What I Wish I Told 16 Year Old Me - BetterHelp (Sponsored Ad)

What I Wish I Told 16 Year Old Me

Building my own mental health toolbox is not only my online brand - but it's why I'm still alive to this day. Constantly growing my mindset fuels me as a survivor to my chronic condition.

It's taken me 20 years to look back at what I've normalised day to day – the thoughts I have, the things I say and do without thinking, and my beliefs and values – and start to question it. Why am I thinking this way? Why do I keep acting like that?

The patterns we picked up as children replay themselves like stories in our head, and overtime, those patterns start to become the norm. We stop questioning them because 'that's the way it's always been', and then 15 years later, we're wondering why we have dominance issues or why we stigmatize certain people or why we're afraid to be spend our money.

We inherit generational or cultural traits that overpower our senses and sometimes, they redirect us away from what we actually desire or from what feels right.

It's the same as walking in the sand. If you keep walking in your same footsteps, the imprint will become deeper and deeper and overtime, you wouldn't want to step outside of the sand path you made because it'd just mean a more resistance when walking through the sand. It'd be harder to walk. Wouldn't you just rather stick to the path you've always been on?

Most of the time – that's the easier thing to do.

But what if the reason you were on that path wasn't because of what you wanted. What if someone else had set you on that path long ago, and you've just been walking it for so long that you forgot why you were even on it in the first place.

Your parents influenced you at a young age to pursue a certain career and now you're deep into $100K of student debt, enrolled in a medical school and are surrounded by people who feel are ten times smarter than you.

You were raised to 'be tough' and 'work hard' due to your culture – so you take responsibility for everything. But when someone messes up, you blame yourself immediately and are ashamed you let it 'fall apart'.

You hated disappointing your parents so you can never say 'No' to people because you're afraid of disappointing them too.

And by following this path that wasn't even set by you in the first place – where the does it lead and end?

If I could, I'd start my transformation early and become aware that something needs to change.

Stop believing in something that doesn't serve you. Release the shame that you allowed yourself to be led by something that wasn't true to you.

You will find gratitude toward these revelations and your awareness will be heightened. Believing you deserve and already have abundance, creating healthy habits, and doing what you love everyday and figuring out HOW to do that through intentional action.

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