Turning 32

I remember starting to write a blog about turning 30 two years back but never ended up finishing it. As I turned two years older few days back, I had the same idea so here goes.

These are just random thoughts in my head and hopefully a fun read.

• It feels old. I read a lot of tweets and articles of how folks are embracing getting older — well hasn’t happened for me as yet. I miss being carefree, not thinking about money, not getting up with a hangover after a night of drinking. All of this might sound trivial but that’s where I am at.
• I feel more confident and settled in my career which is a big plus. I don’t feel the need to be learning/doing something new every couple of years. I value the opportunities that I have got and want to keep getting better in what I do rather than taking up something completely new. I am a lot more ambitious.
• I have always loved working out and running and thankfully I am still at it. Yes, I think a lot more about eating less and healthy but I will count that as a positive change.
• I think a lot more about ‘what if’ — I almost moved to Toronto a year back and have always thought about setting outside India but for some reasons haven’t made the move yet. At 25, I would have made a decision and not looked back but the fact that time might be running out plays on my mind. Same with relationships.
• I do things that make me happy without caring about what others will think. I feel a lot more settled with who I am. I think this is the coolest version of me.
• I never did my masters which is ok. I was never good at classroom studies anyway. Making new set of friends in grad school would have been nice but its fine.
• I have been lucky enough to have traveled quite a bit. Anyone and everyone who is not doing this for whatever reason — you are losing out. Some of my best travel memories have been experiences — football match, concert, sky diving, road trips.
• A lot of my friends have started having kids and planning families which is great — I am not even close.
• I miss having long hair.
• I have started saying ‘No’ a lot more. My professional and non professional decisions have a common theme — weighing the upside vs the downside. High upside with a low downside is the best place to be in.
• Earning more than what I used to does not mean I think less about money. This is an area I need to improve at for sure.
• I still hate getting up in the morning and continue to be a late riser.
• I have started liking coffee. It’s not like I can’t start my mornings without it but I look forward to 10 mins of quiet before the madness begins. I still don’t care for tea.
• I don’t remember the last time I read fiction. Autobiographies, books on business/startups is what I have been reading last 3–4 years.
• Staying close to work and not wasting time on a long commute has been my single biggest learning in the last 18 months. Go for it even if it means paying more rent money.
• I started a company when I was 26 and had a great ride for 3 years. Sometimes I think I have one more venture left in me. At 26 it was an overnight decision to jump into it. Not the same at 32.
• Living close to you parents (in the same city in my case) and visiting once every couple of weeks is great.
• A day of doing nothing — watching Netflix, ordering in food is a great day.
• I have now been working for over 10 years and have worked in 3 organisations but have only come across 3–4 people (peers, bosses) that I truly look up to. Hold on to the ones that inspire you.
• Always be helping others and be honest. Even if it means saying things that people don’t want to hear. Professionally, the world is a very small place. Listen to all the feedback that you can get — not all of it will be right but that’s fine.