One task to build a Positive Mindset

Welcome to Active Human’s 2nd newsletter.

By now, you know, that I am researching, simplifying, and improving the 6 pillars of our well-being.

I have so many issues that correcting them will take some time and I hope, you will also correct your issues along with me.

6 important pillars are:

1. Exercise - More movements spread across the day

2. Nutrition - Learn about balanced nutrition

3. Sleep - Improve and have consistent and more deep sleep

4. De-Toxification - Hacks to keep the body detoxified

5. Lifestyle diseases - Prevent and reverse lifestyle diseases

6. Brain chemistry - Build a positive and abundance Mindset

You will see me, working on each pillar one by one in detail and building sub-topics under them.

Today’s newsletter is on Building Positive Mindset.

This Newsletter requires you to do one activity that will help you in the long term. It helped me a lot.

Couple of months back, I took consultancy with an Executive Coach. I paid INR 60,000 for 3 sessions.

In the first call, My Coach spotted something recurring in my thoughts. She said you do not seem to be proud or feel blissful about everything that has passed. Even whenever you have achieved something meaningful you still find something wrong in it and present it as that was not something worth proud of or happy to be.

She ordered me to write my entire life story, everything I remember from childhood to today, whatever worth writing I should write.

Because I paid, I did the activity and wrote a 30-page Word document about everything important and worth mentioning. She glanced at the document and said, I knew you would write it this way only.

I was shocked at what was wrong, It is my story so I will write it my way only.

She asked me to rewrite every line again. Asked me to write in such a way that every line should come out as if it was the best thing that happened to me at that time like I was blessed, luckiest to have it.

This of course irked me, I did not pay for doing all the work myself, I was looking for tools to improve my mindset but here I was asked to rewrite my past which already passed, what's the point? I want tools to perform better in the future. Past is past, right?

Anyways, She gave me an example of how it should be written by picking two different paragraphs from my story. I am writing below for you to understand.

Para 1:

I was the youngest child among 3 and while growing up my elder brother used to beat me if he did not win or disagree, I used to call my mother for help, but she used to think we were still playing, even though we were not, in some fight he used to choke me till I beg for my breath. I used to be badly hurt and it was never fun for me.

This was rewritten as: Being the youngest kid among 3, I was blessed to receive love from my parents and my siblings, My brother used to protect me in any outside situation where other kids could bully me. At most of the festivals, I used to receive more goodies, as many of the things they used to pass on to me. In many fights with my brother, I learned fighting skills which helped me later roam confidently on roads because I knew how to fight. I left my home when I was 17 and since then have lived alone because I developed the mindset to take care of myself since childhood.

Para 2: I got a 3600 rank in IIT-JEE 2006 after preparing for 2 years. I feel bad about this as I took a 2-year gap after my schooling to clear this exam. I feel If I had earlier education in a good school or if my parents could afford coaching for me, I would have cleared it much before with a better rank. even after 2 years, I got a 3600 rank which is not so good, but I am happy I could study at IIT Kharagpur and my views and thoughts are shaped well after studying there.

This was rewritten as I cracked one of the toughest exams in India, I got a mind-blowing education in my school which helped me secure 3600 ranks among 5,00,000 participants in IIT-JEE 2006 and I then studied in one the most prestigious institutes of India, IIT Kharagpur. Since then my thought process, viewpoint, and ability to learn anything have massively changed and I will be forever thankful for my hard work, my Institute, and this blessed life I have.

Now, The above paragraphs and how they were rewritten, may look childish to you. But the 30-page story was rewritten into a pure blissful life story. Of course, that story had many sensitive parts too but all were rewritten. It became the Life story of someone who has always been blessed and joyful and someone who only gets the best things.

I re-read my own story many times and believe me, my past has been rewritten and my Introduction has changed now. When I remember the same past incidents, I remember them as a blessing because this is how I have written them recently.

This is the task you have to do in this one week. Write your story and then re-write as if you are blessed. Simple as that and then re-read your own blessed story. Just do it and observe the magic happening in the coming years. The positive emotions you feel throughout the day because of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins hormones will all start coming to their healthy levels. And the very first step to becoming an Active Human is to have a positive outlook

See you, Next Saturday.

Manish Bhagwani,

Human → Active Human