You just want to- to step out of it
to step out of the whole race, the whole
business, the- the monstrosity of being
alive overwhelms you. If you have depression
if you have anxiety, if you have
post-traumatic stress disorder, if you
have any kind of mental health condition,
this is not something to ignore.
Depression, frustration, anxiety, pain
disillusion, it's just a natural part of
the process of becoming a stronger
version of yourself. The thing that keeps one
living is a sense of future. That there
will be a tomorrow and tomorrow I've got to do
this and then the day after I've got to
do that. Get started
and I'm gonna tell you right now, it
won't be easy. It will be hard because
life is hard. That's what life is. With
depression, one of the most important
things you can realize is that you're
not alone. I have been places and someone
has said well you lost an arm and a leg so you
have a right to be depressed and I
stopped and I was like depression is real. No
matter what you're going through right
now it doesn't mean that it's not gonna end.
I think too often we're thinking about
the stresses that we're dealt with right
now and we think that there's no light
at the end of the tunnel. All that you
can see is darkness and everything that
you try to do just kicks you right back
in the face and you just can't seem to
get yourself up. You don't even have to
go through something traumatic. Some are
caused by you know, something traumatic
some can be a chemical imbalance in the
brain. There is light at the end of the
tunnel. Life is hard. Life is challenging.
There are ups and downs and these
challenges- these challenges that you
face they're gonna do their best to take
you down. Do not let them.
Of course you have to work, of course you
have to show up, your team needs you, life
needs you, your family needs you, life is
for the living.
Depression is not only normal, it's
essential and be grateful for it because
it allows you to reorder yourself at a
higher level.
I speak what's on my heart and I gave my
speech and as I was closing, I kind of
mentioned some depression because I was
I was coming out of the winter months
and it hit me again this past winter
and I went and saw the doctor
so it was on my mind and it came up and
as I was saying, I thought this
generation of people probably aren't
connecting to what I'm saying. When I
walked off the stage and they lined up
the amount of people that thanked me
for talking about mental health and here
I was- I thought they didn't want to hear it I
thought I was stepping out of line. No it
needs to be talked about because it's
not just this generation, it's- people are
realizing more and more there's an issue
and the more we talk about it the easier
it is for people to be honest with
themselves and get the help they need.
Line up those problems and confront them.
Face them, fight them. Do not let them
bring you down, do not personally
identify with your depression.
See it as you see winter and winter
always leads to spring and summer again,
see it as you see nighttime. Nighttime
becomes daytime again. Hold on to that
fundamental quality of faith
and on the other side of your pain is
something good. Suicide is a permanent
solution to a temporary problem. No
matter what you're going through right
now doesn't mean that it's not gonna end.
Stand up, dig in
let those challenges raise you up, let them
elevate you, let their demands and their
trials make you stronger. Adversity you
face today turning you into a better person
tomorrow. You are worth more than
diamonds, all the diamonds in the world
you are so precious, every single one of
your hearts. You can do something. Life is
not always good, life is always not rosy
but life is worth living. There's one thing
one thing that if you did every single
day it would make an extraordinary
difference in whatever mental health
issue you're struggling with and that is
exercise and the reason you've gotta
exercise every day is because what we
know about human beings is that when you
physically move, your physiology changes
and that changes your brain. Take the
time to rest
because just what if that resting is the
key to world-class producing? Get outside
and exercise every single day as if your
life depends upon it because you know
what? It does. Your brain needs it
your body needs it, your mental health needs it and I feel like if you had
heart problems and saw a cardiologist
well everyone would be concerned about you
and know you're doing better and it
would be open and honest with the crew
but the most complicated organ in your
body, if you have a problem with it
suddenly there's a- we don't want to talk
about that? No and you can get over it and
that's what people need to realize. You
can be cured, you can get past it. I
assure you the clouds will lift, right? There is
sunlight above the clouds, you're just
looking at the clouds right now and they
will lift and crisis has come to teach
you the big lesson you're meant to learn
to move to your next level in the next
chapter of your greatest life. This
depression will pass. It will go away
and something much better will take its
place but for right now all that you
really need to know is that you have to
make it through. Getting your heart rate
up, getting outside, breathing, feeling
connected, getting out of your house
which may make you feel depressed and
trapped. The man I am with you right now
as I speak with as much authenticity as
I know how to share is the result of my
times in the valley of darkness.
Doing that everyday, that physical push
you don't have to run, you don't have to
go to an aerobics class- class get
outside with your dog in the woods, walk
with a good friend for two or three
miles, doing that every single day not
only moves your body which changes your
mind it gets you out of your physical
environment which is one of the things
that people with depression tend to have
a hard time doing and it also creates a
bit of momentum and a bit of a routine
in your life. Every time I experience a
bout of depression I come out on the
other end a different person, doing
different things but it's because I'm
aware of what's happening and I'm
looking, I'm aware, I want to see the
opportunities as they present themselves
to me instead of falling into the depths
of a spiral down depression because I'm
personally identifying with what is
happening when I'm upset and your
schedule is not full and you actually
feel like you're wasting your life
because you're not this epic producer.
What if those times were actually a
different form of productivity, what if
those times were actually being
productive in a different way where
you're actually producing not in the
world but producing within yourself
producing strengths, producing new
insights, producing new ideas, producing
new capabilities, producing new energies
producing new emotions, shifting from
fear to love because when you go through
difficult times what do you really do if
you feel your fear and your pain? You
release it. It's out of your system and
you grow in love and bravery and
strength, what does that do to your craft
what does that do to your power, what
does that do to your bravery, what does
that do to the light that you bring into
the world? You become this incredible
force that is undefeatable.
I suggest to you that if you are facing
a challenge don't stop. Stay busy, work your plan
continue to do those things that you
know that work for you after you have
evaluated yourself in the situation.
Continue to move, stay busy, stay busy
stay busy. You are part of a larger
cosmos whether you know it or not and
communing with nature allows you not to
see the bars of the prison cell but the
stars of the universe and if you can
connect with those every day, my dear
friend you will use your pain as an
instrument for your greatest growth and then
you try something new and then you'll
also go to school and people will put
you down and parents will tell you that
you're a failure because you failed at a test
and you start believing the lies
around you saying that you're not good
enough and no one's gonna want you and
you'll never ever do anything good in
your life and you'll never ever- you know
achieve the dreams and goals
that you wish you had done, or wish that you could do and these steps take you
closer. That voice saying you're not good
enough, you're not good enough, you're not
good enough and all you need is one more
step to fall so you have a choice to
know which step you're gonna take today.
I want you to know that no matter where
you are in life, no matter how low you
have sunk
no matter how bleak your situation, this
is not the end. This is not the end of
your story, this is not the final chapter
of your life, I know it may be hard right
now but if you just hang in there, stick
it out, stay with me for a little while
you will find that this tough moment
will pass and if you are committed to
using this pain, using it to build your
character, finding a greater meaning for
the pain, you will find that in time you
can turn your life around and help
others going through the same struggles.
The world right now is in the middle of
a mental health crisis.
It's estimated almost half the
population suffers from depression at
some stage throughout their life rather
than join the queue, it's important we
learn why we get down and then how we
can change it because believe it or not
we create our own negative feelings and
we can also ensure that we turn our
lives around and be a positive change
for others. The reason anyone gets
depressed always comes down to the
consistent thoughts we think and the
consistent beliefs we hold. Let me say
that again. The reason anyone gets
depressed always comes down to the
consistent thoughts we think and the
consistent beliefs we hold. The point
here is that anyone that is depressed is
so because there is an external factor
that didn't materialize in their life.
They have lost something outside of
their control or don't have something
that is out of their control.
In school we are taught how to get a job
but no one teaches us how to live in a
state of happiness. No one teaches us how
important our conscious and unconscious
thoughts and associations are. Is our
happiness not worth more than a job? Yes
it is and before you say happiness won't
pay my bills, happiness will pay your bills. When you
realize you will be 10 times more
energized, focused and take positive
action in your life when you first
choose to develop yourself as a priority
and then get to the stuff of the world.
I've seen some people who many would
consider to have it all in their life
because they thought they were not good
enough, a though,t a belief within them
told them they were not worthy. These
people that many were jealous of, many
envious of, were not good enough.
You must value yourself enough to take
the time every single day to work on you
to engage in something that will ensure
you are a positive influence on the
world. This of course doesn't mean life will
suddenly be perfect, the same life
challenges will show up but if your mind
is strong, if your mind is at peace, your
reaction to the challenging times will
be very different. Your reaction will be
how can I make this work, not why is this
happening to me
and then others will look to you not
with pity but with hope
because your strength will become their
hope, their strength. You really can be
that powerful. You can ditch the victim
story, you can leave the pain behind and
focus on how you will react next, how you
will react positively.
Read, read all you can read to get your
mind in a positive place, take steps to
ensure you will be in a better position
next time, whatever pain you are
suffering from how you can ensure it
won't show again. Take little steps and
soon you will be at the top of the
staircase. Don't give up, you are worthy
you are more than worthy, you deserve to
experience how great life can be and you
owe it to the world to be that positive
change for others, to inspire others who
will look to you and say he did it, she
did it and I can do it too.
