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Josh | Storyteller, Mental Health, Mindset, & Restarts

@joshsears12

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🇨🇦🇺🇸🏳️‍🌈
Finding the drive to turn restarts into direction
Drum corps kid turned storyteller
📩 [email protected]

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

It’s taken me years to realize...

Over the years there has been a repeated pattern of loneliness and isolation. Being bullied, left out, alone. It’s been a constant throughout my life in many chapters.

There had been times I had found “my people” - but then moved or changed schools, or we went our separate ways. My time at Crossmen brought me some of my closest friends ever, one who is like a brother to me. They have been people that I have been able to rely on through the years, and have helped support me along the way. But there was always a distance, and still a loneliness tied to the distance. We were together for three months, apart for nine.

Then one day, it all clicked for me. I realized that I was already achieving parts of the dream that I am now actively working to build. That is why I decided to start posting content daily. I am now sharing my story so others can feel seen and heard, so that the world can be a little less lonely.

If you have felt lonely or isolated or bullied, this is your community. Follow along for the journey.

#storytellingcontentchallenge #lifejourney #personalgrowth #mindsetshift #mentalhealthawareness by @joshsears12

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2 months ago

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. What nobody tells you: the first step is sometimes quitting the wrong thing so you can find the right one. Two failed majors weren’t failure. It was how I found Econ.

If you’re on restart number two or three right now, and it feels like proof you can’t stick with anything - it’s not. Sometimes quitting is just how you find the thing worth staying for and where you belong. What’s something you “quit” that actually led you to somewhere better? Tell me below.

#storytellingcontentchallenge #lifejourney by @joshsears12

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2 months ago

Six seasons that flew by in the blink of an eye. One last summer was the culmination of it all. #dci #drumcorps #crossmen #fywtc #marchingband by @joshsears12

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2 months ago

Have you ever caught yourself in the middle of a spiral?

I know I have, and sometimes it’s been way too late. My mind was already racing through all the thoughts of the “what if…” or “if only I…” and “I should have…” downward spiral resulting in wasted evenings and sleepless nights.

As I continue to focus on prioritizing my own mental health and wellbeing, I like to ground myself in things which let me be present in the moment, taking it all in, and letting my mind go where the environment takes me.
 Sometimes it’s a wandering “stream of consciousness” type flow, seeing where my mind goes while on a hike or in the sauna, and other times it’s much more focused, intent on being present in the immediate performance or focusing on the day ahead.

I still have those moments where I start to have those negative thought patterns and spirals come back, but I’m much better about noticing it at the start and disconnecting from it, and instead focusing on what I can do to improve and make it better. And these activities help me with that.

What are some things you do to reconnect with yourself and let your mind settle? by @joshsears12

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17 hours ago

Execute: taking action on the change, working toward what you visualized, and doing it consistently.

Here’s what that looked like for me over a recent stretch of days. Working on a guidebook. Writing scripts. Filming. Editing. Getting organized and setting things up behind the scenes that nobody sees. Launching my Substack. A big, concentrated chunk over the long weekend of doing the work, and I was happy about it.

A few months ago I was the passenger to my own life, living rinse and repeat: work, dinner, TV, bed. Now there’s a lot more work, but it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like building something.

At the end of the 21-day storytelling challenge, I said I had found my method. Well, here it is: my DRIVE method. Decide. Recognize. Introspect. Visualize. Execute. And you’ve been watching it all along in this series!

This isn’t the end of Unpack the Trunk, either. Tell me what you want to see more of in this format!

What’s one thing you’ve been putting off that you could do something about today? by @joshsears12

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a day ago

Facing the unknown is scary...

I was faced with a choice that I knew what I wanted, but the uncertainty over the outcome and my fears surrounding the future held me back. Those fears came over me faster than a motorcycle speeding down the Sea to Sky highway.

I commute that highway every day now, given it connects Vancouver, where I live, to Squamish, where I work. I enjoy the scenic views, and use that commute as time for my own productivity. Sometimes I let my mind wander while listening to music, and it allows me to come up with new ideas for content. Sometimes I listen to podcasts, or a good audiobook.

I regret not starting this content creation journey sooner, and taking it seriously. When I first moved to Vancouver, I actually did post a handful of reels of me climbing boulders, as it was a new passion of mine. But there was no storytelling, no real depth. Had I been doing then what I’m doing now, the decision I was faced with would have been an easy one.

What is a tough decision that you have been faced with? Do you wish the timing on that decision could have been different?

#lifejourney #mentalhealthawareness #mindsetshift #gay #lgbt by @joshsears12

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2 days ago

Lost days, lost nights, lost years...

I’ve lost too much time in the past not doing what I truly wanted to be doing. I wish I started sharing my story sooner. I wish I didn’t lose so many drunken nights to the depression and loneliness spiral. But they’re gone. There’s nothing I can do to get that time back.

And that’s the harsh reality of how time truly is the one thing you can never get back. Ever.

I’m continuing to strive to be intentional in everything I do. Do I need to be productive 100% of the time? Absolutely not. There is a time and place for rest and recovery. If my body tells me I need extra sleep and to skip the gym so I can be better recovered from a cold and healthy, then I do it. And I won’t feel guilty about it.

I know I need to recover properly in order to perform how I want to. But I also have difficulty shutting my mind down at night and putting a stop to my endless flow of ideas and work. It can be a hard balance to find.

But that is also why everything we do is a journey. It’s all a work in progress. I’m two months into sharing my story, and there’s so much more yet to come. More to share from my past, and much more to the future unwritten...to say I’m excited about where things go from here is an understatement.

I hope you’ll join the ride. by @joshsears12

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3 days ago

This was scary. The fear was real.

But you know what? I did it anyway.

Yes, I had fears of the silent judgement of people walking by. But I stopped caring what other people thought, so I said “I’m going to do this!”

Then the fear of freezing up on camera with no script, having no idea where my thoughts were headed, and the fear and the exposure of doing something this vulnerable out in the open.

But you know what? I did it anyway.

The only way to get more confident and better at something is by doing it. And that is exactly the reason I went out to English Bay and Stanley Park to record this. And the feeling that I got afterward? It’s hard to explain.

If you know, you know.

It’s quite appropriate that randomly the first two songs to play on my Spotify after wrapping were “Joy” and “On Top of the World” because...yes...sometimes music explains it better than I can.

Again, thank you to everyone who watches and reads what I am putting out here. There’s so much more to the journey to come...

Shout out to @evan__couch for that 🔥 phrase

Inspo: @chasesdayinthelife by @joshsears12

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4 days ago

It’s hard for me to do this sometimes…

After a long week and long days at my 9-5, it’s hard to put in the work to build on here, too. But I still stay committed. Even if it means taking care of myself first and prioritizing my mental and physical health.

It’s easy for me to feel guilty for not continuing the grind and coming up with more ideas, scripting, filming more, editing more, and just building my dream working on more behind the scenes.

But I know I also need those lazy nights to just veg out, too. So if you struggle finding the balance and want to grind but also not get burnt out, follow for more. by @joshsears12

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13 days ago

I used to let the depression get to me…

It stopped me from being adventurous and trying new things. I let it kill my motivation. Which ultimately just made it worse.

Once I really started seeing things in a different light and the many mindset shifts that I’ve had over the last few months, I began to find and see more opportunities that I just needed to say yes to. Ways for me to find more community. Ways to take action and be adventurous.

Instead of letting my depression get to me, I head it off by enjoying my surroundings whenever I get the chance. It’s the same me that loves nature and hiking. Just taking action instead.

What are you doing to take care of your mental health this weekend? by @joshsears12

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6 days ago

I thought I was just having fun until I got to that blue dyno...

I really wanted to get it! Instead of continuing to try other problems on the wall, I just stayed there, fall after fall, wanting to get that one move!

As time was running out, I was probably overthinking things too much. And I just couldn’t get it. Then again, I was still having fun, which was the whole point of the night, anyway. Oh, well, it is what it is.

So with 2 minutes left, I decided to end the night with a top. I went all the way back down to problem number 1, what would have been a warmup problem for me.

Of course, knowing how my luck could be, there was a half-voice in the back of my head hoping I didn’t actually fall on it with the camera rolling.

But, hey! A win is a win! by @joshsears12

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7 days ago

The series finally has a name: Unpack the Trunk🚗

It started as one fun conversation between two versions of me, and the response blew me away, so I kept it going. Then I asked you to help name it, and over the last couple of weeks you sent in suggestions and votes. Thank you. This one’s as much yours as it is mine.

As for this scene: I used to think taking the wheel was the finish line. Stop being a passenger, start driving, done. But driving with no destination is just circling the block with a lot of confidence. The real next step was sitting down and putting together a plan. Not the whole map. Just the next stop.

Mine? Sharing the approach I’ve used to work through my own problems and rebuild my life, one piece at a time. More on that soon.

What’s your next stop? Tell me in the comments.

#lifejourney #mindsetshift #buildingthedream #takingthewheel by @joshsears12

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8 days ago