You and only you can be your own guru

“For every outside there is an inside,

and for every inside there is an outside,

and though they are different, they go together.

“

- Alan Watts

I have spent most of my adult life in the corporate world. As a senior executive in global banking I have experienced the intense pressure, competition and daily battles of business. Business is ‘war’ and yet here I am not writing about the ‘art of war’ but about self-discovery – a topic that is almost never discussed in such circles.

My intention for writing in the first place is to seek to redress this apparent dichotomy and reposition business and self-discovery as merely different sides of the same coin. What I have come to appreciate during my own continuing journey of self-discovery is that there is a very strong connection between the work we do on ourselves and how we contribute to organisations and society.

What we experience ‘outside’ in business, in life, in our friendships, relationships, and family dynamic are a direct reflection of what is going on for us ‘inside’. Sometimes our external reality can feel overwhelming and confusing but we need those challenging times to ignite our inner drive for exploration and development which will in turn alter our external reality. Running away to meditate in a mountain lodge and cut off all contact with the outside world may not be the answer  – we can’t sacrifice the external for the internal. Equally we can’t sacrifice the internal for the external by immersing ourselves in business or the messiness of life without reflection and consideration of the wider consequences of our actions.

My hope is that we will explore a new way of looking at the inevitable ups and downs of life so that we can become more enlightened human beings capable of creating more enlightened corporations and more enlightened societies.

These articles do not attempt to be a self-help guide or ‘7-steps’ to happiness instruction manual. I simply share my story, pulling out my key learnings on this continuing journey of self-discovery hopeful that my own experiences may help you when you are feeling stuck, bewildered or confused about life. Perhaps you have played by all the rules but don’t feel rewarded or happy. Perhaps you have climbed that corporate ladder but still feel like a fraud or wonder what all the fuss is about. Perhaps the accumulation of stuff has not been anywhere near as satisfying as you were led to believe it would be. Perhaps you are at the start of your career, you’ve seen your parents sacrifice so much and the trade-off doesn’t quite seem worthwhile. Perhaps you want something different – more meaning, more work/life balance, more satisfaction. Maybe you already know that money is a useful but incomplete measure of a life well lived. It could be that you have found yourself reflecting on your own life and wondering how you arrived where you are now. Do you feel you took a wrong turn somewhere but are unsure where or how to get back on track?

Often when we can share the highs and lows of another’s path those insights can help us to see our own struggles and success from a new perspective. I do not share anything negative about anybody, only my learnings from situations that were difficult and potentially negative – these are often the times of greatest inner growth.

At no point will I tell you what I think you should do. This may feel unusual and perhaps even unsatisfying in a never-ending library of ‘how to’ books but the primary truth I have come to appreciate is that all the answers we seek are already within us. My answers will not necessarily be your answers. Whatever we are looking for can only be discovered through our own self-discovery - by going inward. When we are willing to admit “I don’t know” and embrace that uncertainty in search of solutions we start our own inner awakening. When we ask ourselves the right questions and have the patience to stop and really listen to the answers that emerge, we see that truth in our own experience.

You and only you can be your own guru.

Copyright © Satyendra Chevendra
Only You can Be Your Own Guru

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