In this episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty, rapper Big Sean shares his experiences with mental health challenges in the music industry and his path to recovery through therapy, exercise, and spirituality. He discusses how he built resilience despite early struggles, overcame addiction, and transformed his mindset from scarcity to abundance through meditation, visualization, and journaling.
The conversation explores how relationships and family have shaped Big Sean's growth, from his mother's role in his recovery to his own journey into fatherhood. He and Shetty examine the difference between passive wishing and active manifestation, the impact of maintaining individuality in relationships, and the importance of supporting rather than controlling others in our lives.
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Big Sean shares his journey through mental health challenges, discussing how he overcame depression and anxiety while navigating the stigma within the music industry. He describes hitting a low point with [restricted term] dependence and suicidal thoughts, but found healing through therapy, exercise, and reconnecting with his spiritual self. His mother played a crucial role in his recovery, helping him prioritize his well-being over work.
Despite not inheriting confidence from his parents, Big Sean learned to build resilience through various challenges, including racial harassment and career struggles. He emphasizes the importance of not taking things personally and viewing challenges as opportunities for growth. Jay Shetty adds that acknowledging past difficulties can enhance one's resilience for future challenges.
Big Sean distinguishes between passive wishing and active manifestation, explaining that the latter requires focused intention, attention to details, and strategic action. He credits his mother for teaching him valuable techniques like meditation, visualization, and journaling. Big Sean emphasizes the importance of shifting from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance, regardless of external circumstances.
Big Sean discusses how fatherhood has transformed his perspective, highlighting the importance of supporting rather than controlling his children. He speaks about the mutual learning between generations, noting how he inspired his father to seek therapy while learning from his own young son. When discussing relationships, Big Sean emphasizes the importance of maintaining one's complete self within partnerships and recognizing when relationships no longer serve personal growth.
1-Page Summary
Big Sean opens up about his struggles with mental health and the journey towards self-discovery, authenticity, and building resilience.
Big Sean describes his experience with depression and anxiety in an industry that may not be receptive to these issues. He opens up about the cultural expectations and stigma he faced, especially as a black man going to therapy, which was at odds with his commitment to authenticity. Despite the initial taboo, he shares his experiences through his music, like a song with Nipsey Hussle, demonstrating personal growth through embracing vulnerability.
Big Sean reflects on a period in his life where overworking and the cultural pressure from cities like Philadelphia and Detroit led him to an overreliance on [restricted term]. This substance dependence took a significant toll on his health and well-being. Hitting rock bottom, he contemplated suicide, indicating the severity of his mental health crisis.
However, reconnecting with his mother became a pivotal step in his recovery, helping him to prioritize his health. Big Sean took crucial steps like seeing a therapist, working out, and pausing his work to focus on himself. Therapy allowed him to unpack his emotions, and he emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with his spiritual and inner self during this challenging time.
Big Sean talks about how confidence was not inherited from his parents, who often shared a negative perspective on life. At the age of 19, he faced depression while navigating the struggles of his music career. Additionally, being racially harassed at a gas station became an emotionally impactful moment that contributed to a pivotal development in his confidence.
Instead of being crushed by his challenges, Big Sean learned to not take things personally, which became integral in building his confidence and resilience. He understands that everyone has their perspective and what may seem wrong from one viewpoint might not be from another.
Personal Growth and Self-Discovery
Big Sean offers insights into the distinction between mere wishing and the more proactive process of manifestation, as well as techniques to leverage the subconscious mind for achieving personal goals.
Manifestation, as Big Sean explains, is more than just wishing for good things to happen; it involves a structured approach to actualizing one’s goals.
Big Sean differentiates between wishing and manifesting by stressing that manifesting requires focused intention, attention to details, and applying a strategy. He talks about how his mother taught him various strategies like meditation, visualization, journaling, and strategizing to actualize his goals, all of which have contributed significantly to his success.
Discussing his personal approach to mindset, Big Sean reflects on how he moved from a scarcity mindset—a belief system based on lack and limitation—to a belief in abundance. He challenges the notion of scarcity he learned in childhood by advocating the belief that one will always have what is needed to become the person they aspire to be. He encourages embracing the idea that if one can conceive an idea, they can bring it into reality. Big Sean promotes maintaining a mindset of abundance regardless of external conditions, suggesting one can have fun with or without money and with all friends or none.
Big Sean underscores the importance of feeding the subconscious mind with positive thoughts and images, using techniques such as meditation and visualization.
He attributes his achievements to the practice of visualization and positive thinking, stating that this was instrumental in getting him to where he is today. He discusses the impact the subconscious mind has when it is impossible to distinguish between reality and the concepts fed into it. He reminds us that meditating and visualizing oneself in positive scenarios, like ...
The Power of Mindset and Manifestation
Big Sean delves into the crucial role family support can play in personal transformation, discussing the profound impact of fatherhood on his life and his views on healing and growth within relationships.
Big Sean shares how the support from his family, especially when choosing to pursue music, underlines the importance of family support, which he carries forward into his own experience of fatherhood. He sees the significance of supporting rather than controlling his children. His anticipation for his son to read the wisdom compiled in his book underscores the transformative role that fatherhood has played in his life.
Big Sean speaks about the mutual learning and appreciation between generations; he inspired his own father to go to therapy, and he learns a lot from his son, who is only two and a half years old. He acknowledges the intergenerational exchange of learning, noting his child as a profound personal influence. By including his family's wisdom in his book, he touches on the importance of healing one's own trauma and the aspiration to provide a positive influence, thereby hinting at the potential to break negative generational cycles.
In the absence of a direct discussion from Big Sean on recognizing when to end unbeneficial relationships, we can infer from his personal life decisions, such as rejecting a full scholarship for a music career, that he understands the significance of following a path true to oneself. He reflects on being in detrimental relationships, highlighting how one tends to overlook the negative aspects after separation. Big Sean emphasizes the strength it takes ...
Role of Family and Relationships in Personal Transformation
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