What is 'success' series with The Holistic Shala: Blog 1

The quiet normalisation of alcohol as a symbol of success

On a recent flight from Singapore to Delhi, after an already long journey from the East Coast of Australia, I had requested a seat with extra legroom because I do not particularly enjoy long-haul travel. Seated next to me was a bright, articulate 30-year-old consultant who had recently exited one of the large global firms such as Deloitte, PwC, EY or KPMG. She had just returned from a week-long holiday in Bali with her husband and friends. They were newly married, settling into a new apartment, with both sets of parents living close by in Chandigarh. Life, on paper, was unfolding beautifully.

The things we look at change depending on the way we look at things

As we spoke about her plans for the future, about family, about possibly becoming a mother, and about finding a role that felt more sustainable, she ordered a glass of white wine. Then another. And then another.

Over the course of our conversation, she shared that she had experienced severe burnout at the age of twenty-nine after five intense years in consulting. The hours were relentless, the client pressures high, and the culture quietly rewarded overextension. She described what I call the “trifecta” of that lifestyle: alcohol, cigarettes, and performance-enhancing stimulants. Modafinil and various nootropics were commonly used to sustain twenty-hour workdays and consecutive sleepless nights. While she had chosen to avoid recreational drugs, alcohol had become, in her words, a way to calm her nervous system after hostile client interactions and impossible deadlines.

I listened while sipping hot water infused with fennel and cardamom, something I always carry while travelling. By the fourth glass of wine, she fell into a deep sleep before we landed.

As I watched her rest, I found myself reflecting not on her choices as an individual, but on the collective conditioning we have absorbed about what success looks like. Somewhere along the way, alcohol became woven into the image of arrival. The airport lounge drink, the celebration champagne, the networking wine glass, the corporate offsite cocktails. It signals sophistication, achievement, and belonging.

Yet biologically, especially for women, alcohol carries significant cost. A large global analysis published in the prestigious journal, The Lancet in 2018 concluded that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption and that the safest amount is none at all. More recently, the World Health Organization stated unequivocally that when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no amount that is without health risk. For women in particular, even low levels of alcohol intake are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, liver disease, cardiovascular strain, sleep disruption, hormonal imbalance, anxiety, and depression. Unlike some earlier narratives that suggested potential cardiovascular “benefits,” contemporary research has clarified that those findings were confounded by other lifestyle factors. There is, quite simply, zero physiological benefit to alcohol, and there are measurable risks even at moderate levels.

Playing with fire- the trifecta of success- alcohol, drugs and nicotine

And yet, in many high-achieving environments, alcohol functions almost as emotional anaesthesia. It softens stress without addressing its source. It allows performance to continue without visible breakdown. It becomes a socially sanctioned coping mechanism.

What struck me most about this young woman was not hypocrisy, but honesty. She knew her body needed a slower rhythm. She wanted presence in motherhood. She desired meaningful family time. She had already stepped away from a demanding role because her health had collapsed. And still, the reflex to self-soothe with alcohol remained unquestioned because it had become normal.

This is not about judging individuals. It is about examining the subtle systems that define success as endurance. Endurance of exhaustion. Endurance of toxicity. Endurance of nervous system dysregulation.

The most fulfilled individuals I have met recently define success differently. They measure it in vitality, in depth of sleep, in emotional regulation, in clear mornings, in relationships that do not require recovery afterward. They are ambitious, but not self-punishing. They are driven, but not numbed.

Creating a life we are brave enough to define

Perhaps true success is not about how much pressure we can withstand while holding a wine glass steady at a corporate event. Perhaps it is about creating a life where we no longer require substances to tolerate the very success we worked so hard to achieve.

I often wonder whether we are brave enough to redefine success not as performance under sedation, but as a state of embodied well-being.

I would genuinely love to hear how you define success for yourself.