Transcriber: Denise Andréia Reviewer: Eunice Tan
Hello, everyone. My name is Danielle Sanchez,
and I’m actually going to start this talk with a bit of a downer.
But I promise that we will all lighten up
and hopefully learn something new by the end of this talk.
How many of you have ever felt lost, anxious about the future,
or struggled to find passion in life?
Now, I may not know the details of how you are or might have struggled,
but that's exactly how I felt throughout the earlier parts of my teenage years.
I suffered from anxiety and fits of depression daily.
Every day, even the better ones, felt like a battle.
I remember constantly feeling confused with what I wanted in life
and worried about whether or not I would ever reach any of my dreams.
Until all the built-up anxiety collapsed into a pile of nothingness,
leaving me empty and dissatisfied.
In reality, it wasn’t that I didn’t know what I wanted
or that I didn’t have anything to cling to.
It’s that there was a barrier standing between me
and the person who could actively fulfill her purpose.
That barrier was the incessant thought “I am not good enough.”
I would constantly tell myself that I wasn't smart enough,
I wasn’t pretty enough,
I wasn’t talented enough as an artist,
I wasn't even compassionate enough for my friends and family.
And because of these thoughts, I was left with zero motivation.
Why would I even want to try if I was never going to be enough?
Eventually, I grew tired of this story that I was telling myself,
and I desperately wanted to fight for my life back.
Instead of waking up ready to be flooded with overwhelming thoughts,
I made a decision to wake up ready
to be intentional with my mind, my body, and my time.
Throughout this process of reinventing myself,
I developed a method that I cling to.
And it was throughout each of these steps that I learned how it is fully possible
to distance yourself from anxiety, depression, insecurities,
or whatever else may be alienating you from achieving your full potential.
So to begin, I first identified that there was a problem,
figured out exactly where that problem was coming from,
and tackled it from there.
For me, it was placing all of my value as a human being into external forces.
I cared so much about meeting societal standards
and trying to be what I thought I needed to be to impress the world.
As a dedicated student,
I cared more about what an A-plus said about me
instead of the actual learning process
that brought me real joy and gratification.
Even as an artist, I cared more about what someone else thought about a piece,
which would only suck the creativity right out of me
because it wasn’t about perfecting my craft or enjoying myself.
So I made the decision to ask myself:
What do I need to be happy?
What do I need to grow?
What do I need to feel satisfied?
I realized that when we ask ourselves these questions,
we end up opening an internal dialogue
that allows our minds to really process each area of our lives
and determine whether they will perpetuate a negative mindset
or be catalysts for growth.
That is why the next step is to cleanse and sort.
In the same way you would organize a closet
by tossing out anything that doesn’t fit or maybe isn’t quite your style,
you have to look at everything in your life
and see if it fits the standard you are trying to set for yourself.
Now, I encourage you all not to be lazy with this.
Truly go out and journal, self-reflect, spend time meditating on it.
In doing so,
I’ve allowed myself to see my life from a second-person point of view
and really analyze.
Look to the people that you’re spending your time with,
where your time and money is going,
and the content that you are consuming.
If none of them adds value to your life, it is time to let them go.
As a silly example,
aspects of social media simply did not make the cut for me.
I just wasn’t interested
in what was happening in everyone else’s lives on Instagram.
So I made a decision.
I revised my feed to include museum blog posts, book recommendations,
and exhibitions by some of my favorite curators -
all content that I consume gladly.
And I even scheduled a five-minute time period
where I’ll check it about once a week.
And in doing so,
not just with an example like Instagram but with everything in my life,
I was left with more time to partake in the activities that really mattered.
I read more, drew, spent time in nature,
and partook in new, exciting activities.
And it was through those mindful tasks that I began to really love life again.
Lastly, you have to see it to believe it.
You have to place the life you always dreamed of
into the GPS system of your mind as a feasible destination
and get it ingrained in your skull that you will arrive there
simply because it exists.
Think:
What does your destination look like?
Is it a place, a career,
a healthy lifestyle, a peaceful state of mind?
Whatever it is,
you have to start working towards that goal and really seeing it.
Visualization and imagination are absolutely crucial
because neurologically,
the mind does not distinguish very clearly between reality and imagination.
Thus, when you visualize something so powerfully,
your mind begins to mobilize within reality,
grasping at the resources already presented to you,
to bring into existence what you are picturing.
When I did so, I experienced a sense of tunnel vision.
I could zoom in on exactly what I wanted and start working towards it.
I imagined fulfilling relationships with those around me,
acquiring more knowledge in my field of study,
dreams of making it in the art world,
and being at peace with myself.
I started to see my environment shift, and I naturally began to achieve my goals.
Now, this doesn’t mean that it’s a straight path,
it doesn’t mean that you won’t confront failures,
and it absolutely means that you will have to work towards what you are picturing
and show up for yourself every single day.
But you will get there so long as you continuously remind yourself
of that initial picture you painted.
I am far from perfect.
Some days are harder than others,
and as humans, we make mistakes and forget who we are.
But I’ve learned that I’m not defined by this.
I’ve learned that I am defined by my dreams, my resilience,
and my ability to progress.
I’m defined by the decision
to choose personal growth and bliss every single day,
and so are each and every one of you.
I encourage you all to go out and seek the life you’ve always dreamed of.
Chase it. Today.
Thank you.