Have you ever heard yourself say ‘I can’t do that’ or ‘I’m not strong enough to achieve something so hard? When you think about it, it’s not that we are not capable, surely anything is possible but it’s more a fear that we have created in our minds that stop us. I read somewhere that we train our bodies, but not our minds but yet there’s the saying ‘if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything’ so surely we should be training our minds too…
The more I thought about this, the more I started believing it, especially when I had felt it myself since moving to Wales. I’ve read a few self help books in my time and to me, they can give exactly the motivation you need. They are not for everyone, and I am sure this blog isn’t everyone’s cup of tea either but hopefully it is inspiring others to find hope, motivation and to go out there and achieve what you dream of because it’s yours if you want it!
When I was younger I wanted to get really involved with helping similar people to my mum so I volunteered for the charity Mind for a brief period with people with severe mental health problems - I was way out of my depth and I felt far too inexperienced and young with little life experience to give anything back. I didn't continue with it and I moved onto other things. However, there’s always been something inside me that wants to help others see there really is positivity in this world.
Despite my positive mindset, I have been a massive worrier in the past and so much so I started to develop frequent migraines from stresses that would arise. Over the last few years I would be hit with a new one or sequence of them every 6-8 weeks. They are so debilitating that it makes me think about how my mum suffered everyday with her depression, trying to feel better, yet often hitting a brick wall.
As I discovered these migraines are not through alcohol, foods or high intense exercise as the typical triggers can be, I realized they have to be through stress…..well, actually it was more about how I processed my thoughts. As much as I love my mum, my determination has always been ever present to not suffer the way she did, physically and especially mentally. Yet I would find myself stressing over the simplest things and often things out of my control. Naturally I started to think more about my determination and this feeling I had in my heart to live and enjoy life no matter what. I visualized my mum watching me, wishing me to succeed because she didn’t have that opportunity and after raising money for Mind, I thought again about that saying ‘if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything’…surely having been told I have a healthy mindset, I just needed to steer it in a different direction and that’s when I discovered Mindfulness…
