What's not on my LinkedIn Profile?

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

Till I joined LinkedIn, I was only worried about updating my profile constantly and make it look better. LinkedIn profile was more like a platform to showcase my professional deeds and make myself look better in the books of prospective managers/ employers. I was not really worried about what's not on my LinkedIn profile! But ever since the day I joined LinkedIn, one question that every new person I meet asks me is 'What's not on your LinkedIn profile?'.

As I entered my Day 1 orientation session, I was absolutely thrilled to listen to some amazing stories and witness abundant talent that a profile cannot showcase completely. It is a very important question that people don't miss asking during introductions. A question that probes people to think for a while and pushes them to share their hidden talent.

Few years ago I came across this interesting quote ~ "first thirty years of your life, you make hobbies; and the next thirty years, hobbies makes you!". I am not sure whose quote it is, but I guess it makes absolute sense. Come to think of it, hobbies are very critical and essential to our lives and they shape our lives as they mature. Cultivating a hobby is as important as acquiring a new competency. Acquiring new interests are even more fascinating. They lead our way for a constructive, meaningful and well balanced life across all the three streams of life - Personal, Professional and Social. More than the balance, they bring in fresh perspectives, different scales of imagination and unlimited learning to supplement our vision for life.

When it comes to things not on my LinkedIn profile, I do have many things to say. I have varied interests and I absolutely love spending time on them. Many people ask me how do I manage time with all the crazy interests I have. And my only answer is - because I am so passionate about things I do, I do not have to manage them. They drive me and they pick me up. There is a quote worth mentioning here, 'If you love your job, you don't have to work ~ Confucius'.

When I work on activities I like, I will be completely engrossed in them. And they define my state of happiness. It is absolutely thrilling to understand psychology behind what happens while performing the activity we like and why we feel high at that moment. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in his phenomenal work 'Flow-The psychology of optimal experience', says that Flow is a state of involved enchantment that lies between boredom and anxiety. It is the joy, creativity and total involvement with life. And Sir Ken Robinson enlightens us in his inspiring work of 'Element - How finding your passion changes everything' saying being in our element is very important. He defines Element as the meeting point between the natural aptitude and personal passion. It is the place where things you love to do and things you are good at come together. And identifying interests, cultivating hobbies, therefore play a significant role in our lives and perhaps answer some of our self exploratory questions. Perhaps, with time and consistent efforts, some of them may even become game changers in our lives and transform our career.

So, while we are busy updating our LinkedIn profiles with our professional deeds and achievements, it is also important to focus on whats not on our LinkedIn profiles that can bring in plenty of cheer, joy and more power to our profiles! And on day 1 when I walked into the orientation session, I was in complete flow to share about what's not on my LinkedIn profile. To me, what's not on my LinkedIn profile is the driving force behind what's there on my LinkedIn profile. Absolutely!

So, now answer this ~ What's not on your LinkedIn profile?

Cheers, Srikanth

Wonder is the first of all the passions. - Rene Descartes

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