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How to stay mindful in a super competitive world

Vishen Lakhiani, the creator of Mindvalley, a bestselling author and an advocate of change explains why we shouldn't confuse drive with competitiveness

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By Delna Mistry Anand

Published: Thu 2 Mar 2023, 7:39 PM

Personal development brand Mindvalley brought its signature event series to Dubai for a weekend spotlighting the importance of personal growth, magical moments, and deep connections with the best teachers and community. Today, Mindvalley is the top provider of online education for personal transformation, home to 200+ authors and content that impacts 20 million global learners from 195 countries.

At the event, we met Vishen Lakhiani, the creator of Mindvalley, a bestselling author and an advocate of change to improve the quality of life across global communities. Vishen is one of the best-known thinkers in the areas of self-improvement and human consciousness today. Already a regular speaker at UAE events, including the 1 Billion Followers Summit in December 2022 and the World Government Summit in February 2023, Vishen talks about his new favourite city, Dubai, and how working on your own growth first will lead you to an extraordinary life.

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How can one stay mindful and spiritual in a super competitive world? It appears to be contradictory.

First of all, we confuse drive with competitiveness. Some of the best entrepreneurs are driven but, at the same time, are respectful to their competitors. They see these relationships as collaborations, and this means all relationships get to be win-win, and all interactions can operate at high levels of positivity. Also, in any type of super competitive landscape, what you want to be able to become is the best version of yourself, every single day, as fast as possible. And what this means is adopting the ‘growth mindset’, which leads you to two things:

• You are constantly growing in an upward spiral

• And it also means that you are growing upwards in all 12 dimensions of your life

What I mean by these 12 dimensions is that you want to get better in your relationships, be a better parent; get better in terms of your health and fitness; better in your intellectual life, your study, and your work; better in your spirituality; better in your career; better in your finances and wealth; better in your quality of freedom , such as can you travel, can you afford life’s beautiful experiences? You need to set goals holistically so that your life is balanced. And in all of these areas, you must seek to get a little bit better every day, every year.

The 12 life categories are:

1. Your love relationship

2. Your friendships

3. Your adventures

4. Your environment

5. Your health and fitness

6. Your intellectual life

7. Your skills

8. Your spiritual life

9. Your career

10. Your creative life

11. Your family life

12. Your community life

So every single year, you must not accept ageing and get better at your health. Every single year, you must seek to grow your income by at least 10 per cent, and spend better with your children.

Now all of this is possible. But people don’t know or don’t believe it’s possible and that’s why they get stuck.

So you ask me how you survive in a competitive world: you don’t survive by being competitive. People who are hyper-competitive just at work typically can become dysfunctionally competitive. They get obsessed by just beating the other person down, and that’s not the type of life you want to lead. You want to lead a life where you are competing with yourself. You are seeking to become a better version of yourself every single day, every single year.

The best thing about the Mindvalley learning format is the short 20-minute-a-day capsule. Of all the modules you personally teach, which one is your favourite?

There are always new things to learn and teach. My latest book called The 6 Phase Meditation Method is currently what I am really excited about getting out to people because it is so easy to learn and do, and so powerfully effective.

Dubai is a city with 80 per cent expats. How can people find a sense of grounding in a transient city like this?

Dubai “was” transient, but people are now increasingly seeing Dubai as one of the best lifestyle cities in the world. In the future, no one would want to be grounded, everyone will, and should, feel like a citizen of the world. Borders will become porous, travel will get cheaper and more effective. I want to belong to as many cultures and countries as I possibly can, while still having a home in Dubai.

What are your and Mindvalley’s future plans for Dubai?

I plan to buy an apartment here and get a Golden Visa. We are looking at seeing how we can expand the Mindvalley team here. We want to start hiring top talent here. Dubai has the highest concentration of Mindvalley members, and we love this city.

What resources would you like to share with those who can’t afford to attend an event like this or buy your programmes?

That’s exactly why at Mindvalley, we offer a lot of our content free for anyone who can’t afford it. When I am walking on the streets of Dubai, I have literally met grocery store clerks who are studying on Mindvalley and learning from it. We have two YouTube channels: Mindvalley and Mindvalley Talks with some amazing content that is accessible to all.

And lastly, what is the most important thing you want people to know right now?

Make personal growth the most important part of your day and your life is going to start moving in the most incredible directions.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

Delna Mistry Anand

Published: Thu 2 Mar 2023, 7:39 PM

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