I'm righting the course.

One of the biggest struggles with writing this newsletter is that writing feels like work. I started this newsletter to write about stuff I cared about, but once I started writing, I wrote for an audience: early- and mid-level career professionals trying to perform at their highest levels. I wrote this audience because that was who I was surrounded by: at home, in social spaces, and even on social media. From science-based wellness gurus like Andrew Huberman, Gabrielle Lyons, and Peter Attia to mental health creators obsessed with productivity like Ali Abdaal, HealthyGamerGG, and Matt D’Avella, I unknowingly jumped on the bandwagon, and stopped writing from within. Doing more of what they do isn’t me. Nor do I have any competitive advantage: I’m just a guy, working a corporate job, moving towards living his best life. If I don’t enjoy it because it feels like work, I’m writing for the sake of and parroting research others do, and have no competitive advantage over others in this space, why am I writing?

I wrote with an outside-in approach. I wrote for others, not for myself, and I abandoned my voice to parrot the voices of those around me. But I’m giving up on that project. I want to bring “Your Guide, Not Guru” back to its founding roots:

To write reflexively. To crystallize my own thoughts. And to discuss the most pertinent questions about mind and body.

So why should you still read “Your Guide, Not Guru”?

My hope is that you care about your physical and mental well-being. That you think there’s value in cultivating body and mind — not to perform or optimize, but for genuine fulfillment. And that you will join me in the journey exploring what it actually means to live well and to help others do the same.

Signing off,

~Your guide, not guru, Harish.

*One sad byproduct of the rise of AI is that I can’t use em dashes liberally anymore. I can assure you, however, that my writing is my own.