Ask people what would make them happy, and the most common answers will be centered around a better job, more money, the right relationship, and a bit of luck. We tend to treat our inner state as something dependent on the outer world that lands in our lap on a given day. Good day, good mood. Bad day, bad mood. Amid the hush and gush of life, we often forget to stop and ask who is actually controlling all of this?
It might seem to be a comforting way to live, in a sense, because it lets us off the hook. If our peace depends on circumstances, then our misery is never quite our doing; it is the traffic, the boss, the weather, other people. But it also leaves us oddly powerless, forever waiting for conditions to improve before we are allowed to feel okay.
Sadhguru's Insight on Inner Well-Being
Sadhguru shares his insight on this. Through his wise words, he has built much of his teaching around a single idea: that inner well-being is something a person creates from within, not something handed to them by the outside world.
Quote of the Day
Even God cannot decide your inner wellbeing. If you refuse to cause misery to yourself, then no one can inflict it upon you.
What Does the Quote Actually Mean?
Sadhguru advises to place the controls of your inner state firmly in your own hands and not with luck, circumstances, other people, or even a higher power. Your interior life, he suggests, is the area of territory that is genuinely yours to govern.
He says that misery, at its root, is self-manufactured. Things outside us can trigger pain, but the ongoing suffering, the replaying, the resentment, the dread, is something we keep generating internally through our own reactions. Joy or misery happens inside you; the outside is only a stimulus. Strip away the reaction, and the world loses much of its power to wound you.
How Is It Relevant Today?
The highly digital age today has us surrounded by constant social media updates, which tends to be drawn to comparisons. Every time we look at reels or posts, we end up comparing ourselves. In fact, social media has become that part of our lives that even a single rude message or piece of bad news can color a whole day.
Sadhguru's words are rightly relevant in these scenarios, and tell us to just think positive. That isn't the point, and Sadhguru himself draws the line: taking responsibility, he says, is not about accepting blame but about consciously responding to a situation.
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About the Author: TOI Lifestyle Desk
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