Cultivating Your Mindset Garden for Peace

Today we explore the parallels between plants and personal growth. Just as plants need sunlight, water, and nutrients to thrive, so do we! We'll dive into how you can nurture your mindset by planting seeds of change, finding the right environment, and giving yourself consistent care. Discover how to weed out negativity, embrace storms as opportunities to grow stronger, and let your inner garden flourish with love, positivity, and self-care. Little steps lead to big growth—start today!  

• The connection between plants and personal growth
• Importance of sunlight (love and self-care) and surroundings
• Removing blame and focusing on solutions
• "Re-potting" oneself for better growth
• Nurturing the right mindset for growth
• Weeding out negativity (both external and internal)
• The importance of continuous self-care and learning
• Maintaining a strong foundation for sustainable growth
• Reinforcing the idea that energy and intention shape our experiences
• Pruning negativity and reinforcing positive habits
• The continuous nature of personal development
• Share this with someone to show them how to become their own gardener!

Transcript

Welcome to episode 11 of our podcast...#2 of the year. I don’t know about you but it’s been dang cold here in the Northeast with not much snow, although a bunch expected tonight. So isn’t this the best time to talk about plants? Now anyone that knows me knows I’m the last person to talk about taking care of plants. I have tried to keep plants alive at my home and it’s near impossible. My son in law saw I had some succulents in a xmas pot that I bought trying to make my table look nice and green for the holidays and he said and I quote...it’s really hard to kill succulents. Well I thought….challenge accepted! And sure enough one by one those 4 little succulents didn’t stand a chance. Now what I have discovered that while I kill all other plans, I can keep growing snake plants….those are the ones that you can buy at a Home Depot or Lowes and in fact I got mine years ago from Home Depot. They have long leaves that come straight from the soil straight up and can grow many feet high. Some are light or dark green, some have some yellow, some have stripes. And these I don’t kill. Why...because I have figured out that I need plants that need very little from me. Plants that are solid in themselves and just need a little light and water just once a month...maybe I need plants that already have the mindset we’re trying to build where we find everything we need from inside us. Honestly, They are just not what I focus my time and attention on. Now when I water them or walk by them, I do in fact talk to them and tell them they are doing great and I touch the leaves and let them know I think they are wonderful. I’ll share a little bit about the science of that later so you don’t think I’m a completely crazy plant lady.

So Shirley...this is a podcast on mindfulness and making small changes to move forward so why are we talking about plants. Because just like plants, there are certain things we need to grow and thrive, we need sunlight in the form of love and self care, we need the right environment in the form of what we allow around us and what we take in on a daily basis. And to get you thinking about the fact that just because you were planted in a certain way or in a certain place, that doesn’t mean that you need to stay there especially if the garden around you is full of weeds and it’s not the right environment to encourage you to to grow and thrive.

Think about it….If a plant doesn’t grow, you don’t blame the plant so stop blaming yourself...you instead start looking at the surroundings and try to figure out why it’s not growing. Or why it’s ‘growing wild and all over the place without any direction. You look at did it get enough water, did it get too much water, did it get enough light, did it get too much light, is the soil that the roots are in not full of the right nutrients? so too we need to reflect on our own planting and cultivation of our mindset and growth. So instead of blaming yourself for how you were planted, realize that maybe you were just not planted in the right space, maybe you don’t have all the right nutrients to grow to your fullest ptotential but just like a plant that isn’t thriving, you can re-pot yourself. You can figure out what nutrients are missing in your life, you can add or remove what’s not working, you can find more sunlight, you can water yourself differently with what you take in on a daily basis.

All plants start with what...a seed. You have to plant the seed of change, you have to plant the seed in your mindset that there is a different and better way to grow. And you’ve already done that haven’t you...just by finding and listening to this podcast, that can be one of those seeds. And once you have your seed, your thought that you deserve better, that you want better, that you want more peace...now you have to let it take root. You have to become the right vessel for it to take root by opening up your mind and trusting that good things can and will happen. You have to be open to growing and to thinking in a whole new way, you have to be open to knowing that growing will involve hard work and dedication, to yourself, to grow new roots, to your new potted self. You can’t just water a plant once and expect it to thrive. You can’t just fertilize it one time and expect it to grow to what it’s truly meant to be. You can’t just give it a bit of sunshine and then throw it in darkness. This has to be a continuous process where you learn, adjust, enjoy the growth and then rinse and repeat as they say.

So what else does a plant and you need to grow? You need sunshine...you need positive energy and light around you and you need to be in a space or garden where you get the right amount of sunshine. So if you’re in a garden where you are being overshadowed by other plants who care little about taking care of you and are in your space darkening up your skies, you have to think about maybe this is not the right garden or place for you to be. Or you’re surrounded by those who are not giving you sunshine or allowing you to grow. So find those people and things that feed your soul, that bring you light and make sure they are in your space and your garden much more than the overpowering weeds. Because just like weeds to a plant, some people in your life can feel like they are encroaching too much with their negativity and choking the light right out of you...and they too need to be weeded out of your garden. Selectively picking who does and doesn’t get your energy and who is or isn’t allowed to have your time is a form of self care that is necessary. Your time and energy are things that only those deserving of you should get. And don’t forget to look at your own weeds...negative self talk is one of the most common weeds that we all need to be very consistent about looking for and paying attention to and pulling them when they creep back in. But don’t weed too much...some of our own self criticism can be healthy as long as it is propelling your forward in positive change and not constant rumination with no end in sight. 

But just like too much sunshine can harm a plant, it’s not all fun and games and positivity 100% of the time. You have to have the rain and the storms in your life and depending on how you take them in, they can be the surest sources of growth to you. Some rain and storms are there to help you grow, it helps you form deeper roots so that you can withstand more and more of what comes your way and you can then truly appreciate when the sun comes out again. And never forget...the sun always shines after a storm, the sun will always come back around so if you in a rainstorm today, know that it will not last forever. 

So what else do you need to grow….you need nutrients right….maybe some fertilizer that has all the right nutrients added to it? So what you can you use as fertilizer for your soul to help you grow, to help you keep your mindset strong and lay down those good strong roots that can help you weather any storm that comes along? Well...what feeds you? What uplifts you and recharges your energy? My fertilizer and what helps me grow is getting good sleep….not just enough hours but good restful sleep with enough deep sleep that helps your body recover, restorative sleep that helps build your immune system, those roots that will help you stay physically healthy. And enough REM sleep that helps with memory management and emotional management so reinforcing those roots that keep us mentally healthy. I find fertilizer in making time to read every day and go for walks...each of which can also help with your physical and mental health. Making time for those in my life that share their love and light. So think about it...what is your fertilizer and are you ensuring you have enough on hand for yourself? Are you making time for yourself to absorb that fertilizer and remember this is not a one time process. This is a regular ongoing maintenance to assure continued and sustainable growth. 

Now I mentioned earlier about me talking to all my plants and I’m telling you, it helps them and it helps me. There have been numerous studies that show talking to plants helps them grow but not just saying anything, but saying positive things to the plants. Studies have shown that with the same exact type of plant in the same exact soil, same controlled environment with light,, water, fertilizer and everything exactly the same, and one group of plants would be spoken to with love and gratitude. You are beautiful. I love you. Your are growing so amazingly well! The other group of plants would be spoken to in the exact same tone and decibels but those words were you are stupid, you will never amount to anything, I hate you. And guess what….spoiler alert...the plants that got the positive words grew much bigger in size, their leaves were fuller and more colorful. So how the heck does that happen? Well if you believe that we are all intertwined, that everything that is living in the world has energy, it would logically make sense that positive energy of love and gratitude just like it does for humans would help propel other living things forward. I mean think about when someone has been kind to you, has said beautiful things to you and about you, how that makes you feel deep into your core. That is where your energy and soul lives and it touches you just by these words so if it’s all about energy, those plants were getting the same thing. And just like if someone is hateful to you, is constantly negative around you, is tearing you down with words, you also feel that in your core and your soul and you respond and not only feel it internally but you shift physically. You hunch down, you become smaller, you become less colorful like the plant by not smiling, by feeling despondent. 

And there was an experiment involving a Japanese water scientist Dr Masaru Emoto who tested emotions and words on the molecular structure of water. The study showed that water was frozen and while freezing it was exposed to positive and loving words, the ice crystals formed beautiful and intricate patterns and wonderful snowflake like shapes. On the other hand when negative words were spoken to the water as it was freezing, the ice crystals were dull and incomplete. So just another example of how the energy you put out in the world and the energy you take in from everywhere can have a huge effect on your own internal feelings and growth. So you see, I’m not some crazy plant lady...and remember from my podcast episode 7 about smiling and being kind and of service to others even if that’s a plant can also have a positive effect on you as well and can help your mindset remain more positive just by being nice to someone or something else. And also remember you need to regularly be speaking those words of kindness and love to yourself...self care and self love are the basis of your positive mindset and your growth….it absolutely cannot happened without these.

So become the gardener of you mind. Make sure you are doing a walk thru regularly to see what is needed, where things are growing well and where things are stagnant or being choked with weeds. Remember that growing plants takes time...it takes changing of the seasons, it takes pruning and re-adjusting, learning what works and what doesn’t. Changing your mindset and creating a positive mindset is a continuous journey and must be a consistent journey just like growing and caring for a plant. You must be dedicated and committed to yourself, to your own self care, to pruning out those weeds, to fertilizing and ensuring you’re a priority. By nurturing your mindset with positivity, self-care, learning, and resilience, you can cultivate a mindset that will help you grow and thrive so that all the areas of your life benefit from your growth..

So, keep planting those seeds and how about you help plant a seed with someone you care about by sharing this podcast with them so they too can recognize they can be their own green thumb. keep soaking up that sunshine, wait out any rain that comes your way, and embrace your journey. Become the gardener of your mind and with the right care, it will flourish and bloom, little by little and peace by peace.