It’s the first week back for most people in 2023 and it sure feels hard to kick start back into the new year. For some its due to the overhang of being burnt out last year and for others the New Year serves as a cyclical marker of time during which the break gave us a bit of time to reflect and re-evaluate whether we are living our best lives that is consistent with our values. It is this search for meaning and purpose that we will delve into today.
Clearhead has launched our free AI tool to help you find your purpose - check it out here: https://www.myclearhead.com/finding-purpose
Shruthi biography:
Today’s guest is Shruthi Vijayakumar a coach and educator based in Aotearoa NZ, hailing from South India but is at heart a global citizen. As today’s topic touches on how one is able to step off the rat race and find fulfilment beyond one’s own personal needs, I will rattle off some of Shruthi’s background to provide context. Shruthi is an alumni of the University of Oxford, World Economic Forum global shaper, former Boston Consulting Group (BCG) consultant and Westpac bank’s advisory panel member.
Instead of continuing to chase these traditional metrics of success, Shruthi now coaches social impact driven business leaders and changemakers, supporting them with their inner wellbeing and in creating organisations and societies that foster the wellbeing of people and Nature. She does this by harnessing the wisdom across Indigenous, Eastern & Western knowledge systems. Welcome Shruthi.
In this episode, we really dive deep into answering the following thorny questions.
0:00 - Intro
2:20 - How does society condition us to chase conventional external metrics of success.
7:05 - What brings fulfilment, wellbeing and happiness?
10:22 - What are the philosophies behind achieving a peace of mind?
15:02 - Why does the paradox of choice robs us of contentment?
16:10 - What were the steps Shruthi took to leave BCG management consulting and live a life that is more aligned to her purpose.
20:02 - Can business be a force for good?
22:01 - What you can do to explore when you are feeling stuck in your life?
24:12 - How do you figure out the personal values that shapes your purpose?
27:15 - What are the fears that stops you from transitioning into a more purposeful life?
31:10 - Why you need to continue to do the internal work to feel that you are enough even when doing more social impact work.
32:45 - What does a more purposeful life look like?
38:20 - The importance of figuring out your strengths in helping you find your purpose.
39:38 - Practical tools to help you be more aligned day to day rather than being driven by fear. 43.45: Importance of stillness in understanding what you need in your life.
46:39 - Meditation and indigenous world views of wellbeing
50:50 - How to question the traditional paradigms of how to live a meaningful life
52:18 - Bringing together all the learnings we shared today
52:53 - Shruthi’s go to wellbeing practice.
Learn more about Shruthi: https://www.shruthi.co/
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