Imagine you are heading out on a long roadtrip with your family. You are so excited about the trip that you totally forget to even check the condition of your car before starting the trip. Only a few hours after you leave the house, you get a flat tyre and are almost out of fuel, with no station in sight in either direction.

Well this is quite similar to how we deal with life. In our journey of life, we are the cars and we are the drivers and we are all driving on the path of life without first checking with our selves, our inner selves.

If you've been following my blog, you have probably read my past posts about Sadhguru, a yogi whose teachings I have been following for quite a while now and who has been a huge influence in my life.

In his book aptly titled "Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy" he talks about how we can engineer the inner self, so that life can happen the way we want it to or at least we can be joyful no matter what happens in life.

Turning The Gaze Inwards

The idea here is to work on yourself first before dealing with the many intricacies of life. Of course there is no "prep time" before we are born and so this inner building has to happen simultaneously, and no, it's never too late to start.

What is needed is a certain control over your thoughts, emotions and feelings, an awareness of life around you and also to reach a level of peace within you. Most people make the mistake of thinking that peace is the ultimate destination but it's in fact the fundamental step to achieve anything in life.

Only after we work on these aspects, will life become a conscious effort instead of a never ending loop of mindless reactions to external situations and people. Reactions will become responses and that's how inner transformation begets external transformation.

As with everything else, it is much easier to say than actually doing it and engineering your inner self is no small feat. Especially when it has to be a permanent one. Regardless, turning your gaze inwards is an essential step if we are to live an effortless life. Make your car the best car possible and even bumpy rides will feel smoother.