2023 - The Worst Best Year
How I survived 2023 and more..
Hello hello folks!
How are you all doing? Taking resolutions, looking at last year’s goals and buying gym memberships I assume. Standard stuff that makes us happy.
I really hope this year went well for you and you got everything you ever wished for. 🫶🏻 Also, I am really grateful for all of you who read this newsletter which is very inconsistent and is very candid. I somehow relate you liking these issues to you liking me and that is my way of coping with life 😂.
I have been writing this newsletter for 2.5 years now and have sent such new year updates twice. You can check them out here and see how much I have changed over the years - This is the 2021 version, and this is the 2022 version.
So, what exactly happened this year? How did it make me feel and how did I react to it? 👀
Summary - The year where it all started
Here’s a quick summary of things that happened to me and things that I tried this year:
Started the year with a scam in Pondicherry 😂. It was not pleasant at that time, but now it’s just a funny incident.
Wrapped up things at Crework in January and declared that we won’t run cohorts for an indefinite time. Why? That’s a long story.
Joined a gym for the first time and took an annual membership (ik ik). I was even consistent for the first 3 months, trust me.
Went to Gokarna with my friends and it was good. It was freaking hot for February, but it was good.
Completed 5 years in a happy relationship with the love of my life. The only bet in my life that has compounded so well. ❤️
Went to Goa on a company offsite and chilled a lot with the good folks of Procedure. Well, mostly with Sahil.
My anxiety came back, sooo... Then I read this amazing book and realized that I really need professional help, so took that. Therapy gang ftw. 🚀
Dealt with my “emotional state” for 2 months and finally got a bit better. After much self reflection, I decided to give Crework another try. Started the cohorts again with new energy and a better direction.
Went to Mumbai for the first time for a work thing and actually enjoyed it. Still don’t have much of an opinion on the city, but maybe a longer stay would change that.
Shikshita joined me as a co-founder in July and we did our first paid Builders Cohort. That sweet revenue hit the bank. 😆
Turned 25 in August :) Now I have 5 years but really no wish to appear in the 30 under 30 list. How things have changed in the last 1 year.
Built and launched 2 side products - Focus Hours and Pawpal. Both the products got a lot of love from the users. Launched another one for Crework today - 30 Days of PM.
Started a fitness challenge with Sahil and Manthan to be consistent in the gym for 12 weeks. Broke the streak after 5 weeks of consistency. Reason - I came back home from BLR.
Dealt with a lot of health issues this year, even though this was the year where I focused the most on my health. What kind of an irony is that?
Read 8 books this year, and currently reading the 9th. Finding it hard to complete this one.
Read 2 Murakami books this year, so that was something new.
Met some amazing people this and also met some online friends irl.
Left my full time job to work on Crework, which is now an incorporated company that I am really bullish on (I mean, obviously). 🎉 What a turn of events in under 12 months, right? 😂
Currently, I am much much happier than I have been in a long time and I am surprisingly very optimistic about the future.
Learnings from everything
Don’t give up on something just because it got hard and you don’t want to try. Think about all the scenarios, the goals you have and how big the current problem is. Most probably, you are one deep work session away from a meaningful conclusion or solution.
Life has a meaning, yes. But it’s not the same for everyone. You define it, you shape it and you fulfill it. Don’t let yourselves be influenced by someone else’s idea of “meaning of life”.
Avoidance is easy and often the default response to the problems we face. Accept things, it will make your life easier. Acceptance is hard, just like avoidance is easy. They are 2 sides of the same coin.
I know it’s a cliché, but you don’t realize how things that you were taught in your childhood still affect you as an adult. We don’t question them because we believe that they are a part of our life now and hence a part of who we are, but maybe we should.
It’s always better to have those hard conversations, ask that question you are uncertain about and to take those risky bets. The worst case scenario is that nothing will change or maybe you will get hurt, but at least you will never wonder “What if I would have done that?”
Save money, a lot of it. You need to have a few months expense as liquid money with you at all times. Also, invest in Mutual Funds. (Disclaimer - This is my learning, not a financial advice)
Invest in tools, courses, learnings and experiences. If you can spend 500 Rs on a pizza, you can spend 1000 Rs on a course too. Think long term.
There comes a point in your “work life” at a company where you start hating the work. One clear indicator is that every text from someone in your team or your manager triggers a negative emotion. Rectify that ASAP or leave that place.
Stay away from Instagram reels as a user but you should definitely use it if you are a business.
A kinda broke but optimistic Ishant is better than a kinda rich but hopeless Ishant.
Conclusion
This year went by really fast. I don’t know how to make sense of it, but saying that “a lot” has changed would be an understatement. Everything has changed. At the beginning of the year, I made a list of goals for myself and a KPI sheet to track my “performance” over the year.
Well, let’s just say that I would not be sharing those results in public.
In the end, I just want to wish you all a very happy and beautiful New Year. May this year be THE YEAR you have always waited for. May this year be the year that changes your life and brings you closer to love, life and happiness. 🤗
Now I will see you next year I guess, haha.
To end this piece, couldn’t find anything better than this collage representing 2023 in pictures ❤
️Peace out and I will see you all next year✌🏻
For the Win 🥂
Happy to have found you here, and actually really enjoyed your writing! Keep it up!