India, Jan. 4 -- "So, where did you go for New Year's?" is a question usually asked by people who have just come back from an elaborate trip abroad. They just wait for you to finish your response, so that they can bamboozle you with every tiny detail of their trip to Vietnam. Mostly, how they booked a beach-facing villa at the price of a masala dosa. And how the fruits were so juicy. It's followed by a rant about India's lack of civic sense, clean air and high-quality agri-produce. Usually, such answers are often prefixed with a "nothing much", as if the person is not impressed by their own prosperity, their own tourism. "This was a last-minute plan," pat comes a disclaimer, lest you judge. Their family has already sent cumulatively 77,000 Instagram stories your way, yet the guy assumes you might be dying for his in-person commentary. Usually, a story of tourism is not actually about the place, it is mostly about how smart the tourist is. Ever the credit-card-point harvester, our man loves upgrades. Thanks to our service economy, our holidays and time-outs are synced to those of our western clients. So, when the first out-of-office auto response from a Julia hits your inbox, it's time to declare holidays for white-collar natives. Even if you are in a profession that has nothing to do with the West, there is still pressure to partake in this global holiday. Much of this fear of missing out (FOMO) is induced by social media. Now, you have access to every school/college friend, every living colleague. You might not have talked in 20 years, but you very well know, Neha from your 10th standard prefers her husband behind the camera, while they roam the world. You also know which political party she voted for. A year ago, you sent a silent follow request, she accepted it out of courtesy, nobody spoke a thing, yet both of you became a silent co-passenger in each other's life journeys. It's beautiful until it's not. Instagram gives you the impression everybody around you is travelling this New Year. It's a case of classic selection bias. Only those who are travelling are putting up stories. The ones who are at home are, well, at home. This is also true of success. You seem to think everyone else is succeeding, making you disheartened. Especially the ones who once formed your peer group. Actually, only those guys who got promoted are putting up those LinkedIn posts. The rest are silently reading it like you. This is the red flag one should be watchful of. Avoid the trap of comparison; the algorithm gives you a much larger sample size. Now, you have access to everyone, and that brings misery more often than not. As those auto-rickshaw-stickers put it: Comparison is the thief of joy New years are also the time to answer the question: Are you a "Happy New Year" person or a "same to you" person? Introverts, like myself, dislike this sudden social pressure. Most of us are rarely the first movers in the New Year wishing rituals; we are the "same to you" guys. Naturally, closing such loops of wishing-back-everyone-who-wished-you feels cumbersome. Birthdays are even worse. You can't do the same-to-you routine. I have a thumb rule: People who wish you before January 2 are genuinely wishing a "Happy New Year"; post this date, if they are wishing you "Happy New Year", they are most likely going to ask for a favour. This always works. It's the first ice-breaker which, like ice, melts away with time. Fortunately, I didn't put on any more weight last year, thanks to playing regular sports and an inherited metabolic rate. The money I saved on Ozempic has been invested in more eclectic pursuits. I have picked a Bhagawad Gita challenge, where a group of us are going to read one chapter a day for the next 18 days. A Gita Press copy, which comes recommended, is the choice of translation. The intent is not to rush through: If it takes longer than 18 days, it's fine. Going by how 2025 has been, we should all be prepared for wars, both internal and external. On that note, wishing you a "same to you". Stay healthy. Avoid comparisons. Be happy....