Administrative Officer

Anxiety does not always come from failure. Sometimes, it comes from comparison.

Work. Career. Relationships. Money. Health. Expectations from others and from ourselves. We usually think about this stuff always. But.. A bad day at work, delayed promotion, a relationship that feels uncertain, friends moving ahead in life, plans not working out the way you imagined. And suddenly we think “What now?” We scroll through perfect moments on Instagram, promotions, trips, milestones, and forget that we are only seeing someone else’s highlight reel, not their behind the scenes. Someone looks happy online but is struggling silently. So maybe, pause for a second. Look around. There is always something that is working. Something that is still yours. A few things that might help limit mindless scrolling, focus on controllables, talk to people, do not carry everything alone, write things down, clarity reduces anxiety. Most importantly, be a little kinder to yourself. Be grateful for what you have. And for the gaps that remain, do not panic...just work and have faith.

Remembering our heroes this Kargil Vijay Diwas 🇮🇳

Kargil Vijay Diwas. 25 years, man. Sitting here, staring at my laptop, trying to give a shit about this quarter's numbers. But my mind's somewhere else today. You know that guy in HR who's always on your case? Or that teammate who stole your idea in the last meeting? Feels like the end of the world sometimes, right? Then I think about those soldiers in Kargil and every other frontier. Guys our age, probably dreaming about normal stuff - girlfriends, bikes, maybe a cool job. Instead, they're dodging bullets, watching their buddies fall, all for what? So we can sit here and argue over who gets the window seat in the office. Makes our "problems" look like a joke, doesn't it? Remember that time you lost sleep over your annual review? Those soldiers lost sleep wondering if they'd see another sunrise. We stress about meeting targets. They had actual targets on their backs. Not saying our issues aren't real. They are. But maybe, just maybe, we could cut each other some slack sometimes? That colleague who messed up your presentation - maybe they're dealing with shit we know nothing about. To those brave souls who never made it back - I don't have the right words. "Thank you" feels hollow, but it's all I've got. Your sacrifice is the reason I can sit here, complain about my boss, and plan my next vacation. To the families left behind - I can't even begin to imagine your pain. Hope you know that your loved ones' courage hasn't been forgotten. And to those still bearing the scars, visible and invisible - you deserve way more than just one day of remembrance. So yeah, next time I'm about to lose it over some office drama or a messed up Excel sheet, I'll try to remember this feeling. Try to be a bit kinder, a bit more patient. Because at the end of the day, we're the lucky ones. We get to be here, doing our 9-to-5, planning our weekends. All thanks to those who put everything on the line. Jai Hind. 🇮🇳 Let's talk about this. What are you guys thinking today?

Reflections After Some Tough Times

I’ve had an unexpectedly intense first few months of this year. Lots of uncertainties and drastic changes in personal and professional life; will skip the details. Fortunately, I’m doing better now. Was lucky enough to have the support and love of friends and family to pull me through. And things are starting to look up again, though I’m taking it one day at a time to avoid overwhelming myself. There were some things in particular that just caught me off guard and shook me up real bad. Ended up seriously messing with my self-confidence and motivation. Spent multiple weeks just feeling like a shell, and the helplessness of not being able to fix things only made everything worse - creating a vicious cycle of bad thoughts and self-doubt. And every next step felt that much harder to take. It’s especially difficult when in hindsight you feel like you could’ve done something; but it’s just too late to change anything. After weeks of struggling, something that finally helped me to pick myself up again was to start accepting that I tried my best (given the time and circumstances) and it wasn’t enough. And that’s all I really could have done. I just didn’t know better back then, and I wasn’t in the right headspace to figure out the answers before the clock ran out on me. Reflecting and learning from such experiences is good, but dwelling on them and hating oneself for not being able to do better isn’t really helpful. Going forward, I’ll be mindful about slowing down when things get rough - and actively work towards accepting all parts of myself (the ones that “succeeded” and the ones that “failed”), as I try to keep doing better in life. I’ll also remember to reach out to friends and family sooner than I did this time. Struggling by oneself is not great; it’s too easy to fall into spirals of negativity. The reason I’m sharing this is not to vent, or because my struggles are unique. I just hope to offer some support and acknowledgment to anyone else who might be in a similar boat. Hang in there, and please be kinder to yourself. :) [Video is from my weekend visit to Lal Baug. Was nice to find some stillness and centre myself.]