I would be devastated if I was rejected from the role at Rapido. Crying. Bawling, probably. Ranting to everyone I know about how close I was to my dream job. The chance to work with Aravind, a personal hero, lost. Forever. How sad. And yet, when I got it, I left in just 6 months.

That’s the funny thing about wanting things. Once you get it, you just have it. And having something is never as exciting as wanting it. We can be disappointed by what we have, but never with what we want. That’s why you and I obsess over what’s next, but rarely about what we have.

Never realising that a lot of what we have right now is a list of long-desired wants we once had. Everything I own today, from professional achievements to aspirational possessions, is a desperate want from years ago that today I take very lightly.

At Rapido, I was assigned to build internal tools and minor products for restaurants for their new food delivery app, Ownly. However, I am a consumer product nerd who loves building products that solve a human itch, not a business bottleneck. This wasn't that. This was ops, business, and the slightest hint of product. So, I quit.

My dream job became a want that didn’t survive reality.

But, a lot more often, life denies my wants entirely. I was interviewing for a fintech role after Nyus. I was already planning the move to a new city. Then I got rejected. My most coveted want declined. I was devastated.

And now, a weird end to a long-term dream to join Rapido reminded me that wants are just that. Wants. Some you get, others you don't. Some turn out to be exactly how you imagined and others not so much. And while we helplessly fixate over wants we were denied, there are lots more out there to desire.

Reject me from Rapido now. Or deny a desperate want I have now. And I shall find another want. Something else that intrigues me. No crying, no bawling, and a lot less ranting.

Turns out, all wants are replaceable. No matter how many I am denied, I'll always have another to replace it. Just as good. Just as impactful. And so will you.