I don’t know what I want six months from now, let alone five years: A practical reader guide

I don’t know what I want six months from now, let alone five years: A practical reader guide

Nikhil Kamath , co-founder of Zerodha, recently shared his views on marriage and having children, saying he does not know whether he would want to get married someday, as he prefers to keep his options open rather than make long-term commitments.

“Nobody knows what they want for life. Like, we were speaking to the Swamiji right now. I think he’s an incredibly articulate man. He spoke so well. I don’t know what I want six months from now, let alone five years from now. He added that he finds people who are uncertain about their beliefs appealing, arguing that excessive certainty can prevent people from changing their minds. “The people I find appealing are people who are not certain. I think certainty is a problem. He also questioned the idea that people are more significant than they think they are, saying, “I think we all feel that we are more important than we actually are. You are born, and you die like every other animal on the planet, and then you are gone, and nobody remembers anybody.”

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2026 , Kamath was asked whether his decision not to marry or have children was temporary or a lifelong choice. What if he says ‘scr** you’ at 18 and leaves anyway,” he said in a podcast.

And I think that’s true for all people,” Kamath said. Too much of the world is trying to figure out what they believe in and then get so emotionally attached to that belief, and almost egoistic about that belief, that they’re never willing to change their mind,” he said. Kamath said he hopes to continue questioning certainty for as long as possible, adding that he does not know what his life will look like five years from now. “For now, I’m kind of optimising for freedom and peace of mind, and living life in a manner where I have the time to pursue different things and just be open,” he said. (Also Read: Zerodha exec calls Nikhil Kamath ‘better looking’, Kamath brothers’ hilarious X exchange goes viral ) “I’m going to ruin 18-20 years of my life babysitting this child and then if luck serves me right, the reverse will happen at some point.

Kamath has previously spoken about his reluctance to have children, questioning whether he would want to spend nearly two decades raising a child in the hope that they would look after him in his old age.