Your job is not your personality. But your effort is.

On why your standards matter more than your title.

Have you ever found yourself doing the bare minimum at work just to get through the day?

Not because you’re lazy — but because you’ve already decided that the job doesn’t matter, the outcome doesn’t excite you, or it’s not aligned with what you actually want to do.

So you show up, do enough to stay employed, and tell yourself you’ll try harder when it’s something you care about.

I get it — because I’ve done that too.

Back when I started my career 8 years ago at a boutique investment bank, I didn’t take it seriously.

I wasn’t there because I loved finance — I was there for the title. Something that looked good on paper. Something that satisfied my prestige-seeking ego.

So I did enough to not get in trouble, but not enough to really grow.

And I justified it to myself: “I’m not trying to succeed here, so why try harder?”

But at some point, I realized that logic doesn’t hold.

Not because of some grand career revelation — but because of something much simpler:

I observed my mom.

She was the Director of an anti-doping lab in India. When she retired, she was offered a highly prestigious leadership role at a similar lab across countries, in Doha — a move that completely changed the fortunes of our family.

But how?

All through her life, she didn’t choose her career because of a ‘passion’.

That concept did not exist 40 years back.

I asked her how she became passionate about her job then, because all my life I had just seen utmost dedication towards her work.

And the answer that came my way was simple - she didn’t obsess over the job, she obsessed over her output.

She became so good at what she was doing, that passion followed.

She just made sure that anything with her name on it met a standard — every report, every result, every deliverable.

Because in her eyes, her work was a reflection of who she was.

That kind of reputation travels. It speaks even when you’re not in the room. It builds your brand, oftentimes even at a global stage, like it did with my mom.

---

That made me realize: your job doesn’t have to be your identity. But the quality of your work? That’s something people remember.

Even if a role isn’t the “right fit,” even if you’re planning your exit in your head — how you show up still matters. Because your name is on that work. And people remember how you made their lives easier… or harder.

I don’t always get this right. There are still days I check out. But I care more than I used to. And I’m trying — to build a standard I can carry with me, no matter what the job is.

What about you?

Have you ever caught yourself checking out because the job didn’t feel “worth it”?

What’s your relationship with effort — especially when the work isn’t exciting?

I’d love to hear how you think about this.

Starting this week, I’ll be sharing 2–3 thought-provoking reads with every Sunday post. If you’re trying to scroll less and feed your mind something a little more useful — this might help.

Also, it’s external accountability for me to do the same and not spiral into 1am post-consulting-sprint IG reels black holes :)

On that note, presenting to you…

What I Read This Week:

1. The Nothingness of Money - great post that beautifully captures the importance and the pointlessness of money.

2. The Psychology of Human Misjudgement - This is a LONG read. It is probably Charlie Munger’s most famous speech ever. I read it for the first time over a year back and swore to re-read every year. Only went through half of it so far, because I want to also be able to think more deeply about the content than just consume it. It is something everyone should read once in their lives. By the way, if you do end up reading this, you may find some linkage between “Excessive Self Regard Tendency” and the feeling of “not wanting to put in too much effort” towards jobs you don’t like.

3. Why Most Investors are Mostly Wrong Most of The Time - quick read on X. Talks about ‘winners games’ vs ‘losers games’ with an example from tennis. Can be applied to many things in life, not just investing. You have seasons where you thrive, but some where the goal is just to survive. More on this in future posts.