Been a long time since we talked!

Why I haven't written to you in a while, what's been going on, and some cool things to look forward to.

Hello dear friend,

I want to start this letter with an apology.

An apology for being absent, for letting your faith in me down, for not being true to my promise of being consistent.

I started this newsletter to build a like-minded community of people interested in self-improvement and who constantly strive to become the best versions of themselves.

Over time, this community has evolved into so much more. Every week, I receive so much love from you that I’ve started thinking of you as my email family.

Which is why, even though the last newsletter I sent to you was on 20th June (wow, more than a month ago!), I’m going to resume our lovely little weekly love story.

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Why I was AWOL

On June 8th 2022, I planned a little trip to Uttarakhand with my friend, Vidya. Before the trip, life was going on as usual. Being my usual productive self, I had newsletters written and scheduled in advance so you wouldn’t miss my presence.

But something happened during the trip that pushed me into an existential crisis of sorts.

No, I wasn’t suddenly questioning all my life choices, but I realized the balance in my life was more off than I’d have liked to admit- even to myself.

Since 2020, I’d been pushing ahead like an obsessed person. I worked every day, often into the late hours of the night, and made more strides in my career than I ever thought was possible.

But this trip made me realize what I was missing.

Chasing the simple joys in life.

Deep conversations with strangers I’d never meet again in life.

Waking up in the morning with no agenda or plans of how the entire day would look.

The freedom to chase whatever adventure my heart desired.

My life was amazing, but I missed this and much more.

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What I’ve done since then

And so, after I got back into the humdrum of daily life, I took some time off to reconnect. Here are some crazy projects I’ve been pursuing in the meantime:

• I started Hyderabad Book Club with Vidya - a place for book lovers to meet and have long conversations about the books they love. We’ve had two meet-ups and already covered some super inspiring conversation topics.

• I started a new live show on LinkedIn called Wednesday Refocus at 7 where we meet a new guest every week who is in some exciting job. The goal is to discover all the fantastic, well-paying career options. If you’d like to follow the future episodes, follow me on LinkedIn.

• I rented a car and started driving around Hyderabad. This is a massive achievement for me - someone who didn’t even know how to hold a steering wheel at the start of this year.

• I performed poetry at an Open Mic event in Hyderabad. It was terrifying, but it gave me the confidence that with a few more shows, I might finally be able to get rid of my crippling stage fright.

• I enrolled in pole dancing classes. It’s the most challenging form of exercise I’ve ever done in my life. But it’s also so much fun.

• I started playing Table Tennis regularly. I’ve upskilled a lot in the past month and have managed to defeat the people I learned from.

• I’m practicing throwing darts. Not that fancy, I know, but it helps with focus and hand-eye coordination.

Most of these, as you’ll notice, has nothing to do with writing or earning money. My goal right now is to focus on living life, not rushing through it in a mad race to make more money.

In this phase of self-discovery and reconnection with my core, I lost the motivation to write this newsletter.

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But now, I’m back!

I’m still prioritizing “life” over “making a living,” but now, I also understand the things that are important to me.

I realized I missed staying in touch with you.

I missed sharing my story without any fear of judgment.

And I missed reading all the wonderful and heartfelt messages you sent me in reply. I might not be able to get back every time, but I always read and smile at every message I receive.

And so, I knew that I had to cut off a few things to maintain my sanity, but this newsletter couldn’t be one of them.

Starting today, I’ll write to you at least once weekly (sometimes more, if I can think of fun things to say).

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How can you help

Reply to this and let me know how you’ve been doing.

What are some cool things you tried in June and July?

How many of your experiments succeeded?

What did the failures teach you?

Get back to me, and I’d love to hear your story.

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This is all for today.

I’ll get back to you super soon with a brand new edition of Be Your Best Friend with Anangsha. Until then, stay awesome, and keep smiling.

Lots of love,

Anangsha