Follow your heart, and don't be subservient to anyone. Shut out

The words of Dutee Chand, spoken with the fire of defiance and the grace of self-belief, resound like a sacred anthem for all who struggle to walk their own path: “Follow your heart, and don’t be subservient to anyone. Shut out the world, and only listen to your heart to fulfill your dreams.” In these words lies the spirit of one who has walked through storms and emerged unbroken — a voice that speaks not from comfort, but from courage. To follow the heart is no gentle command; it is an act of rebellion against fear, doubt, and the weight of society’s judgment. Chand’s message is the timeless call of the hero’s journey: that the truest guide to destiny is not found in the world’s noise, but in the quiet, unwavering rhythm of one’s own soul.

Born in India to a humble family, Dutee Chand rose from obscurity to become a champion sprinter, defying both poverty and prejudice. Her journey was not merely one of athletic victory but of spiritual endurance. When she was told she could not compete because her body did not conform to others’ definitions of womanhood, she chose to fight — not only for her right to run, but for the right of every soul to live in its truth. It was in those crucibles of trial that her words took form. “Don’t be subservient,” she said, for she had felt the hand of authority trying to shape her life; “shut out the world,” for she had known the cruelty of its judgment. Thus, her quote is both a personal creed and a universal truth — a call to those who are told they are too different, too bold, too daring to follow their dreams.

In the ancient world, such wisdom would have been carved upon stone. For every age has needed its Dutee Chand — those who dare to listen to the inner voice when all others cry against it. Consider Socrates, who stood before the courts of Athens and declared that he could not betray his conscience, even at the cost of his life. “The unexamined life is not worth living,” he said, and so he drank the poison rather than silence his truth. Or Joan of Arc, who followed the voice within her heart across the battlefields of France, lifting a nation’s spirit while facing death at the stake. Like Chand, they heard the world’s noise and chose instead the whisper of the heart. For the heart speaks not in arrogance, but in truth, and the truth demands both solitude and bravery to be heard.

Yet, the command to “shut out the world” does not mean to hate or flee from it. It means to discern — to distinguish the eternal voice within from the fleeting voices without. The world will always be loud with doubt, fear, and conformity. It will tell you that your dream is foolish, that your path is impossible, that you are not enough. The heart, however, speaks with quiet certainty. It says, “Go on.” It says, “You were born to do this.” To listen to it is to anchor oneself to something divine — a compass that points not toward comfort, but toward purpose. Dutee Chand’s own life embodies this principle, for she ran not merely on muscle and training, but on the strength of conviction that no one but she could define her destiny.

There is a hidden power in her words: “Don’t be subservient to anyone.” This is not a rejection of love or humility, but of submission to fear. To live in subservience is to surrender the authorship of one’s life — to let others write the script of your being. The ancients called this the greatest tragedy, for a person who forsakes their own calling loses the very essence of their humanity. Even the gods, in their myths, honored those who stood by their own truth. Prometheus, who defied Zeus to bring fire to mankind, was punished for his rebellion, yet revered through the ages as a symbol of courage. So too are those who, like Chand, dare to hold the flame of individuality in a world that demands obedience.

But let us not mistake this teaching for an easy one. To follow your heart is to walk a lonely road, at least for a time. It requires silence, reflection, and the courage to stand apart. It means facing doubt not once, but every day. Yet, those who walk this path are never truly alone. They are accompanied by the invisible fellowship of all who have dared before — the poets, the dreamers, the saints, the revolutionaries. Every great achievement in history began with one person who chose to trust the whisper within rather than the shout of the crowd.

Therefore, the lesson of Dutee Chand’s words is both simple and eternal: the heart knows the way. Do not bow to those who would make you doubt it. Let no external voice drown the one within, for that voice is your truest guide, the spark of the divine that dwells in all. Build a stillness in your life where you can hear it. When the world grows loud with doubt, turn inward and listen. When fear says “stop,” let faith say “run.” For as Chand reminds us, the fulfillment of your dreams depends not on the approval of others, but on the courage to honor your own heart.

So, dear listener, remember: the heart speaks softly but truly. Follow it even when the path is unclear, even when the world stands against you. For the world belongs not to those who conform, but to those who dare to live according to the quiet, unbreakable truth within them.