By Vishnu Makhijani
New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) Even on your worst day, don't stop loving yourself, says content specialist and human rights evangelist Reeta Gupta, whose just-published book, "Rescripting Your Life", presents a cogent five-step guide to achieving just that.
"My everyday mantra is: Even on your worst day, don't stop loving yourself... What you listen from others is what your ears hear. That's external appreciation, criticism or validation. But your most powerful conversation happens between your ears, in your mind. You can hear that conversation louder than any other. That's internal self-worth. You are only as good as your next thought about yourself," Gupta says in the book, which has been published by Rupa.
"Believe that the best will happen and it often does. When it comes to yourself, choose kindness -- being unkind to yourself is violent," Gupta penned in a copy of the book that she presented to this correspondent.
How then does one go about rescripting one's life. It's a five-step process, Gupta explains in the book:
- Connect to your source: Nothing comes from nothing -- you have within you the immensity of the source that created you and the rest of this world. Tap into that boundless creative energy.
- Opt out of being ordinary: Start actively challenging any non-serving thoughts and beliefs given to you from your childhood. Don't try to blend in or be normal against your wishes. Rise above labels given to you.
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Activate your imagination: As the Creator created you, so you create your future. Your imagination is your domain for creating the life that you desire, and the best part of it is that you are the monarch of this kingdom! Guard the gates of your imagination ferociously -- don't imagine what you don't wish for.
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Master your emotions: Practise tuning into how your body would feel -- when you live the life you wish for. Increase your overall conscious experience through becoming more aware of your bodily reactions to thoughts, feelings and events. Stay with emotions that energise you.
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Find your values: They act as guideposts that direct your behaviour and shape your goals in useful ways. Even a terrorist can connect to his source, opt out of the ordinary, activate his imagination and master his emotion -- but his values are compromised.
How did the book come about and how long was it in the making?
"This book has been in the making for four years. I am writing from the deep realisation that India needs to delve into her rich spiritual past if she is to solve her problems," Gupta told IANS in an interview.
"As a nation, if we are to emerge as a world leader, we first need to look within and set our house in order. We are a diverse country -- with multifarious problems. We need creativity, energy and resourcefulness to solve them. These attributes exist within our youngsters -- we need to harness and channelise them.
"We have a collective responsibility to take the message of positive self-worth and happiness to the young. Through this book, I'd like to sow the seeds of a socio-spiritual awakening -- and ask our politicians to make this message a part of their manifesto for the 2019 elections," Gupta added.
How did she evolve into a content specialist and human rights evangelist?
"We all have something that makes us come alive. In my case, it was writing. So despite an MBA in HR, and two jobs thereafter, I wanted to somehow find my way back into a career that involved writing," Gupta explained.
She started freelancing for some newspapers -- and enjoyed it. On seeing her bylines, a couple of brands wanted her to write profiles and copies for them.
"Looking at the brand as a outsider -- I could spot attributes they missed -- and this was oddly satisfying. Armed with the ability to write and a few good relationships with the media, I put together a team of public relations professionals who could pitch the content I was writing to the media houses.
However, at her peak, Gupta gave it all up "and started looking for my purpose".
"As if the universe was listening to my command, people in sectors such as disability, gender, impact investment and policy reform in healthcare and education, public health came knocking.
"Everyone and everything I knew up to that point was preparing me for a life where I could take on this role. Now, instead of creating content on the 'hottest trends for summer 2012', I started writing about 'what percentage of university seats allocated for students with disability were going empty'. I could reach out to influencers and ask them to endorse these causes too -- and Bollywood was more than willing," Gupta explained.
Today, her team at The Network creates slogans and effective content for public health as well as inclusive social development -- and she connects influencers to causes they may be inclined to support.
"This would explain my evolution into a human rights evangelist and content expert," Gupta said.
(Vishnu Makhijani can be contacted at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in )
