'Passive growth': Canadian man shares why he moved to India 8 years ago in viral video
In a viral Instagram video, Canadian Caleb Friesen discusses his move to India for personal transformation. He believes in 'passive growth' through environmental changes, emphasising how challenges, such as adjusting to a new culture, foster resilience and self-evolution.
At a time when many Indians are moving abroad in search of opportunity and comfort, a Canadian man has chosen a very different path— by calling Bengaluru home for the last eight years.
In a now-viral Instagram video, Caleb Friesen, a Canadian content creator and father, explains why he moved from Canada to India in his early twenties. His motivation, he says, wasn’t career-driven or strategic. It was deeply personal — and rooted in what he calls “passive growth”.
“It’s the kind of growth that doesn’t require a plan. It just happens when you change your environment,” Friesen says in the clip.
Friesen says he wanted to become more resilient, mentally and emotionally. “I wanted to be in a place where growth was unavoidable,” he says. That place, for him, was India. The discomfort of adjusting to a new culture, climate, and way of life pushed him to evolve — not by design, but by default.
The video opens with a question Friesen is often asked: Why would someone from Canada move to India when so many Indians are trying to leave? His answer lies in his pursuit of becoming “tougher”, not just through external challenges, but through internal transformation.
He recalls a turning point in his youth — a 40-day fast, where he consumed nothing but water and air. He lost 18 kilogrammes but gained what he calls a life-altering realisation: “When you commit, growth can happen — even without action.”
This idea of growth through endurance, or what he frames as passive growth, echoes through his life decisions — from relocating to India, to becoming a parent. Fatherhood, he says, is another form of growth that doesn’t rely on conscious effort. “My son continues to exist, and so does my growth,” he reflects.
The viral video amassed over 22,000 views on Instagram with an array of comments.
A user wrote, “That's a totally new dimension to define passive growth.”
"I am moving out of my house too it's inspiring to hear your story I hope I will also grow as a person," another user wrote on Instagram.
"Thanks for this, it really inspired me," the third user commented.