Hi, I’m Nikshép.
The first time my parents asked me what I wanted to be, I answered something to the tune of becoming a superhero and protecting the world. It was obviously the anime, superhero cartoons, and Indian epics speaking because I’d been consuming them from the time I could balance myself on two feet!
By the time I realized some of the characters I had admired were fictitious, it was too late — the desire to help others had been sown deep.
But life had its own plans, and I began experiencing brief bouts of depression when I was 14. It got out of hand by the time I was 16, and my life was in shambles by my 17th birthday.
My moods were out of control — I’d feel okay in the morning and intense depression by the afternoon, I was plagued by severe insecurities about my competence, and my grades were pathetic. Worst of all, I was hurting the people who cared about me with frequent anger outbursts.
I eventually hit rock bottom and thought I was done for. But the longer I stayed there, the more I realized I was sick of being in that place. I didn’t like that I lacked control over how I was feeling and how my life was unfolding. I didn’t like feeling stuck and trapped by my own faculties.
One day, I made up my mind to end the version of me that I despised so much. I decided to turn myself into someone I’d not be embarrassed by, someone who wouldn’t be a burden to himself or others.
I began practicing kriya yoga (an ancient meditation system that alters the body’s chemistry and brings many incredible benefits) with a powerful intent to stabilize my mind and create pleasantness within me. I focused on becoming more aware and directing my energy toward growth, rather than dwelling on negativity and inflating obstacles in my mind.
It took a few months, but my efforts to reprogram myself paid off. I wasn’t feeling depressed, the mood swings had gone, my relationships improved, and I got a passing grade in high school!
I continued doing yoga and meditation, constantly learned new things, did well at college, and faced life’s difficulties head-on, as responsibly as I could.
After graduating, I found success and enjoyment with a corporate job until I realized it wasn’t the nature of the job that brought me fulfillment. I liked it only because I was performing well.
And there were many things I couldn’t ignore. The corporate lifestyle was eating into my personal life, I hardly had any time for myself, and the work wasn’t in line with how I wanted to help people and explore life. I realized that to truly be of use to others, I’d have to disentangle myself from societal expectations and start living a life that’s true to me.
I’d always enjoyed writing, but never thought of pursuing it. A little before COVID hit in 2020, I began freelance writing on the side. Although I wasn’t earning enough to replace my full-time income, I quit my corporate job within seven months to focus completely on the writing business.
Nine months into my freelance journey, my income ballooned. I started making 6x what I was making with a full-time job (working above 180 hours a month) while working under 80 hours a month. But hey, don’t get the wrong idea; there are days when I work 12 hours, but it doesn’t feel exhausting!
My freelance business freed me up immensely — I never felt like I was working, looked forward to sharing my work with others, started earning enough to stop living paycheck to paycheck, and most importantly, I reclaimed my time.
I may not be flying or swinging around cities to save folk from catastrophes, but I’ve set up this blog to share resources that could help you enjoy excellent health, stay authentic, and operate at your peak potential.
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope to put out lots of great work that’ll be helpful for you all.
Wishing you joy and freedom,
Nikshép Myle
Hey, I’m Karishma!
Being the only Indian in a classroom full of Americans, I never quite fit in. To cope, I found comfort in books, deep-diving into alternate worlds where I could be whoever I wanted! Reading became my refuge and offered me a sense of belonging.
While I wasn’t much of a talker — which people often mistook for shyness — I developed a keen sense of observation at a very young age.
Before long, I was carefully crafting story ideas and penning the ones worth exploring in hopes of publishing a short story collection one day. I found inspiration for stories everywhere, from bustling classrooms to family gatherings and even from simply gazing out of car windows.
But fast forward a couple of years, and my escapist world of fiction came crashing down.
Four things happened: we moved to India, my family was falling apart, nobody could make sense of my American accent, and SCHOOLWORK, to say the least, WAS HARD.
Life suddenly got too real.
While India instantly felt like home, I couldn’t say the same for school. Math was 50x more complex, the Hindi language seemed alien, social sciences were all jumbled in my head, and my heavily-accented English was hardly an effective medium for communication.
My grades declined as stress and anxiety crept in, and the final blow came when my parents announced their divorce.
I was consumed by unbridled rage that I kept tightly wound inside me, but in hindsight, I wish I’d let it out. I should’ve screamed until my lungs ached and let my tears flow.
By suppressing my emotions and overly accommodating others’ needs, I was heading for disaster.
The common advice that came my way was to “play the hand I was dealt with,” so that’s what I did. I downloaded wellness apps, tried breathing techniques, and scoured the net for tips to overcome fear and lack of competence, but nothing stuck.
Although I could never entirely shake off my anxiety, my grades improved. I aced my digital marketing projects through college and made wonderful friends. But, my compulsive patterns always caught up with me. The more I resisted, the more aggressively they pinned me down.
To make matters worse, I got excess fluid build-up in my lungs — a sign of chronic illness — after my last year of college. As I lay in the hospital bed, conscious of the doctors extracting the fluid, death stared me in the face. I knew I was mortal, but this incident gave me a taste of it firsthand.
At that moment, I gained clarity like never before. I realized three things:
- Life’s too damn short. I can’t afford to spend my days worrying about everything and everybody.
- I don’t want to lose myself trying to please others.
- Nobody is responsible for my unhappiness but me.
I walked out of the hospital brimming with a newfound determination.
Over the next few months, I nourished my body and mind with plenty of rest and self-care. I quit my taxing corporate job and returned to writing for fun. I strummed my guitar for hours on end. I also steered clear of social media and started my mornings with kriya yoga — a powerful meditation technique that charges up the energy body.
I was certain of one thing: I didn’t want to go back to working in an agency as a copywriter. With limited knowledge of my alternatives, I reached out to Nikshep, uncertain of what he did exactly, but knowing he was a writer. It turned out to be the best decision I made for my career.
Freelancing opened up a world of possibilities, and I haven’t looked back since.
After just four months of honing my skills as a web content writer, I made double what I was earning at my salaried job. Through diligent practice, I quickly gained confidence in my abilities. Time and financial freedom were no longer something of the future, but a tangible reality.
I may not be the world’s greatest storyteller, but if my words can motivate and guide you to make the correct decisions in the realm of health and technology, I will have achieved my goal.
Thank you for reading my story. Setting up this blog is just the start of my journey to consciously create my life and add immense value to yours.
May you have the power to craft your own destiny,
Karishma Joshi