The reality is, many people shy away from real critical self-reflection. It's understandable - Self-reflection is intimidating, it’s scary, and it doesn’t sound like a whole lot of good can come from it. Well that is actually not the case. Jessica Carson, the author of “Wired This Way” has discovered that when you’re willing to explore that dark within you, you’ll be able to tap into your innate creativity and energy that has the potential for real change. Your darkness holds the key to a growth opportunity you otherwise would never have discovered!

Jessica encourages you to step into your truth, get uncomfortable in your own skin, and acknowledge the things you have chosen to repress, because it very well could be the source you’ve been looking for.

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“Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable.”

The word that gets me is unstoppable, and let me shed some light on why. One thing that I tend to speak a lot about is the importance of consistency. With every positive choice or action your identity grows deeper and your resilience grows heavier. A result of consistency over time is momentum, which  is a measurement of your mass,(how difficult you are to move), and your velocity,(how fast you’re going). The more momentum something has, the more unstoppable it is! 

Well, that’s you. You become unstoppable when you consistently execute whatever you’ve committed to. Let’s remember the quote and take one more step back.

“Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable.”

The limiting item in your ability to be unstoppable is yourself. All you need to do is believe in yourself. When you believe in yourself, you will believe that you can get the result you want. If that’s a possibility, then it’s not so silly to do the simple things that you know will get you there. With consistency you pick up momentum and then boom! You’re unstoppable!

You see where it all starts? It starts within you. You need to believe that you can do it. You also need to be sure it’s what you truly want. You cannot second guess your ability or reasons, you just need to go for it! So what steps are you taking today to become unstoppable?

I wanted to share this thought because it is so necessary and important to keep in mind as we continue to navigate new frontiers in this world. Former SISD guest Dr. Sangeeta Sahi, who has her Medical Degree had a well articulated thought on the differences between science and spirituality, with specific context to today’s environment.

"I was very interested at the time in science, and how science could maybe verify some of the spiritual teachings and experiences. I realized that science can go up to a point, but spirituality has a very different character to it. Science is very structured ,it is quite linear. It is all about observation and putting things into a structure that makes it standardized and repeatable. Spirituality is a much more experimental. It is much more creative. It has a flu character to it. So, that is a bit different. And we are living in uncertain time, and we are in a state of not knowing the answers and what is coming next. So, we have to open up to this new way of flowing a being".

There is a necessary element of surrendering and faith that is required to see the light at the end of the tunnel. When you begin to acknowledge spirituality you can begin to see that the chaos is designed, the hardship is full of lessons, and you’re being prepared for your big breakthrough.

I recently saw a good friend of mine post on Facebook about an accident. His brother Pierre was mountain biking and seriously injured himself, requiring emergency spine surgery to save his life. Fortunately, he did survive but he is not expected to walk again. Things like this happen and it’s an unfortunate reality in the world.

When I was scrolling on Facebook and read this, I was taken aback and got emotional. Then, I couldn’t help but think of my friend, who had a similar moment of receiving horrible news out of nowhere. I’ve had moments like that in my past and the pain and shock of it is overwhelming.

That’s the truth. You wake up in the morning and you have no idea what’s going to happen. This is part of what makes life so exciting, but in times like this it’s what makes life so painful also. We cannot take these simple things for granted, things we see as normal and expected, because it all can change in an instant. When Pierre woke up that morning, he never could have expected how his life would change.

And when this stuff happens, because it will in life, it becomes a matter of perspective. It’s all on a spectrum and you need to find the positive in the event. The fact that he has his life is incredible. The response and love he’s received from family and friends is remarkable. These life situations will always exist on a spectrum, and while it’s hard to see the positives in tragedies like this it’s important to try to. Because a positive outlook and optimism for the situation will attract more of the same, which will give you more strength and courage to press on in your life.

This is something that is pretty crazy to think about, and it requires absolutely nothing different from you. Every hour, every minute, and every second you take up space in this world, which is your house, your desk at work, a seat at a restaurant, or your favorite spot on a friend’s couch. When you spend time with people, they are right there in front of you clearly taking up space as well.

Great, so you spend a few moments, part ways to get back to your independent lives, and off you go. The thing that we have grown so accustomed to, is that our experience is always within our body. We are always directly aware of the way that we are taking up space in the world because we literally cannot be anywhere else.

Have you ever thought about how that’s also true for everyone else? In this moment right now, every person you’ve ever met that is still alive is taking up space somewhere. They have their own agendas, making their own decisions, just like you every hour, every minute, and every second.

In 2018, there were 7.6 Billion people on our planet. And every single one of them, whether you passed them on the street, bought something from them while on vacation, or have never crossed paths with them is doing exactly what you do with the same focus an intentionality applied to their own life experience. It’s nuts!

Then thinking about occupying space, that space is filled in different ways by different people over time. 7.6 million people were estimated to have visited the Coliseum in Rome in 2018, not to mention how many different people took up that space the year before, or even those who attended events there during the height of the Roman Empire thousands of years ago.

We are so focused on our own experience and our own context that we lose sight of the big picture. Everyone lives their life with the same importance and purpose as you do, and I think it’s important we start thinking about that.

What do you respond when someone asks you “What are you interested in?”

One default answer points in the direction of our careers and what we do for work. But, is that really what you’re interested in? If you’re bored on a weekend, what would you head in to work?

Another default answer is the socially acceptable canned response like,I like travel, I like hanging out with friends, and I like being active. Great, but that doesn’t say anything specific about you.

Let’s dive a layer deeper and think about this question: What interests you? I want you to get as specific as possible.

I want you to come up with 3 things, 3 really, specific, wholeheartedly true things that speak to you today. Put aside what seems to be socially acceptable and tap into your truth. 

After some thought, these are my 3.

I am interested in understanding human behavior and how our evolutionary history, social conditioning, and unique life experience informs our understanding and perspective. I could have simply said psychology.

I am also interested in finding authentic ways to connect with people from different backgrounds in a mutual way, which, for me, often comes through soccer.

And last, I am interested in finding subtle ways to challenge myself, try it, and share with others about it to broaden my perspective and increase my abilities.

That says a whole lot more about me and who I am than the broad responses we usually give. The reason we don’t think about these things is because it’s hard to be vulnerable to yourself and others. On the other side of vulnerability is authentic connection, which is something we all need more of.

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop".

So often we choose to see our journey and speed relative to someone else’s, which causes us to get self-conscious or insecure when we compare. However, we know that’s not the full story. Your speed is on your path which is different than everyone else’s, and it’s important to keep that in mind. Guess what happens when we let comparison weigh too heavily? We stop. You cannot stop.

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. 

I am of the opinion that a necessary ingredient in progress is consistency, and by continuing onward at all times, even if it’s at a slow pace, you’ll continue to make progress as the days pass.

There’s one important element to this that isn’t listed, but it’s vital. It’s the direction. Where are you going? You can go as fast as you want, but if you’re even one degree off course that miscalculation will grow and bring you somewhere you didn’t intend. So, taking your time you can reroute with ease and make sure you’re still on course, all while being as efficient as possible with the effort you’re putting in. To reiterate, you cannot stop. It’s a persistent pursuit that does not stop and cannot wait!

This is about the dynamics and pressures we feel as being a part of a group.The founder of Lead By Impact Michael Vargas breaks this down for us so we can better understand: 

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So, the best thing we can do as a member of a group is actually what we shouldn’t do. We should not attribute right or wrong to a thought, and we should not view another opinion as worse than our own.

I wanted to send forward a lesson that has left an impression on me lately. I learned this through Darren Hardy and it relates to not taking negative action or giving in to negative habits.

There are two ways to go about doing this. You can either avoid, or you can resist. More specifically, avoid the stimulus or resist the urge. I’m just going to tell you up front that you should want to avoid. It all comes back to the habit loop. If you’ve been presented a stimulus and have been prompted to action, then you’ve begun the habit loop and your brain will crave the reward at the end until it receives it. This is very distracting and requires a lot of mental energy, and it is exactly the distinction I am trying to make. 

When you choose to avoid, you prevent the stimulus from happening in the first place. You, therefore, avoid initiating the poor habit, never starting the habit loop and don’t experience the urge to take the action at all. You can do this by keeping your phone away from you or off, closing unnecessary tabs in your web browser, or throw out the unhealthy foods in your pantry.

When you resist, it’s because you were already presented the stimulus. You feel the mental pull to take the action, but you know it’s not what you want to do so you fight against the urge. This requires a lot of energy and no matter how much will power you have, you need to actively use it to resist. This means that you have less cognitive energy to focus on what you are trying to do. This creates poor performance and frustration, which then affirms your brain’s desire for validation and strengthens the craving you’re experiencing.

This is the reason you’re told to keep your phone out of your bedroom at night, delete social media apps, and get rid of your TV. The most effective thing you can do to not take negative action is avoid it altogether.