Welcome to Newsletter 9ine !

Happy Diwali 🪔 + Happy Halloween 🎃 !

Hello all and welcome to the October edition! These months feel like they are flying by – I can’t believe this is already my ninth newsletter. I hope you all find these insightful and refreshing, but at the very least, perhaps it is a valuable peer into my mind. Whether this helps you get to know me better, or helps you as you navigate this weird and complex phenomenon that we call “life,” I am glad to have you here and this is just the beginning. With that, we have a lot to discuss today, so let’s dive in !

But first, some shout-outs.
1. My sister, Navya, is running the Cambridge Half-Marathon on Sunday. She has been training very hard and I am extremely proud of her. Everyone wish her GOOD LUCK 🍀! To quote the wise words of Caroline Alexis, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
2. If you will notice, this version is a bit easier on the eyes, shout-out to Alyssa and Rachel for this valuable feedback. #numaforever
3. Shout out Brett and Dylan because they were begging for a shout-out the other day.
4. Shout out Vishnu and Ganesh for sending me cookies.
5. Shout out Vishaan because he is following his passions in Korea.

What do you want? How do you know that what you want is what you want?

Cognitive dissonance is defined as a “psychological state of discomfort or tension that occurs when a person's beliefs or actions are inconsistent with each other.” Someone who knows speeding is dangerous but does it anyways is operating in a state of cognitive dissonance. I am writing this right now while I am in class, but I know that I should be paying attention…ding ding ding, that’s cog dis.

I believe we are always operating in cognitive dissonance, the question is whether or not it is consciously or not. We are always cognitive dissonanc-ing (if you will), whether we know it or not. So, how do we wake up from this? How do we figure out what we want, and have our actions 100% fully represent that? Is that even possible?

I don’t know. Sometimes, I never know what I want. How do I figure this out? When my thoughts and my actions do not align, which do I trust? How do I follow my gut when I don’t even know what my gut is trying to tell me?

It’s a fascinating theory really, because offers an explanation as to why humans are so rational, yet contradictory. We know we should be doing things to advance us, such as eating healthy and going to the gym and practicing mindfulness, yet we (common theme here btw is we = me) find solace in junk food and breathe sighs of relief when we don’t have to gym and dread the laborious morning affirmations.

But I suppose we shouldn’t have to operate in 100% harmony at all times, I mean, no one is perfect. Just because I want to eat healthy in general doesn’t mean I have to eat healthy 100% of the time, as long as the aggregate is healthy i.e. I’m eating more healthy things than I am unhealthy things.

Wait a da** minute, maybe that’s it.

Indecision Kills

Maybe we don’t have to always know what we want, but we have to be willing to make a decision and see what happens. I suppose no one truly knows what they want, but people who are brave enough to make a decision are the ones who succeed in the end.

Jumping or not jumping, both are decisions, but spending all your time thinking about whether or not to jump, that is time wasted. You could have learned your answer by then. You could have gotten hurt or healed or humbled or happy by then, and while it may sound painful, it is worth it to feel those things than to wonder about feeling those things.

I always thought we are born knowing what we want: that what we want and desire is predetermined and outside my scope unable to be changed. I am learning now that my wants and needs change every day, every week, every month. Some days I love NYC, and other days I hate it. Some days I want to be in Europe, and some days I love being at home. Some days I know what I want, and some days I don’t know what I want. But I guess that’s okay.

I am trying to not be so hard-pressed in finding out the answer to this question: What do I want? I guess that is the beauty of life: to figure it out and seek it.

I suppose the TLDR is: Take the leap of faith, or don’t, time will pass anyways. What 2 do !

Thank you for listening to me!

You know the drill: everything I write here is something I am actively working on improving and implementing within myself. Writing them out also helps me to visualize what to work on and how to do it. And having you as my audience holds me accountable.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or feedback, please dish it to me! Should I bring the community forum back??? I’d love to know how I can improve. I am glad to have you here on my VasaVita journey.

If you want to talk more about anything I discussed in my newsletters, or want to learn more about VasaVita, check out my website below!

See you in November!

And last but not least, the following growth check!

You all know the drill now: in the sprit of transparency and holding myself accountable, I include my audience count here to keep you apprised on my growth. We got 5 newbies in October, let’s goooooooooo!

Looking forward to ~hopefully~ more growth in November! If you have any ideas or tips, feel free to share!