Lessons from 2025

First year of proper adulting. It's hard, but maybe it's not that bad?

I am writing this on January 3rd, 2026, when I am back to reality after all the year-end traveling and partying. I looked at all the photos in my 2025 gallery and penned down what happened in each month. From all that looking back, these seem to be the lessons I want to tell myself going into 2026.

the best sunset I captured in 2025 in sri lanka

Lessons from 2025

1. Reason is mostly powerless against emotions.
   We, humans, are basically monkeys. No matter how rational we think we are, we are driven by emotions like love, validation, respect, and status. Ignoring this usually leads to bad decisions.

2. Having an abundance mindset is incredibly powerful.
   Most of us, Indians, grow up with a scarcity mindset. Getting to a place where you can afford abundance and actually letting yourself feel it is a real superpower. It fundamentally changes how you look at the world, what you think you can/can’t do.

3. Earning good money is important.
   Money didn’t change my values. It just permitted me to fully live by them without having to justify my choices to anyone. Money is what money does. If you have enough people, hobbies, and interests to spend it on, then money can actually bring happiness.

4. You’ve got to listen to both your gut and your mind.

   Again, we’re all monkeys. But sometimes these monkey minds know things the rational mind doesn’t. They’re really good at pattern-matching how you felt the last time something like this happened, and at telling you whether you actually want to do it or not.

   The hard part is knowing when to trust your gut and when to slow down and think things through.

5. Being right 7 or 8 times out of 10 is good enough.
   Trying to be right all the time kills growth and, honestly, the fun too.

6. Work can shrink your identity if you let it.
   Living in a city like Bangalore, which isn’t home for me, magnifies this. Going back home reminds you that you’re not just a Product Manager or someone’s friend. You’re also a nephew, a grandkid, an uncle(still painful to say), and someone who matters to way more people than you realise.

7. Do things that make you feel like the king of the world every day.
   If something consistently doesn’t make you feel that way, don’t do it, or work towards a life where you won’t have to.

8. Being around people who are not just smart, but also happy and kind, matters a lot.
   Their energy rubs off. It quietly changes you.

9. High agency matters outside of work, too.
   Take that ride across the city. Go to that café. Host that party. Call that person. (Deleting Instagram actually helps in this.) Being around high-agency people teaches you how to live with agency.

10. Big milestones are great, but everyday joy matters more.
    Expensive trips are memorable. But it’s the small, well-made things you interact with daily that quietly make life better. Like my Ather scooter. It gives me joy every single day :)
    Invest in the things that you use every day.

11. Routines build your future self.
    Breaking routines lets you actually live. Until the balance is under control, you’re going to be fine.

12. Spend more time with not just people who make sense, but also with people who make you laugh. This goes back to the first point.

Let’s see what 2026 has to offer.

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