Okay so yesterday I shared with you how the grind almost cost me my life, well let me clarify, not really…my life…more so my mind…

 

So let me share with you what that really looked like……

 

My mental health declined. My business plummeted. My cash flow dried up, clients stopped calling, contracts fell through, I was disorganized, bills fell behind—like way behind, my marriage was struggling, and I was literally ONE thought away from appearing on the next episode of Snapped.

 

I found myself crying more than I was working, spending hour after hour on my closet floor and writing more and more plea bargains and bribes to God than actually going after and working for what I desired.  Because it had taken me longer to produce REAL profit than those around me I felt incapable, unqualified, and as if I had missed the “entrepreneurial calling” on my life.

However, after working with thousands of entrepreneurs and thought-leaders across the globe I recognize that my struggles were not isolated; in fact, there were and are a number of people who can relate to what it feels like to “grind in the dark” and to build a business while battling emotional hardships.

Day after day, more and more public figures and celebrities come forward sharing about their battles and struggles with mental health from Kanye West to Keri Hilson, to Brittany Spears, to Oprah, Michelle Williams, and so many others.

 

Just recently, Shark Tank’s, Robert Herjavec revealed to People magazine that he contemplated suicide a few summers ago after the breakup of his marriage, and of course Karyn Washington, the founder of the For Brown Girls site died by suicide a few years earlier when she was only 22, and Psalm Isadora, a teacher, and visionary leader made the decision to end her own life just last April.

 

Why so many?  Why do we fail to talk about it.  Well, the answer is simple. Vocalizing our emotional challenges and mental hardships does not always warrant us praise or support, in fact it is the mere opposite.  People wonder and question how we could experience such thing, don’t we have faith? Don’t we know we can simply “snap” out of it? Pray about it? Speak our new life into existence? What about those positive affirmations and creating that pretty vision board?  Did that not help? Not only is our judgement questioned, but also our credibility. So why would we say something?

 

Well, that is why I am breaking the mold.  You can be the ThinkUP chick, a proud Jesus lover, and a woman who has dedicated her entire life to teaching others how to think and still struggle daily with your own mind.  You can be accomplished, well spoken, a strategic business leader, and still fight daily not to give up or quit this thing called life.

 

I can personally attest to the fact that just because you are not bleeding on the outside does not mean that you are not internally wounded. Some of the brightest and boldest souls are the one’s who are fighting the biggest fights.

 

That was my fight.  My battle. My story. It hasn’t been easy, but if you want to know how I was able to talk myself out of the psych ward…..then stay tuned…Part 5 will be in your inbox tomorrow.

 

ThinkUP Tip 1 of 5:  You do not have to finish how you started, you have the power and the ability to create your own finish.

ThinkUP 2 of 5: Don’t let ONE storm. ONE diagnosis.  ONE tragedy dictate your life. Learn the lessons and know that EVERY season prepares you for the next. Practice gratitude it’s simple. Yet powerful.

ThinkUP 3 of 5: Write your own story. Create your own life. You do not have to subscribe to the “grind” life or the “team no sleep”.  You have control over your own destiny.

ThinkUP 4 of 5. Your battle is not just for you.  It is for someone else who lacked the strength and the courage to fight through no matter what.  Share your story. Be courageous….and don’t forget that you are not alone.