5 Insights I Wish I’d Known as a Fresher

When I walked out of college with my degree in hand, I thought I was ready for the world. It didn’t take long to realize that I wasn’t – and life outside the college campus was overwhelming. Very soon, I felt like I was losing myself little by little, swallowed by the abundance around me.

Over the years, I’ve learned a few lessons I wish I’d known sooner. Lessons that weren’t taught in those sophisticated college textbooks.

Here are five things I learned the hard way – things that could help you find your footing faster than I did.

#1 – Use it vs Lose it

The universe blesses every one of us with certain skills that are unique – talents we are naturally good at. But while the universe is generous enough to bless us with those skills, it also takes them back at some point.

We lose our skills either to age and disability, or they are quietly taken away for being unused. Accept it sooner rather than later – what you don’t use, you lose.

Talent is a time-bound resource. It isn’t for eternity. Just because we are good at something today doesn’t guarantee we will stay good at it tomorrow.

Growing up, I was deeply interested in music. I joined tabla classes, competed in contests, and did quite well for my age. Later, I enrolled in guitar classes too – for music felt very liberating. However, as I grew up and life happened, I unknowingly fell out of touch.

Today I’ve lost my musical sense, my muscle memory to play those instruments, and everything I had absorbed growing up has now evaporated.

I learned it the hard way but never take your skills for granted.

Again, what you don’t use – you lose.

#2 – Quality + Consistency

I cannot stress this enough, but quality comes only with consistency. You cannot be good at something just because you love doing it.

Quality demands consistency > love.

It is only when you have spent enough time with your skill – practicing through pain and pleasure, staying through favorable and unfavorable conditions – that quality appears.

It is a gift that is bestowed upon only those who keep at it.

Think of it like building muscles – the more reps you do, the stronger you become. You cannot expect to do a few good reps once a week and build a great body.

#3 – Mentorship vs Coaching

I have faced many moments in life when I had no idea how to proceed, what to do next, and I felt stuck in a stressful state of indecision. In those moments, I truly missed having a mentor – someone to guide me, understand my ordeal, and help make correct decisions.

Spoiler alert – sooner or later, you too will face such situations in life.

A good mentor provides clarity, offers perspective, and helps you navigate crossroads.

Most of us have coaches or guides – but that ain’t mentorship.

A coach is like having a detailed handbook that shows you how to get the best performance out of your existing tools. A mentor, on the other hand, is like having a roadmap — they help you see beyond the tools, why it matters, and how it all fits into the bigger picture.

#4 – Opinions vs Perspectives

It’s important to have opinions – but don’t form them too soon. Things in reality may be different than what appears on the surface.

Spend time building perspectives instead. It helped me entertain multiple possibilities and look at things more deeply. The more diverse or unique your perspectives, the more reliable your opinions become.

Don’t rush. Let your opinions evolve. Forming opinions too soon will only make you stiff and fixated.

When I first moved to the US – I saw it as a land of opportunities, diversity and excitement – and it sure is. However, with time and experience, my perspective got more nuanced, and I could see this country beyond its opportunities – like its cumbersome immigration processes, rising living cost, cultural differences etc.

Eventually, my perspective shaped my opinion – an opinion that’s informed, not biased or based on someone else’s opinion.

Your perspective needs to become nuanced before turning into an opinion. Let it slowly graduate based on facts and figures.

#5 – Perfection vs Progression

It has become a cliche nowadays to say that don’t chase perfection. While this statement is overly used, it is seldom told why? No one talks about the perspective behind perfection.

Striving for perfection can be good – it pushes you closer to an ideal version of yourself.

However, an ideal version may not be a practical version in today’s world.

Perfection is usually followed by disappointment.

Don’t chase perfection just because it is a moving target and will exhaust you, but also because anything lesser than perfect will start to disappoint you. Suddenly, the world around you will fail to meet your expectations.

Make mistakes. Be imperfect. Not just because it will teach you life lessons, but also because it will make you more tolerant and accepting towards the mistakes and imperfections of others.

The people you will meet in life, or the situations you will encounter in life, are going to have flaws more often than not and are going to be far from perfect.

Chasing perfection may create an unrealistic impression of the world around you – which is more likely to end in disappointment.

Instead, focus on progress. As long as you are better than before, wiser than yesterday, and moving a step closer to your goals, perfection doesn’t matter.

At the end of the day, the point is simple — life rewards those who show up, stay curious, keep building, and accept imperfection. Use your gifts while you have them, stay consistent, stay open-minded, and aim for progress, not perfection. Everything else is a bonus.