Two Years of Unwind-ing
How owning a blog shaped me in my early 20s.
Two years ago, I was sitting in my room figuring out what to do after I quit my job a week later. I knew I would suddenly have so much time I would not know what to do with it. So, I decided to start an email newsletter. Well, taking that leap of faith took me 5 years, so it was definitely not as easy as it sounds. But I am glad I did.
Up until college, we are slowly exposed to a bigger sea as we enter a new phase. But as soon as we graduate, a whole new ocean awaits us. And let’s be honest, sometimes it is extremely difficult to know where to swim, who to follow and how to breathe.
This week, I am not here to tell you how I managed to keep up with publishing a post every week for the last two years. I am here to talk about how a sense of ownership that came with starting Unwind helped me find my way to what I truly want in life.
These days, I see and read about the hype around building start-ups or becoming an influencer. Back when I was in school, the only thing that I and my peers were concerned about were weekly Monday tests. We were not taught to think outside the box. So, my natural instinct was to always chase something that already exists. Something that everyone wants. Something that guarantees happiness.
Before Unwind, I had never created anything from scratch. It was naturally difficult to acclimatize myself to the idea that I could create something that never existed in the world before from my thoughts and vision. But as time has passed, I have realised how crucial it is for each one of us to have a sense of meaningful ownership for something that originates from going the extra mile to do what brings us joy. It could be anything like sharing your writing with the world, building your own personal library, keeping a consistent journal of your thoughts, or a chord notebook with your personal favourite songs. Something that has a scent unique to you.
The whole process of coming up with a name for this newsletter, learning how to build a website from scratch and actually building it, writing consistently, growing slowly and now having 30+ new readers join in the last 30 days has taught me we are not meant to teach ourselves to blindly follow and call it a well-built foundation for the rest of our lives.
Here’s an interesting article about the positive impact of ownership in one’s life that you may enjoy reading.
Many of us willingly choose to believe that there is a single one-way train that stops at our desired destination. If we miss it, there is no way we can reach the station of our fulfilled dreams.
I hope you know that this is not the case.
I hope you know that there are many other means of transportation, some with a more fulfilling journey than others, that can lead you to your goals in a much better physical and mental state than you can imagine right now.
Unwind has made me believe that
I am allowed to redefine my definition of success.
I am allowed to work towards achieving unconventional dreams.
Happiness is not always found at the end of the road. Happiness can be found anywhere on the road.
See you next week!
THIS WEEK’s RECOMMENDATIONS
When clarity creates conflict by
.Photo Essay: A Little Flower Power in Dreary Winter Day by
.Get to know your ego’s nature and make it serve your higher being by
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PS: HUGE thank you to the lovely readers who have been for a while, the 30+ readers who joined last month and the ones who are to join soon.
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What an absolutely lovely read. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.
I enjoyed reading about how you are handling life. Substack seems pretty safe and supportive. I feel like I have found the perfect way to journal every morning by writing my substack posts.