As I was standing on the edge of the beach watching my 3 daughters walk away from me holding hands, going deeper into the water, not know what lay ahead of them, not knowing if they would fall, not knowing if they could actually save one another if one slipped, they just knew that they were there, together. They knew that if they looked back, they would see me. What does your next generation see when they turn back?
The opportunity to break generational curses and create generational mental wealth presents itself to us daily.
3 Things You Can Do to Create Generational Mental Wealth
Look at the Past. If you know me, then you know I absolutely love love love my family, the whole entire lot of us. :-) The women in my family are so amazing, and all my life, have been my sheroes. As a little girl, I saw them through this rose colored lens shielded with naive admiration. As an adult, I see each woman in my family, through a lens that is no longer rose colored but clear with knowledge about who they always were and are now, beautiful complex human beings. Now I am able to look at my past and identify thought and behavior patterns that have been passed through generations. I choose to use this information to identify what has served me and would continue to serve the next generations but I also now have the courage to work through those thoughts patterns that do not serve me well, and if continued, would be a detriment to the generations to come.
Look at Your Present. Take some time and do some self reflection. Once you have done some self reflection, now it’s time to look at your current situation to see how you can make changes.
What are you willing to do to address these negative thoughts/behaviors? Use the information that you learn in the self-reflection worksheet to identify those behaviors that have been passed down and develop a plan to start tackling what does not serve you at this time in your life and will not serve future generations.
Look to the Future. As I watched my daughters walk away, it dawned on me that it is not only my responsibility to make sure that they are prepared for the future, but also my responsibility to assure that when they turn back to look at their past, it is not full of secrets and curiosities. It consists of times of vulnerability, weakness, needs, wants, communication, strength, forgiveness, and the courage to make changes for future generations.
Choosing to go to counseling can be a freeing experience especially if you come from a family that, most times unknowingly, have strong biases towards mental health treatment in general. In conjunction with therapy, having conversations with the women in your family could be a gateway to healing and self understanding.
Thanks for reading,
Your Mentally Wealthy Therapist
