Sridhar Ranganathan , MD, Allergan (India & South Asia)

1 My day starts at 4 am with a 3-4-hour rigorous schedule. By the time it is 9 am, I already feel accomplished! I start with a prayer and silence to the Sun God for almost 30 minutes followed by breathing exercises for almost 30 minutes. Subsequently, my physical fitness schedule starts. Three days a week I run around 8 km and the remaining 3 days I have a personal session with my physical trainer, Mahesh. I stick to my schedule even while I travel and interestingly, I continue my personalised sessions with Mahesh via FaceTime video.

2 I am a vegetarian and a non-fussy eater. I love sweets and can’t resist home-made sweets. So, even more reason I work out so that I can continue eating the good food. I prefer eating South Indian food. Dosa in the South and channa bhatura in the North are my staples when I travel.

Home-made sambar rice and curd rice are my favourites when I am at home. My routine food includes chapati , rice, dhal , lots of vegetables and fruits. Pizzas and pastas are things I mostly avoid and have these only during some weekends when I go out with my family for dinner.

3 I can spend hours brainstorming with colleagues/customers on innovative ideas and this keeps us all mentally active.

4 I have evolved over a period in managing my stress. One big change I made was to stop taking work home. I realised what cannot be done in five days cannot be done in seven days. So, I push myself to finish my work during working hours.

I don’t hesitate to seek help from people. I reach out to experts whenever I can to ask for their assistance and that takes away the pressure from me.

I have some healthy distractions, like being part of ‘Toastmasters International’ — a communication and leadership fraternity.

I am also part of a small book club which promotes book reading as a habit. These distractions also help me manage my stress better.

5 Spirituality is aligning to the laws of life. Being good and doing good are the most selfish things we can do as they come back as good to us. Embracing spirituality has made me attract abundance of success and happiness in life.