46. Chill Mode

I’ve been living life in chill mode for a few years now.

As someone who was raised in India, I constantly felt the pressure to succeed in my career and win. I started running the rat race right after college. But I’m glad I met some good people very early in my career who proved pivotal, and that I found some stubborn motivation to make a few very hard career switches that laid the foundation for my journey.

I built a couple of startups at what now seems like a young age, and while I had more energy than competence, it was formative. The first one was an experience in itself. We made a lot of mistakes. The second was a decent success, as it laid a strong financial and career foundation for my onward journey, with a small exit.

While I was building my second startup, at least in the early stage, I was working a full-time job. It was a hustle, working on weeknights and weekends. My cofounder was my wife. We hustled together. We had fun. We still have fun.

Ever since I sold my second startup, I’ve been deliberately trying to live in chill mode. I’ve travelled a lot in the last few years, to almost 35 of my favourite countries. I’ve leaned strongly into photography, which I’m passionate about. I’ve bought a house, made friends, and recently got a motorbike.

Chill mode is not floating without intention. During this period, I’ve invested in my health and relationships. I started writing. I’ve travelled. I feel physically stronger than ever. I’ve worked on my mental health. I’ve built perspective and optionality.

I sometimes find myself swinging back to my hustling self, especially with the AI revolution. When I get back to hustle mode, I want to be deliberate and go all in.

Mentally, I’m getting ready. I feel like there is a lot of opportunity cost in what’s happening in AI right now. Exciting times. But the mood swings are strong. The swings between wanting to go all-in on AI or completely leave tech and live somewhere far away from all of it.

Living in chill mode was a deliberate choice. One of the things I discussed with my wife when I said I wanted to live a chill life was regret minimisation. I didn’t want to feel like I spent my entire life hustling. I’m really glad I made that decision. While I enjoy working and hustling on meaningful things, I definitely know there is more to life. I want to experience life fully.

The early hustle in life gave me that optionality. What’s the point of it if I don’t choose to exercise that a bit? I didn’t want to be the person who hustles forever, especially while I’m healthy.

It has also helped me disconnect from my identity a bit. I used to think of myself as the tech or founder guy, and I thought that’s what I was supposed to do all the time, or else I’d be a failure. I feel less attached to that identity now.

I’m trying to enjoy the things I do, whatever that is. Photography, travel, building stuff. I don’t know how long this phase lasts. But I know I’ll look back and be grateful I didn’t skip it.