and what all challenges a woman has to face handling dual responsibilities, is not hidden from anyone.
Although, we all talk about women’s empowerment but still women are struggling to get empowered. Today also, women are expected to be selfless and handle both, house and office efficiently. I had always accepted this challenge and did not let my passion for being a businesswoman fade away.
I had made a promise to myself that I will never give any single chance to anyone to point a finger at me regarding this, no matter what. Playing this dual role, I did feel low many times, I did feel disheartened at times, demotivation was there, insecurity was there. Many times, I had to justify my actions without getting any satisfying response. But, I still kept going.
I did not let all this negativity affect me, I was determined and most importantly, I played both the roles, as a housewife as well as an entrepreneur, very well. And, amazingly, a time came when I was not questioned anymore, my hard work, my determination, reaped the desired fruit. Today, I am exactly where I wanted to be. Today also challenges are there but I have learnt through all these years, how to overcome them.”
So, what keeps me going despite the challenges is my dedication, hard work, willpower and my never-ending enthusiasm and most importantly, my belief in my own self.
Please share with us, how do you motivate your clients?
As I am a psychologist/counsellor, people come to me for help. They are already struggling with their lives, lacking certain life skills which are crucial to lead a happy and satisfying life. They feel very demotivated and vulnerable.
Listening is a very important aspect of counselling, therefore, my first step to motivate my clients is to listen to their life struggles without being judgemental. The moment they realise that counselling is one such platform where they can share anything with me without any doubt, fear or hesitation, they feel motivated.
They express their emotions in front of me whether it’s happiness, sadness, fear, grief, crying, worry or anger. I let them be their true self, as, if they will not be true, they won’t be getting the desired outcome of counselling. Therefore, listening to my clients without being judgemental motivates them.
Another way I motivate my clients is by sharing my own life experiences with them. This way they can relate themselves with my experiences and learn some important lessons of life, they get inspiration. Not only my personal experiences, but I also quote many other examples which work as eye-openers for them.
I believe that unless and until my clients have a good rapport with me, they won’t be able to get the full benefit of the counselling process and to build a good rapport with them, I myself have to be true with them. I make them realise that they are not alone who are having tough life situations, the world is full of such people, the only need is to accept and have the courage to come out to reach for help. I am glad that till now, I have been successful in my purpose of motivating my clients.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My biggest source of motivation in my daily life has always been my own self. Motivation is not something that you will get from the outside, it’s the inside concern. It’s all in our minds, it’s a mind game. If you are not self-motivated, don’t expect anyone else to motivate you.
No one will come to you and push you to get up and get going and even if someone does, unless and until you feel motivated from inside, no one can help you. There are times, when I feel demotivated when I feel like just being lazy, when my focus shifts away from my work, I feel low.
During these times, I push myself to bring back my attention to my aim, my work and even if it doesn’t help much, I just talk to myself, doing some positive self-talk, giving some reminders to my mind.”
I read inspiring quotes, these quotes have always been a source of motivation for me. These quotes are reminders to me for self- motivation. This works wonders for me and motivates me to be on my feet again. So, self-motivation is the key.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
To grow in life, one has to learn some basic skills, some strategies are fundamental to be implemented. For me, the strategies that worked are:
> Self-motivation
> Being passionate about your dream
> Keep moving, no matter how slow the movement is and the quote to prove this strategy is, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
> Keep gaining knowledge
> Be open to criticism
> Know your worth, believe in yourself.
> Respect yourself
> Rising up with more enthusiasm after falling down.
> Risk taking ability
What about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
The very first thing that I would like to say that makes my journey satisfying is the help and support of my family which I got all through my way, especially from my husband who stood by me all the time. He had been my pillar of strength and kept guiding me, holding my hand.
Another aspect is the appreciation that I get from my clients. When I see my clients healing and recovering from their pain, it gives me immense satisfaction. Some clients come to me in a very distressed condition, crying and feeling miserable, after talking to me for 2 long hours they say that they are feeling light, and they leave with a smile on their faces, this gives me satisfaction.
Writing articles, blogs for my website, making reels, videos for Instagram and for my YouTube channel, brainstorming with my colleagues make my journey exciting. Being a part of webinars, workshops and podcasts are the additions which make it all the more exciting.
Reading, learning and gaining more knowledge about my field is all part of my satisfying and exciting journey. Last but not the least, client feedback is another important aspect that enriches my journey.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
I had a dream of becoming an entrepreneur and I left no stone unturned in fulfilling that dream. I was never afraid to take risks and stand for myself no matter what came in my way.
I was dedicated towards my work as well as my family. I believe in myself that I will be able to do justice to both and I am thankful to the almighty for giving me the strength and courage to achieve my goal.
Hard work, determination and focus are the three main mantras that kept me going and helped me reach where I am today.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
Being successful in life does not depend upon one-time effort. It’s the result of repeated trials and actions that one has to take before reaching at the top of the success ladder. The keys to success in my opinion are:
(1) Hard-work
(2) Determination
(3) Commitment
(4) Consistency
(5) Patience
(6) Focus
(7) Positive attitude
(8) No settlement until you achieve your goal
(9) Never stop learning
(10) Most importantly, the support of your family
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
My advice to students and young professionals who want to make a successful career is: It’s not an easy task. First of all, you should have a certain goal in life and this goal should be your interest area which you like doing.
Don’t live someone else’s dream, dream for your own self and leave no stone unturned to fulfil it. You will face challenges on your way and have the courage to overcome them. Never be afraid to do hard work, remember, it’s only your hard work, determination, commitment and focus that will lead you to success.
Be self-motivated, do not seek motivation from outside, it’s not going to work if you are not motivated from inside. The days when you feel least motivated, you don’t feel like getting up and going, this is when your self-motivation is tested.
Do not forget your morals and values, don’t take shortcuts because shortcuts make us forget them. Last but not the least, believe in yourself, learn to get up and be on your feet, after falling, the sky’s the limit for those who do not get defeated by the hardships.
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.
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