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What is the best way to figure out if you are making progress?
What if you are getting increments but know it in your heart that you’re doing the same things you used to do three years back?

Here’s the benchmark I use:
If I’m doing something where my probability of success is high, it means I’m getting super comfortable, and not making progress.

Progress, by itself means, succeeding with low chances of success.

To get to a place of cringing at your content 3 months back.
Or getting effective with rising 10 minutes earlier, every week.
Perhaps forgiving when its hard, because you want to move on.

Of all things, the best thing about progress is you control it. Realising it is another.

Some cool things to have independence from:

1. Anyone’s definition of success, other than your own
2. Your own self, whenever you say “I’m like this only!”
3. A culture (at home and at work) that is inherently designed to make you lose
4. Waiting to be picked, instead of cold emailing the CEO of the company you want to work with.
5. Fixed Deposits. Forever

The other day I had a singer join my IG live.

She’s just given her CA exams.
Works in an MNC.
However, lives with a looming regret of picking up this choice at the age of 18.

Now as she is 29, and as the shows got cancelled because of pandemic, she’s a singer as well as is working in an MNC.

She has future commitments, yet feels regret for the past 11 years.
Sings really well, however, the mind sings her to the past.
Wants to move on, but thinks she needs to correct what has already happened.

That is the mistake most of us make.

Somehow we want the impossible back: the past.
In so doing, we sadly let go of the possible (and the magical): the present.

The society has unfortunately taught us to measure our success in terms of struggle we endure.

Except, struggle isn’t even necessary!

Hard work is necessary.

Integrity is necessary.

Hustle is necessary.

Seeking feedback is necessary.

Getting better each day is necessary.

Struggle, is an unnecessary choice.

I’ve been creating content for 5+ years, religiously, where for the longest time nothing seemed to happen. But, on not even a single day, I felt it was a struggle. I enjoyed the process and journey every day.

When we can go through the hard work and enjoy it, what’s the point of making it something as painful as “struggle”?

When we receive a feedback, it is up to us as how we receive it.
We may accept it, dismiss it or think over it some time later, which may not be now.

That, is the best thing about feedback.
That it comes as an opinion from someone else, and it could be used for our growth, as and when we want.
If, we want it.

However, a lot of people mistake feedback as judgement. They also perhaps believe they have to change themselves in order to act on it. That in itself dilutes the purpose of feedback.

To truly be helped by feedback, the best thing we could do is treat it as a choice.

I absolutely always get angry at this.

Each time I see someone treating someone in a lower rung than them in a manner that is not right, it makes my blood boil.

They think they have earned the right to treat them in this manner.
While they don’t know, that they are treating themselves worse, by not being aware how much internal damage it does to them.

Humanity, doesn’t depend on what you do and what you have.
Humanity, is being human.

A lot of kids often reach out to me saying they are confused what to do next in life.

They don’t know what career path to pick, the obvious routes of the world do not make much sense to them, and certainly there is a lot of FOMO looking at others “knowing the answers” but they’re still “figuring it out.”

In such cases, joining a startup as an intern almost always helps.

You get to hang around with super curious people from different verticals, you get to learn how to manage stress and anxiety, and more than anything else, you understand that everyone is still figuring it out. No one’s really arrived.

That magic hanging around with people, makes you more aware of yourself.
It gives you a bit of nudge into what you want to do.
And if you still don’t know what to do, you will certainly know what not to do. And that’s priceless.

To explore the outside world, is one of the coolest ways to explore your inner world.

If we really care about our team to win, we will give them feedback that is direct, instead of sugar coated, manipulative, or aggressive.

To care about people, is to let them blossom, which might even mean facing the temporary pain of rooting out the weeds.

Are you signing up for too many courses without actually going through them?
Or shopping a lot?
Perhaps unable to control your expenses?

Here’s a hack that works wonderfully well:
Adding a layer to process your payments, which means, asking your spouse or a family member for the OTP gives us the reality check.

If they agree, you can make the spending. If they don’t, you’ll get to check that it was spontaneous.

Choices that work, work with people who do the work with you :)

Late in 2019, when I decided to step down as the CEO of nearbuy, I decided to take a 3-month break.

During those 3 months, I wanted to experiment with content creation.

Hired a team.
Made content creation a process – on all platforms.
Started delivering talks in companies, charging for my time.

Basically putting in all the inputs.

Over time, the content creation started getting bigger, I started enjoying the process a lot, and haven’t looked back from then.

Right now, I’m on the 18th month of that 3-month break. And I couldn’t complain!

Not knowing the goal is precious. Because who you turn into during the journey, is priceless.