Why You Shouldn’t Trust Gurus (Part 1)
When the Guru Descends From the Mountain
You ever notice how a lot of fitness “gurus” act like they just came down from a mountaintop, clutching the one true workout plan on stone tablets?
They speak with the kind of booming certainty that says: “I have seen the truth. You peasants may now bask in my glow.”
And hey — if you’re lost in the weeds of trying to figure out how to move better, eat better, be better — that kind of confidence can feel magnetic. It’s comforting when someone swears they have all the answers, tied up neatly with a bow.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Certainty is easy to fake. Growth is not.
Gurus, in the modern sense of the word, aren’t teachers or guides. They’re marketers. They sell certainty. They sell a finished product — themselves — and all too often, they stop learning the moment they start selling.
Today, we’re going to tear back the curtain. We’re going to talk about why you should be skeptical of anyone who claims they’ve already “arrived” — and why the best coaches are the ones still hiking alongside you, not shouting directions from the peak.
What Is a Guru, Really?
Before we go full flamethrower, let’s be fair: the word guru didn’t start out dirty.
In Sanskrit, it literally means “one who dispels darkness.” A teacher. A guide. Someone who lights the way. I’m into that, sign me up!
Buuuuuuut… somewhere along the road (probably in the weird-yoga-cult-70’s but definitely by the time social media invented the “thought leader” badge and everyone started selling $2,000 fitness PDFs), guru stopped meaning teacher and started meaning infallible prophet.
And that’s a big, big problem.
The Modern Guru Playbook
A modern guru usually fits a certain mold:
- They act like they have it all figured out: No ambiguity, no “it depends,” no nuance. Just clean, shiny certainty.
- They sell a “secret”: One weird trick. One forbidden truth. One “revolutionary” diet or training method that the establishment doesn’t want you to know about.
- They turn their personal experience into universal truth:
“It worked for me, therefore it will work for everyone, no questions asked.” - They focus on being right, not on getting it right: Which, if you’ve ever tried to do anything complicated — raise a kid, run a business, or train for a marathon — you know is a recipe for disaster.
Why do they act this way?
Because selling certainty is good business.
Because admitting complexity is scary and hard to package.
Because curiosity doesn’t fit neatly into a 30-second Reel.
The Psychology Behind the Guru Magnetism
Let’s be honest: part of why gurus exist is us.
The human brain loves certainty. We’re wired to prefer a simple, confident lie over a complex, uncomfortable truth.
This isn’t me being cynical — it’s documented psychology.
- Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger, 1957) shows how uncomfortable we get when we’re confronted with conflicting ideas.
- Studies on Confirmation Bias show that once we believe something, we seek out information that reinforces it and ignore anything that doesn’t.
In other words: when someone offers us a perfectly wrapped answer to a complicated question, we want to believe them. Badly.
It feels good. It feels easy. It feels like we can finally stop thinking so hard.
But there’s a cost to that ease — and we’re going to talk about that next.
Where We’re Headed Next
In the next part of this series, we’ll dive deeper into:
- Why gurus stop growing once they build their pedestal (hint: growth requires admitting you’re wrong sometimes — not great for your personal brand).
- How following a guru can actually hold back your progress, from one-size-fits-all fitness plans to cult-like communities that punish curiosity.
- How to spot the difference between a guru and a true coach — and why you deserve a guide who’s still learning, just like you are.
So if you’ve ever felt burned by bad advice, frustrated by cookie-cutter coaching, or just suspicious of anyone selling “secrets” in an Instagram ad — you’re in the right place.
See you in Part 2.
And bring your critical thinking skills. We’re gonna need them.
