I lug the 70 lb dumbbells, drop them in front of me, brace myself, and set the timer. As I lift them and walk around the gym in circles, I get weird stares. “Why’s he just carrying them around instead of working out with them?”, they must be thinking.

But little do they know I was indeed working out, performing one of the hardest and most beneficial exercises there is. As I feel my forearms burning, upper back fatiguing, and grip failing, I drop the dumbbells.

As I wipe away the heavy perspiration and chug some water, I wonder, “This…

My love for reading first began when I was a preschooler and my mom read to me before bed. Every night, I would doze off lost in my imagination of mischievous goblins, talking animals, and glistening treasures.

My reading journey began with children's magazines. I still vividly remember how I would jump in glee whenever my monthly copies of Tinkle, Chandamama, and Champak were delivered.

Well, we’ve come a long way since then.

Over the course of the years, I have devoured hundreds of books across different genres — fantasy fiction, mystery, classic fiction, philosophy, psychology, history, etc.

Of the…

When the quarantine first started, the prospect of having to spend all day locked up at home loomed largely. I wasted away the first few weeks gaming, watching YouTube on autoplay, and scrolling through social media feeds for the most part.

I remember sitting on my haunches every evening and sifting through my contacts to find someone, anyone to call. I had become bored of being bored.

Fed up, I decided to make the most out of the situation. I discovered new passions such as writing on Medium and rekindled old ones such as reading.

Before I even knew it…

When I started writing online, one of the first things I noticed was the sheer number of articles on how to write good articles. As I devoured all the writing advice I could find, I soon found myself in the middle of a tug of war— for every piece of advice, there was someone else advising the exact opposite.

Write and publish like a freight train vs craft each piece with meticulous effort. Use vague clickbaity titles vs honest clear titles. Good formatting to make the article shine vs minimal formatting to make the writing shine. …

Questions are an integral part of any conversation, and the questions you ask can make or break a conversation. Here are two sample conversations to illustrate:

Conversation A

You: Hey bro! Long time. How are you?

X: Hey, man! I’m great. What about you?

You: I’m doing fine as well. So, had breakfast?

X: Not yet. I just woke up. How about you?

You: I did. Woke up this late? What time did you sleep last night?

X: Around 2 AM. I was playing Valorant late into the night.

You: Oh, I used to game but haven’t heard of this one. …

A piece of advice that self-improvement gurus and “successful” people around the world don’t seem to tire of shouting is, “Follow your passion.” Just one Google search and millions of results will present themselves.

But just like most other famous quotes, I’ve realized over the years that this inspiring and romantic quote is actually poor advice for the real world.

First, There’s No “One” Passion

As a middle-schooler, I was extremely fond of sketching. Nothing used to offer me more joy than bending over a sheet of paper for hours and pouring life into my imagination. …

I’ve had my fair share of addictions in life and the same method has helped me overcome each one of them.

In my first year of college, I was addicted to anime. I would stay glued to my laptop late into the night, going to bed as late as 4 AM and waking up the next afternoon, only to continue the binge. With munchies for company, I put on a lot of weight as well.

With a deathly pallor, deep bags under my eyes, and a paunch, I not only looked but also felt like shit.

I eventually quit it…

I sink back into my chair and mutter to myself in disbelief, “No way! This can’t be true. How can free will not exist?” Determined to prove that free will existed, I fire up my laptop and think, “Now, I just have to do something completely out of my own volition and in no way influenced by any external or internal factor.”

I feel like reading, but I choose not to and watch YouTube instead. Was that a free decision? No, wanting to prove the existence of free will made me deliberately do something I didn’t feel like doing.

“What…