Shyam Govinda

Measure your worth by the kindness you show yourself, not the checkboxes you fill. You’re inherently valuable, goal or no goal.

Choose your confidants wisely; sometimes the advice comes wrapped in the same package as the problem.

Change only takes place when the penny drops, until that happens, people find it very difficult to make the necessary changes to to facilitate transformation.

Respect isn’t exclusive – it’s a reflection of your maturity in how you treat everyone, not just those you look up to. Walk the talk of your role models.

Real spirituality sees past labels and illusions, connecting us all through sincere devotion in every faith.

The Bhagavad Gita cautions us: “For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy”.

Don’t let your mind let you suffer more than is necessary.

Stop overthinking, start doing. Life’s best lessons are learned through action, not through constant analysis.

In a world obsessed with fortune and fame, true wealth lies in the values we embrace and the virtues we embody. Choose your role models wisely.

Letting go becomes less painful when you’re not overly attached to temporary possessions. Embrace simplicity, and parting ways becomes a lighter affair.

Even if they haven’t apologised, even if they’re not sorry, forgive them anyway. Forgiveness helps you start living again. Don’t ruin your future waiting for them to rectify the past.

Wisdom often comes from experience and deep understanding, which can be challenging to replicate through information alone. It’s like knowing the recipe versus having cooked the meal many times.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: You DON’T need to take sides.

Express yourself with authenticity, for the power of communication extends beyond mere eloquence. It delves into the truth of your heart’s substance, where the authenticity of your message resides. In this synergy, words transcend their surface charm, gaining the potency to genuinely pe*****te and resonate with those who listen.

Embrace the strength in vulnerability. Your weaknesses, insecurities, and doubts become powerless when you discover a safe space to speak about them. Look at your relationships and find the people we can trust with our vulnerabilities.

Leadership is about getting things done in the right way, not flaunting titles. True leaders serve without the need for grandeur. It’s not about standing tall; it’s about stepping down, connecting, and making a real impact on those you lead. Those who set the best example through service make the best leaders.

Sometimes the truth gets lost when we inadvertently abandon the pursuit of it by giving the benefit of the doubt to those who do not deserve it.
There aren’t always two perspectives, sometimes it’s just the case of the truth vs a lie.

You don’t need to keep inviting insincere people back into your life just to prove you’re a good person. It’s ok to distance yourself from others and still want the best for them.

We can have the busiest of lives, even surrounded by so many people but still feel a sense of emptiness inside. The body needs nutrition, which we provide through a healthy dose of nutritional food. Similarly, we need a healthy dose of nourishment to fulfil the heart’s yearning.

We live life like we have time, even though so many things are changing, loved ones pass away, kids grow up, our body ages, life will pass us by. We think we have time, but really, time has us.

Red flags are quite often raised through our gut feeling, if something doesn’t feel right, that’s because it usually isn’t. Don’t ignore the tell tale signs of potential problems that could come back to bite in the future.

Whatever happened, it’s still down to you to make something out of the situation you have right now.

Just because YOU did it, doesn’t make it right.

Be a genuine well wisher, be cautious of falling into the trap of enjoying the dependence others have on you.

Empowering self-discovery: Our lack of faith in others often stems from our own self-doubt. By embracing our inner strength and cultivating self-belief, we open the door to genuine connections and inspire others to do the same. 💪✨

Life may take us through phases where the primary driver of our relationships, actions and words is to cut ourselves a particular social profile. We can become so absorbed in our own vanity that we miss so many of life’s valuable lessons.

Mistakes are a part of life, we live and learn. The tragedy however, is when we do eventually realise our misunderstandings or mistakes; instead of actively becoming a custodian of principles that will prevent others from repeating the same mistakes, we perpetuate the facade simply for the retention and consolidation of our own power or profile.

It’s the responsibility of those who have a deep concern for the next generation and who have the courage to say "these are the mistakes I made, don’t make the same", to drive positive change away from personal vanity and towards generational growth.

Provide early education, on lessons we’ve learned late, even at the cost of our personal reputation or profile.

True strength comes from being able to give what you didn't receive. Be the source of encouragement, protection, and love for others.

Bhagavad Gita 2.7 shows us the importance of approaching a spiritual guide, but that guide cannot just be anyone, the person should have exhibited the qualities of someone who has our best interests at heart, one who has our truth and can guide us in the appropriate way. A true guide can help to navigate us out of darkness into the light, because they too have seen the path, and more importantly, they have walked it.

Life can get busy, chasing our dreams, driving to achieve, live and experience. There is however an ultimate objective to life, the objective of self realisation. These dark times of uncertainty remind us of life’s fragility, it can all end so suddenly. These reflections can help anchor our lives to its’ real purpose, the purpose of self-realisation.

Integrity and Trust
 
Trust is the degree to which we have faith in the behaviour or ability in something or someone. There are two ways we can look at trust; competence based trust is usually circumstantial and changes depending on the situation. Character based trust isn’t circumstantial, it’s implicit. For example, I implicitly trust my wife’s character, but I don’t trust her to score a penalty kick for my football team. As friends, we want to develop character based trust, it’s the foundation from which deep and affectionate friendships can be made, but also, if ignored, the avenue through which lifelong friendships can potentially come to a grinding halt.
Competence is good, but it’s not competency that makes us a good people, it’s character. It’s a necessary part of self-care to be conscious about the chain of events that lead us to trust others based on an admiration of a competency. Admiring somebody because they are good at something we want to be good at, look how we want to look, are in a position we want to be in or have something we also want to acquire can lead us to the point of being enamoured with them, especially if we are insecure ourselves. This can lead us towards prematurely attributing all good virtues to that person even if they don’t possess them, including the virtues required for character based trust.
This is why It can be problematic to use competence as a means to base our trust in someone to be a good friend. When the shoe is on the other foot and we can sense that people could be captivated by one of our competencies and putting themselves prematurely and naively at our beck and call, we need to invoke our integrity to ensure we aren’t taking advantage of their temporary infatuation with us.
 
There is a really powerful statement made by Jane Austen (I think), I couldn’t find it, so I will paraphrase:
 
“When some men see a beautiful woman, they automatically attribute all good virtues to her, even if she does not possess them.”

Some people see positivity as cheesy or unrealistic, that life isn’t always positive, but positivity isn’t about thinking everything is always great, but more about how we can always see our present circumstances as part of our growth.

People often get confused between self love and self sabotage. Self love is being compassionate towards ourselves for being a work in progress and to guard our mental health caused by our shortcomings. Self sabotage is when we refuse to accept and work on the aspects that need to change.

One of the most liberating things we can do in our lives is to stop looking for people and things to blame. Life won’t always go the way we want, and you know what? It doesn’t always have to be someone’s fault. Move on, rise up, start taking accountability for your own life.

Energy never lies, which is why you have to take responsibility for the type of energy you allow around you. People aren’t always mindful of the type of energy they bring into a relationship, and if you don’t guard against negative energy with your own boundaries, that energy will end up dragging you down.

If you’re developing a dislike or already feel some negativity towards someone you hardly know, it’s more likely to be an issue with yourself than a problem with the other person and vice versa.

Whether you’re just starting out, you’ve been going for some time, or you’ve “made it”. It makes no difference what other people believe about you, focus on what you think about yourself. Nobody can validate your vision, growth or sincerity. Be your number one cheerleader!

It’s not always about others not being right for you, are you doing the work to be right for them? Become the right person!

You don’t have to wait for anything, you’re enough right now! Your value is not dependent on whether you achieve your desires or not.

Which way are you fighting?

Sometimes, life throws challenges our way that make us want to fight back with all our might. But perhaps there's a more powerful approach - to fight forwards. This means channeling our energy, determination, and passion into moving forward, even when faced with adversity. Instead of dwelling on the past or engaging in futile battles, we focus on forging ahead, breaking barriers, and creating a brighter future. It's about the relentless pursuit of our goals, the unwavering belief in our abilities, and the resilience to keep pushing forward, no matter the obstacles. So, let's remember, the path to success is often not about resistance, but about embracing the journey of progress.

There is a healthy way to not let others take advantage of you, it requires us to take control of our ego.