From EMIs to exhaustion: Akshat Shrivastava breaks down life's struggles and the one solution that works at every age

Time of India

14-07-2025

Akshat Shrivastava's recent post on X outlines how each stage of life brings its own challenge—money in youth, time in middle age, and energy in old age. His solution is rooted in early planning, urging people to use forward thinking to manage health, wealth, and time better, offering a rare but realistic roadmap for smoother living.
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The Three Stages of Silent Struggles
Why This Struck a Chord
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The Quiet Power of Thinking Ahead
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), popular educator and entrepreneur Akshat Shrivastava sparked an emotional and philosophical reflection across generations. With a simple but striking thread, he encapsulated the unspoken truth of human life in three distinct stages—each with its own silent battle. Yet what truly caught attention was his core insight: one ability separates us from all other species, and it's our greatest tool to cope— forward thinking In his tweet, Shrivastava described the universal struggles that follow us like shadows across life's timeline: 'A young person struggles with money. A middle-aged person struggles with time. An old person struggles with energy.' His suggested solution isn't grandiose or out of reach—it's rooted in deliberate planning and self-awareness at the right time.His advice is almost parental in tone, but grounded in wisdom: Study well when you're young to ease financial burdens early. Plan finances smartly in your 30s and 40s to reclaim time. Take care of your health early to stay energized in old age. 'You don't need to constantly keep worrying about the future,' he wrote, 'but planning for better health, wealth, and time will keep your life smoother.'The post quickly resonated with thousands, not just because it's relatable—but because it captured the pain, pressure, and paradox of modern life. One commenter summarized it poetically: 'Life is just: Broke at 20, Busy at 40, Tired at 60… as if EMIs, inflation, and back pain respect your Google Calendar.' Another echoed Shrivastava's evolutionary lens: 'Forward thinking isn't optional; it's the only advantage evolution gave us over entropy.'Some offered caution, noting that not everything can be predicted or planned. 'Too much worry about the future can steal today's happiness,' one person commented, bringing balance to the optimism. And yet, the thread managed to offer a timeless message: if we align our intentions with action early enough, we can create room to breathe—even in the chaos of life.Shrivastava's post doesn't claim to offer a fix-all formula, nor does it dismiss life's unpredictability. But it does shine a quiet spotlight on what often gets buried beneath deadlines and survival mode—our ability to step back and strategize our lives like we would a business.If we can learn to treat time, money, and health with the reverence they deserve at the right time, maybe life won't feel like an endless trade-off. In a world chasing productivity hacks and hustle habits, perhaps the most revolutionary act is simply to pause and plan ahead.Although the post overtly generalized, if there's one takeaway, it might be this: You don't need to be extraordinary to future-proof your life—you just need to start early, and think like a human.