Finding Our ‘Why’ of Life from Ramda Yanurzha
Ever since one of my colleagues shared a Medium article which the title is “Kenapa Pindah?”, I knew by heart that I need to talk to its writer as each sentence of the article carries intriguing stories.
I did a bit of research by stalking to his LinkedIn profile and found out that the writer is Ramda Yanurzha, the Head of Research in GO-JEK. He actually sits on the same floor as I do everyday at the office.
Set him up for doing the interview was not a hustle at all as he was genuinely approachable and as I expected; he had a lot of intriguing stories to share. One thing that surprised me the most about Ramda was the fact that he dropped out from ITB and found a way to bounce back again until he ended up here.
So, how did he survive and be the person as he is right now?
For less than an hour, Ramda shared his ups and downs of finding the ‘why’ throughout his life; here are 6 things which made Ramda survive and rebound once again to be the better version of himself:
1. “I merely tried to understand where I was.”
Ramda believes that knowing who you truly are is the key to get back into your right pathwhen you’re feeling lost along the way. If you know exactly what you can do and understand the reasons for each decision you’ve made, you will start to comprehend your own meaning of life.
Dropping out from ITB was the worst phase of his life, but it was a turning point for Ramda as well. Since then, he started to always acknowledge who he truly is (and what he is not) to understand what he really wants to pursue in his life; “Acknowledging that you’re lost is probably the hardest thing to do, but as long as you’re looking forward, you’re good to go. It’s not the end of the world.”
2. “I tried to find the things which I love the most.”
For Ramda, earning his own title requires him to know exactly about the things which become his passion which is easier said than done, “When I was dropping out, I realized that I couldn’t pursue the things which I didn’t love at all. Since then, I began to understand that I am actually a ‘generalist’ rather than a ‘specialist’, means that I love to do the things which require me to see the big picture instead of focusing on only one aspect of it,” said Ramda.
As cliché as it sounds, passion is a crucial aspect not only for us to bounce back again, but also to give the energy towards our goals whenever we’re being drowned with the society’s prescribed way of success.
3. “You have to invent your own job.”
Instead of waiting his life to unfold by itself, Ramda chose to earn his own title as he realized that he is the master of his own success story in life. Thus, instead of waiting for someone else to give him something that he could do, he chose to actively seek for valuable opportunities to be pursued.
The journey was hard as it often made him felt like a misfit, but eventually he fell in love with the field of research and social development. He got his recognition through various consulting gigs and fun blogpost about Indonesia’s data.
“Taking the long way round is sometimes necessary, and often, it’s easier for you to find someone who needs your skill rather than you, yourself, try to fit to all those job postings”, Ramda added.
4. “It all comes down to luck AND perseverance.”
Ramda has joined GO-JEK since October 2017 as he was approached by Crystal Widjaja, our SVP of Business Intelligence, as the response of Ramda’s Medium article which titled “Seberapa Kaya Sih Orang Jakarta?” Other than having the luxury of getting support from our closest people, Ramda believes that our path of life is related to luck, which is something that we can’t control.
“Yes, it all comes down to luck, but perseverance is the main fuel. You can’t rely on luck all the time, you have to accept what life offers you and make the best out of it,” said Ramda, who is now leading the user experience research, field research, and also behavior research teams in GO-JEK.
5. “I healed by never stop moving forward.”
One thing that I learned the most about Ramda is the way he never stop moving forward, even after he had a major failure in his life. When Ramda was trying to re-pursue his Bachelor Degree in Singapore, he was also involved in a local NGO which made him learned countless things about people and how to develop his soft skills.
After he graduated from NYU for his masters, he became the researcher in a public sector research institution where he gained his hands-on experience in the research field. “I don’t think that I need to have a comfort zone; having a comfort zone is problematic for me because it means that I will stop moving.”
6. “You should be very strategic with your life.”
When it comes to tips and tricks about surviving in this battle field called life, Ramda has one sentence to sum it up; we should have plans in our lives, but don’t forget to always be flexible as well.
Being strategic means that we know what we want to pursue for the years ahead and we have plans, but we still have to accept whatever life has to offer by making the best out of it. We also have to acknowledge how far we’ve evolved as it is the way for us to appreciate ourselves, whatever failures that we had previously.
From him, I’ve learned the importance of self-knowledge to find our ‘why’ in life. His life journey made me realize that if you know who you truly are through thick and thin, you have a good chance to find the right path again whenever you feel lost and at the lowest point of your life.
Thank you, Ramda, for sharing your life journey, I adore your persistent and hard work. Please always keep on inspiring the people around you!
Oh, by the way, we are always hiring!
Originally published at GO-JEK Careers Blog (April 3, 2018)
