Seriously.
Now don’t run away yet, thinking that I’m already halfway down the path to complete dementia.
This is a bit more complex.
It’s all about self-awareness and quite frankly, some of us just take a bit longer than others.
So here we go:
I was in high school biology class…
BTW, no good story starts with “I was in high school biology class” unless it’s followed up with the story of how you accidentally injected your friend with testosterone instead of the baby chick she was holding.
Yep…
FYI – baby chicks aren’t really fond of testosterone injections.
But alas, today is not your lucky day. That’s a completely different rabbit hole we are not going down right now… So for now, you’ll just have to humor me.
Anyway, it was during this biology class that I realized that other people had their own minds, opinions, beliefs, etc.
Apparently, this was a “Kennedy was just shot, remember where you are” type of moment. I was sitting in the back, left corner of the room talking with a friend (one that I didn’t inject, BTW), when the light bulb went on.
I had known for a while that I thought my own thoughts, had my own opinions, etc. but it never occurred to me that others had the same abilities.
It’s not that I thought I had super powers or anything. It just never occurred to me that others were having a similar life experience.
Epic self-awareness for a fifteen-year old, I know.
But wait, it gets better…
It took another 30 years to figure out that those thoughts, opinions and beliefs were connected to a body – the very body I inhabit.
What can I say? I’m a bit of a slow learner.
Some call this energy.
Some call it intuition.
Some simply refer to it as mind-body connection.
I call it mind blowing.
When you start to connect your mind with your body, you actually do start to unlock your super powers.
You realize that the eczema that has your hands covered in Band-aids and the twitch in your left eye are all due to stress. The tummy troubles you don’t even realize you have are from gluten and that Vitamin D really can make everything better.
You learn that “Gut Instinct” is real and that you better trust it because it could protect you from all sorts of fun you don’t want to have.
You learn that taking care of your body helps you take care of your mind and that taking care of your mind helps you take care of your body.
You learn to trust yourself and you learn how to open your mind.
You level up.
And you stop being a walking zombie!!!
You probably already knew all of this.
But I didn’t.
And to be fair, some people write entire books dedicated to this very topic because believe it or not, there are quite a few of us that have to learn this.
But once we do, we’re different.
Some things cannot be unlearned.
And that’s why #2: My Head is Attached to My Body earned a place on my First 50 list.
If you would like to read more of my First 50 list, you can see #1 here.
And if you’re wondering, injecting testosterone into your friend is not an immediate deal-breaker for long-lasting friendship.
At least not yet. 🙂