I worked my ass off in my 20s. Once I was out of college, which is 2011, I ignored my family. And I barely managed to spend time with friends – the one’s that I stayed with. The 20s is when you get to work really hard. I remember that I was operational for 16-18 hours in a day. Was that productive – hell no. But I was accessible, always doing stuff on my mobile. I ignored my family. I went once in 2 months. And then there were times when I was out for months. I loved the idea of rushing back to the office. Being in the firefighting mode. It took a certain level of maturity and humbling for me to truly valuing my parents and immediate family. All of these lessons were learnt the hard way. It was in my 30s, only when I got married, is when I realized that what an amazing support system a family is. Your friends, colleagues, will exist – in patches. But they can and will move on. Your family won’t. Can’t. My parents, siblings, wife, cousins have stood by me, quietly without showing any signs of distress in the most difficult times and have managed to support me in their own way.

I remember Randi Zuckerberg’s quote which said – Between Family, Friends, Health, Work and Sleep – pick 3. In my 20s, the choice was clear – Work, Work, and Friends. I put family and sleep on a backburner. It’s only in my 30s, have I realized that family and health are irreplaceable. Work will happen. Work will always happen.

If there is anything that this pandemic has taught us is no matter what – your family and health should be your #1 priority. Period. Rest everything can wait.

Uncategorized