THE DRIVING FORCE- An asset for taking crucial life decisions

Everyone faces a mental breakdown at least once in their lifetime. Most of us are equivocal about how to tackle this hypercritical situation.This story begins in the year 2018 . Before going to the central thesis let me tell you that My college is in Pune and my hometown is Nashik and for the first time in my life, I was going to live away from my home and parents.

 

 

 

[blockquote text=”The Independence and freedom was the first thing that I smelled the day I entered my room.” text_color=”” width=”” line_height=”undefined” background_color=”” border_color=”” show_quote_icon=”yes” quote_icon_color=”#4285F4″]

There was newness in everything which I saw and experienced. There were people from different cities and states. This experience added a different dimension to my prior lifestyle. I truly enjoyed the initial week filled with surreal moments with seniors and roommates. But unfortunately, after a couple of weeks, pessimistic feelings started growing in my mind while I slept on my bed in the night time. I was feeling homesick and an ambivalent mental breakdown phase happened to me.

[blockquote text=”All of a sudden I felt really tired. Like the world had drained me for everything that I had.” text_color=”” width=”” line_height=”undefined” background_color=”” border_color=”” show_quote_icon=”yes” quote_icon_color=”#4285F4″]

This occurred because of multiple reasons. Firstly, I was staying in a Hostel with my room filled with five people including me. I never enjoy sharing so much space and being surrounded by so many people 24/7. Secondly, I was missing my home, my space, the food, etc. There was a constant come and go of roommates throughout the day. All of us roomies shared different time schedules and therefore my sleep cycle was ruined. Imagine waking up to different  alarms every 30 minutes starting from 4 am to 6am.

[blockquote text=”It felt like a daily morning torture.” text_color=”” width=”” line_height=”undefined” background_color=”” border_color=”” show_quote_icon=”yes” quote_icon_color=”#4285F4″]

It came to a point where I decided I could not continue like this. I was not fitting in and I was ready to give up. I approached my parents and told them that I couldn’t live there anymore but somehow my dad convinced me to stay. I wasn’t ready to restart and didn’t have the mindset to continue this routine all over again. I needed an impactful driving force to help me get through this. There are certain things in life which have a special place in your heart which you trust and these special things act as a saviour and you know you can always count on it in tough times. For me, gaming is one of them. I have been a hardcore gamer since I was a young boy. There is nothing more I love than losing myself in a Storyline game. I love everything from the virtual worlds to the complex characters, and the convoluted plots. For crystal clearing your thoughts, I don’t play a game like PUBG, I’m only into Exclusive intellectual storyline games which are available only on PlayStation. The characters in each game have provided me with a myriad of lessons that I apply to my own life. To sum it up, this thing has my heart. Let’s get back into my first year of engineering again, On a particular weekend, I had made a trip home. During the course of this trip, I confronted my parents and admitted my feelings of defeat. I implored them to let me out of this. Of course they reacted with indignance. Feeling utterly rejected, I once again buried my feelings. Here comes the central thesis now,  It was midnight on a Saturday night and I was playing Last of Us on my console.

It is a survival game centered around Ellie and Joel, who are trying to survive in a global pandemic.In a certain gameplay mission, Ellie says to Joel, “I’m done! I can’t do this anymore, I give up”. Joel just stays calm, listens, and understands her feelings. Joel said just one thing to her which was a game-changer for me. He said, “Ellie, just remember one thing- “ENDURE AND SURVIVE.”

At this moment, I paused the game to digest such a relatable thought. I connect deeply with the gaming world and often bring back lessons from it to take with me to the real world. That moment opened my eyes. I realized how foolish and vague things had taken over my mind. If I look at a bigger picture, my problems were relatively small. People were surviving a global pandemic in this gameplay, they were fighting for their lives and I couldn’t  even fight to  stay in a fully equipped hostel room. This thought blew my mind. Thanks to Joel and Ellie for putting everything in perspective.

The very next day, I packed my bag, with renewed energy and a huge smile. I was ready to play the game of life like the warriors, Ellie and Joel.

[blockquote text=”Burst into the flames and rise from the ashes.” text_color=”” width=”” line_height=”undefined” background_color=”” border_color=”” show_quote_icon=”yes” quote_icon_color=”#4285F4″]

Months and years passed by after this incident. During this time, I encountered difficulties, lost hope, and wanted to give up numerous times. Endure and Survive kept playing in my head and I drew courage to keep going. In 2020, the world grappled with a global pandemic and it was as if the world of Ellie and Joel had taken over the real world. It was in the midst of this pandemic that I initially came up with the idea for Abstergo Enterprises, my own company.

[blockquote text=”The Best turning phase of your life is when you are ready to grow against all odds.” text_color=”” width=”” line_height=”undefined” background_color=”” border_color=”” show_quote_icon=”yes” quote_icon_color=”#4285F4″]

Abstergo is my current love and passion. The picture below showcases my workspace where the magic happens. The idea for Abstergo came to me on a Saturday afternoon. I was sitting at McDonald’s with my friends. We were telling stories about high school and discussing the current pandemic. Suddenly, I saw this random guy sitting  adjacent to our seat, working on his spreadsheet. He was eating his burger and simultaneously taking a call like a true multi-tasker.

At that moment, something shifted in me. I felt a force surge through me calling me to action. I had been thinking about starting a company for a while now but something in that moment drove me to finally start. I was always inclined towards managerial projects. The very next day, we had a one page business plan, social media accounts and the initiation of the registration process. From that day that momentum kept building and eventually Abstergo actually happened. Today, I’m proud that we have an International presence with four successful events. If I ever get a chance to see that hustler guy from McDonald’s again, I would thank him for unlocking my drive. Maybe it was fate that put us together that day, maybe it was luck, maybe it was a ‘happy accident. All I know is that unspoken moment led me to create Abstergo from scratch! You never know who’s going to drive you, inspire you, and push you to stretch your limits. They may even be a stranger sitting right next to you! 

 

And, Do you know what does Abstergo means?

Well, this lovely name also comes from my gaming world which means “Clean” in Latin. Everything you do and everyone you meet is somehow connected. Whether it is a videogame that gets you through tough phases or a stranger who inspires you to start a business – anything and everything in your life can unleash your driving force. Everything is connected, you should just Believe in your Driving force!! You have it in you!

Tony Robbins says:

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“There is a powerful driving force inside every human being once unleashed can make any desire a reality”.

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