I'm reluctant to say that I had a "bad" summer but it certainly was quite the load. One that I'll never forget. Even the bad moments are key lessons, though. 

Scientists call that approach the "growth mindset". The opposite is called the "fixed mindset". It's hinged on the idea that experiences in our life, good or bad, always present opportunities for self-improvement. According to Mindset Health, Dr. Carol Dweck was the first to describe the 'growth-mindset' and its benefits to human nature. Dweck writes, "the passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives." 

It certainly helped me get through my hellish-summer. Another thing that helped me was simply relying on the muscle-memory of simply being me; nothing more, nothing less. I find myself panicking in tough situations because I lose sight of who I am. We all have been there and some of us are better with it than others. Either way, the key is tap into muscle memory and handle adversity as our characters and personalities see fit. Nothing more, nothing less. Oxford writes," even the simplest everyday actions involve a complex sequence of tensing and relaxing many different muscles. For most of these actions we have had repeated practice over our lifetime, meaning that these actions can be performed faster, more smoothly and more accurately. Over time, with continual practice, actions as complicated as riding a bike, knitting, or even playing a tune on a musical instrument, can be performed almost automatically and without thought." I saved a lot of time during this summer's emergency moments by tapping into the automated tasks (and muscle-memory) of my being. The better we get at being ourselves, the better we get at life.

A whole diet also helped me. I usually would snack all day but I went into this summer with the idea that I would be sure to anchor my days with full meals. I'm glad I did because it powered me up for all the stress I would face. You see, food is energy (in fact, they call "calories" energy in Jamaica - God, I love that place). Just like "nickel and diming" our cars at pump keeps us on "E", so does not eating full meals. Kaiser Permanente writes, "the stomach and small intestines absorb the glucose [from food consumption] and then release it into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, glucose can be used immediately for energy or stored in our bodies, to be used later."  Making sure that we're well-fed plays a great role in making sure that we're our best selves. Also, food is love. 

See? It wasn't a completely terrible summer because there were some lessons in it. There's always a silver lining, you know? Let's close Season VII with this introspective episode on my tough summer and the lessons that it provided. See you in Season VIII! 

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