Learning Self Management; One Day At A Time – Kunal Gupta

“I don’t know which direction to follow anymore”

Words echoed through the walls of Kunal’s mind, who found himself directionless. Born and bred in Delhi, Kunal was always on top of his game during college days. Be it socialising with friends or entertaining people with his stand up jokes, Kunal always surrounded himself with positivity. After graduating in 2020 in the engineering field, Kunal started working at Byjus’ as Business Development Associate and that’s when his life took a turn.

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, Kunal was working from home. Being in a dynamic environment of sales, Kunal started surrendering to deadlines and targets.

“I used to start my work around 9 AM and kept on going for more than 12 hours a day. I started losing sleep and lost count of the time. My family members also started getting concerned about me.” 

Kunal’s friends also started noticing behavioural change in him and advised him to take a break and not push himself so much. But, Kunal was adamant and didn’t want to stop working. Though Kunal had dreams of being an entrepreneur and he was eagerly waiting to put his plans into action, he thought of sticking around in the job, until he received an email from YourDOST, informing him about free and confidential counseling service provided by them.

“I saw an email from YourDOST and thought about how I could share my problems with a counselor and get better at managing myself. After all, letting things out relieves the pain.”

Being the outgoing person he is, Kunal decided to seek counseling from an YourDOST expert and connected with her through video sessions. Kunal got connected with Divya, an Expert counselor from YourDOST. With help of Divya, Kunal jotted out his schedule and got it reviewed by Divya. The first suggestion Divya gave to Kunal was to separate his work room with his bedroom in the house. Doing so, Kunal immediately saw the difference in his productivity.

The next suggestion by Divya to Kunal was to make a time table and follow it religiously. BE it the time to start the work, have breaks, and end the day; everything needs to be done on the exact time. Following such practices, Kunal started having more clarity of his self management ways.

“Divya even suggested workouts to me and I felt good after doing that. Her suggestion to start the day early and be on top of it throughout the day, helped me really well.”

After getting  a clarity on his work life, Kunal discussed his career queries with Divya. She suggested Kunal to not rush into it and gain industry experience first. Kunal was able to get in line with Divya’s suggestions and decided to wait and gain as much practical knowledge as he could. 

“I wish more corporations chose YourDOST as their emotional wellness partner, and more people benefit from the counseling sessions.”

Kunal urges everyone to seek counseling if they need, because sometimes despite knowing the problem or issue we are going through, we need an outsider’s perspective.

While being asked about how much improvement score he would like to give himself, Kunal gave a 3.5 stars out of 5. He is ever grateful to Divya for being the most practical and empathetic counselor he has ever come across!

In order to achieve something, one must have patience in life, says Kunal. And surely, we second him and his inspiring words!

Kunal’s Warrior Tips:
1. When and if we get sick, we visit a doctor and similarly, whenever we might feel emotionally distressed, we must visit a counselor or a therapist.
2. Go out and talk! It’s as simple as that!

Are you someone who has gone through a difficult phase and emerged stronger and better, with some professional help? Share your story with us to encourage thousands of others who might be struggling. Click here to submit your story.