“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C.S Lewis
Satvik (name changed) is the living embodiment of this quote. Originally from Andhra Pradesh, Satvik is currently 28 years old and is pursuing his MTech from IIT Madras.
He enjoys involving himself in different hobbies like watching cricket and playing the keyboard. He’s an avid reader with diverse interests ranging from comics to books on law and medicine.
Reminiscing about his childhood, Satvik recalls very few good memories with his family. His home environment was not always peaceful, and he bore witness to a lot of family struggles right from a very young age.
“The atmosphere in my home was very chaotic with constant clashes between everyone.I did not have any peace of mind.”
Satvik mentions that he had a good relationship with his mother and his sister, but not with his father. They often had conflicts at home which made him feel disheartened.
Growing up in a household that has constant clashes between family members can leave long-lasting impacts on children. They might develop insecurities and experience feelings of guilt and responsibility to solve other people’s problems.
When Satvik was around 26 years old, there was an incident that took place which shook him up completely.
“My grandfather had a fall and I could not pick him up. I froze at that moment, and for a long time after that I felt shattered.”
He could not believe that he wasn’t able to help his grandfather and felt as if he were powerless.
“I felt so guilty for not being able to pick up my grandfather at that moment. It made me feel like I did not qualify to be a man.”
Satvik could not cope with these feelings alone anymore. Unfortunately, not too long after that, he faced rejection from a woman he liked which only made him feel worse.
“After being rejected, I felt an overflow of emotions. I was completely overwhelmed and I decided to start talking to a counselor.”
He felt as if his emotions had taken over him, and that things were only getting worse for him. It was this experience of hitting rock bottom that pushed him to get professional help.
The renowned Disney movie, Lion King tells an inspiring story of change, and how you can learn from the past.
As Timon, a character from the movie stated “You have to put your past behind you. Bad things can happen to you and you can’t do anything about it.”
Similarly, Satvik knew he had to put his past behind him. He needed a space to feel safe and vulnerable so he could truly open up. He mentioned that his university had partnered with YourDOST which is how he decided to give counseling a try.
“My counselor, Ms. Ishita, was so great. She helped me with learning to manage my emotions better. If I hadn’t done that, I would not have been able to move forward.”
Coming from a home with many struggles had affected him in ways he was initially unaware of. Along with his counselor, Satvik himself began to notice the root causes of his issues during his counseling sessions.
Counseling helped him understand that it’s completely okay to take things at your own pace and that everyone has their own journey of improvement. Ms. Ishita helped him to be patient with his journey of recovery, which is exactly what he needed.
“I never had trouble acknowledging that I had issues. However, the one thing I could not do was accept the things that were happening to me. Now I am learning to be okay with these problems and let go of them so I can move forward.”
As Rafiki says in Lion King, “The Past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.” Satvik decided it was time to stop trying to escape the incidents that happened in the past, and to learn from them.
He noticed that the safe and secure space Ms. Ishita created for him helped him learn to let go of his past. This played a major role in his journey of improvement as he says he has come a long way since then.
Satvik rates himself a 4.5 out of 5 in terms of feeling better. His patience and perseverance are what have helped him the most, and have made him ready to conquer any challenge life throws at him.
Satvik’s Warrior Tips:
1.”Learn to accept the consequences of your actions. It is the step to let go of the past and move forward.”
2.“Don’t dwell on the past. You can’t control what happened but you can control how you decide to move forward.”
3.”Always strive for improvement, even if it means being a little better than you were yesterday.”
