Sanket Pai

Happiness is something we are always pursuing...

.. which directly implies that we don't have it now. Think about it.

Whether it is from Thomas Jefferson's line in America's Declaration of Independence - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness - or, the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes' altering the definition of as "being found in the continual success in the acquisition of things," this has stayed with us to date.

Happiness thus has become a state of mind and is often misconstrued as a feeling. As a matter of fact, the World Happiness Report, an annual publication written by a group of independent experts defines happiness as an inspiration of every human being and a measure of social progress. Over the past seven years, their focus has moved from personal income to public policies to social progress to good governance to even technological advances as an indicator of happiness.

Is that what we want happiness to be? Do you want it to be externally triggered, always? Do we always want to be chasing it?

This pursuit of happiness has led us to follow, compare, and envy the curated lives of various leaving us in a rather depressed state.

is after the next achievement or .

is out there after I become this or own that.

is never here.

By embracing this misleading and never-ending pursuit of happiness, we rob ourselves of happiness in the here and now. We fail to appreciate who we are, what we have achieved, and what we have done to this point. Living this way makes happiness a burden.

Dan Sullivan, the founder and president of The Strategic Coach Inc., and a highly regarded speaker, calls this phenomenon "trying to fill a GAP." He says that the GAP is a toxic mindset that prevents people from appreciating their lives.

The cure to get out of this false pursuit is to shift your metrics of measurement. Instead of constantly measuring where you currently are and where you want to be, start measuring where you started and where you currently are. Reflect on the milestones you have achieved in your journey.

As Bob Marley said, "The day you stop racing is the day you win the race." Stop tracking your . Start tracking your list!

We are all undisputed champions of giving .

Remember all the age and size excuses you liked to use as a kid - “I’m not old enough to read that book yet.” or “I’m too small to help clean up.” As a kid, you almost always shunned any and craved trivial .

While that was probably all right while growing up as a kid, the question to ask yourself now is “𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠?”

Are you still telling yourself that you are not worthy of your ? Or worse, have stopped dreaming completely and settled for ? You can create any number of excuses to rationalize that story of yours. can make you stay in a comfortable place that isn’t fulfilling. Are you in that place today?

If yes, it's time to recognize your excuses. It's time to recognize that your excuses are holding you back.

So, what's your excuse?
And, what's the worst that can happen if you take one tiny step today in the direction of your dreams?

"𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚. 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏, 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆."

Born in a fairly traditional South Asian family, this girl knew something for sure! From working as a Saturday cashier in a bank at the young age of 16 years to becoming the youngest bank manager in North America and then taking that leap of faith to completely reinvent herself as a certified life coach, she has shattered social constructs on all fronts!

Today, she is an acclaimed and master , a best-selling author, and a regular contributor to Huffington Post and Thrive Global. She is also a proud mother to two wonderful kids.

Meet Divya Vadivale Jegasundaram. for Divya is all about worthwhile stabilized by balance and purified by .

Yath Bhavam Tat Bhavathi is her .



P.S. Dɪᴠʏᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀɴʏ sᴜᴄʜ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴏғ ᴍʏ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ Mᴀᴋᴇ Iᴛ Hᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ: Eᴍᴘᴏᴡᴇʀɪɴɢ Sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs ᴏғ 9 Uɴᴄᴏᴍᴍᴏɴʟʏ Cᴏᴍᴍᴏɴ Pᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ Lɪᴠɪɴɢ Tʜᴇɪʀ Pᴜʀᴘᴏsᴇ! Gʀᴀʙ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ғʀᴏᴍ https://sanketpai.com/

Difference between a and a .

Most people use the terms job and career interchangeably. I don't think these are the same. What's your take on this?

For me, a job is something that you do to earn money and pay off the bills. It plays a supporting role in your life and typically has a minimal impact on your future work life. You know you are in a job when you find yourself ranting about work-related stuff or experiencing or .

The first thing you do when you are looking for a new job is... ... update your resume. You wait until you are really desperate for a new job, and then you randomly hop on to job-posting sites and upload your resumes, or send random inquiries. The metric for job search is almost always a better or a convenient . Jobs are .

A , on the other hand, is one that is full of opportunities, something that stimulates you on a daily basis, offers the experiences and learning to fuel your future, and often has the potential to define you and the impact

you want to have on the world. You know you are in a career when you’re going on and on about the cool projects you’re working on, your awesome and smart colleagues, and the impact you are making in the world. Earning money is important, but it is not the only thing. Metrics for are mostly internal - , , , , , and . require a approach to .

A word of caution: Sometimes, people end up working for the same organization for decades. Would you call this a job or a career? The answer is: it depends. Ask yourself "Why am I in this organization?" Is it because that's the only thing you know? Is it because that is your comfort zone? Is it because you know that it becomes your guaranteed source of monthly income? Are you with this organization for the metaphorical "gold clock," or are you with this organization because you want to be with this organization?

If you want to dig deeper into reinventing yourself and reinventing your career, let's connect!

Recently I received a beautiful share on along the lines of:

𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 '𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆' 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆.

𝑺𝒐, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕. 𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 - 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 #𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 #𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 #𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔.

𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏. 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅. 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚. 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆. 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑!

Discover the magic of taking chances! Your life is more exciting when you do!!



P.S. This lesson and many more are part of my book: Yes, You Can Change! The Art of Reclaiming Your Life. Check it out here:

Yes, You Can Change] The Art of Reclaiming Your Life Yes, You Can Change] The Art of Reclaiming Your Life

"No GNCC is my mantra," he responded to a question I asked him.

What is GNCC? Find out for yourself... ...and that makes the difference!

https://sanketpai.medium.com/no-gncc-2e6ca422d3d1

No GNCC “𝙉𝙤 𝗚𝗡𝗖𝗖 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖,” he said…

Difference between and - A .

When I was in Grade VI, my parents enrolled me in a swimming summer camp. I enrolled because of two reasons: first, the persuasion by my parents, and second, I thought I would have a fun time in the water with other kids during the summer holidays. I believe it was an 8-week program. I came out of this program, not learning to swim one bit, and worst fearing water.

A few years ago, in late 2019, when I was 40, I decided to learn to swim all over again. This time I learned to float and swim in 1 month. I still remember my day 1 from 2019, where I was frantically flapping my hands with water up my nose in the shallow end of the swimming pool. And by day 15 or 16, I was able to glide and breathe over the water.

What's the difference between the two events? One event is an example of motivation, while the other is an example of inspiration.

In the first case, I was motivated to swim. Motivation comes from the word "motive," which means it's a majorly external stimulus and often does not last long enough. It stems from self-imposed or societal expectations, obligations, and peer pressure. As you can see from my real-life example, motivation is often short-lived and might have other unexpected consequences (such as my fearing water.) Throughout the process, I felt a constant sense of and .

The second case is an example of . It comes from connecting to some part within you. It is a pure feeling coupled with a sense of excitement and effortlessness. Inspiration does not require any external stimulus. It is a natural calling, which comes from deep within us. And, when inspiration strikes, your impulse to is often spontaneous! Most important, inspiration sticks around!

Similarly, in 2017, came to me as an - a deep sense of calling to serve and help people shun their behaviors and embrace a of .

Today, five years later, I have touched the lives of tens of thousands of individuals through this medium of . I have authored multiple books, spoken on various platforms including , associated with apps such as ThinkRight.me for providing guided , and publishers like Juggernaut Books and Notion Press.

This morning a wave of for just came over me as I looked back on my journey this far. And it all started with choosing over .

So, what do you feel inspired to do? What feels like a 12 on 10 for you?

is the thief of all our joy.

And I have learned this the hard way. I have personally been guilty of comparing myself with other people who are more successful than me — professionally and financially. When I first switched careers from being an IT professional to being a , I spent miserable hours comparing myself to every other coach out there who would say they have freedom of time, money, and purpose. I would secretly envy them. Even today, I do find myself comparing myself to coaches who have been in the field for 15 and 20 years.

It’s only human to do so. In the days of tribes and bushmen, comparing and placing ourselves relative to others had its own set of evolutionary benefits. But today, comparison has become an epidemic and a source of great distress.

Deep down inside, the root of all comparison lies in a thought pattern of “I am not enough.” Thoughts about not having enough money, skills, talents, connections, friends, clients, and other materialistic things can end up completely swallowing you. Feelings of jealousy, frustration, and hopelessness emerge if this thought pattern deepens, skewing our judgment and leading to constant anxiety, unworthiness, and even depression.

Here are three lessons (or perspectives) that I have for you… ... from my journey...

#1 If you find yourself comparing yourself with someone, take a step back and think about the bigger picture. If you compare yourself with someone, you have to compare yourself to all of their private challenges, struggles, and failures (and even possible stories of bankruptcies or relationship breakdowns!) Are you really willing to do that?

#2 F*ck comparing. Embrace a mindset of play and possibilities. Start fueling your curiosity. Embrace a beginner’s attitude from time to time. This isn’t a race as much as we feel like being in one. Constantly comparing yourself to others can be a huge barrier to reaching for your dreams. Choose to take your life step by step.

#3 As much as we want, we cannot completely eliminate comparison. So, use comparison as a tool for . As Simon Sinek calls it (in his book The Infinite Game) have a Worthy Rival. According to Sinek, a Worthy Rival is another player in the game who is worthy of comparison. We simply acknowledge that they have strengths and abilities from which we could learn a thing or two. Our Worthy Rivals help us do two things: they reveal our weaknesses and inspire us to take on an of . In doing so, comparisons can be a healthy catalyst for .

Is keeping you stuck?

Before you reject this post, take it from me, we are all perfectionists - in one sense or the other. Instead of continuing to deny this, take a moment to read along and see how this lands on you.

https://sanketpai.medium.com/is-perfectionism-stunting-your-growth-3437fbac15f1

Is Perfectionism Stunting Your Growth? Before you discard this post thinking that it’s not applicable to you, chances are that you are a perfectionist, at least to a degree.

Many people say, “𝓘 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓶𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓮”, but most of those people don’t...

Are you one of them? I know I am, at times. can feel daunting or even impossible to do, let alone be consistent with.

But guess what, like , I create my own definition for . Something, that I know works for me.

now is showing that meditation is a powerful tool for our overall .

So, are you meditating consistently? What is your definition of consistency?



𝑷.𝑆. 𝐼 𝐚𝑚 𝑜𝒇𝗳𝗲𝐫𝐢𝗻𝒈 𝘢 𝟱-𝙬𝐞𝑒𝙠 𝒈𝑢𝗶𝘥𝗲𝘥 𝙢𝘦𝗱𝗶𝘵𝗮𝙩𝘪𝐨𝗻 𝘰𝙣𝒍𝘪𝒏𝘦 𝘱𝐫𝘰𝐠𝑟𝗮𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝘳𝙩𝐢𝘯𝘨 𝘼𝘶𝐠𝙪𝙨𝐭 7𝐭𝐡, 2023. 𝐓𝘩𝗶𝒔 𝘱𝐫𝒐𝑔𝘳𝗮𝐦 𝑤𝘪𝐥𝒍 𝘣𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙈/𝐖/𝐹 𝒂𝙩 𝟳:45 𝐴𝑴 (𝘐𝘚𝗧) 𝑓𝘰𝙧 𝐚𝘣𝘰𝒖𝙩 𝟏5 𝙢𝘪𝒏𝑢𝙩𝙚𝘀 𝒆𝐚𝐜ℎ. 𝐓𝘰 𝑘𝐧𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝐨𝒓𝙚, 𝘰𝗿 𝑡𝙤 𝙟𝐨𝐢𝙣 𝗺𝗲 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝗵𝘪𝘴 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝑟𝒏𝑒𝙮, 𝑝𝘭𝑒𝑎𝘴𝙚 𝒔𝒆𝐧𝘥 𝙢𝑒 𝙖 𝑚𝒆𝘴𝘀𝒂𝗴𝑒.

Meditation isn't my cup of tea!

A few years ago I threw my hands up in the air! Heck, I even wrote a chapter about it in my book, Yes, You Can Change! (https://amzn.to/3Y1MMFx)

Until I heard from the Ziva Meditation Founder, Emily Fletcher "You meditate not to get good at meditation; you meditate to get good at life."

This talk from Emily completely changed my perspective towards . Getting good at meditation (not dozing off, not being able to silence my mind, not being able to hold my thoughts from drifting away, etc..) was no longer the .

is an . It is a way of life. And, meditation is one of the ways to practice mindfulness. Yes, there are many forms of meditation where you don't have to sit cross-legged or with your eyes closed.

Meditation is one of the most potent forms of and .

Just 15 minutes of including a daily meditation practice boasts of benefits including:

.. Reducing negativity.

.. Decreasing levels of and .

.. Increasing .

.. Increasing and .

.. Increasing and .

.. Increasing self-awareness.

.. Increasing patience and tolerance.

.. Gaining new perspectives on and life.

.. Promoting overall lightness of moods.

.. Supporting better health.

.. and many more!!

From August 7th, 2023, I am launching a new 5-week online program for practicing meditation. These will be thrice a week in the morning (IST timezone) and for about 15 minutes each session.

For details about my upcoming program, do check below.

Today, I wanted to share a bit about what I recently read...

I happened to read Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani's new book Becoming Flawesome!

While I must admit, I haven’t followed Kristina’s work as much, I have been a member of Mindvalley for many years, and quite a fan of Vishen Lakhiani’s teachings and radical philosophies.

And, I found the book to be refreshingly honest, quite insightful, and an honest exploration of the very humanness we often fail to understand by ourselves.

Check out my short article on this book including my and some of my favorite .

https://sanketpai.com/2023/07/12/unleash-your-flawsomeness/