Blog by: Lata Advani Viseu

“I stretched back and I hiccuped
And looked back on my busy day
Eleven hours in the Tin Pan
God, there’s got to be another way

Well, who are you?
(who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Oh, who are you?
(Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Come on tell me who are you?”
Who are you – The Who

Who are you?

Most of us show a different version of ourselves depending on who we are with. How many faces do you have? Are you the same person at work and at home and with your friends?

So, who are you really? If you stop for a bit and peel back the many layers that you have draped over the years and figure out which version of you is the real you, that is when you begin to live a life of your own design.

What are you doing when you are in that zone? Who are you with? Behind the smoke and mirrors is the true you, the authentic you and therefore the happiest you. All you need to do then is, be yourself and see your life unfold in flow but many of us live in guilt.

I think I have come a long way and now I don’t feel guilty for the choices I make as much. I mostly do what I want to do and talk myself out of feeling guilty when people expect me to be a certain way or to do certain things.

I am learning to let go and have learnt that I am not responsible for how other people feel. I need to honour what my heart desires and not do things because of guilt. I believe that guilt, shame, stress, fear all release hormones that can lead to serious health issues.

No one can “make” you feel guilty, you have a choice whether to accept the guilt when someone tries to bestow it upon you or, honour that you may want to do something different.

You have a right to your feelings just as much as the other person has a right to theirs. We are all so different so all we can do is accept that we are looking at others through our own perspective. What you like, I may not like but that does not make you righter.

If we stop giving unsolicited advice and stop judging others, if we accept that we are all different, we would all be happier. Stop waiting for someone to do what you want, or stop being chained by guilt in any decision that you make.

Life is too short…so be who you are and do what makes you happy and let other people be happy doing what makes them happy. Live and let live.

“The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt.” – Ayn Rand

“I have no guilt. Whatever I do, I enjoy and it’s the point. I think if you start to feel guilty about it, that’s a problem. So, no guilty pleasures. I have pleasure and no guilt at all.” – Eric Ripert