IGTP

I hope everyone had a great first week of February!

Haven’t forgotten about any of you following or this page. Just have needed a few days to breathe and not have anything on my to-do list.

Knowing when to take a break is a sign of mental strength too! It’s okay to do it ❤️

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do by Amy Morin

Live Video 1: Introduction

Chapter Recap: Amy Morin tells her heartbreaking story of how she suffered three hard losses in fewer than 10 years. In only three, she lost her mother and husband, both unexpectedly. A few years later, after remarrying, she lost her father-on-law to a battle with cancer. Like any individual, Morin went through her own grieving process. She wrote, "Just when I'd think I was getting better, I'd turn another corner to find overwhelming sadness waiting for me." (p.3)

Amy remarried after the loss of her mother and husband. After a year of marriage, her father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. She expressed how this time, death was coming upon her a bit differently. Her mother and first husband died unexpectedly. Rob’s (her father-in-law) death came with a warning. She expressed how she much she just “wanted things to be different”. (p. 6). Amy explains how she had to come to realization that only she was in control of her emotions and habits in both her present and future. It was up to her to change her mindset about her circumstances:

“I had to make a conscious choice to start down a long road to building a new life for myself.” (p.4)

“After all, I’d been through this before and I’d be okay again. If I let myself fall into the trap of thinking my situation was worse than anyone else’s, or if I convinced myself that I couldn’t handle
one more loss, it wasn’t going to help. Instead, it would only hold me back from dealing with then reality of my situation.” (p.6)

As humans, we often act on emotions. And more often than we may realize (or like), we act on the negative ones. We often focus on what we should be doing, what we should look like, what we should have said rather than focusing on the things we shouldn’t be doing, feeling, saying, etc.. Amy puts, “They were the things that could hold me back from getting better, if I allowed them to take hold of me.” (p.7)

Amy’s Good vs. Bad Habits Breakdown: (p.7)

“Good habits are important, but it’s often our bad habits that prevent us from reaching our full potential. You can have all the good habits in the world, but if you keep doing the bad habits alongside the good ones, you’ll struggle to reach your goals. Think of it this way: you’re only as good as your worst habits.”

”Bad habits are like heavy weights that you drag around as you go about your day. They’ll slow you down, tire you out, and frustrate you. Despite your hard work and talent, you’ll struggle to reach your full potential when you’ve got certain thoughts, behaviors, and feelings holding you back.”

T H E T A K E A W A Y

"Time doesn't heal you or the things around you; It's how you choose to deal with that time that heals you and the things around you."

--Write this on a piece of paper and tape it somewhere you see it often.--

Comment below on the Self-Reflection Questions I've made for the chapter.

What are three changes you want to make for your mental health this year?

Let's tackle them together.

See you here Saturday, January 2 as I dig into the first chapter of Amy Morin's book, "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do" !

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