Everyday People

Hi! Thank you for listening. This is episode 130 of Everyday People.Watch on YouTube instead: YouTube.comFollow Rey: https://www.instagram.com/getpokd/Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/vaibhavguptawho/ Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Danos was out for a walk, his mind on a hundred things, most of which were Mareya. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why his wife hated him so much. He wasn't built for the mines. Literally! His thin, lanky frame ached from hammering the rocks all day, and his weak constitution left him coughing and choking on the stone dust in the air. Part of him hated this weak body of his, but at the moment he was too righteous and angry to blame himself. Why did Mareya lust after money so much? They could be so much happier if he could take to the stage-"What was that?" he thought, feeling a sudden, creeping tingle on the back of his neck. He turned around and there wasn't anything. The sensation passed, and his thoughts returned to his wife. Honestly, she had changed so much after they were wed. She used to be such a sweetheart, and now she was almost demonic-There it was again! Something was in the alleys. Danos noticed that the streets were unusually empty today. Usually, there'd at least be a couple of urchins running about looking for trouble. Today, nothing. As he looked around, he couldn't figure out where in the city he was. He must have walked farther than he thought.It was then that he saw an open door. For some reason, he felt compelled to walk towards it. Looking around, he saw no one nearby. "Hello?" he called out, but heard nothing back. The door was beckoning him, and as he stepped through, his foot slipped on a wet surface and he felt himself fall. He let out a scream as he fell down a tunnel of sorts. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like eternities as he continued falling, until he passed out.When he awoke, he was still falling, but gently, and after the terror dissipated, he realized he was floating harmlessly in the air. As soon as he realized it though, he felt the floating feeling vanish and he landed with a small thud. Massaging his butt, he stood up. It was pitch dark around him. He felt the urge to call out, but stopped himself at the last second. Something was clearly wrong. Where was he? Why couldn't he see? More importantly, why wasn't he afraid?He brushed around for some sort of light switch or torch and found nothing. As his eyes began to adjust, he felt the edge of the floor near him. As he turned towards that direction, a bright spotlight lit up in his face, blinding him. He shielded his eyes as the burning sear settled. It was only then that he could see that he was standing on a stage of some sort.A thrill ran through his spine. He couldn't tell why he was excited. By all accounts, he should be terrified, but something inside was spurring him on. That's when the voice rang out."Some fresh blood has joined us on stage. Welcome to the night theater! What is your name, young man?""Danos, sir. Who am I speaking to?" he replied."Welcome Danos," the voice said. "You are at the night theater, the premier artistic institution in all of the shadow realm! Be honest with me, have you always had a desire to be a stage performer?""Yes sir," Danos found himself saying without meaning to. "I've always wanted to take the stage, although I don't have much experience to speak of. But I promise I can be a dab hand, sir! Please give me a chance!""My, my. What enthusiasm!" said the voice. "Just what we love!"Danos didn't understand what he was doing. Inside his head, a part of him was screaming at himself to move, to run, something. But this part of him was becoming smaller and smaller as the voice continued, "We have just the part for you. There's a performance later today, and all we need you to do is stand still. You're a... scarecrow, of sorts. A specimen for the performance. But it is the leading role, the one the audience loves the most. Would you like to take it?"His ears perked up at that word - audience. He felt his heart jump as his mind kept yelling at him to run away. "Why, I would jump at that opportunity, sir!""Good, then we're in agreement." A scroll floated down onto the stage, floating in front of Danos' face, alongside a small pin. "If you could just touch that pin, we'll get you prepared."With the voice of reason in his head diminished to a bare whisper, Danos touched the pin, and it nicked the edge of his thumb, drawing a drop of blood that fell onto the parchment of the scroll. "It is done," said the voice, as the scroll folded up and retreated upwards. The pin settled into the breast pocket of Danos' shirt.The gallery lit up, and for the first time, Danos could see beyond the stage. He saw hundreds of blackwood chairs laid out in a semi-circular pattern ascending up the amphitheater, and at the top were plush diwans of carmine fabric, far larger than any one man could sit on. He guessed each seated six people at least.It is then that his senses returned to him, and he fully comprehended what had happened. "The shadow realm?" he thought to himself. "What have I gotten myself into?"With a hurry in his step, he walked to the edge of the stage and got down. Exiting the amphitheater, Danos rushed through the lobby and out the front door. What greeted him sent shivers down his spine as he became despondent. A desolate landscape, with leafless trees and upturned rock as far as the eye could see. Bony, winged creatures flew low in the sky, carrying crude spears and wearing belts of skulls. Near the edge of the horizon, massive pupae slithered slowly towards unknown directions and the winged creatures circled their heads like so many gnats, poking at them.Not knowing what to do, Danos walked back into the theater and sat in a corner, holding his knees and crying softly to himself. "Mareya... where are you? Where am I?"The spotlight shines down on him as his arms were wide open, a huge smile plastered across his face. The crowd erupts - the noise is shocking. The faceless crowd is loud in its cheering. He’s rooted in place, waiting. He can’t close his eyes. He can’t move. “Lo...ve... lo...ve...” A tear escapes his eye and lands on one of the hundreds of pins in his face and thousands in his body. He thinks to himself, "The...y love... me!"A devilish being walks up to him, wearing a torn, maroon silk suit and a top hat too big for its skull, in a mockery of showmanship. Flourishing five more needles to the roar of the crowd, it sticks them into Danos' neck in a spot where twenty pins already fought for purchase. He feels the pins go in, his skin now numb to the point where pain is an afterthought. "Mareya, if only you could see me now!"There was something about the stage, Danos concluded, that was morphing his mind. He didn't feel any fear, and the pain itself was minimal, a small price to pay for the adulation of this demonic crowd. The diwans at the back weren't for six people, as he'd previously thought, but instead for some of the larger demons, who each towered over twenty feet tall. They were nobility, he guessed.His attention was brought back to the stage as eight more pins went into his face. The crowd roared again.Eventually, the performance ended. The theater emptied, its hellish audience getting their kicks from the torturous display. Danos felt the stiffness in his body release as he was able to move, and with the thousands of needles still in his body, he slowly fell backwards to lie down on the stage.The ethereal voice came back, "Wonderful performance, young man! How do you feel?"Taking a moment of silence, Danos smiled. "When is the next show?"Thank you for reading this story! To receive future stories, subscribe with your email below.If you enjoyed this story, I’d really appreciate a comment below. Feedback is the lifeblood of a writer - do let me know what you thought! Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Hi! Thank you for listening. This is episode 129 of Everyday People.Follow Sanjana: https://www.instagram.com/_yoursoulfully/Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/vaibhavguptawho/ Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Hi! Thank you for listening. This is episode 128 of Everyday People.Follow Neha: https://www.instagram.com/that.zany.martian/Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/vaibhavguptawho/ Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Hi! Thank you for listening. This is episode 127 of Everyday People.Dr Abhinav's Website: https://www.sleepvigilante.com/Dr Abhinav's Talk: YouTube VideoDr Abhinav's Book: https://www.amazon.in/SLEEP-HEAL-Refresh-Restore-Revitalize/dp/1630062340Follow Dr Abhinav: https://www.instagram.com/sleep_vigilante/Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/vaibhavguptawho/My latest short story: https://vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/p/hsalihbas-fascinating-library-trip Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Hi! Thank you for listening. This is episode 126 of Everyday People.Aditya's Blog: https://thesportstales.wordpress.comAditya's Music Recommendation: open.spotify.comAditya's Reading Recommendation: https://medium.com/@bhand-abFollow Aditya: https://www.instagram.com/adi_agrFollow me: https://www.instagram.com/vaibhavguptawhoMy latest short story: https://vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/p/hsalihbas-fascinating-library-trip Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Hi! Thank you for listening. This is episode 125 of Everyday People.Latest story:Follow Nav: https://www.instagram.com/iamnavjain/Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/vaibhavguptawho/ Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you for listening to Hsalihba's Fascinating Library Trip! To read this short story, please come over to my Substack. Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Hi! Thank you for listening. This is episode 124 of Everyday People.Latest blog post: https://vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/p/ive-been-re-exploring-my-relationshipFollow Palash: https://www.instagram.com/palashmax/Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/vaibhavguptawho/ Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you for listening to Everyday People, and thank you for sharing it with a friend! 😄 Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Everyday People, where people balance work and life every day.Thank you for listening and sharing this podcast with your friends. 😁 Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Read the story here. Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

I got a chance to go to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at a WWE show in Hyderabad India. Here's why it meant so much to me. If you like this, come see vaibhavguptawho.com. Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you for listening and sharing this podcast with your friends. 😄All the clips are on my Instagram@thoroughandunkempt. Click a link below. Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Everyday People, where people balance work and life every day.Thank you for listening and sharing this podcast with your friends. 😄 Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Everyday People, where people balance work and life every day.Thank you for listening and sharing this podcast with your friends. 😄What’s new with TxUThis past week, I wrote a short blog about my decision to stop trying to read for pleasure. I’m gaming instead, and I discuss why they’re comparable hobbies.I’ve been making week-long to-do lists for a while, but it’s been on-again, off-again. This year, I’m trying to do it weekly, and I thought it’d be interesting to share insights from that here.3 things I learned from Week 2:* I started off hot in the week and then slowed down. Fatigue management is super important, especially as items get added to the list later.* Maybe I should count my habits, because they’re effort items - workouts, journal, and language learning.* The 46% completion seems low, but some of the remaining items are low-effort items that just didn’t get done, while a huge-priority item got done. I should look at balancing the difficulty of items that get added to the list.Thorough and Unkempt is a reader-supported publication. Thanks for becoming a free or paid subscriber!Everyday People with Sourav DasSourav Das is a textile designer and revivalist in the Indian fashion space, and has his own brand, Label Sourav Das.On the influence of art on him:I started like going from my music classes, like vocal classes. I did Hindustani classical music for almost 17 years when I was in schooling. Yeah, that was the time I was simultaneously going for musical classes. I also had a brief introduction to Odissi. I am also a dance practitioner. I love dance and music and designing. Then also I had a diploma in fine Arts.So it was an amalgamation of all sorts of maybe odd mediums which were available at that point of time. So I always have thought of bridging every art form that the soul carries in itself. And then to come up with a sense of aesthetics - getting sensitized to every medium, and creating something which is me, which is mine.On his work experience:So after my post-graduation, I started working with Gaurav, who is also a very affluent textile designer of this country. I worked with him for a couple of years and I got a chance to work with Mr. Sabyasachi Mukherjee. I was a design associate at Sabyasachi for a few years.And then after working for renowned fashion brands of our country, I thought of chasing my idea of designing in my own way, with full liberty. Because I also hold a certain sense of aesthetics, which I didn't get a chance to explore working for other big brands.So I thought of just starting it in a very humble way. Most artistic minds end up doing something of their own because what keeps pushing us is the liberty of chasing art the way we want to. This is why I left and started my own venture. It’s been two and a half years.On being admired and recommended by Geetanjali Gondhale (EP 110):(laughs) I think Geetanjali di is biased about me. Like, we have been more like brother and sister since years. I call her Didi and it's been a beautiful bonding since the time we met. We met at an exhibition in Bombay and then we just had a random chat.I don't know with passing time how this bond has become so strong and firm. Every time we would do some art projects, we would discuss with each other, whether with her jewellery-making or my textile-weaving. We love to discuss our thought process on artistic ideas with each other.It gives us so much satisfaction getting views from one another and implementing those ideas in our process. Because what I see in Geetanjali and probably Geetanjali di also sees in me is the aesthetics, the understanding of aesthetics; the closing your eyes and totally believing in somebody else's work. This is the bonding which has brought us very close together.And that is when they talk about the work. But as a person also, she's like, so perfect. She's the face of perfection to me. And I totally adore her as a person with a good heart. So kind, so compassionate.On balancing hours as an entrepreneur:Well, that's a very corporate way of thinking. Like how many hours you are working and how many hours you’re giving to your personal life. But trust me, me being a creative (or any creative person), it is some sort of work which is never enough. Even though we are not physically working, there would be something which is constantly going on in our mind.So maybe there will be always a doodle diary in front of us, note making. It keeps happening throughout, even though we are munching, we're in a cafe sitting there, talking to friends. Something still goes on [in our mind]. It's never enough - deriving inspiration from everywhere, jotting down notes, implementing.On reviving older styles of textiles:Recently I'm working on something called Charkhana. [It has] the design nuances which have been practiced in Banaras earlier. So today the idea of Banarasi sari is to have some floral or curvy patterns to it. It is mostly about decorative elements which are more curvy and floral.But Chaukara or Charkhana is something which is a design language or design vocabulary, which is very much linear in terms of its pattern and designing. More geometric. So this was something which was there earlier, but very few people have made those.And I thought of recreating those because these weren’t introduced to a wider scale of people, because Banarasi as a cluster, as a textile tradition, was only accessible to the noble class.On adding art to your life:Earth is still a livable place only because of art. Everything is beautiful because an artist exists. He makes a life entertaining and gives us a hope to live again. Otherwise life would have been so materialistic.We are human beings. Even animals enjoy music and whatever artistic is there in nature. So any form of art definitely gives you more willpower, I feel. And I've seen this in many artists - artists of great excellence who have been at this for years and practicing it religiously - they have better willpower than a commoner.Sourav’s Recs:See his work on Instagram: @labelsouravdasSourav recommends the following artists in the Drupad space:* Gundecha Brothers (see below)* Uday Bhavalkar* Pelva NaikLetters to MyselfHello Vaibhav,We’re in the third week of the year, which is where the motivation starts to drop precipitously. I’ve been battling some illness, some long-pending work, and a lot of fatigue.Yesterday, I was getting ready to go to the gym and I fell asleep somehow. I woke up four hours later, drooling over myself, unsure what had happened.And yet, I see things happening. A lot of the show, the journaling, everything I’m doing - these are all reflective in nature. I see things happening because I’m paying attention.It’s so easy to stop trying because we sometimes aren’t able to look past the fatigue of effort and see what has been added back into our lives. I feel very blessed that I’m able to look at myself and see what I am, not just what I’m chasing.Looking ahead constantly,Vaibhav.Last week: Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Everyday People, where people balance work and life every day.Thank you for listening and sharing this podcast with your friends. 😄What’s new with you, TxU?The blogs have started coming in for the year. This past week, I published the system I use to make New Year’s Resolutions actually useful. I also made a worksheet for you to use to make the system your own!I’ve been making weekly to-do lists for a while, but it’s been on-again, off-again. This year, I’m trying to do it weekly, and I thought it’d be interesting to share insights from that here.3 things I learned from Week 1:* Trying to do 2 list items a day works well for me. This is on top of daily habits.* Accounting for everything you do makes it easier to fit new items into your schedule. You can’t do new things without cutting out something else you’re already doing, even if what you’re already doing is unproductive.* I’m very satisfied with a 68% completion rate. That’s 11 items that I may not have done without my plan. Lists are there to help me, not to make me ashamed of myself for not meeting arbitrary standards of productivity.Thorough and Unkempt is a reader-supported publication. Thanks for becoming a free or paid subscriber!Everyday People with Benoy StephenBenoy Stephen is one of the founders of Y-Ultimate, a non-profit organization that proliferates the sport of Ultimate Frisbee. Benoy himself is an athlete in the sport, and his organization works with communities to give children and young athletes another platform to grow. We had this conversation towards the end of 2022.Highlights from this conversation will be posted on Instagram.com/thoroughandunkempt.This blog post will be updated with highlights shortly.Benoy’s Recs:Follow @yultimate_org on Instagram to see the latest from them.Benoy recommended this Malayali rock song as something that helps him reflect on what is important. The title translates to “Who am I?”From the band’s soundcloud: Njan Aara (who am I?) is a song about ones identity, in this case, while introspecting matters of the heart. In the rhythmic beating of the heart one understands hidden thoughts. When one’s dreams are warmed by love, the mind wishes to awake to all things new. Old thoughts are burnt away like senescent leaves as a fire spreads rapidly through one’s senses.Keep the flame burning. Even when there is no hope and dark thoughts threaten to loom and build a fortress around the mind, even if sunshine is but a distant memory; know yourself and you will be able to find a way to accept a crown of thorns and swim tirelessly in troubled waters.Thorough and Unkempt is a reader-supported publication. Thanks for becoming a free or paid subscriber!Letters to MyselfHello Vaibhav,There’s a very real meta-thread that runs in my head about everything. I think about the way I think, and the energy that I attribute to this show and other things I create takes up a non-zero number of hours every week.I realize that I want to be more specific and share stories here, because even though these are letters to myself, they are out there for others to read, so let’s reflect on a couple of specifics.On Christmas day 2022, I was in Pondicherry on a vacation with my best friend. I got to go into the ocean no less than three times. It was everything.I am a beach guy, always have been. There is nothing as beautiful as the ocean - an infinite expanse right in front of us. The stars are far away, the water is at our feet, calling us in.When I stood in the water, with every retreating wave, it felt like every slight, every emotion, every thought was being pulled away from me, one by one. The Infinite laughs at your problems; it takes them and turns them into salt crystals.At some point in my life, I want to live in a beach city. I want that sometime to be in my thirties, and I think I’m going to start working towards making that happen. I want to let the ocean pull everything out of me. It’ll be exciting to see what emerges afterwards.Oceanchild,Vaibhav.Last week: Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Everyday People, a show featuring the admirable people all around us. Here are your timestamps:* 00:00 What’s new with you, TxU?* 09:00 Everyday People w. Luvena Rangel* 01:12:16 Letters to MyselfEveryday People — Luvena RangelLuvena Rangel is a yoga teacher-trainer and runs The Curvy Yogi. She’s also a single mother of three. We had a fantastic conversation about the appeal of teaching, being extroverts and communicators, and financial literacy.Highlights from this conversation will be posted on Instagram.com/thoroughandunkempt.Luvena’s Recs:* curvyyogime.wordpress.com* luvenarangel.wordpress.com* luvenasreads.wordpress.com* https://www.facebook.com/curvyyogime/* https://in.linkedin.com/in/luvenarangelThorough and Unkempt is a reader-supported publication. Thanks for becoming a free or paid subscriber!Letters to MyselfHello Vaibhav,Another new year has started, and I am coming into it with a clean bill of health. I feel excited.But my excitement is muted, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s just caution. As I enter undisputed adulthood AKA my thirties, I find that all excitement is tempered with caution.I’ve learned this from the people around me, from people on the internet. It feels like it’s taboo to express unfettered enthusiasm because things go wrong so quickly. There’s always a reason to feel bad, or gloomy, or cautious.But for now at least, I have goals again to distract me. I’ve made my New Year Resolutions, I’ve made my quarter plan. I wake up joyous, though sore as s**t. I’m willing to try erasing this taboo of enthusiasm, and instead of caution, approach it with grace.There’s always a reason to feel bad, but by practicing grace, I am ready to feel genuinely excited again.2022 was good to me, and I’m looking forward to reading through my journals and my previous letters, and summarize what I learned. And I’m looking forward even more to new things, new experiences, and new people.Looking forward to new,Vaibhav. Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Everyday People, a show featuring the admirable people all around us. Here are your timestamps:* 00:00 What’s new with you, TxU?* 03:18 Everyday People w. Hina Agarwal* 01:09:50 Mailbag* 01:12:20 Letters to MyselfHi! This is the last episode of the year.Thorough and Unkempt is a reader-supported publication. Thanks for becoming a free or paid subscriber!What’s new with you, TxU?This week’s blog:Everyday People — Hina AgarwalHina is a manager in a SaaS startup in Bangalore, managing the customer success team and operations in India. She is also my colleague. We sat down for this conversation after 6 months of me chasing her and finally “putting her in a chokehold” by taking her laptop and blocking her calendar.We recorded this in a cafe, so apologies for the background noise.Quotes from the conversation:On maintaining friendships as an adult:Fortunately I have a lot of people who are very close to me. I have friends from school, which I finished in 2004! One of my best friends [is someone] I met in 2002. We do a lot of trips together. We are stupid together, although we think we’re very intelligent. I have a lot of friends who go back 15-20 years.Obviously not everybody lives close by, but we’re well-connected, and you can feel that connection. Any person that you can laugh with, without being judged, is a friend that lasts.On gardening as a hobby:I grew up in a small town (Meerat in UP). When you’re not from a Tier 1 city, then you end up living in big houses. I had a garden, which I did not do anything to maintain. It was my parents doing it, and we had a gardener. But we had hundreds of plants.I am very close to nature. That’s possibly why I can spend time on my own. I just moved into my own home last year, and before that I was on rent. But I always had a huge collection of plants. It makes you happy to look at greenery around you.Something that surprises me is that they need such little care. A little bit of sunlight, some water, and they’re good. They’re flourishing. As people, you need a hundred things every day to get by. The simplicity of [plants] is refreshing.On her work-life balance now in her mid-thirties:I don't think of a work-life balance and things like that. Now when I'm working, it’s only a part of my life.But it is a pretty major part of my life because I'm spending most of my time working. That's something which I keep in mind, not to cause me stress, but because I am responsible for some things.Also I have pretty good people to work with. My manager is amazing and is a friend. When you're working and you can talk about things apart from work, then it's obviously good. If you can't have friends at work, it's not going to last.So now [work] flows well. I know what I’m good at, and what I need help with. In the initial bits of my career, it was very difficult for me to ask for help, because I wanted to figure everything out on my own. Because that's what makes a strong, independent woman. Now that feels overrated, you become that over time. It's not something that you need to be super serious about.Now I just want to just to make sure that I'm also able to provide the help I received. Sometimes [people] just want to talk it out, and maybe family or friends are not the right people because they don’t understand the space. So then you need friends at work. That’s something which Singular has also given me where I can express myself.On her relationship with money:Like with everything else, I think I've become more comfortable with it. I have always been responsible with money. I am not a spendthrift, but I have also not been somebody who has run out of money by the end of the month, even in my student days. And I'm also somebody like who will spend on others.I'm not somebody who is very hung up on always going to fancy places or spending on brands. So that helps save money. *laughs*My father used to work in a bank and he was the only one working and raising the entire family, and taking care of everything. Even though he was working in a bank, I think the only time he took a loan was possibly for when he was building his home. And I think a small one for his car.We were just surviving on one person salary, right? So there was always this notion that you have to use it very, very wisely. And because of that, he did not even let us take an education loan. So everything which I did, it was sponsored by my father, which is great. Like even my MBA was done. Otherwise I would have [struggled with a] loan with an extremely huge rate.That's what he taught us. You have to be good enough with what you are doing, what you are making. There’s a saying in Hindi, “jitni chaadar utne pair” (Your legs should only be as long as your blanket). So you have to be wise with what you're doing.(This is all from the first 20 minutes of the conversation! Listen to the podcast for more like this.)Hina’s recs:A travel channel Hina enjoys is Ronnie and Barty. She strongly recommends it as something you can just watch again and again.MailbagSend your letters for the show by commenting below, or by emailing vaibhavguptawho@substack.com.Where do you see yourself in 5 years?This question used to be the cliche interview question, but nobody asks it anymore. Planning 5 years ahead is no longer feasible, not in your professional life nor your personal life.If you do want to plan ahead, I suggest trying a year long deadline at most. Also, try creating a vision board - a collection of images that inspire the goals you want to set. That gives you a visual tool to help you plan better.Thorough and Unkempt is a reader-supported publication. Thanks for becoming a free or paid subscriber!Letters to MyselfHello Vaibhav,I’m ending the year happy, but burnt out. It’s such a strange experience.Happiness feels so fragile. It’s hard not to treat happiness as the absence of discomfort. The moment something goes wrong, I’m no longer “happy”.This has been an incredible year for me. I turned thirty. I took my first-ever solo trip. I planned, though could not execute, international travel. I restarted Everyday People as a podcast. I became leaner, healthier, and more stable. I learned, I taught, I made people laugh. Loneliness started to mean less, and being social became easier.And yet as I approach the finish line, I find myself flagging again, not enjoying the things I loved, not wanting to do anything, not wanting to chase more.Happiness feels so fragile, but when I loosen my grip on it, it doesn’t break as easily. I’m not happy, and that’s okay. You don’t have to be happy. Just be.We do things because we want to do them, and this year, that has never been more true. We do things because nothing matters, so we might as well pass the time and smile along the way. Who said happiness has to be the goal? We will continue to chase newness, because then happiness comes right back, kowtowing us to take it along for the ride.Let happiness chase us. We’re done running behind anybody.Not a chaser,Vaibhav. Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Everyday People, a show featuring the admirable people all around us. Here are your timestamps:* 00:00 What’s new with you, TxU?* 01:22 Everyday People w. Dr Anoosha* 56:00 Mailbag* 59:00 Letters to MyselfWrite in to the show: https://forms.gle/MCZZic3h6vTDXriF8Thorough and Unkempt is a reader-supported publication. Thanks for becoming a free or paid subscriber!What’s new with you, TxU?This week’s blog:Bonus podcast:Everyday People — Dr. Anoosha N ShastryDr. Anoosha is an ayurvedic doctor from Bangalore, currently residing in Munich. She is also a professional Bharatnatyam dancer with 25 years of experience and a Masters degree.Her research deals with integrating holistic sciences like ayurveda, yoga, and dance in pain management, especially in post-surgical recovery.Quotes from the conversation:Why she chose pain management for her research:There is no person who doesn’t have pain - physical, mental, emotional - some or the other pain will always be there. I chose pain management because of personal experience.I’ve been connected to dance and yoga since I was six. I met with an accident and had pain and it kept me away from everything I loved. Fortunately at that time, I was in the final year of an internship, and I asked, “why not look at it from a medical perspective?”On her relationship with the stage:I love being on stage! With dance and performance, I went on stage at a very young age. I’ve been the MC for the Ministry of Ayush and hosting global wellness meets, and so on. Theatre, dance, and MCing - it’s wonderful.I drive my energy from the butterflies in my stomach, and once they’re resolved, it’s meditative to be on stage.On principles she wants to follow for yourself:Staying true to yourself, believing in yourself, and handling bad situations gracefully. My father once told me [the last one]. To accept every situation is something that is a huge principle for me.You do not need to mask yourself to achieve things. The same sun that hardens clay, melts ice - [situations are different for different people].On her mental health:Ups and downs with mental health is something everybody goes through and I’m not exception. Especially with a lot of changes - professionally, personally, change in country, in work. To handle all these situations [was stressful]. That’s when those principles I mentioned helped.Now that I look back, I don’t think I handled it very neatly… but I don’t have a lot of regrets. The struggle is still real, but I’m in a better place now.Dr. Anoosha’s recs:* Instagram: @sanatana_akademie* http://sanatanaakademie.com/* Facebook (page and closed support group)MailbagSend your letters for the show by commenting below, or by emailing vaibhavguptawho@substack.com.Abhilash - What, if any, is the impact and importance of literary fiction on designing one's life?I think it’s paramount. As we go through life, it is important for us to travel and engage with different cultures so that we can see how many of our rules are made up and so that we can overcome some of our cultural biases and conservatisms.Not everybody can travel though, and reading is a cheap and comprehensive way to travel. When you read non-fiction, you read accounts from people all over the world and learn new things.And when you read fiction, you read what is possible and how creators put their hopes and dreams into new worlds where the problems of this one don’t exist. What does a world like that look like? What can we learn from it. This sort of input is helps us overcome our shortsightedness and expand our horizons.Thorough and Unkempt is a reader-supported publication. Thanks for becoming a free or paid subscriber!Letters to MyselfHello Vaibhav,I’ve been unwell. I don’t know if it’s an illness, or if it’s just fatigue. I find myself coasting through days, working or playing or creating, without much attachment to any of it.On one hand, that’s good! Dispassion is a friend of consistency, and to have been able to be consistent (up to a reasonable standard, not my insane one) has filled me with some joy and some pride in myself. This is what I’ve wanted for all of this year.On the other hand, dispassion is not a lifestyle I want to live. I want to enjoy everything I’m doing, and that’s really hard if I’m doing a lot. Finding true balance still remains an unachieved goal. I wonder what balance is, because it sounds really boring.I am going to sleep a lot this week, because sometimes sleep is the best reset. Remember that. As much as possible, sleep. Recover. From there, you will find a foundation to not just chase achievements, but to actually enjoy them.Zombie walking through time,Vaibhav. Get full access to Thorough and Unkempt at vaibhavguptawho.substack.com/subscribe