Smart Life by Dr. Rohit

I Wouldn’t Talk to My Friends the Way I Talk to Myself Rewriting self-criticism into self-support 🔁 The Harshest Voice in My Life Is My Own “Why can’t you ever get this right?” “You should’ve done better.” “Anyone else would’ve managed.” I’ve spoken these lines countless times. Not to strangers. Not to colleagues. Not even to people who disappointed me. But to myself. And here’s the thing that shook me: I would never talk to my closest friend this way. So why do I think it’s okay to do it to me? 🧠 The Double Standard of Compassion With friends, I’m gentle. I reassure. I encourage. I remind them of their worth. With myself, I’m merciless. I measure. I criticize. I demand. Somewhere along the way, I confused self-accountability with self-abuse. 💡 The Turning Point One evening, I journaled every self-criticism I threw at myself in a day. Then I imagined saying those exact words to my daughter. I couldn’t. It felt cruel. It felt wrong. And yet, I was comfortable doing it to ...

The CSR Grant Didn’t Come—But the Work Went On 🎯 What happens when the funding doesn’t arrive—but the dream is already in motion? At Olava Foundation, we’ve had plans that looked flawless on paper—CSR proposals detailed, decks polished, impact forecasts crystal clear. But then came the silence. No callback. No email. The grant didn’t come. 🛠 But We Didn’t Stop. Because impact doesn’t wait for approvals. We repurposed what we had. Called in volunteers. Took smaller steps. Used borrowed space. Reduced scope—but not heart. We trimmed the plan. Not the purpose. 💡 3 Lessons We Learned (the Hard Way) 1. CSR Isn’t the Mission—It’s a Bonus We treat CSR as fuel, not the engine. The real engine? Passion, people, persistence. 2. Delayed Funds Don’t Mean Delayed Compassion That child still needed help. That patient couldn’t wait. That girl still deserved dignity. So we did what we could, with what we had. 3. Saying “We’re Still Doing It Anyway” Changes Everything It attracts unexpec...

One Checkup a Year: The Easiest Life Insurance You’ll Ever Buy 🩺 "But I feel fine." That’s what most people say when I ask why they haven’t done a routine checkup in years. They’re not wrong. They do feel fine. But here’s the thing: Disease doesn’t wait for pain to send an invitation. High blood pressure. Diabetes. Early-stage cancers. Kidney damage. Liver overload. All of these can stay silent for years—while quietly doing their damage. 💡 Prevention Isn’t Paranoia—It’s Self-Respect You don’t check your car only when it stops working. You do it to keep it running smoothly. Your body deserves the same logic. An annual checkup is not fear-based living. It’s responsible living. 🏥 What I Tell My Patients (and Myself) Every year, I block one day off my calendar for: Blood pressure & sugar CBC, liver & kidney function tests Lipid profile ECG, chest X-ray USG abdomen if over 35 Vitamin D & B12 (especially if fatigued) Pap smear/mammogram/prostate check—dep...

The Cost of Convenience: How Swiggy, Amazon & EMIs Quietly Reshape Our Habits Behavioral finance meets modern lifestyle 🍔 The Swiggy Trap: It’s Not Just About Food It was a rainy night. We were all tired. I opened the app, ordered dinner in 3 taps—and it arrived in 22 minutes. Was it convenient? Incredibly. Was it expensive? Surprisingly, yes. Was it necessary? Probably not. But here’s the catch: We don’t just pay for convenience with money. We pay with habits. 💳 When EMIs Become Normalized From phones to sofas, insurance premiums to vacations—we can buy almost everything on EMIs today. EMI feels like financial freedom. But it’s often a leash disguised as a ladder. > The question isn’t “Can I afford the EMI?” The real question is “Should I even be buying this right now?” With every tap-to-pay, we shift our relationship with money from saver → spender → borrower. 📦 Amazon Prime & the 10-Second Decision We buy things we didn’t know we wanted, for problems we nev...

What I Want My Daughter to Learn About Saying No 🧒🏼 “Papa, do I have to hug him?” It was a simple question. A family gathering. An eager relative with outstretched arms. And a four-year-old who hesitated. In that pause, I saw the future. And I knew what I had to say. > “No, sweetheart. You never have to hug anyone if you don’t feel like it.” That moment stayed with me. Because this wasn’t just about hugs. It was about her voice. 🌱 Teaching “No” Is Teaching Self-Respect In a world that often expects girls to smile, please, comply, and avoid “making a scene,” saying No can feel like rebellion. But for my daughter, I want it to feel like a right. A muscle she’s allowed to use. Without guilt. Without apology. 🔑 What I Want Her to Know About “No” 1. No is a Complete Sentence She doesn’t need to justify it. Not with “I’m tired” or “maybe later” or “sorry.” If she doesn’t want to—she doesn’t have to. 2. Her Body, Her Boundaries Whether it’s a tickle, a touch, or a tradition...

“I Thought Healing Meant Never Hurting Again—It Doesn’t” Understanding emotional growth as nonlinear 🩹 I Thought I Had Healed There was a time I believed that healing was a finish line. That if I journaled enough, forgave enough, meditated enough— I’d finally reach that magical point where nothing could shake me. No more overthinking. No more triggers. No more ache in the chest from a memory I thought I’d buried. I thought healing meant never hurting again. I was wrong. 🔁 Healing Is a Spiral, Not a Straight Line One morning, a familiar situation unfolded— Something small. Something old. But it brought back that feeling. Tight throat. Fast thoughts. Sudden shame. And I remember thinking: > “How am I still feeling this? Haven’t I done the work?” That’s when I realized— Healing doesn’t erase wounds. It teaches us how to tend to them when they reopen. You don’t un-feel. You just un-fear. 🧠 Growth Isn’t Measured by How Little You Hurt… …it’s measured by how gently you resp...

Being Useful Is More Important Than Being Popular A lesson from grassroots work that changed how I define success. 🎤 “Doctor, no one will notice if we skip this camp.” That’s what someone told me while we were planning a small OPD outreach. No press. No sponsors. No social media plan. Just a dusty tent. A table. And maybe 20 villagers. They weren’t wrong. But they weren’t right either. 🌱 Usefulness Doesn’t Trend. But It Transforms. In a world that celebrates what’s viral, what’s visible, what’s shared— we forget the value of what’s silent but sacred. Like explaining a prescription to a woman who never went to school. Or sitting beside a tribal elder who hadn’t seen a doctor in 3 years. Or calming a worried mother whose child had a simple, treatable infection. No spotlight. No applause. But that moment? That was impact. 🧭 Olava Foundation Taught Me This—Over and Over Again Some of our biggest wins looked like failures on paper: A blood donation camp with just 14 donors. A...

Health Anxiety Is Real—And It’s Not Just in Your Head Because worry wears a white coat too. 😓 “I Googled my symptoms… and I’m scared.” As a doctor, I’ve heard this more times than I can count. And usually, it’s followed by nervous laughter, awkward silence, or a sentence that begins with— > “I know it’s probably nothing, but…” But sometimes, it’s not nothing. Not because there’s a grave diagnosis. But because there’s a very real fear. And fear deserves care too. 🧠 What Is Health Anxiety, Really? It’s when a headache feels like a tumor. When a skipped heartbeat feels like the beginning of the end. When one Google search turns into 30 tabs and three sleepless nights. It’s not attention-seeking. It’s not overreaction. It’s anxiety—dressed in the language of illness. And in the medical world, these people are often labelled as the “worried well.” But they’re not always well. Not in the way that matters. 🔁 The Damage of Being Dismissed When we shrug off health anxiety as “...

“Is It Really a Need? Or Just a New Normal?” (Decoding lifestyle inflation and spending triggers) 🛒 “We need it, Baba.” That’s what my daughter said while holding a giant soft toy at the mall. It wasn’t a tantrum. It was a belief. And honestly… I’ve said the same about things I didn’t really need. A new phone. A second coffee machine. Subscription number 9 out of 12. But that question stuck in my head— > Is it really a need? Or just a new normal I’ve become used to? 🎢 The Slow Creep of Lifestyle Inflation You don’t wake up one day and decide to overspend. It happens gradually. You get a raise, and suddenly your coffee goes from ₹50 to ₹250. A 2BHK feels small, even if it was fine last year. Your kid’s birthday party needs a bouncy castle now—not just cake and samosas. That’s not ambition. That’s lifestyle inflation. It disguises itself as “deserving more,” but quietly eats into your savings, peace, and freedom. 🔍 3 Self-Checks Before You Buy the Next ‘Need’ 1. Is it s...

The One Parenting Rule I Follow: Connection Before Correction 👶🏼 “Why did you do that?” I asked, already half-angry. My daughter looked away. No words. Just shrinking shoulders and darting eyes. In that split second, I saw it— Not guilt. Not mischief. Fear. And that’s when it hit me. I was about to correct her. But I hadn’t connected with her first. 🧠 The Parenting Rule That Changed Everything Connection before correction. It sounds simple. But in the heat of a tantrum, spilled milk, or backtalk, it’s hard. Because we’re wired to fix, discipline, teach. But kids aren’t just misbehaving—they’re communicating. And when we rush to correct, we miss what they’re really trying to say. 🛠 What “Connection First” Looks Like in Real Life When she draws on the wall, I pause before scolding. > “Were you trying to make something beautiful?” When he pushes his plate away, I soften. > “You didn’t like the taste, sweetheart?” When there’s a lie, I breathe before reacting. > “W...

I’m Allowed to Rest Even If I Didn’t Earn It Breaking productivity guilt and redefining self-worth 😓 I didn’t do “enough” today—but I’m still tired. Can I rest? That question used to haunt me. I’d ask it every night I didn’t hit my to-do list. Every time I canceled a meeting. Every time I chose stillness over “hustle.” Because somewhere, I learned that rest must be earned—like a trophy. And if I didn’t “achieve enough,” I didn’t “deserve” to rest. 🧠 Where Does This Guilt Come From? It’s subtle. But powerful. You grew up hearing: “Finish your homework, then you can play.” “Don't waste time doing nothing.” “Only successful people sleep peacefully.” So your brain equates rest with laziness—unless it follows exhaustion. But here's the truth: Rest isn’t a reward. It’s a requirement. You don’t need to crash to justify a break. 🔄 The Toxic Cycle of Earned Rest You overwork to feel worthy. You get exhausted. You finally rest—but not peacefully, because guilt sneaks in. S...

Money Scripts: What Your Childhood Taught You About Wealth (and How It Shows Up Today) Your money habits aren’t just about numbers. They’re about narratives. 👶 “We don’t talk about money at the dinner table.” Maybe you heard that. Maybe you saw your parents argue over bills behind closed doors. Maybe your pocket money always came with guilt. Or maybe you were told: “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” so many times, it started growing in your fears. And now? You’re an adult. You earn. You save. You spend. But somewhere deep inside, those old stories still run the show. 🧠 What Are Money Scripts? Money scripts are unconscious beliefs about money that were formed in childhood—often shaped by what we saw, heard, or felt around wealth (or the lack of it). These scripts sit in our subconscious like invisible directors—guiding how we: React to a salary hike Handle debt Talk to our kids about saving Or feel when someone says, “You charge too much.” 🧭 The 4 Most Common Money Scripts (W...

“It’s Just Gas, Right? The Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore Anymore” Because brushing it off could cost more than you think. 💭 “It’s just gas, doctor… I think I’ll be fine by evening.” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard this line. And as a doctor, I’ve also lost count of how many silent emergencies have come wrapped in those exact words. Sometimes, yes—it is just gas. But sometimes, it’s a ticking time bomb disguised as harmless bloating. 🚨 The Day “Gas” Turned Out to Be a Heart Attack A 42-year-old man walked into OPD, holding his chest lightly. “It’s just gas, I had spicy food last night,” he smiled weakly. But his ECG told a different story: Early-stage myocardial infarction. We intervened just in time. Had he waited longer… we would’ve lost him. This is not fearmongering. This is fact. 📍 5 Common “Just Gas” Complaints That Could Be More 1. Chest Discomfort After Meals Don’t ignore it. It might not be acidity. It could be cardiac. If it comes with sweating, diz...

How I Explained EMIs and Interest Rates to My 4-Year-Old “Baba, why do we pay the bank every month?” That was the question my 4-year-old daughter asked while I was doing my monthly online payments. She was watching closely—curious eyes tracking my screen, fingers holding a soft toy, brain ticking away. I paused. This wasn’t a moment for a brush-off. It was a moment to plant a seed. So, I took a deep breath and did what every modern parent tries to do: Explain something very adult in a way a preschooler can actually understand. 🏠 The Toy House Analogy That Worked I placed two toy houses in front of her. One was new. One looked old and used. > “Suppose you want the new house today, but you don’t have enough money to buy it. So you ask a bank for help.” I gave her a few of her pretend coins. > “The bank gives you the full money to buy the new house. But the bank says—‘you don’t need to return everything today. Just give me a little every month… plus a little thank you g...

“What I Want My Kids to Know About Failure (Before the World Teaches Them the Hard Way)” We'll follow our standard blog structure and emotional-introspective tone with practical, relatable parenting reflections. Here’s the full blog draft: 🧠 What I Want My Kids to Know About Failure (Before the World Teaches Them the Hard Way) Making failure a safe word at home—and a tool for future resilience. Date: 29 October 2025 Pillars: Parenting, Mental Strength Labels: failure, parenting, growth mindset, emotional safety, mental health, resilience 💬 “I failed, Baba.” If those words ever leave your lips, I hope they carry no shame. I hope you say them the same way you’d say, “I tried my best,” or “That didn’t go as planned,” or even, “Let’s try again.” Because failure isn’t a punishment. It’s a passport. One that stamps your entry into the land of learning. 🛑 But First, Let’s Unlearn What I Was Taught I wasn’t raised in a world that knew how to love failure. Marks mattered. Ran...

Why Most Parents Avoid Talking About Money—And Why That’s a Problem Most of us grew up in homes where money was either a taboo subject or one wrapped in tension. We heard phrases like: “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” “Don’t talk about money in front of guests.” “You’re too young to understand.” So, we didn’t ask. We didn’t understand. We just absorbed — the stress, the silence, the shame. But here’s the thing: our kids are still absorbing. And if we don't talk to them about money, someone else will. Maybe a friend. Maybe an  influencer . Maybe a  marketing campaign that equates self-worth with spending . The Silent Curriculum at Home Even when we don’t actively teach money lessons, we’re still teaching them. Arguing about bills teaches that money causes conflict. Constantly saying "we can’t afford it" teaches scarcity. Avoiding the topic altogether teaches that money is scary or shameful. Your child is learning — from every sigh at the ATM, every hesitation bef...

Introduction There are days when I stare at my goals, my to-do list, or even my reflection and think: > “Am I doing this right?” “What if I’m messing it all up?” “Shouldn’t I have figured this out by now?” It’s a quiet feeling most of us carry. Especially the responsible ones. The achievers. The givers. But here’s what I’ve come to believe: > Not knowing isn’t failure. It’s freedom. And today, I want to talk about the courage it takes to admit: > “I don’t have all the answers. And that’s perfectly human.” We’re All Figuring It Out Your friends. Your mentors. Even your boss or your parents. We’re all just improvising with the tools we have—experience, instinct, feedback, hope. Nobody gets a handbook titled “Here’s exactly how to live your life.” We learn. We try. We stumble. We try again. The ones who grow the most? They admit they don’t know—and ask better questions. Growth Begins with Confusion Think of the last time you truly learned something: A new skill A new ...

Introduction “I’ll invest once I make more.” “I need at least ₹50,000 to start SIPs.” “I don’t earn enough to think about mutual funds.” I hear this mindset all the time—and it’s holding back an entire generation. The truth? > Investing is not about being rich. It’s about being regular. Whether you're a student, a salaried professional, or a freelancer—consistency will beat intensity in the long run. Let’s break the myth. 1. Start Where You Are—Even ₹500 is Enough You don’t need to wait for a salary hike or a big bonus. ₹500/month is enough to: Build habit Beat inflation Learn the system Grow wealth over time Wealth is built in quiet monthly steps, not sudden windfalls. 2. Waiting Costs You More Than You Think Let’s say: Person A starts SIP of ₹2,000/month at 25 Person B waits till 35 to start ₹5,000/month At 12% annual return, by 55: Person A will have ~₹70 lakh Person B will have ~₹58 lakh Starting early and small beats starting late and big. 3. Consistency Is the ...

Money Scripts: What Your Childhood Taught You About Wealth (and How It Shows Up Today) Some of us save every rupee like we might lose it tomorrow. Others spend freely, telling ourselves “we deserve it.” A few avoid thinking about money altogether — until it's too late. Where does all this come from? Welcome to the world of Money Scripts — the unconscious beliefs you carry from childhood that quietly shape every financial decision you make. What Are Money Scripts? Money scripts are core beliefs about money formed during your early years. They’re shaped by what you saw, heard, or emotionally absorbed from your parents, teachers, or community. Examples? “Money is the root of all evil.” “More money will solve all my problems.” “We can’t afford that.” “Rich people are greedy.” “Talking about money is rude.” You may not consciously believe them — but they often drive your behaviour. The Four Common Money Scripts According to financial psychologists, most of our behaviours fal...

The Body Keeps the Score — But So Does the Mind You may have heard the phrase “The body keeps the score.” It’s the title of a now-iconic book that explores how trauma imprints itself physically in our bodies. But here’s something we often overlook: The mind keeps score too. Quietly. Constantly. Relentlessly. From a missed opportunity in our twenties to a hurtful comment from a parent… from unresolved guilt to unspoken grief — our minds hold onto emotional IOUs that nobody else can see. And if the body manifests trauma through tight muscles and migraines, the mind plays its own game: anxiety, perfectionism, self-doubt, overthinking, burnout masked as ambition. The Unseen Ledgers We Carry You may not even realize how long your mind has been collecting dues. That time you were told, “Don’t cry. Be strong.” When you failed once and silently decided, “I’m not good enough.” The betrayal that you “moved on” from — but never really healed. Each moment scribbled into a mental ledger...