warikoo Wanderings

Welcome to another edition of Wanderings. I am back with a poll this week :))
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MOTIVATION IS GARBAGE

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Imagine a friend of yours.
Every time you are eating junk food, sleeping late, binge watching Netflix and YouTube, waking up late, skipping classes or work - this friend is ALWAYS THERE!
But
The minute you have to get something meaningful done,
- like studying for an extra hour today, or working on that presentation, or going to the gym, or restricting your sugar intake, or not drinking/smoking - this friend is NEVER to be found.

Would you be friends with such a person?
No, right?
Then how is it that we are friends with motivation?

Because motivation is EXACTLY this friend.
We always have motivation to eat that extra slice of pizza, watch that extra hour of Netflix/YouTube, sleep those extra 15 minutes.
But the minute we have to go to the gym, motivation is nowhere to be found.
The moment we have to work/study more, motivation escapes us!

Which is why I say (learnt it from Mel Robbins)
MOTIVATION IS GARBAGE!

So then, what's the solution?
How do you feel motivated? It is important. It gets the work done. It is critical for hard tasks.

The answer in my head is "by measuring progress".

Here is how it works.
Imagine you are trying to lose weight.
And you start going to the gym.
Except, this is a rather peculiar gym.
It doesn't have any mirrors.
There is no one except you, when you are working out.
There is no weighing machine to measure your weight.
And there are no measuring tapes, to measure your waist, hips, chest, etc.

I guarantee you - EVEN IF you were losing weight, you will HATE going to the gym.
Why?

Because you cannot measure progress.
You do not know if you are moving ahead or not.
The feeling of progress isn't enough.
We need to see it!

And that is what drives motivation.
Seeing progress.

So the next time you need motivation, it is because you have not set up a mechanism for you to measure progress.

Now, think about where do you lack motivation. And what does measuring progress mean in that?

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BOOK I AM READING THIS WEEK

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This week I am reading a very interesting book
​Rest: Why you get more done when you work less​

It is a very well researched book and challenges our notion of how constant work is NOT leading to more productive outcomes. And how we need to step back, plant moments of reflection and rest in our lives and give our mind and body the time to recharge.

Maybe it is my old age, or the point where I am in life, I am loving the book :))

On that note, I shot a video on "How I read my books (on YouTube)" - which you might like.
And here is a list of 20 books that have helped me the most (on Twitter).

SOME QUOTES TO SHARE

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Daydreaming about a destination is almost always bad.
Daydreaming about a journey is almost always good.
​(Share on Twitter)​

Some companies are so poor that all they can offer their employees is money.
​(Share on Twitter)​

When you catch-up with friends after a really long time, you are basically looking at yourself in the past.
​(Share on Twitter)​

We do not believe most things that we should believe in, simply because they are "too simple".
​(Share on Twitter)​

If you are curious, you are alive. If you are not, you are simply a slave to someone else's curiosity.
​(Share on Twitter)​

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LAST WEEK'S FORM - THIS IS WHO YOU ALL ARE

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Last week, instead of a poll, I shared a form. This form was designed to know more about my newsletter audience.
Here are the findings:

Average Age: 25 years​
Surprising fact for me was that 15% are teenagers
Oldest is a gentleman aged 74 years

Gender: 46% Female; 54% Male
​This is such an incredible ratio and makes me so so happy. Very rare to find this share in the Indian internet space.

Location: 88% India; Rest International
​Within India, 22% Mumbai/Pune; 18% NCR; 8% Bangalore; and then a really long tail across the country.

Current Status: 43% working; 38% Student (college/school)
​7% founders (I expected more); 10% not working

I love this mix. This not just means that the audience is varied, it also means that it is reflective of the actual world outside and not some echo chamber that we are in!

Yay :)

PS: This should also explain why I love conducting these polls. Your responses help me understand the world outside.

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THIS WEEK'S POLL

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If you were to hypothetically lose 100% of your memory, which of these will help you reconstruct who you are, the most?

1. Your family
2. Your friends
3. Social media platforms
4. None of them know me well

To participate in the poll, click here to select your choice and share the reason.

You can always email me, with whatever on your mind.
I read all my emails. ALL MY EMAILS.
​(maine zindagi mein ek bhi IPL match nahi dekha hai - uski kasam! Aur Game of thrones bhi nahi dekha. Aur Sacred Games bhi nahi. Mirzapur bhi nahi. Sachi kasam!)

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All previous editions of my newsletter can be viewed here.​

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