{"id":11760,"date":"2026-08-13T03:29:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=11760"},"modified":"2026-08-13T03:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:29:02","slug":"she-quit-her-9-to-5-stopped-waiting-for-salary-alerts-and-started-asking-a-question-many-young-professionals-struggle-with-what-gives-life-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=11760","title":{"rendered":"She quit her 9-to-5, stopped waiting for salary alerts, and started asking a question many young professionals struggle with: What gives life meaning?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133195996,imgsize-132852,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/charmie-kapoor.jpg\" alt=\"She quit her 9-to-5, stopped waiting for salary alerts, and started asking a question many young professionals struggle with: What gives life meaning?\" title=\"Why Charmie Kapoor chose freedom over a dream startup job after 10 years of work. (Photo: X post)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Why Charmie Kapoor chose freedom over a dream startup job after 10 years of work. (Photo: X post)\">Why Charmie Kapoor chose freedom over a dream startup job after 10 years of work. (Photo: X post)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For years, success looked familiar to her.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"1\"\/>A full-time job. A predictable calendar. A monthly salary. Professional goals. Deadlines. Promotions.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>Then she walked away from it.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/>Designer and entrepreneur Charmie Kapoor recently shared a deeply personal reflection on social media about leaving her 9-to-5 job after working for nearly a decade. <!-- -->Her post struck a chord because it wasn&#8217;t about burnout, a career crisis, or chasing a higher salary.<!-- --> Instead, it explored a question that many students and young professionals quietly wrestle with: If work no longer defines you, what does?<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>Her thoughts have sparked conversations about ambition, identity, purpose, and whether success always needs to follow a traditional path.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>When the monthly salary message disappears<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>According to Kapoor, one of the first adjustments after leaving a full-time job was getting used to the absence of a salary notification.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>&#8220;There&#8217;s something very comforting about watching a number show up which indirectly tells you that you&#8217;re doing fine,&#8221; she wrote.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>But she also discovered something unexpected: freedom.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>Without a calendar filled with meetings and deadlines, she began experimenting with how she wanted to spend her time. She completed personal projects that had been sitting unfinished for years, helped friends with design projects, exercised every day, explored design beyond digital screens, and even started a small mango toast delivery venture.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>For students preparing to enter the workforce, her experience highlights an important reality: a career often occupies much more mental space than people realise.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>The philosophy lesson that changed her perspective<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>What makes Kapoor&#8217;s reflection particularly interesting for young readers is that it goes far beyond career advice.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>She described three philosophical approaches that shaped her thinking:<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\u2022 Nihilism: <\/span>Life has no inherent meaning, so people simply continue doing what comes their way.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\u2022 <\/span><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Existentialism<\/span><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">: <\/span>Life has no built-in meaning, so people must create their own purpose.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"42\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\u2022 Absurdism: <\/span>Life has no inherent meaning, and that&#8217;s perfectly acceptable, so people should focus on living in the present.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/>Kapoor admitted that she had spent most of her life as an &#8220;existentialist&#8221; without even knowing the term.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>Her formula for life was straightforward: choose a goal, care about it intensely, and keep trying to succeed.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"49\"\/>That mindset, she believes, made her ambitious.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"52\"\/>But after leaving her job, she began moving toward a different perspective.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"54\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>A dream opportunity arrived\u2014and she still wasn&#8217;t convinced<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most revealing part of her story came when one of the world&#8217;s fastest-growing startups approached her.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"57\"\/>By her own admission, a few years ago she would have accepted such an opportunity immediately.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"59\"\/>But this time, things felt different.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"61\"\/>Even though the role checked every box, she found herself more excited about continuing to build projects on her own terms.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"64\"\/>Was she avoiding structure? Or had her definition of success changed?<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"66\"\/>She still doesn&#8217;t have a complete answer.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"68\"\/>&#8220;I&#8217;m at this newfound balance between existentialism giving me happiness and absurdism giving me peace,&#8221; she wrote.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"70\"\/>For students choosing careers and young professionals climbing the corporate ladder, Kapoor&#8217;s reflections offer an important reminder: success isn&#8217;t always about finding the perfect job.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"74\"\/>Sometimes, it&#8217;s about finding the right balance between achievement and contentment.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"76\"\/>And sometimes, as Kapoor jokingly concluded in her now-viral post, it simply means stepping away from the screen and heading out for a 5 p.m. pickleball game.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"78\"\/><span class=\"strong em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Disclaimer: <\/span><span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">This article was prepared by <\/span><span class=\"strong em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">TOI Education <\/span><span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">using information shared publicly by Charmie Kapoor on social media and is intended for educational and informational purposes only.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/education\/news\/she-quit-her-9-to-5-stopped-waiting-for-salary-alerts-and-started-asking-a-question-many-young-professionals-struggle-with-what-gives-life-meaning\/articleshow\/133195981.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why Charmie Kapoor chose freedom over a dream startup job after 10 years of work. (Photo: X post) For years, success looked familiar to her.A full-time job. A predictable calendar. A monthly salary. Professional goals. Deadlines. Promotions.Then she walked away from it.Designer and entrepreneur Charmie Kapoor recently shared a deeply personal reflection on social media [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Why Charmie Kapoor chose freedom over a dream startup job after 10 years of work. (Photo: X post) For years, success looked familiar to her.A full-time job. A predictable calendar. A monthly salary. Professional goals. Deadlines. Promotions.Then she walked away from it.Designer and entrepreneur Charmie Kapoor recently shared a deeply personal reflection on social media [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":2,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":3,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/charmie-kapoor.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}