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Millan Singh

Four reflections on health and life that you're going to want to read today

Published over 1 year ago • 5 min read

Hey there Reader,

Welcome back to this week's issue of A Hero's Journey where I'm going to take a bit of a left-turn and focus on some reflections I've had in my personal life lately. My life has dramatically changed in just the last year and a half, and so I wanted to just share some of the things I've learned in the hope that they might inspire you too.

If you enjoy this left-turn, let me know with a reply to this email. I read every one. :-)

Honor Your Dark Side

Everyone will at times in their lives face some demons, whether that's anxiety, jealousy, fear, insecurity, depression, etc. It's a part of life.

In 2021 and the first few months of 2022, I was suffering from a lot of anxiety, and this is the biggest thing I've learned about dealing with unpleasant feelings like anxiety:

When you're feeling something that makes you uncomfortable, or something you might consider "bad", instead of trying to run from that feeling or squash that feeling, try to honor it.

What I mean when I say "honor" is that you should acknowledge the feeling, respect it, try to learn from it (after all, these feelings are how your body attempts to communicate with you), and then process it.

I used to run from or try to squash the "bad" feelings in my life, because I thought they were bad and that I shouldn't want to have them. That's a mistake.

First of all, they're just feelings, neither good nor bad. I suggest replacing "bad" with "uncomfortable" as it's a more accurate and softer way to describe those feelings we'd rather not have to deal with. But we do have to deal with them. One way or another.

When I tried to squash my uncomfortable feelings, all that did was make them stronger over time until I couldn't hold them in anymore. And of course, it also meant I wasn't fully living life for all those years since I wasn't fully feeling the world around me (more on that in a minute).

Especially this year, I started trying to take this new path. Instead of running from my emotions (my vices were food, video games, and TV), I'm trying to honor them and respect them for what they are. In doing so, I have to experience them of course, but I get to experience them, at least partially, on my own terms. And by approaching these feelings with curiosity, I also get to learn from them and potentially connect with the things that are bothering my mind/body/soul in order to rectify those issues so that I can live a happier life.

Now, making this change is not easy. It's taken me many years to get here, and I'm also young and haven't had the years to calcify my habits that some of my "more life experienced" readers have had. But I would argue that if you can integrate this knowledge and start honoring all your emotions, not just the ones you like, it'll dramatically improve your life and be worth all the effort and time it takes to get there.

At the End of the Day, We're Chemical Creatures

Building on the first reflection, this was a bit of a fulcrum point in my own self-development: realizing that we are all chemically-driven creatures.

Humans have this incredible machine called our brain that gives us access to a full-on, complicated, and nuanced consciousness. However, we start to run into trouble when we ignore the base animal/chemical instincts that truly drive us. That was the case for me anyway.

In my experience, there are three types of people: those who live predominantly chemically/instinctually, those who live predominantly logically/consciously, and those who've found a balance between the two.

If you're like me and finding yourself to have been living predominantly logically/consciously, then you might not be living fully. That's because all of us ultimately are driven by our feelings and the chemicals that translate those feelings through our brain and body.

When you recognize this, it makes dealing with uncomfortable feelings easier since you understand their nature as just simply feelings and not necessarily a fair representation of the world. It also allows you to fully feel the world around you and live in a way that you've otherwise not experienced.

When I started respecting the chemical nature of who I am and started feeling the world more fully, with all the good and less-than-good, it's like I am seeing the world in much more vivid detail than ever before. I feel more alive than ever!

Plus, it keeps you humble, reminding yourself that you (your consciousness) are still ultimately subordinate to your chemical self (and your body which is a topic for another time).

The Power of Faith

I am not a religious man by any means, but I do strongly believe in the power of faith: faith in a greater power, faith in your community, and faith in yourself.

When I was in Israel a month ago, this idea was cemented for me. It was inspiring to see a country basically built on faith, and despite my reservations around what is essentially a religious state, there's no doubt that there's an invisible power within that country that I believe stems from the strength of the country's faith. Judaism, as a culture and not just a religion, is also a culture of faith: Jews have survived many tragedies that have required a strong faith, both in a higher power and in themselves, to survive. This is very clear if you're attuned to it when you visit Israel.

And as I've grown in the last few years, one of the biggest changes has been a new-found faith in myself and the world around me. I have a faith that things are going to work out and that I will be enough when I'm tested that I've never had before. I'm still not religious, but I am spiritual in an agnostic fashion in a way that I never thought I would be. And that faith helps me see the best in the world and in myself and no doubt will help me find the right opportunities to live my best life.

Your Best Investment Is You

We have limited resources and time to invest throughout our lives. Finding the best investments is one of the most important things we can do to maximize our success in life, in whatever way you define success.

I'm sure you've probably heard this before, so I'll keep it short, but I've found that investing in myself has yielded the biggest, most impactful results in my life.

I've invested money in myself: travel, coaching and classes, investing in my business, and, of course, therapy.

I've invested time in myself: working on personal projects, always learning new things, reflecting on my life, spending time with friends and family, and also therapy.

So if you haven't been investing much in yourself lately, consider this a brief and friendly reminder to make an investment in yourself today.

Journey Update

Not much to report this week. With all the things going on in my life, I've struggled to find time to work on my business and writing.

But that's okay. Sometimes you need to just have grace with yourself when life is getting a little choppy. The changes in my life have been spectacular, and I'm happier than I've ever been, but change is still change.

That said, I'm going to have an exciting announcement in a few weeks, so stay tuned for that!

That's all for this week's issue. Thanks for reading, and you'll see me in your inbox again next week!


If I can ask you to do just one thing, consider sharing this newsletter with a friend or family member. Here's the link so you can pass it along: https://aherosjourney.co/.

Millan Singh

I'm writing about my journey to build, learn, and grow as a Creative Entrepreneur and Software Engineer. Stories about my job (I'm employee #2 at a seed-stage startup), entrepreneurial work, investing (a personal passion), and personal growth—a blend of professional and personal content.

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