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Humans are a lot like nature.

Technically we are nature, but that’s easy to forget this day in age.

Life is a lot like a garden.

Imagine you are standing on a large plot of land. This land is your responsibility to turn into a garden. You can grow whatever you want and take care of it as you please.

However, the way you take care of it directly correlates to whether or not it will thrive.

How to Prep Your Garden (of Life)

Choosing your environment

You probably won’t grow a thriving garden in the shade, so it’s important to choose an environment where your flowers will be exposed to sunlight the majority of the day.

For you, this means you need to look within.

Are you open to growth? Are you ready for change?

Prepare your soil

If the land we are standing upon is not yet suitable for a garden, we must prep it. This is done by softening the soil and removing sod, rocks, and weeds. Followed by turning over the soil to aerate the area. Finally, you’ll add some organic material to improve the quality.

This is much like our minds. Our minds are cluttered with debris and are highly malleable.

We must work internally first in order to grow and change our mindset.

Pull Weeds

The weeds in our garden don’t need to be there. 

If you keep weeds in your garden they will invade and compete with your flowers. They too need water, nutrients, and sunlight to survive. All of which they will take from the flowers you want in your garden.

I’m sure you can think of quite a few weeds in your life.

Those things that are holding you back from growing.

Those things that are sucking your energy away.

You’ve first got to pull those weeds.

Common weeds in the garden of life:

• Negative thoughts
• Old beliefs
• Self-doubt
• Bad habits
• Distractions
• Belongings that no longer serve you
• People that drain you

And when you pull these weeds, you’ve got to pull from the root. Otherwise they’ll keep coming back.

In other words, you need to get to the bottom of these things.

Why do you think negative thoughts?

Why do you doubt yourself?

Why are you really getting distracted?

This will take time to unravel. Journaling, meditation, and self-reflection will help you in the process.

The other thing to keep in mind is that weeds will keep popping up. But you’ll get better at recognizing them quickly before they destroy your growth. You can remove them again and keep thriving.

Plant seeds

Now the fun part!

Decide which flowers, vegetables, fruits, and herbs you want to grow in your garden and gently place their seeds several inches into the soil. Gently cover them with soil.

Now keep in mind, there are plants out there that are allelopathic. Which simply means that some plants are capable of releasing inhibitory chemicals in their surroundings, causing the plants around them to suffer. An example of an allelopathic plant is the Rhododendron.

There is also only so much room in your garden. If you plant too many, they won’t do well because of the lack of nutrients. So you can only plant the ones you really want.

So what does this mean?

Choosing which flowers you want in your garden is like choosing your priorities in life. You’ll want to prioritize everything, but that’s simply not possible.

Each seed you plant is an opportunity for growth for that plant, but not all of them will make it.

Let’s say you decide to prioritize your health and your online business.

Of course you’ll want to plant multiple seeds for each of these.

Again, these seeds are opportunities for growth and change in your life.

Health seeds:

-Joining a gym
-Incorporating more vegetables in your diet
-Making a habit of daily walking
-Drinking more water

Online business seeds:

-creating/launching a course
-reaching out to clients
-investing in an assistant or courses
-promoting your content

Water your garden

Your seeds need water of course. Not too much, not too little. Enough water to reach the seeds and eventually the roots.

Think of the seeds you want to plant in your life…how can you help them grow?

There are endless possibilities and you should be striving for growth every single day!

The water and sunlight in your life may be external from yourself:

• Positive people
• Books
• Podcasts
• Videos
• Courses

Or internal:

• Apply yourself
• Put in effort
• Be consistent and persistent
• Positive thinking
• Gratitude

Garden maintenance and challenges

Gardens face many challenges. 

There are going to be insects that chew through leaves and tunnel through fruits. 

There are going to be storms that may threaten your flowers with floods or destruction. 

You’ll need to remove any dead/dying leaves. 

Small rodents may eat or destroy your plants.

And weeds are still going to spring through from time to time.

Now think of all the challenges you face in life, especially when you’re trying to improve yourself.

You’re going to face ups and downs. You may lose friendships or deal with negative people. Some things will fail. You may get sick which could cause a setback. 

It’s a lot of work.

As difficult life can be, I think it’s beautiful.

When you think of it like a garden and realize how similar they are, you see that you really can create the life you want.

You will always face challenges, but if you just keep tending to your garden, planting new seeds, and pulling weeds, you will build a strong foundation.