Overcoming Assumptions and Finding Our Limits

Right from 1st grade, I was the most non-athletic kid in my class. Thin and emaciated, I never participated in any athletic events or sports. In IIT, I flunked the first-year compulsory physical activity course because I hated the morning ‘walk and run’ and ended up...

Being Comfortable in Misery

During my IPS training, one day, a fellow trainee who was also a college-mate, told me: “In my last job (before IPS), I once wrote a software simulator for Intel’s 386 processor. And now I am doing this stupidity.” He was a brilliant guy even by IIT standards, and...

The Morning Routine Advantage

In 2017, my startup was burning cash and time was running out. Changing the direction of the company was like trying to move a gigantic ship — it was hard and required immense grit and energy. And ironically, this was also the time when I felt my inner strength...

Finding Joy in the Journey

In my 2nd year at IIT, I started learning Taekwondo. I somehow took fancy to the idea of becoming a black-belt. Maybe, I saw too many martial arts movies. But when the training started, it was really intense. The warm-up itself used to practically kill us, even before...

The Impact of a Strong Beginning

In my life, the only major career goal for which I had to truly struggle was getting into IIT. IIT made getting into Civil Services so much more doable — most of my classmates who aimed for it also made it. Once in the IPS, the exposure and confidence made it...