One friend wants to stay underground with his startup. He’s not in a rush to raise money because he wants to understand the market fully. Yet, whenever he talks to people, the question is always, “When will you raise money?” The pressure to follow a predefined timeline weighs heavily on him.

A younger colleague often compares himself to those around him. “Everyone else seems to know what they’re doing” he says. He’s tried multiple paths, yet nothing seems to stick. Watching others meet societal milestones - stable jobs, marriage, clear life plans - he feels lost and uncertain about his own path.

Another friend, is desperately trying to find a life partner. She dates people in and out, exhausted, yet believes her life isn’t complete without marriage. The pressure of hitting societal “checkpoints” makes her feel behind, even though she’s living life on her own terms in many ways.
She says, “Yaar, meri umar ho rahi hai, sab pooch rahe hain, parents ka bhi bohot pressure hai.”
(Translation: “I’m getting older, everyone is asking, and there is huge pressure from parents too.”)

An older relative recently resigned from her job. She doesn’t feel the need to immediately find another one - she wants time off. She’s fully independent, financially stable, and can support her child. Yet her colleagues ask, “Oh you’ve not found your next step? Career breaks aren’t ideal” Suddenly, she doubts herself, wondering, “What if they’re right?”

Here’s what becomes clear

There’s a YOU path, and there’s a ME path that one can take in life. There’s always a conventional script: getting married at a certain age, raising money because “that’s what startups do”, sticking to a single career instead of exploring, or avoiding career breaks because of how they’re perceived. These scripts exist everywhere, and if you follow the repeatable playbook, it’s unlikely you’ll fail because the path is well-defined.

Think of it like going on a trek: there’s the commercialized route and the unknown trail. The commercial path exists for a reason: it’s safe, familiar, has food joints and clear walking trails. The unknown path usually comes with its own challenges: it’s uncertain, after all but it opens you up to serendipity and lifelong learnings, whether good or bad.

There’s nothing wrong with either path. But I do detest people who try to force others to follow a commercialized path, or judge those who don’t. To those who try especially hard to bend others, I want to ask:

“Excuse me… aapse puchna tha, aap jo ye bol rahe hai, iske paise charge karte hai ya ye muft ka gyaan hai?”
(Translation: “Excuse me… do you charge money for this advice or is it free wisdom?”)

“Good… kyunki chillar nahi hai mere pass.”
(Translation: “Good… because I don’t have loose change.”)

The world is massive, with billions of people - each with different traits, upbringing, psychology, wiring, and influences. Yet somehow, everyone is expected to follow the exact same script.

I once asked a professor (a very famous one; I’ll share the name after getting permission),
“Sir, what’s unique about people who are extremely creative, original and innovative?”
He said, “Pagal hote hain thode.”
(Translation: “They’re a little crazy.”)

So my request to you:
“Thode pagal bano. Embrace Your Eccentricity”
(Translation: “Be a little crazy. Embrace Your Eccentricity.”)

Walking the ME path is never easy. Embracing your own eccentricity comes with its own challenges. But at the end of the day, it’s your life and it really comes down to one question:

Will you regret not walking the ME path in this lifetime?

Most of the struggle comes from not being able to resist social pressure, staying firm in your own judgment, and trusting that wherever the ME path takes you, at least it’s yours. And if nothing “successful” comes out of it, then maybe you’ll just end up with a lifetime of BREAKING BAD “ME” stories to share with your grandkids (if you decide to have them), or maybe a few “Breaking Bad” style friends you meet along the way.

The biggest blocker I’ve seen - the thing that stops most people from choosing the ME path is giving into to the societal playbook and the fear of trusting their own selves.

In this blog, I’ll start off by telling you how to resist social pressure - the first step towards your ME path.

How to Resist Social Pressure

Step 0: Memorize this song by heart

“Kuch to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna. Chhodo bekaar ki baaton mein kahin beet na jaaye re na.” — Kishore Kumar

(Translation: “People will always talk, it’s their job to talk. Let go of useless chatter, or your whole night will slip away worrying about it.” — Kishore Kumar)

Step 1: Know Your Core

Figure out who you are internally not externally. Examples:

• I am a free spirit who doesn’t like to be tied down.
• I like to explore multiple paths before committing.
• I like stability and prefer tried-and-tested routes.
• I value money, creativity, or adventure.

Define the values you will never change to please others. [I’ll add a link to the next blog here in a couple of days, which will outline how to do this.] Once the foundation is clear, resisting pressure becomes effortless instead of exhausting.

Step 2: Filter External Advice

When someone comments or judges your choices:

• Have empathy - understand their intention.
• Evaluate value - is their advice actionable?
• Assess impact - does my decision actually affect them?
• Assess who these people are - well-wishers or gossipers?

If someone is genuinely supportive (parents, real friends, mentors), listen carefully but still filter everything through your internal compass.

If the advice:

• isn’t coming from someone who matters
• doesn’t affect them
• isn’t actionable

… then treat it like trash - disposable.

Step 3: Respond with Dry, Savage & Machete Humor

If you sense they are gossipers or just projecting on you, use humor to flip the script.

If someone says, “Boss doesn’t like you anymore because you don’t seem to agree with everything they say,”
reply: “Sir, main yahan kisi ko maze dene nahi aayi.”
(Translation: “I’m not here to entertain anyone.”)

If someone says, “Others are raising money faster than you,”
reply: “You seem really worried. How about putting at least a million dollars into my company?”

!!!! Mic-drop !!!! Silence !!!!

Savage humor protects your sanity and sets boundaries without aggression.

Final Conclusion

Resisting social pressure isn’t arrogance. It’s clarity. It’s courage. It’s self-respect. The world will always impose scripts, timelines, and expectations, but the most fulfilling life is the one you carve intentionally. So …. Trust your compass. Walk your weird ME path.

Words of Gold From My Mother

When I was learning to drive, I wasn’t perfect, and people kept honking. I panicked.
My mom looked at me and said:

“Many dogs bark when you cross the street, do you stop to explain yourself to every single one?”

Guess you got the message.

!!!! WARNING !!!!

If you follow this, your life will become pressure-free and dog-free but at the same time, be ready to sometimes stand alone.

When that moment comes, embrace Dwarika Prasad Maheshwari’s poem: “Veer tum badhe chalo, Dheer tum badhe chalo.”
(Translation: “Brave one, keep marching forward! Patient one, keep moving ahead!”)

PS: All dialogues in this blog are real - either picked up from real life coversations or movies.