Take a Pause with Varun Duggirala

In this week’s episode of Take aPause, Ashdin Doctor and Varun Duggirala dive deep into the concept of ‘Habitology’, the key to an “awesome life”, spirituality, the importance of failing, how toxic positivity does more harm than good and a lot more. From actionable tips on gamifying your habits to inculcate them better to the story behind his glorious beard, Ashdin Doctor tells us all! Ashdin is a 'habit coach'. He believes that "Awesome lives start with your awesome habits". He is the author of ‘Change Your Habits, Change Your Life’ and also a TedX speaker. Timestamps (00:00 - 01:18) Intro (01:20 - 02:40) Ashdin Doctor & Varun  Duggirala Discuss The Weirdest Eating Habits (02:43 - 06:20) How Ashdin Got Into Habitology (06:24 - 07:20) The Truth Behind Habits (07:26 - 08:48) Ashdin Reveals How To Identify Thought Based Habits (08:50 - 10:50) Ashdin Explains The Wheel Of Emotions Chart (10:51 - 13:00) What Ashdin Learnt While Teaching Others About Habits (13:05 - 14:57) Ashdin & Varun Discuss Mental Blocks (14:59 - 15:35) Ashdin Explain What Is An Awesome Life (15:37 - 17:50) Ashdin On Enhancing Relationship With Your Mind (17:55 - 19:25) Ashdin & Varun Discuss Spirituality (19:26 - 1955) Ashdin On Being Born Curious (19:56 - 20:27) Ashdin And Varun On Failure (20:30 - 26:00) Ashdin And Varun On relationships &  Having An Accountability Partner (26:02 - 27:20) Ashdin On How Nostalgia Affects Habits (27:22 - 29:50) Ashdin Explains The Other Benefits Of Habits (29:54 - 30:45) Ashdin Reveals How You Can Gamify Your Habits (30:50 - 33:10) Habits Vs Challenges (33:12 - 33:10) Ashdin's Biggest Learning About Habits (35:00 - 38:55) Asdhin & Varun On Being Present (38:57 - 43:40) Ashdin On Dealing With FOMO (43:42 - 46:00) How To Take Cold Showers (46:05 - 47:00) Varun And Ashdin On Curiosity (47:06 - 50:10) Ashdin On Toxic Positivity (50:15 - 53:20) The Key To Inculcating Habits (53:23 - 58:25) The 6 Fundamentals To Build The Life You Want (58:26 - 1:04:00) Ashdin Reveals The Reason Behind His Beard (1:04:39 - 1:07:45) A Line That Has Stayed With Ashdin You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The      Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant     to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their   daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that   will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform  at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of     truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and    use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

Varun Duggirala and Sharib Hashmi reminisce on their MTV days and chat about Sharib’s inspiring journey to becoming an actor, how he turned rejection into motivation, his undefeatable optimism, how his break in Family Man changed his life and a whole lot more! Sharib Hashmi is an Indian actor, writer, producer and director who works in Hindi cinema. He is best known for portraying J.K. Talpade in the Amazon Prime Video series The Family Man and Sunny in Filmistaan. Timestamps (00:00 - 01:10) Intro (01:13 - 03:00) Sharib Hashmi’s Childhood Dream Of Becoming A Hero (03:05 - 03:50) Sharib Hashmi’s decision to pursue acting seriously (03:53 - 04:10) Sharib Hashmi On His The Role Of His Wife’s Support (04:11 - 05:57) Sharib Hashmi On Facing Rejections - Most Difficult Phase Of His LIfe (06:00 - 07:27) Sharib Hashmi On Optimism & Finding Strength In Difficult Times (07:30 - 08:30) Sharib Hashmi On The Value Of Patience (08:33 - 11:27) Sharib Hashmi’s First Break In Jab Tak Hain Jaan (11:29 - 13:15)  Sharib Hashmi On Facing Unprecedented Setbacks (13:16 - 16:10) How Sharib Hashmi Became J K Talpade In Family Man (16:13 - 19:40) Sharib Hashmi On His Process (19:41 - 21:40) Sharib Hashmi On Writing (21:42 - 25:45)  Sharib Hashmi On How He Landed Vikram Vedha (25:46 - 34:05)  Sharib Hashmi On How He Became A Comedy Writer (34:09 - 34:39) Sharib Hashmi On Taking Risks (34:40 - 36:15) Sharib Hashmi On Self Doubt & Overcoming Insecurities (36:18 - 42:05)  Sharib Hashmi and VArun Duggirlaa DIscuss OTT Platforms (42:08 - 42:45)  How Sharib Hashmi Takes A Pause (42:46 - 45:04)  Sharib Hashmi and Varun Duggirala Discuss Loving What You Do You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The      Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant     to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their   daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that   will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform  at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of     truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and    use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

Ask Me Anything - but with a twist! Tune in to Varun Duggirala answering questions shared about life, work and relationships but he only has a minute to answer. He discusses everything from dealing with a toxic boss, the power of asking in building strong healthy relationships, the key to staying focused, how to know you’ve found the one, dealing with failure and so much more! Timestamps (00:00 - 01:04) - Introduction (01:04 - 02:05) - How To Deal With Information Overload? (02:06 - 03:01) - How To Truly Rejuvenate Yourself? (03:02 - 04:17) - How To Deal with Overthinking? (04:18 - 05:20) - How To Stay Focused? (05:21 - 06:47) - How To Overcome Fear Of Judgement? (06:48 - 08.18) - How To Deal With Failure (08:19 - 09:35) - How To Deal With A Toxic Work Environment? (09:36 - 11:21) - How To Build Trust In Relationships? (11:22 - 12:57) - How To Find Yourself Again? (12:58 - 13:56) - What Is Your Favourite Book? (13:57 - 16:01) - How To Deal With Friendship Break-Ups? (16:02 - 17:31) - How To Stop Living Inside Our Heads? (17:32 - 18:52) - Does Manifestation Actually Work? (18:53 - 20:39) - Why Is Being Nice Considered Bad? (20:40 - 21:33) - What Is Plot Device? (21:34 - 23:15) - How To Know You’ve Found Your Life Partner? (23:16 - 25:02) - What Is the Difference Between Moving Forward & Moving On? (25:03 - 26:42) - Career Or Relationship? (26:43 - 27:50) - How To Deal With Being Taken For Granted? (27:51 - 29:20) - Why Content Creation? (29:21 -31:27) - How To Give Space To Your Partner You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The      Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant     to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their   daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that   will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform  at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of     truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and    use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

Anuv Jain, the Indian Indie musical genius behind songs like “Baarishein”, “Alag Aasaman” and “Gul”, and Varun Duggirala dove deep into the art of  telling stories through his music, importance of discipline as an artist, his songwriting process and his love for anime in this latest episode of Take aPause! Anuv Jain is an independent singer- songwriter from Ludhiana who rose to fame with songs like Baarishein, Gul, Mazaak and more. He has grown rapidly since his breakthrough single in the indie music scene and has emerged as one of the leading voices in Indian music. You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The     Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant    to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their  daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that  will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of    truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and   use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

Ritam Bhatnagar, Founder of India Film Project, and I chat about how he founded the IFP, his massive Lego collection and his dream to build a Lego house, finding his purpose on chance and how play is his favourite way of learning! Ritam is founder and festival director of India Film Project - Asia's Largest Content Fest. Featured by Forbes, Ritam has been a TEDx speaker and a guest speaker at various forums about content, events, startup and IPs as well as MBA colleges talking about marketing, films and entrepreneurship. Under Ritam's vision, IFP grew from 600 participants in 2011 and went on to become the world's largest filmmaking challenge with 50,000 participants in 2019 from over 30 countries. You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The     Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant    to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their  daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that  will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of    truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and   use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

In this episode of Take aPause, media entrepreneur Ashwin Suresh chats with Varun Duggirala on taking calculated risks and making strategic moves that helped him make big life decisions that changed the trajectory of his personal and professional life. If you’ve been in a state of analysis paralysis and feel too scared to drift from the safe path, this one’s for you!Entrepreneur Ashwin Suresh is the Co-Founder of Pocket Aces, one of India's leading digital entertainment companies and known for its media entities including FilterCopy and Dice Media. He has a BS and MS Electrical Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and worked in Investment Banking in New York before moving back to India to explore a career in media and entertainment.You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow  Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggihttps://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/ https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggihttps://twitter.com/varunduggi  And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.comAbout the show“Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The     Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant    to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their  daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that  will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of    truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and   use in their  work, life and everything in-between.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

Valuing and nurturing the relationships that really matter is so important for a fulfilling life. On this episode of Take aPause, Varun Duggirala chats with investor and writer Sahil Bloom on the importance of leaning into gratitude, choosing joy, making the most of our limited time, and appreciating the small things in life. Sahil shares stories of chance encounters that have shaped his life, about his parents, his wife, and even Apple CEO Tim Cook! Sahil Bloom is a writer and investor. Every week, his content reaches over 1 million people around the world. Sahil has nearly 700,000 followers on Twitter (@SahilBloom), 118,000 subscribers to his newsletter (The Curiosity Chronicle), and a podcast (Where It Happens). You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The     Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant    to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their  daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that  will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of    truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and   use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

We live in our bodies but how much do we really understand about how they work? On this episode of Take aPause, Varun chats with physician entrepreneur Dr. Marcus Ranney on the fundamentals each of us should focus on to not just live long lives but the healthiest possible lives in bodies that allow us to achieve our optimum potential as individuals. Find out how you can successfully biohack popular practices like intermittent fasting, regulating caffeine intake, ice baths, and calorie deficit diets to gain peak performance levels. A business professional in healthcare and technology, Dr. Marcus Ranney specialises in research that explores the limits of the human body for optimum performance and longevity. His exploits include climbing the sides of Everest, skiing in the Arctic, the European Alps, and serving as a medical officer in the Royal Air Force and at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Currently based in Mumbai, he is the founder of Human Edge, a longevity science company with the vision of democratising the healthspan of the workforce across the globe.  He is also a published author, a keen athlete and marathon runner, and holds a Guinness World Record for backwards running. You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The     Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant    to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their  daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that  will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of    truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and   use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

We’ve all grown up on films. Our first love was usually a hero/heroine on the big screen pulling out grand gestures and breaking into a song and dance. How much of an impact have films made on our love life? Actor and writer Yahya Bootwala ponders on this. In this episode of Take aPause, Varun and Yahya dive deep into what it means to be creators in an environment heavily governed by algorithms and numbers. Further, they discuss how important it is to differentiate the art from the artist. Yahya also talks about how films often fail to show the truth after the ‘happily ever after’, and a shared appreciation for Shah Rukh Khan’s filmography. Yahya Bootwala came into the limelight when one of his poetry videos ‘Shayad Wo Pyar Nahi’ went viral on YouTube. His 2019 short film 'Sheher Ya Tum' won the Golden Gateway Dimensions Mumbai Award You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The     Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant    to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their  daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that  will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of    truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and   use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message

How powerful is humour as a unifying force in the world? Are we drawn to it because it’s a coping mechanism for us to deal with the hardships of our lives? Who better to chat about this than comedian and actor Vir Das. On this episode of Take aPause, Vir joins Varun to talk about his success as India’s only Emmy-nominated comedian and journey as he learns to cater to both a global and an Indian audience. From packing up his life in Mumbai and moving to Goa during the pandemic to travelling to 25 countries in the last year to perform 150+ shows, Vir’s still coming to terms with the concept of being a “global citizen”. One of the most-well known Indian comedians, Vir Das was nominated for an Emmy in the Best Comedy category for his Netflix Special ‘Vir Das: For India’. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in Delhi Belly (2011) and Go Goa Gone (2013). He has performed in 35 plays, 100+ stand-up comedy shows, 18 films, eight TV shows and six comedy specials. You can Order Varun’s book “Everything is out of syllabus: An instruction manual for life & work “ at https://amzn.to/335QKow   Follow Varun across social media platforms @VarunDuggi https://www.instagram.com/varunduggi/  https://www.youtube.com/c/VarunDuggi https://twitter.com/varunduggi   And for a weekly download of mind musings and recommendations subscribe to his newsletter “Unschooled with Varun Duggirlala” at https://varunduggi.substack.com About the show “Take apause with Varun Duggirala” ( previously “The     Varun Duggi show”) is a twice a week podcast that’s meant    to enable its listeners to take a pause amidst the chaos of their  daily   lives to learn tools, embrace ideas and soak in concepts that  will   help them find motivation, build the right mindset and perform at    their best. Varun also occasionally taps into the minds of    truly interesting people to give listeners a learn from and   use in their  work, life and everything in-between. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/take-a-pause-varun-duggi/message