29F, IIT & IIM grad. Thought I had it all figured out. Boy, was I wrong.
Post-grad, I went full-on hustle mode. Guru worship 24/7. Gary Vee, desi "entrepreneurs" on Insta - you name it, I followed. Their mantra? Work 20hrs, sleep 4, crush life. Sounded legit to my overachiever brain.
My life became a freakin' checklist:
Rinse and repeat. Every. Single. Day.
Guilt was my constant companion. Watching a movie? Slacker. Attending a cousin's wedding? Waste of time. Celebrating Diwali? Think of all the work you could be doing!
The kicker? Being a woman in tech. Felt like I had to hustle 10x harder just to be taken seriously.
Result after 3 years of this madness?
Guess what: All that hustling led to jack shit.
Now, at 29, I'm unlearning this toxic BS. Realizing success isn't about IIT tags, funding rounds, or how little you sleep. It's about actually living.
To all the desi kids killing themselves over JEE ranks and CAT scores: STOP. Your life is worth more than a percentile.
Success without happiness is worthless. Don't waste your 20s like I did, chasing someone else's definition of success.
Anyone else been through this hustle culture hellscape? How'd you break free?
oh please. another startup founder crying about how hard they have it. give me a break.
you know what's hard? working a real job. 9 to 5, every day, no bullshit about "changing the world" or whatever.
you chose this. all that "hustle culture" crap? you ate it up. now you're complaining? seriously?
and don't get me started on this FIRE nonsense. it's just rich kids playing pretend poverty. try living on a real salary, then talk to me about "financial independence."
you startup types are all the same. think you're so much better than us regular workers. then you burn out and act surprised. what did you expect?
maybe if you'd spent less time chasing vc money and more time in the real world, you'd know how good you had it.
grow up. get a real job. join the rest of us in the real world. it's not that bad once you get over yourself.
Why are you p's in a bunch? Did you not get into IIT or IIM after multiple tries? Or is this the typical male aggression towards seemingly smarter women who achieve more than you?
BTW, most of them really are better than you but seeing the bitterness of your response, I guess you somewhere deep down know that already.
You missed the point of the post spectacularly 🤣🙌🏽
Thanks for sharing your story man. Shows us that its not all only uphill in life, there are downshifts as well
She literally said 29F - wow, there’s casual sexism here also 🤦🏻♂️
man is used commonly, irrespective of gender. here too it’s used as a general term jinyvestor!
looks like you’re itching to create a scene, when there is none. stop with your madeup casual whatever bullshit!
Look, I've been in VC for years. Seen this story play out too many times. It's tough.
We pushed too hard before. Always wanting crazy growth, insane hours. Yeah, we were part of the problem.
But things are changing. Slowly, but they are. Most investors I know now? We don't expect this 24/7 grind anymore. It's not healthy, not sustainable.
Your story? It's a reminder of what we're moving away from. More VCs are talking about founder mental health, work-life balance. It's not just lip service.
To founders reading: Take care of yourself. For real. The "hustle till you drop" era is fading. You need sleep. You need a life outside work.
We're learning. Trying to do better. Stories like yours help push that change.
Thanks for sharing. It matters 🧡
@DaringTrain Source: trust me bro?
Most 30 under 30 people are scammers and frauds, never seen any one doing anything good
30F here, burnt out but due to a diff path, really worked hard for placements, landed a FAANGish job and gave it way more time than necessary.
All those day in the life videos made me feel where are people getting this much time (I was already quite deep and senior in the products I was working on, I guess the vids were made by people who were new to the system), anyway.
Post Covid world happened and I got cut because someone had to be on the other side of layoffs. I am taking a break, I sacrificed way too much for the job so making a choice now to chill a bit.
Take some time off, define what success truly means to you and not some external barometer which keeps benchmarking you against someone or the other. Trust me if you had created a unicorn some asshole would have deemed you a looser because you aren’t married yet, don’t have children etc etc.
Connect back with your childhood hobbies / passions. They work wonders to calming your brain and relaxing you.
I have decided to not work for companies which have a huge problem with people taking career breaks or low ball them just because they can. It may take a hit on my salary but I need some of my sanity back.
All the best to you in your journey.
Honestly, what I have experienced is if the managers really want you on there then it wouldn’t matter as much. Most people understand the need for a break after a long time of work.
The break is usually used to low ball you and making you feel guilty, calling out that you are rusty at your craft and stuff (tbh still have to experience it first hand but a few peers have dealt with this). This results in people coming in with guilt leading to over work at lower amount of salaries, a win win for companies.
I could be wrong about this because I am still to experience the tantrums this first hand, but honestly really needed some time off.
If a company is still questioning career breaks after 2022 given how many people were made to quit it is just reflective on the culture inside the company.
Damnnnn. 28 F. Still figuring out life. And my session with my therapist today was just about this. No, I didn't go to an IIT or IIM or Forbes 30 under 30, I'm on the other side of the spectrum. I can totally feel you how being a woman in tech we have to try extra hard to prove it to people that we're competent. It's an unconscious bias that we have as a society where men are considered competent until proved otherwise and women are considered incompetent until proved otherwise.
I get the burnout, I get the toiling. Since I'm not from an IIT I have to also work extra hard to prove it to people that they I am a woman who didn't go to an IIT but I have brains. Reading your answer I got the reality check that life's not been a cakewalk for you too. We're all clueless and figuring out. And going to therapy made me realise that it doesn't hurt to pause, sit back and ask myself what I actually want.
I guess, it ultimately boils down to living a life that's our "own" and doing things that "we" want.
Wishing you all the best in your journey ahead. A big hug to you. I feel you sis. Sending you lots of love, calmness and healing. May you be able to live a life that's true to you ❤❤✨
First of all its all you women made men very competent we don't have any choice but to beat women gender in always because of we don't women and society think we are loosers, nobody wants to be around a unsuccessful men, but people don't mind to be around a women even if she got no job, u just need a pretty face.
@Ajmonk96 I see where you are coming from. And it's true because of patriarchy men have to always strive to be "providers" and you're also right with the "pretty face" comment. It's an unconscious social bias, women are expected to be pretty and not have an opinion or do or say much. Women didn't create these rules and gender roles, patriarchal society did 😅
Both you and I are victims of the same ssystem, just that our struggles are different. I acknowledge your struggles as a man and would appreciate if you acknowledge our struggles too. It's only then we can have a better society. Hope things get better for you, bro. Wishing you the best! :)
Nothing comes free. You chose this lifestyle, glamour, money & have to pay sacrifices in return, every single day. Every single decision small/big in life of yours have led up to this, embrace that, cherish how far u ve come. Even if were meant to shut down & go bonkers/bankrupt in future, u ve still come far & made it in your own way, remember there are 1000s more wanting what you ve achieved, feel grateful about. And above all that if you feel if this is it, QUIT & rethink
what you really want in life? Family, relationships, money, fame, time to rethink your priorities
Btw would like to connect & discuss ideas if at all up for it :D, peace ! ☮️
I think you are doing great...
It was never meant to be easy. It was never meant to be a race. Try not to hustle your way to an early grave just to get on the Forbes billionaire list.
Take a step back, forget all the hustle bullshit. Evaluate your options Then either quit and get a job or try again if you have the resources/support and it still suits your long term goals.
And this time do it in a way that works for you.
Same albeit Srcc IIM ABC , 29 M ...took crazy risks didn't take placements thought will do something big ..worked very hard in startups ... Burnout
Now I understand this means not much . Live a slow happy life do meaningful work you can work just 4 hours and it's actually enough.. Trying to have family life , social life and personal life now ..
Man that’s some perspective. Pretty much same profile but engg, I am about to go down this path maybe, wondering will it be worth it, taking risks and leaving ‘standard’ job’.
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