Defying expectations
Author Chetan Bhagat, who was in Bengaluru recently, talks about his latest book 11 Rules For Life: Secrets to Level Up
When a quote as “‘You will amount to nothing’ — my father,” makes it to a book’s preface, you know an intriguing read awaits. However, this is not another work of fiction nor is it an autobiography. Chetan Bha
gat’s 11 Rules For Life: Secrets to Level Up (Harper Collins) is a selfhelp book as well as a memoir.
Bhagat, who was in Bengaluru recently to promote his book, says, “It’s been 20 years since 5 Point Someone came out. As a writer, I’ve reached a stage where I want to write what I truly want to express. Although I’m considered commercially successful, I want to be truer to what my heart wants to say, rather than what my brain says will make the most sense, businesswise. So I tuned into that and this is the book that came out of that.”
The book is not another love story, Bhagat says. “I have had quite a journey myself. I could have written another book, which would have possibly been made into a movie, but then, it would be just one more of those. What’s missing are relatable books on how to navigate life.”
Selfhelp is a crowded genre and Bhagat agrees, “There are a lot of wonderful selfhelp books out there. Almost half of any bookstore is dedicated to selfhelp titles, which is a bit scary too.
“What I found, was there is nothing written in and for the Indian context. The struggles we have and the family pressures we deal with, make it different.” The author has been giving motivational talks for many years now, and he says that was the stepping stone to writing a selfhelp book.
For someone whose novels have primarily entertained the Indian urban youth, Bhagat says, “Even my publisher was skeptical because I’ve established myself as a fiction writer. But I’ve always done different things. I moved from love stories to thrillers and knew not changing is scarier than changing. There are things I’ve mentioned in the book that I’ve not shared with anyone before.”
One of the things this book talks about is how people are addicted to cheap dopamine.
When asked how he thinks readers can resist this and focus on longterm goals, Bhagat says, “It has to do with selfawareness and selfregulation. The first thing is to know what is not good for you. People tell me they don’t read books and watch movies and YouTube videos instead. It’s like saying they do not walk but only sit in a bus.”
Just because a convenient way consume content exists, Bhagat says, it does not mean one loses the ability to focus, concentrate, or imagine. “These things happen with reading and not videobased content. If you are addicted to dopamine, which most of us are, then my book talks about doing a 30day detox. That’s the amount of time it takes for your brain to rewire its thinking.”
The first week is the hardest, Bhagat says. “After that, even if you reintroduce that activity back in your life, it loses its grip on you because you are selfaware and realise it must be consumed in moderation — whether it is spending time on your phone, consuming sweets or indulging in alcohol.”
11 Rules for Life has some interesting analogies from the animal kingdom.
“It’s important to ‘be the cockroach’. They survive because of their ability to adapt. I’m not the best author but a bestselling author and it’s only because of my ability to adapt. From writing romance and thrillers to being a columnist, motivational speaker, or having a good social media presence, to now moving out of my comfort zone and writing a selfhelp book, it’s been my ability to adapt that’s made me successful.”
Ask him which of these 11 rules has been the most challenging for him to personally implement, and pat comes the reply. “I think it’s the one that is going to be the most challenging for everybody. It’s rule number three, which is ‘Live for yourself’. People just can’t. I think it has a lot to do with our Indian context. We are a communitydriven people and we want to be loved and validated by the people around us. What we want always comes second. Over the last 10 to 15 years of doing motivational speeches, I’ve found that people are unwilling to put themselves first.”
The process of writing a selfhelp book led to some selfdiscoveries. “I have been a big people pleaser. If I was doing this interview 10 years ago, I’d be talking about my sales figures and how many million copies I’ve sold. Now I ask myself if I feel creatively satisfied and if I feel a sense of integrity that I’ve given my best to this book.”
Writing this book has helped him grow as a human being, Bhagat says. “To be able to face my demons and talk about my messed up childhood is not easy, but I’ve done it. I suppose it seems everything has been great in my life and that I’ve made it, but that isn’t my story. I was a fat child in a rather troubled household. No one hears these stories, but now that I’ve bared it all, I feel 20 kilos lighter. And it’s alright to openly say I’m flawed; I suppose that makes me more human.”
One of the biggest advantages of getting older, Bhagat says, is that you stop trying to gain the validation of those around you. “I grew up doing everything I possibly could, in the hopes of pleasing my father and making him proud. It’s like that in a lot of Indian households and then this generational trauma is passed on. Dealing with the fact that I could write 10 more memoirs that are made into superhit movies but still not feel good enough until I have parental validation, is something I had to work on. So in that way, writing this book has been transformative for me.”
About whether there are more selfhelp books in the future, Bhagat says, “It’s too soon to say. From a business standpoint, I could go on to expand on the 11 rules but that isn’t what I want to do. I would rather do something that challenges me.”
We want to be loved by the people around us. What we want always comes second. Over the past 10 to 15 years of motivational speeches, I’ve found that people are unwilling to put themselves first.
CHETAN BHAGAT
Author