Imagine growing up amid apartheid, living through the most severe discrimination, and being judged at every turn on the most superficial traits. From being judged on the color of his skin and being banned from playing sports to becoming a world-class sports scientist and performance coach, Shayamal Vallabhjee shows us that you can change your life if you can change your mind.

Shayamal Vallabhjee is a world-class performance coach. He is a sports scientist with double masters in Clinical and Organisational Psychology. His experience with racism as a boy in South Africa forced him to journey toward his inner self and later, becoming a monk. Coming out the other end with newer and broader perceptions of life, he is now a course facilitator with the Standard Business school and trains professional athletes with a unique approach that combines sports science, psychology, and Vedic wisdom. His mind-first approach to training was instrumental in elevating players’ performance of the Indian Olympic team in 2008 and 2012. Shayamal Vallabhjee, a National Geographic featured performance coach, emphasizes the value of confidence and mindfulness to create a better life, even amidst the darkest of adversities. His unique perspectives saw accolades such as Men’s Health Trainer of the year, INK Fellowship, and a Global Spa Wellness Guru of the Year, atop being a TedX speaker and best-selling author.

From facing Apartheid to Becoming a Performance Coach

Shayamal Vallabhjee grew up in South Africa at a time when racial discrimination was rampant, and opportunities for people of color were few. But having being given lessons in humility by his father and kindness by his mother, Shayamal Vallabhjee still persevered and forged ahead towards his dreams of becoming an athlete.

However, the institutional apartheid forced him into retirement.

Still wanting to move forward with a career that spoke to his heart’s desire, Shayamal Vallabhjee chose a different vocation within the same domain – that of a sports scientist. But the toxicity driven by apartheid made him anxious. The overwhelming anxiety compelled him to step back and take a sabbatical.

Harbouring hatred and anger inside because of the racial atrocities he faced, but still desiring to move forward with the values of humility and kindness bestowed by his parents, Shayamal Vallachjee decided to become a monk at Hare Krishna Temple. His spiritual masters guided him to decode ancient spiritual texts and face his biggest challenge: seeing the atrocities of apartheid through the lens of forgiveness and compassion.

As he took a journey within, he realized the power of spiritual strength. He sought to turn himself into a reservoir of abundance, compassion, love, and kindness. Those traits turned co-elevation, performance, love, and creativity into his core values.

Confidence, Competence and Composure – Spiritual Values and Redefining Strength

Shayamal Vallabhjee says that the greatest challenge in the world is equating masculinity with brute strength, overpowering voice, assertion, financial dominance, and suppressing emotions.

It is easy to put on a brave face when you can’t see a silver lining in your life. But it is only a façade that aggravates the anger and hatred that one carries inside. True strength comes from embracing and addressing one’s vulnerabilities.

Doing so gives a person confidence to wear his strength and weaknesses with pride, even in the face of uncommon and adverse situations.

Addressing those weaknesses with humility makes you competent to perform any task. And when these factors are combined with composure, you’ll attract world-class success.

However, Shayamal Vallabhjee couldn’t have done it alone. He wonders what his life would have been like if he had one person who supported him unconditionally when he faced racial discrimination. While the strength of his parent’s kindness and humility gave him confidence and taught him competence, it was only after he met his spiritual masters that he gained the composure he needed to truly delve deep within himself and change his mind to change his life.

You can do this too.