· By Case Kenny
That mind tho...
The other day I was watching a movie trailer and the voiceover said: "from the mind of M, Night Shyamalan..."
I was so struck by that because here you have a movie with tens of millions of dollars spent on getting the biggest actors, millions spent on set design, editing and everything to make a movie look good and entertain us.
But the lead in is "the mind of the director."
That moment of the trailer brought me back home to a fact that we all stray so far from in life - our mind is our most valuable asset.
Your mind is what makes you unique.
Someone’s mind is what makes them unique. I know this is going to sound cliche but I don't care :) I’ve come to learn the life-changing power of switching our priorities from whatever it is that holds weight in our lives... back to our minds.
I used to be annoyed by my mind. In my head I saw it as this thing that prevented me from falling in line with what was expected and was easy. I used to really want a normal mind, a true extroverted mind, a mind that would allow me to disconnect and just go with the flow - a flow that I thought was the right way.
I've come to realize that my mind is the greatest gift I have.
Without it, what am I? Seriously…. without my mind, what am I? I’m literally just a body. Just a sack of potatoes. Your attraction to others is the way they think… it’s the way they see the world, the things that come from their mind - the sense of adventure, sense of humor, values, morals and so on.
Someone else’s mind is attractive, right?
I bet you’d also agree that you want someone to appreciate your mind too, right? You want someone to say your mind is hot. Your empathy and your worldview is hot. You value other’s people’s minds and you want other people to value yours… why don’t you value your own mind?
So why can’t we come to see what a gift our mind is? What greater gift is there?
What greater gift is there than to see the world through the lens of your mind? Our minds are what makes us us. The way we react to the world around us is what makes us us.
We need to be proud of ourselves and how we think - no matter if we’re prone to overthinking, no matter if we’re prone to being socially anxious, too introverted or too extroverted, etc.
Your “too much” is someone’s version of perfect.
Your sense of adventure and spontaneity is someone’s version of perfect.
Your laugh and sense of humor is someone’s version of perfect.
Your independence and sense of self is someone’s version of perfect.
Your eagerness and oversharing is someone’s version of perfect.
Your mind is what makes you you and I think with enough time we all eventually come back to the truth that it’s something to celebrate, not a detractor from our life’s happiness.
It’s the source of your kindness, your curiosity, your realness and your courage.
Wouldn’t you say those are qualities you look for in a partner or a friend? You want to be surrounded by people with realness, with kindness and empathy, and curiosity?
And you accept that it can come with some not so great qualities, too right?
The same is true of your mind... Your mind, the way you think, the things you want, the things you’re pulled towards... those are products of your mind… and as with all things they come with balance - overthinking, anxiety, etc.
Can we just take a step back and appreciate what makes us us?
Can we appreciate our minds in the same way we appreciate others?
You’re never missing out when you lead with what’s in your mind. You’re never missing out when you tap into the kindness, the curiosity, the realness that sits in your head.