Wearing The Inside Out: Zoom In by Joshua Garrin ⋆ The Teen Mentor™

What’s your why?

It’s my favorite question in the whole (why-d) world. As a subconscious force
that motivates us to strive toward our potential, our why keeps us hyperfocused on
our goals and aspirations. Our why keeps us awake, staring at the ceiling at all hours
of the night (in a good way). When “what’s my why?” becomes our million dollar
question, it gives us the courage to leave our dysfunctional comforts behind, the
willingness to detour off of the beaten path, and the power to transform
intentionality into eventuality.

In fact, why isn’t just any question. It’s the question that has all the answers.
Yet, as we scroll through our news feed, our why can easily get lost in what???
As we become immersed in the health transformations, family vacations, and
“humble” conquests posted by our “friends”, our compulsion to scroll can brutalize
our soul. And just like that, sucked down the virtual rabbit hole we go…and into a
twilight zone of someone else’s making.

Of course, we’re social animals who want to learn. We want to feel inspired.
We want to be accepted and feel connected to a like-minded community. In fact,
when we use social media for the aforementioned reasons, it can teach us. It can
inspire us. And it can even help us to discover our identity and find our unique place
in this vast virtual universe. For some of us, ‘zoning out’ on someone’s why might be
brain candy; however, we can unknowingly overdose on the “sugar high” (see digital
dopamine). And worse, excessive ‘zoning out’ can have another, more serious
consequence: Our emotional hard drive becomes so full of digital debris that we gradually lose our ability to do the one thing that is real, relevant, and right for us:
zoom in.

When we finally hit rock bottom and are ready to kick our ‘zoning’ habit, zooming in on our authentic interests and passions frees us from mental servitude and emotional imprisonment. When we zoom in on the relevant stuff, we finally let go of
the irrelevant stuff that we’ve unknowingly collected along the way (remember,
we’re magnets for digital debris). When we zoom in on what resonates with our true
wants and needs, we fire up our intentions…and, perhaps for the first time, feel
inspired to take action toward our goals. And by zooming in, we gain a major
advantage in the game of life…because we choose to remain in competition with our
best (and only) ‘rival’.

Zooming in isn’t just a cool way of saying “keep your eye on your why”: It’s
what brings us closer to our true purpose. It’s what protects us from the elements
that draw us further away from our center. It’s what keeps us aligned with our
authentic self. When we stop searching our feeds for what (we hope) will elevate us
to the next level, zooming in is how we get out of our heads…and into the heart of
what truly matters.

So, narrow your focus. Cleanse your lens. Live a life that is unfiltered. And
zoom in… because your why isn’t in ‘him’, ‘her’, or ‘them’. It’s in you.

About the Author: Joshua GARRIN is one of Your Monthly Mentors. He holds a Ph.D. in health psychology, an M.S. in cognitive psychology, and a B.S. in general psychology and journalism. He currently resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York. Following the completion of his doctorate in 2014, Joshua was the recipient of Walden University’s Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research for his inquiry on health beliefs, outcome expectancies, and stress appraisal in college seniors. Read More…