Join a gym, eat healthy, buy organic, research the best anti-aging cream....
Get fat? Go on a diet, join weight watchers, if you can afford it get a personal trainer or just drink green crap for 7 days.
We're great at focusing on the physical - why?
Because you can see it.
And so can everyone else.
It's tangible.
We know a lot about the human body and yet we still practice 'cure' instead of 'prevention'.
We wait, we ignore the signs, until there's a problem and then we panic to fix it.
But at least we're doing SOMETHING
But here's the thing....here's my BIGGEST FRUSTRATION ever:
WHY DO WE NOT INVEST IN OUR OWN MINDS in the same way that we invest in our bodies??
We are in our heads ALL DAY LONG, every moment of every second of all of our lives!!!
But we know so little about it.
Our education system prepares us for work, we learn maths, science, languages, but does it prepare us for life?
Who's teaching you how to deal with your head?
Who's teaching you what to do when the dark cloud descends?
Who's teaching you how to handle that whispering voice in your head that tells you you're not good enough? You don't deserve it, you're not smart enough, it's meant for someone else...
Who's helping you see when you're making up stories?
When you're getting yourself in a negative funk?
Who's helping you steer yourself out it of it?
Who's helping you believe in yourself?
Who's helping you break the patterns in your life?
Who's helping you see the essence of you?
Who's helping you find your path?
Who's giving you the know-how, the tools, the tricks, the exercises so that you don't have to get in a head funk in the first place!?
Some of you might have professionals by your side. Maybe you've got therapists, counsellors, even coaches. But how many of you waited until you were 'broken' before looking for help?
I get it, there's a stigma attached to pretty much EVERYTHING to do with the mind. We're frightened of it. Every other part of the body is allowed to break down or have a glitch except our minds (the one thing science and medicine know the least about!).
Ruby Wax in her TED talk tells the story of how she had a mental break down and got 2 phone calls telling her to 'cheer up'. She recounts how the previous year she had been in hospital with a broken leg and couldn't move for flowers and visitors.
But it doesn't have to be this way. For starters we need to work with prevention instead of putting all our energy into cure. Just like you have healthy diets for your body we need a MENTAL DETOX for our minds.
How do you do that?
Well it starts with knowledge, it starts with filling the gap the education system forgot about.
It starts with asking the question WHO AM I - who am I really?
What makes me tick? What does the voice in my head usually say to me? Is it helpful? How can I train it to be on my side rather than being my constant critic? What are my values? And why do they matter to me? How can I use them to help me navigate the complicated decisions in my life? What's my typical mindset? Do I have a growth mindset or a fixed one? How can I make sure I have the mindset I need in order to live the life I really want?
We have personal trainers to help us get fit, nutritionists to help us eat healthy. Endless companies and brands selling us 'physical upgrades'. We have internet sources to teach us to eat well, lose weight, get 'beach body ready', shops selling us the products to do so. We spend time money and energy on looking good and trying not to get old.
BUT
What's the point of looking 25 (when you're 45) if you are too anxious, insecure or nervous to allow yourself to accept love in your life?
What's the point in climbing up the career ladder if you don't believe you deserve success?
What's the point in having a healthy bank account if your mind is in poverty?
We've been sold the WRONG DREAM.
Happiness and fulfillment don't come from being tanned, slim and gorgeous.
It doesn't come from owning a house, a car and having 3 holidays a year.
It doesn't come from being the youngest CEO in history. In doesn't come from being the 'busiest' person you know.
True happiness and fulfillment is routed in a deep sense of knowing and being. It comes from truly knowing who you are, why you're that way and how to maximize yourself and your own potential. It comes from knowing how you're holding yourself back in life and learning what you need to do to be on your own side.
Here's your chance, here's the prevention instead of the cure.
But maybe your too busy? Don't have the time? Need the money for that 'thing' you were going to buy?
Stop making excuses.
Stop putting off this important work.
The time is now!