On Resetting Your Life
You know, for a long time, life wasn’t just okay - it was pretty damn good.
I’d wrapped up college at the top of my class, landed a solid job with great pay, cool coworkers, and got to connect with folks from all over the globe. From 2019 onward, it felt like I was on this fast-moving train - climbing the career ladder, my family was happy, and I was ticking off my own little goals. I hadn’t cracked the whole “life purpose” thing yet, but honestly, who was sweating it? Things were going well.
Then, without me even realizing it, life slid into autopilot.
I remember exactly when it hit me - August 2024, the long Independence Day weekend. No deadlines, no meetings - just me, a cup of coffee, and my phone. Suddenly, a memory popped up on Google Photos from my college days.
I started scrolling (Big mistake)
There I was - younger me, wide-eyed and buzzing with excitement about everything. I flashed back to high school when economics first caught my attention, and I felt this rush with every new idea. Heck, I even thought I’d invented a few microeconomic theories, only to find out the textbooks had beaten me to it.
Somewhere between then and now, I’d lost that spark.
Part of it was life’s curveballs. Part of it was losing my dad to COVID in 2021. I buried myself in work to fill the emptiness, but it just made me feel numb.
One day, I asked myself the hardest question ever:
“Am I actually living on purpose?”
Spoiler alert: nope.
So after months of wrestling with that reality, I quit my job in April 2025. Not to chase some Instagram influencer dream or jet off across the world - just to hit the reset button.
It’s been messy. Uncomfortable. Sometimes downright scary. But through it all, I’ve cycled through four feelings that now make up my personal reset routine.
1. Pressure
The second I stepped off the treadmill, pressure showed up.
Everyone around me was buying houses, cars, and going on fancy trips. Me? I’d stepped off the ride. Out of panic, I even applied for some jobs. But deep down, I knew I wasn’t chasing those gigs - I was running from fear.
So I flipped the script: pressure wasn’t about catching up; it was about finding my own guiding star. For me, that means pursuing an MBA at a top school in India.
Billie Jean King’s words ring in my ears:
“Pressure is a privilege.”
2. Clarity
Once I stopped resisting, things started to make sense.
I saw what I wanted and, more importantly, why.
3. Focus
But clarity alone isn’t enough - you’ve gotta have focus.
At first, quitting felt like a holiday - long walks, lazy mornings. But soon, “rest” started to feel like I was stuck. I had to nudge myself back to my goals, over and over.
4. Happiness
And finally, happiness.
Not the flashing promotion kind, but the quiet, deep kind - the kind that comes when you’re living on purpose.
Turns out, this isn’t a one-off deal.
It’s a cycle:
Pressure → Clarity → Focus → Happiness → repeat.
Every time through, I get a little closer to that younger me — and a little closer to the person I want to be.
So if you feel like you’re just drifting, maybe ask yourself:
“Am I living intentionally?”
You might not love the answer. But hey, at least it’s a start.