Learning through Masterclass: Mental Strength with Robin Arzon

Are you familiar with Masterclass? It’s basically a site with mini classes taught by well known people in an area of their expertise. There are courses in everything from food and cooking, to music and the arts, business, science, wellness and everything in between. There’s such a wealth of knowledge, I thought they might be fun to discuss on this blog. 

I decided to start with Robin Arzon. Who I knew nothing about, by the way. She spoke about mental strength, and what I related to the most was when she talked about transitioning from what she had spent her life focusing on and completely switching to something entirely different. Which is what this blog is all about! It’s funny, because I had planned to watch a different Masterclass first, but something told me to go with this one, and I’m so glad I did! 

ROBIN ARZON RESONATED! 

“Set your life on fire, and seek those who fan your flames.” ~RUMI

Some of my favorite quotes from this masterclass:

• Grit+Purpose=Hustle
• Use fear as fuel.
• Challenges are lessons.
• Focus is the antidote to fear.
• Action is the antidote to anxiety.
• Lack isn’t a permanent state of being, it’s a moment.
• Excuses are lies we tell ourselves very convincingly.
• Willpower and resiliency are muscles worth exercising.
• Use injustices as fuel.
• When mentally spiraling – Are you going to lift yourself up, or are you going to live there?
• When feeling moments of joy, you’re in the flow – even when it’s hard.
• Normalize the everyday person as being a superhero.
• Stay weird! – Nobody remembers normal. 
• When leading with passion, you’re probably leveraging your differences.
• Difference = Beauty

“Look at challenges through the lens of potential, knowing that pain will become power. Then you start to trust your own ability to navigate that moment.”

She had some really good ideas about how to hone your mental acuity. And how to help yourself journey and transition through the big changes in your life. Here are some things to add to your mental toolbox:

1. Write down moments that were incredibly difficult for you that you survived. Then visualize them (like a mental movie reel) –feel the emotions, walk yourself through your triumph. And then every morning, run through your “triumph reel.”
2. Take time to play, even just 10 minutes, to color, sing, or something else equally playful. It will energize you in a way. It’s important to step away from the hustle.
3. Do an internal audit – spiritual audit, financial audit, physical audit. Work on deficiencies until they become your strengths.
4. Find your community – one that is meaningful to you, one that is nourishing your value system. Write your dreams/goals, but always vocalize it. Tell it to trusted people/family/friends/pets, whomever.
5. Create your own internal mantra – it should be meaningful, short (2-5 words), and positive. It needs to be the immediate internal trigger for good, for positive. Robin’s is: “I Am.” Mine is for this year: “Be Brave.”
6. Vision boarding – it offers visual trigger and visual representation for you to identify that you’re on the right path, and to recognize opportunities when they’re right in front of you. A vision board helps you visualize that feeling that you want in your life. It sets intentions for how do you want to feel, what does it look like, what does it smell like, how would you describe it. It should be meaningful and inspiring. You can also co-create an energy/vision board with someone who you are living life with – personal partner, business partner.
7. Superheroes – Find someone whose work, wisdom, purpose, story inspires something in you, and evokes emotion and action. Deepen your relationship with superheroes in 3 ways: 1. identify why they’re your superhero. 2. ingest their work 3. put them on your vision board. Let this all be a trigger for your own greatness.

Making a hot beverage creates a pause to the day. Have you tried this one?

I love how she pinpointed for me much of what I want to mull over on this blog. So some of my next steps I’m taking from this Masterclass?

1. Doing an internal audit. I’ve been wanting to read/learn more about this, so this is as good a time as any. And I like that she broke it down into spiritual audit, financial audit, physical audit. I’ll be writing a post about this!
2. Creating my own internal mantra. Her is, “I Am.” I think mine will be, for this beginning part of my journey, “Be Brave.”
3. Create a vision board, or several for each part of my life. I’ll do this in Pinterest so I’ll be able to share.

Sometimes success feels just as uncomfortable as the work it took to get there.

I hope you find this as inspiring as I did in creating A Potted Oasis of your own!