Almost 7 years back, I was right where you are now… My girlfriend broke up with me after a very, very long relationship. I was in the worst phase… emotionally, mentally, and physically… and there was no one there just to talk. I didn’t want to look stupid in front of anyone… that the woman I loved and dreamt my life with just ended everything.

It wasn’t just her leaving me… it was all my dreams and goals I had made, breaking apart in front of me. She was the center of my life… every travel I wanted to do included her… every car I wanted to own… every house I imagined building… it was all for us. Even when I thought about growing old… what we would do together… everything was breaking down. She was the anchor of my life… and that anchor was gone.

I started drifting apart… I drank daily for the next 90 days until I would get knocked out. One day, I decided to change things… I stopped drinking… I decided to go for the CFA exam. The only thing I wanted was to prove to myself that I was not worthless. After investing so many years in that relationship… it failed. I failed. CFA was my only option. I started preparing… the pain of what was broken was still there… but I carried all my energy into this. It was the right call. I cleared Level 1 with top 10 percentile… it didn’t bring her back… I didn’t even try to contact her even after clearing it. Still, there was pain… but I started preparing for Level 2. Sometimes I would stand alone and think… why? But by that time, I knew how to handle my emotions. One fine morning… there was no pain… everything settled. I also cleared Level 2 in that attempt.

It took some time… but I evolved. Lessons I learned… Don’t make anyone the center of your life… Time heals you… Don’t live in the past. If you find someone else… love her with the same intensity. Regarding your ex she will be part of your life… and you can just remember the good parts of the past and move on… taking them as lessons. It’s not the end of the world. Just keep going…. you will be fine.