Hello, I’m Vaishnavi Dixit.
We all want to build our own empire — something glorious, better than everyone else’s, stronger than the Great Wall of China. We want to be professional, rich, and dominant in our field. Every single thing we do somehow connects back to our careers.
I’ve decided to take a 75-day break from everything.
Here’s what I told my family:
- Dekho, pehle 12th ke baad CSEET me lag gayi
- CSEET clear ki, toh college ke BA LLB process me lag gayi
- College mila, toh CS Executive ki preparation
- Uske baad 1st semester ke exams
- Then CS Executive 1st group
- And exactly one month later, 2nd semester exams
But the real reason I told myself was this:
I don’t know. I just wanted to pause… and do something that nobody else is doing.
So I started applying for unofficial internships at CA firms — and I even got selected.
But after just four days, they said they didn’t have any work for me.
I said okay.
Now, I’m looking for other opportunities and doing a few certificate courses too.
But in between all this, for about three days, I was really low.
I kept thinking — I’m worthless. I have nothing in my hands. I come from a 3rd-tier town, 7 km from the main city. I’m not a fluent English speaker. I’m not an expert in anything. I’m far behind everyone else.
But then, I reached out to a friend.
And what she told me — I want to share with every single one of you, whether you’re a student or a working professional:
“Never kill your personal time. It’s more important than you realise.”
Your profession is not your passion. You can’t pour your entire self into your career. You must have a hobby, a passion, a spark — or you will lose yourself. You’ll burn out.
You can’t live your life just trying to become someone. Not even a doctor should think about their career 24/7.
So here’s my request to you:
You can memorize a chapter later.
But the hobby you keep postponing? The you that’s waiting to breathe again? Please don’t say, “I’ll do it after this exam… after this project… later.”
There’s no “later” for the things that make you feel alive.
Our life’s goal cannot be just working 8 to 6.
We chase money so we can live our life — not live our life just to chase money.
Start enjoying things genuinely.
And yes, I’m thankful to my friend.
No, I won’t say I’ve fully recovered or gone back to all my hobbies…
But I’ve started giving at least 15 minutes a day to something that I purely enjoy.
And you should too.
Stop thinking about your future profession day and night.
Take a moment to breathe.
In the race to become perfect, don’t lose yourself.
Author Bio
It’s really good to hear you out like this, and I completely agree. We should take care of our personal life and priorities just as sincerely as we take care of our professional commitments.
Nice that you realised at a tender age that many seniors fail to recognize and chase fame, power, and money until they take their last breath.
I’m currently a writer, blogger, and storyteller after my successful service and practice career as a legal counsel for over four decades.
Honor to connect with someone as seasoned and multidimensional as you. It truly means a lot to receive encouragement from someone who has walked such a long and successful path.
I’m also incredibly grateful to the friend who gave me that advice — it helped me pause, reflect, and reconnect with myself. As you said, many people don’t realize this truth even after decades of chasing power, fame, and success. I feel fortunate to have understood it early, even if I’m still learning how to live by it every day.