Happy Halloween! This week’s episode is all about the power of having strong standards and habits and how they can truly save you. After getting sick this past week and being forced to slow down, I realized how much the standards and habits I’ve built for myself have become my safety net in my health, my work ethic, my relationships, my friendships, and even my finances.

I share what it felt like to go from constantly being “on” to suddenly doing nothing.  That experience reminded me why strong habits matter more than motivation ever will. From learning to rest without guilt, to recognizing how high standards help you weed out the wrong people faster, this episode is about becoming the kind of person who doesn’t fall apart when life does. 

If you’ve ever wondered how to actually build discipline, keep your standards high without burning out, and stop accepting less than what you deserve, this episode is for you. ENJOY

This week, my dad joins me on the podcast for a very candid conversation about the mindset and priorities this generation might be missing. We especially zoom in on how many men are falling behind and not taking initiative in their lives. We lay out how they can and should make changes to become successful and continue strengthening the future of our society, because it's relying on them just as much as it is on women, and they can't afford to fall behind now. 

We dive into why time is your most valuable and irredeemable asset, why taking risks early in life matters, and how exposure through books, real conversations, and travel builds perspective. 

Next, we move into relationships and why who you choose as your partner is the single most important decision of your life. We also share a framework for finding "the one" using an acronym of a word that describes a certain male reproductive part, but you'll have to listen to find out what it is. And fortunately (or unfortunately), yes, I actually use this very inappropriate term to navigate dating, but it is extremely helpful and, if I'm being honest, pretty hard to forget. 

After briefly sharing what women need to hear in this generation, we focus on men and my dad's perspective on what many young men need to hear right now: that they need mentorship, drive, and accountability to take responsibility for their lives. This is because together strong men and strong women build strong societies and we need both to do their part.

We wrap up by talking about freeing your mind from "absolutes" in life, and replacing "I can't" with "why not," and learning how to write your script even when things feel unpredictable. 

I never imagined I would be able to create an episode with my dad that so perfectly captures and details so many of the life lessons he has engrained in me since birth. I credit my mentality, successes, and passion in life primarily to him and I am so proud to call him my father. I hope you find many takeaways from this empowering conversation. ENJOY

Correction in episode:

* Invest $100/wk for 20 years not $100/month for 10 years

This might be my new favorite episode of the podcast. I am so excited and honored to bring my best friend of eight years, Camille, to the show. She's incredibly accomplished for her age and truly inspires me every single day. Being able to take our friendship, share just how much love, strength, and growth we've experienced together, and bring that to the podcast makes me happier beyond words.

In this episode, Camille and I dive into what young adulting really looks like after graduation and how we're navigating two very different paths in this stage of life. We reflect on the shift from college to the 9 to 5 world and how we define our goals now. We also discuss where motivation comes from at this age and how finding purpose within yourself is what matters most. We felt it was important to highlight that mental goals are essential to acheiveing career ones.

We share how these goals show up in our daily routines, mindsets, and social lives. We also talk about what to do when you feel like you've already achieved many of the things you once set out to do.

You'll hear us bicker a bit, which was inevitable, and share some funny stories from our high school days. We also chat about how we continue to enjoy our 20s while staying focused on building ourselves.

This episode is for everyone who’s trying to figure out “what’s next” and how to define their young adult life while making the most of it. Much love to Camille for sharing her insight, and we hope you love this episode just as much as we loved recording it. ENJOY

Overstimulated & having no time (by my own choosing). This episode reminds me of my earlier podcast days back in 2021 when I used to make honest and reflective episodes where I would talk through what I was struggling with and how I am learning.

In this one, I share how I had to be completely honest with myself and admit that I’ve been feeling overwhelmed, and that it’s largely by my own choosing. It’s not a complaint, but more of a candid check-in with myself. It stems from the many things I want to achieve in life and the high standards I set for myself, thus keeping such a busy schedule supports that, but can be robust on the amount of energy and time is takes. Honestly, I have lost myself in the process sometimes.

It feels strange that even though my life right now is at a peak and filled with almost everything I once envisioned for myself when I was 13, I still experience stress juggling all the aspects of maintaining this lifestyle. I talk about my personal pillars of life, what slowing down really means for me, and how being more intentional day to day helps me navigate my next goals and aspirations.

I hope you find this episode relatable, especially if you’re also figuring out post-grad life and what it means to truly balance it all. ENJOY

Welcome to the 2nd episode of Mind The Baat! In this episode, I talk through how and why I realized I needed to spend some intentional time alone.

Earlier this year, I went through a pretty emotional and rough time. Post-grad life hit me hard, and I also had some personal stuff going on. I kind of suppressed all those emotions to figure out my life as an adult. After two or three months, I finally found my path and achieved the things I had been working toward my whole life, i.e, having a full-time job I actually really love and the many other things I dreamed of obtaining as a young adult with money coming in. But in the middle of enjoying it all, I realized that I was getting caught up in a kind of fantasized version of this "ideal life" I had always envisoned for myself. It wasn't bad, but it felt like a distraction from the unresolved feelings underneath that still needed to be processed. 

That's when the idea of spending intentional time alone became important for me. I share how I came to that realization, what I have been doing to reconnect with my core self, and how it feels. The point isn't to downplay my achievements, but to check back in with myself to figure out how I want to navigate the next chapter of my life. ENJOY

Welcome to Mind The Baat. I’m retiring Too Many Thoughts, but it’ll always be a part of me and where I gained my voice. It’s time to mature into the next phase of my life. In this first episode I share about how my summer went now in post-grad life and how it’s been treating me (i.e, bawling crying leaving my college apartment, tirelessly planning out my life, and an impulsive vacation to Australia). After a long but much-needed debrief of five months of ghosting the podcast, I explain what Mind The Baat is, what it means to me and the space I am creating. I hope you enjoy this episode and thank you to all the listeners who have been so patient during my break. I’M BACK. ENJOY.

Welcoming Ish, aka my twin, to the podcast! She and I dive into how our values as our south asian immigrant parents, her's from Punjab and mine from Pakistan, raised us in the Bay Area while implementing their cultural values.

We touch on the differences in how boys and girls are raised and the challenges in those differences of expectations and treatment. We both offer unique perspectives that align and misalign at times and shifted the conversation to specifically how it has translated into our friendships, college life, perspective of life, and dating. Further topics on childhood trauma, societal pressures, self-perception, desi values, the American system, the different versions we live of ourselves, building a relationship with your parents, and the importance of cultural exposure. We hope to open these conversations within our Desi American community.

I cannot thank Ish enough for joining on the episode. Her perspective is so unique from my own that I really valued having her on, especially because we have so many of these productive conversations all the time, and I am ecstatic to share our ideas with my listeners. Love you, Ish!

ENJOY

Welcoming my roommate to the podcast, I was truly grateful to hear her story. We began by sharing how we met and became roommates, reflecting on the value of living with people from similar backgrounds—how we all in a way automatically understand each other as we make some of the best college memories that we will remember for many years to come.

Merriam opened up about her hardships and how she overcame them, highlighting the skills she developed through her journey with therapy. We discussed the importance of falling, getting back up, and growing from challenges, as well as the internal struggles from childhood that many of us are still learning to heal during college and early adulthood. This episode was incredibly playful, heartfelt, and therapeutic, and I was honored to have her on.

ENJOY

Welcoming 2025 in basically March... but HAPPY NEW YEAR anyway as I haven't recorded since last year and wanted to share how I celebrated in Pakistan and Malaysia. After a quick reflection on my trip, I share how much perspective it gave me as I came back to my college routine. The two main pressures I talked about in my last semester of college are post-college plan (JOB) and marriage which is a conversation my parents sprung on me. I discuss quite a bit on Pakistani American marriage and my opinions on finding my person, but I'm also curious to know what my fellow Desi Americans feel about this. A quick side step to how my cut is going, losing weight and going to the gym. Also, RAMADAN MUBARAK I hope this time brings lots of peace to everyone celebrating. Welcome back to TMT :) ENJOY

"Do it sad, do it tired, do it unmotivated. Just do it!!" This has been my new motto because being a young adult has not been the easiest thing with so much of my life left to plan and figure out and it feels like it needs to be done now, specifically career plans post-grad and finding my husband. I wanted to label these feelings and talk about what I expect most 21 year old, about to graduate, college students must be feeling. I hope this reaches my target audience and pulls my fellow bed-rotters out of their slumps. YOU HAVE COME SO FAR. Also, I know the audio sucks but it's auditorially legible, I will fix it for the next one ;) ENJOY

I often describe eras of my life as the aura of an animal and recently I have been feeling like a sloth. That's a rough thing to accept when I felt like a piranha the majority of the year, especially interning in DC, fighting obstacles and seeking opportunities. I describe how I feel like my slump is most likely due to things coming easy this year, resulting in a lack of hard work and making the reward less rewarding and not even worth trying. I recount on my piranha mindset and create a game plan that looks forward, with the gym being a huge contributor to that mentality. In this last year of college and looking forward to post-grad life, I think many of you will relate to this odd transition period and relate to the mentality. ENJOY

Sit down with Ameer and I as we chat about his passion for music. It started with family dinners with his parents singing, to him performing at non-profits in Lahore, Pakistan, to serenading PSA (Pakistani Student Association) at the Mehndi Ki Raat event at UC Berkeley where he is now pursuing his career goals in public policy in the Haas School of Business. I respect him for putting himself in the spotlight and showcasing his talent on Instagram where I first met him. We also touched on the many famous brands he's represented as well as his singles and music video released. I am honored to call him one of my good friends and his life goals inspire me and I'm sure they will inspire you too, but you'll have to listen to find out. ENJOY

I grew up very very independent & being surrounded by so many people this year who have been so loving and welcoming, I've been learning how to balance letting myself be dependent on others without relying on them too much. Also, while continuing to practice always being able to support myself when I need to. This comes out with simple things like grocery runs to having mental breakdown therapy sessions. I feel that many of my first-born, desi girls will relate to this episode as all our fathers raised us as if we were sons (but honestly we have an elite mentality). ENJOY

Reading the title of this episode is the best way I can describe it. ENJOY

I moved to the East Coast for work for the summer! I share the racial differences, aggressive drivers, and my appreciation for the dressing here amongst many other observations. My first week here before starting work has been pretty isolating and I share what I have been learning about myself during this kind of forced solitude.

While recording at the conspired haunted Denver airport, I wanted to share my experiences playing golf for the last 12 years. How my dad dragged me to the courses every weekend, playing for my high school team, tips on your swing, and most importantly, the many many life lessons learned from playing. I absolutely love the sport and am so happy to share this part of my life with you guys and I can't believe I haven't made an episode about it yet. Okay, my flight is boarding in 3 minutes and I apologize for the airport audio BYE. ENJOY

Back home the lack of routine, adjusting to a new space, amongst a thousand new responsibilities over the summer of spending time with family, friends, and preparing to move across the country had me in a spiral. Also while having new feelings that I was processing for the first time. All these changes are attributed to growth and young adulting, but they can be terrifying to embark on. I discuss what these feelings are like and their coping methods. I hope you find this episode relatable as it exposes the reality of a young adult mind just trying to figure out things that aren't necessarily obvious and would never be guessed from my social media. ENJOY