When Everything Falls Apart - Break Free From Society's Boxes

What happens when you've ticked all the boxes society told you would bring fulfillment, yet find yourself feeling empty and exhausted? What would become possible if you stopped living from society's checklist and started listening to your own inner wisdom?

Lawyer-turned-Mindset Mentor Afsheen Shah joins me for a soul-stirring conversation about breaking free from prescribed paths to discover authentic living.

Afsheen's journey will make you rethink what really matters. It mirrors what many high-achievers experience—pushing through illness and burnout until her body literally prevented her from continuing. That physical breakdown became the catalyst for profound transformation, leading her to question the very foundation of success she'd built her life upon. With raw honesty, she shares how realizing she'd neglected her needs for growth and contribution opened the door to a more meaningful existence. 

We dive deep into what true balance actually means (hint: it's not giving equal attention to everything simultaneously). Afsheen offers a refreshing perspective that honors the natural ebb and flow of life, suggesting that balance comes from responding to what your body, mind and soul need in each moment, rather than forcing yourself into rigid structures. Her critique of hustle culture particularly resonates—highlighting how it often shames those whose natural design requires more stillness and intentional pacing. 

For listeners feeling trapped in their own version of society's box, Afsheen provides simple yet powerful first steps toward transformation. These practices create space for awareness to emerge naturally without overwhelming an already taxed system which perfectly embodies her philosophy of gentle yet consistent growth.

Ready to break free from external expectations and create a life aligned with your authentic self? This conversation offers both the inspiration and practical tools to begin that journey today.

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CONNECT WITH COACH MICKEY ROOTHMAN HERE

CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST AFSHEEN SHAH HERE

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Breakthrough Podcast
• 4:28 Living in the Societal Box
• 10:50 Meeting Afshin: From Lawyer to Light
• 17:30 Finding Balance in Body, Mind, Soul
• 25:13 Breaking Free from the Hustle Mentality
• 31:28 Daily Practices for Inner Transformation
• 35:40 Final Thoughts and Connection Details

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to Breakthrough, the podcast that helps you to get unstuck, move forward, move on and finally break through to that next level that you have been looking for. I'm Miki Ruthman, transformational Breakthrough Coach, speaker and Author, and your host right here on the Breakthrough Podcast. So get ready to break the barriers and break the limitations and let's dive right on into this week's episode of Breakthrough. Hello there, beautiful souls, and welcome back to the Breakthrough podcast. It's, as always, such a huge pleasure being here with you guys, and this week, as you've heard, I have another amazing, amazing guest right here on the show for you guys, and Afshin and I had such an amazing chat. Guys, you're going to love this interview because we kind of go off topic a little bit, which is usually what will happen when you've got, firstly, two women in a conversation with each other and, secondly, when it's two people who are so passionate about personal development, spiritual growth and really making an impact and a difference out there in this world. So we get into a whole lot of cool topics throughout this episode. So do stay put, listen to this episode. You're really going to enjoy it and have so much value that you're going to get out of this Now, especially, guys, if you are someone who has been living in that societal box.

Speaker 1: 1:35

Now, the societal box I'm talking about is those little checkpoints we all get given as a child that you know there are certain things we've got to do in life, certain things we've got to tick off that society views as this is what a successful life looks like. In other words, it's that whole thing of going to school, achieving certain things while you're at school and then going to college or varsity and you know, doing certain things there and getting a degree, and then moving on to a job and really achieving at that job and moving to the top, and then getting married and having kids and having the white picket fence, all that stuff. That whole picture that's kind of laid out for us of this is what should be happening in your life for you to be successful at life. Right, that is what we're kind of going to debunk a little bit and break some of those myths for you guys. Now, as you heard in Afshin's bio, she lived that life. She was on her way to just being on that path of really ticking off the boxes.

Speaker 1: 2:35

And what I love about this interview, guys, is this happens to every single one of us. It just is a matter of whether you're going to be consciously aware that that is what's going on and that is the fact that when everything began to fall apart emotionally, physically, spiritually in Afshin's life, that was really the catalyst to her actually beginning to turn inward and create the life that she has today, a life that she absolutely loves, of meaning and purpose and impact. And my story is exactly the same. There's hundreds of people out there who that very thing that looked like your life was falling apart was actually the catalyst to your whole life changing for the better. And I think it's key, as you listen to this interview and to Afshin's story as well, that you keep in mind that you know life is always pushing us towards what our best and highest self is, what the life is that we're asking for and trying to create for ourselves, but so often we don't see it, we don't take those experiences and turn inward to learn from them and see why they are here and how they're meant to serve us. And it really is going to help you when stuff happens in your life and it feels like your world is falling apart. I always say breakthrough, guys has two pieces to that word break and through. So usually when stuff breaks, whether you had a breakup or breakdown through so usually when stuff breaks, whether you had a breakup or breakdown, you've got to go through to get the breakthrough, all right. So begin to view the stuff that's happening in your life as catalysts to that which you have asked for, the life that you actually truly desire, and you're going to discover on this episode how you can begin to do that.

Speaker 1: 4:26

One side note that I'd like to make on this episode we have a third little guest who joins us in the beginning of this episode. You'll hear him in the background. It's Absheen's cute little dog. I saw him on the screen while doing this interview and recording it and he was so excited that there were people talking about such exciting stuff that you'll actually hear him a little bit in the background in the beginning of the episode as well. But Afshin is such a professional that I love the fact that she just continued with what she was busy saying, even though he was flipping out and wanting to play, and my dogs do exactly the same. So I love the fact that we could just continue and keep it authentic and keep it real, like I love to do on this podcast. So welcome her little pup to the show as well. But, guys, without further ado, let's jump right in and listen to this week's episode with the wonderful Afshin Shaw. Welcome to the Breakthrough Podcast, afshin. How are you?

Speaker 3: 5:25

I am great. Thank you so much for having me. It really is such a pleasure and an honor to be on your show. I admire your work so much and all the good that you've been putting out there.

Speaker 1: 5:34

Thank you, and I mean it's so strange because we were talking before the recording. Just, you know how we met through Instagram and you were one of those people that you were like an instant sister, one of those people that you just immediately kind of resonate with.

Speaker 3: 5:49

You know them right away when you see them. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 5:53

So it's quite amazing to be chatting to you today. Thanks for joining me Now. In your bio, when I read that, a whole lot of that actually resonated with me so deeply, because it's part of my story as well and I think it's a lot of people's story. But would you mind just kind of giving the listeners a bit of background as to how you got to what you're doing now, what your passion is now, Because there was quite a few things that led up to this right.

Speaker 3: 6:19

Yes, it's so funny. I think I like to categorize my life into three phases. There was the me who was doing what I thought I should have been, and then there was the me who said oh wait, that's wrong, let me figure out what I should be doing. And then there's the me now who finally realized there is nothing I have to be doing aside from just being and being the person who speaks from the heart, who looks inside and wherever that leads me, it's okay. And so when I was younger, as I mentioned before the show, my family moved here when I was very little, and when you come from a different country, understandably there's a lot of pressure to just succeed. And you know my parents were doing the best they could and so they had instilled in me that you have to just keep going, it doesn't matter what happens, you keep going. So I grew up with the mentality that if you're sick, if you're tired, it doesn't matter, you keep going. And so I put myself through law school. I was my illness actually started in law school. I just didn't realize it. I just because I kept going. And I became a lawyer, I became partner of the law firm and the whole time I just kind of had this nagging feeling inside that something is not right. And I didn't listen to it right away because I was still in that phase of who am I supposed to be? I hadn't quite gotten to. I can be anyone I want to be. And I just remember waking up one day and it was as if I couldn't get out of the bed. My legs just wouldn't move and it took me a full hour to actually get out of bed and I just sat there and I said I don't understand. I'm the person who can always go when everybody else stops. They used to call me the energizer bunny and I just couldn't move and I just started crying. And I didn't know it at the time, but it was the first sign of an emotional breakdown, because I had been going for so long without actually stopping to see where I was headed. And when I woke up that day I looked around and where I had landed was not where I wanted to be, and the realization of that had hit me so hard that my body physically responded by just not being able to move. And that was the first step of my journey. It's been, quite honestly, a very long road. Since then.

Speaker 3: 8:33

I started looking into what do I do from here If I'm not happy? How do I change my life? And this was actually before the days of Instagram being so commonly used. You know, there was YouTube. I was looking on YouTube, I was taking personal development classes and I started coming across people like Tony Robbins, who has, even though I've never met him, has been a huge mentor for me, and he always said you know, there's six basic human needs.

Speaker 3: 8:59

There's just there's four that everybody has, where you have to survive, you're trying to get through day by day. But then there's also the need for growth and contribution, and those are the two needs that I had been neglecting my whole life, and I realized that's where the hollowness, that empty feeling was coming from, because the real me wasn't so worried about sitting behind a desk and having a certain title and making a certain amount of money. That's what I thought I should be doing, because I was told my whole life that's what I was supposed to be doing. The real me wanted to be out there helping other people. The real me wanted to be saving dogs, helping women, and my whole life I'd been told that's wrong, because if you want to be successful, you have to put other people's needs aside. You have to put your needs aside and just focus on working and working hard. And, as we know, that's not the right paradigm if you want any type of inner fulfillment and inner peace.

Speaker 3: 9:55

That's the conclusion that I came to after the last three years of just going on this journey, doing spiritual retreats, focusing inward, and it was definitely not the easiest because in the process, I was also diagnosed with Lyme disease, adrenal fatigue and leaking gut, so my brain wasn't functioning quite the way it should have, which, quite honestly, it's a blessing, because I don't think if my brain hadn't been so confused, I would have taken the time to do what I'm doing now. And that's when I started really going deeper inward and I started meditating. I started doing yoga again and I started going on these long runs, but not running because I want to do a marathon or I want to do a half marathon. I started running so I could feel my feet against the ground and there was something about that feeling that made me realize that we're all just one. We're one, we're not separate, and there's such a focus on everybody being separate right now.

Speaker 3: 10:53

That's causing this huge diversity issue. It's causing people to compete with each other instead of uplifting each other, and that's what my law firm is based on. That's what my a lot of my past friendships were based on, and I want to change that. I want to show everyone that it doesn't have to be that way. We can all help each other. We can all rise together. There's no reason for one person to rise at the expense of another person going down. There's enough for everybody to go around. There's enough for all of us to build together, to really come together and have and this is a little bit utopian on my part, I know but have a world where everybody's living in a place of fulfillment and love, as opposed to a place of lack and need, which is, unfortunately, where I think we're heading right now, absolutely, and I think're heading right now, absolutely, and I think that's most people is.

Speaker 1: 11:50

as you said, we're brought up from a young age that that's what this life's about. It's about becoming something, in the sense that you have to get a degree, you've got to go work for money, you've got to be successful at your job, you've got to get married, have kids. There's like this whole box that we're put in from a young age. And I think when you describe that, what I'm hearing is that absolute, that inner need that we all have to fit in somewhere. But we think we found what that is. And then one day we just wake up and I don't know what age you were at, but we just wake up and we kind of realize that I'm in a box that I don't want to be in.

Speaker 3: 12:26

Yeah, and I've actually killed myself doing it Right, isn't it amazing? And for me it hit around the age of 40 and that's when, and my one of my lifelong dreams had been to be a mother. And again I just thought it would happen, because that's what you do you get a great job, then you find the man, then you have the kid and you live in that house with the white picket fence. You know it happens to everybody, so why wouldn't it happen? And I got the job I, you know, I found a great guy and then all that fell apart and I tried to adopt and that fell apart.

Speaker 3: 12:58

And then I think that's kind of what also triggered my need to really look at other ways of bringing love into my life. And you know, another myth that we're told is, if you don't have love and companionship of you know significant other, that means that there's something wrong with you, that you know you must be doing something to turn people off or you know you're just not lovable. And that's such a false myth and it's doing so much harm to so many beautiful people, so many of my beautiful friends, who truly believe that they're not lovable just because they don't have quote unquote love in their life. But everywhere you turn, there's love in your life. You know even my dogs. They are an amazing source of love and if we can appreciate the love we do have, we see so much more love everywhere and I just wish more people could see that and not beat themselves up as much as they do, and that breaks my heart. You know that people are compassionate to others, but they're not compassionate to themselves sometimes absolutely, very hard to see.

Speaker 1: 14:02

No, absolutely, and I think that's uh for people like you and me. What I love is to hear your story, because our story is usually what has pushed us to doing what we're doing today and that's why we understand what our clients are going through and we have such a passion for it. I always say that we we end up teaching what we most want to learn as a soul ourselves. So I can hear that your journey has really been your catalyst to what you're doing, and that's amazing. It makes it worthwhile.

Speaker 3: 14:32

It really does. It really does, and I have a long way to go. I think we're always growing, we're always changing, and with each new experience we get new ideas. We get new thoughts that we need to consider and bring in to whatever we're doing now and I'm not, you know, not necessarily every new idea gets incorporated.

Speaker 3: 14:53

But even this week I was speaking to somebody who felt very alone, and the reason they felt alone was because they've had, you know, kind of like me a lot of long working hours. They haven't really had time to connect with people, but they're not actually alone. It's just that they're going through a phase where they don't have what they think they should have in their life, and so that's you know. So now I'm also trying to figure out okay, how do I show people that you're never really alone either? It's a perception of how you see your life, but the perception is still being affected by thoughts that other people put in your head. It doesn't mean that it has to really be viewed that way just because you were told it should be a certain way.

Speaker 1: 15:36

Absolutely. I mean, I'm in my forties and I'm still single.

Speaker 3: 15:41

I swear I thought you were in your twenties.

Speaker 1: 15:43

I I wish I loved my 20s, but I'm into my 20s just as much and it's kind of a journey because it really is. There's not a lot of pressure on me, but people get to the point when you get to this age where they remind you that your clock's ticking and rumors even start circling of do you even like guys? You know all sorts of stuff and it's scary.

Speaker 3: 16:09

I've been asked that so many times recently. My actually my own mother asked me that I know it's coming from a place of love and you know I looked at her and I said one, it shouldn't matter, but I just haven't found the right man. Mom, I'm not. You know how about I spend my life with somebody who makes? Know how about I spend my life with somebody who makes me happy and not just spend my life for the with somebody just for the sake of not being single? Yeah, not a concept.

Speaker 1: 16:32

But I think I think it's what we were speaking about earlier on those boxes that society choose to put us in. When you're outside of that box, then they're uncomfortable. I think society is uncomfortable with someone who can genuinely say I am single, but I am totally happy. That way I'm totally fulfilled all by myself, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 16:56

And you know what it is. I also think people don't realize we're choosing it. It's a choice. Could we have anybody in our life right now? Of course, but we're choosing to be. It's a choice. Could we have anybody in our life right now? Of course, but we're choosing to be single because we want the right people in our life and to me, that's so much more important than just having anybody in your life and being afraid to be alone. Absolutely yeah.

Speaker 1: 17:16

Yeah, so you spoke a little bit about the balance between body, mind and soul. That has to be balanced, right. So can you give us an idea of what exactly does a balanced body, mind and soul look like?

Speaker 3: 17:32

So I think that definition is different for everybody and I always, you know, I make sure I tell people that what works for one person is not necessarily what's right for you. One person is not necessarily what's right for you, because there's also this big concept of balance means everything is getting equal attention at all times. That's not realistic, that's not life. You may have a month where you have a lot of deadlines at work, you have a lot of client calls. That month, you're focused a little bit more on work, but the next month your schedule is a little bit lighter. Maybe you can go out a little more, maybe you can see your friends and your family a little bit more than you did the prior month and you can sneak in more massages. So my concept of balance is making sure that all times you're feeding the part of your mind, body and soul that's asking for attention at that particular time. So, just for example, this last week I wasn't feeling so great and I just turned in words and my heart was saying I want you to meditate more this week. I know you have a lot of work to do. Don't worry about the work. You need to meditate. And that's exactly what I did, whereas the week before I was very focused on work. I was very driven, but I was very happy that we're doing that.

Speaker 3: 18:42

So I think one. You have to see where you are at each moment and really learn to be aware of what your body is telling you. And then you have to figure out okay, do I want my career to come first? Because people also have this idea that, well, I don't understand why this isn't working. You know, I really want this relationship.

Speaker 3: 19:02

I really am trying so hard, but then when you look at how they structured their life, there's really no room for a relationship. You know, everything is focused on the career or everything's focused about going to the gym for three hours. You can't have the type of balance that you want if you're not structuring your life in a way that brings the balance that you're seeking. So you really have to kind of sit down and evaluate and say, okay, if my spirit wants the right person next to me and my body is also telling me, yeah, you don't feel so good today. So maybe today I go for a walk and also meditate during my walk and figure out who that partner is. That would be perfect for me, and there's so many different ways to go about it, but really the balance comes from figuring out what's right for you at that given moment and structuring your life around that.

Speaker 1: 19:53

Does that make sense?

Speaker 1: 19:54

Absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 19:56

I love you touched on something there, because a lot of the listeners and the people who are on this podcast are entrepreneurs and I think what you mentioned there especially is, you know, especially entrepreneurs, when you're having a bad day, we're of the belief sometimes that if I don't work, I don't make money, and then we end up neglecting ourselves because the work has to get done and it's so key what you said there, because I think the body is such an intelligent being and, turning inward, I mean, spiritual business is a running.

Speaker 1: 20:33

Running your business from a spiritual point of view is a totally different ball game than the model that's out there that we're used to, because the model out there says you cannot take a day off. The work has to get done and that's the only way you get clients where you know I've been where you, where you're talking about, where you're having that day and it's just you're not feeling good and you're actually feeling guilty about stuff that has to get done, but your body is saying it's okay to relax and I've seen, when I turn inward and allow myself to do that, I've actually seen how the stuff that needed to get done divine intervention just takes over Right, and it finds a way and suddenly things get done faster, they get done better, and somehow you get more out of it than you would have if you would have forced it.

Speaker 1: 21:25

Absolutely, absolutely, and I think that's key what you just said, because, especially if you're looking at the world's model of how to be successful, I think when you begin to live a spiritual lifestyle and balance body, mind and soul and turning inward and becoming more self-aware, that is when you learn to connect to that which is around you and actually begin to create from there instead of from a space of fear or hustle I hate that word, I agree.

Speaker 3: 22:00

The last thing I want you to do is hustle Overused. First of all, know, everybody's all about the hustle and I don't think it sends the right message to people, and I know it's, you know, a trending thing right now. But I think when you tell people to well, actually let me step back a little bit. There's also different, naturally inherent personalities that we're all born with, and I think people have to be accepting of who they are. I've recently started working with human design, which is fascinating, and I'm far from an expert, but I'm learning to understand that my body responds to certain things very differently than somebody who's a different design under the human design, and so I have to remember that. You know somebody who can I have a friend, for example, at work. He can go on two hours sleep, absolutely fine, no issues. But that's his design.

Speaker 3: 22:51

My design likes to take things slow, likes to really go inward and tap into what my gut and my intuition are telling me. If I don't follow that, things are not going to go well for me, because I'm not paying attention to how I'm built. And you know there's the hustle mentality I think shames people, which is why I don't really follow that mentality. Because now, if you have somebody who isn't doing what they think they should be or accomplishing what you know, the hustle we're calling proponents is saying they should be doing. They feel one, they feel lazy, they feel as if something is wrong with them, when really, maybe that's just where they are right now and they're doing the best that they can with the resources they have and with the time and abilities that they have at that minute, and I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of. I think they should be proud of how far they've come and proud of the fact that they're doing everything they can.

Speaker 1: 23:50

Absolutely love that Cause I'm with you there. I don't agree with some of the things out there. That's sort of a one size fits all for everyone, especially when it comes to transformation, because it's exactly what you said. That's actually really interesting. I'm definitely going to go research some of that, because we are we're all made I actually hate the word unique. I always say that we make the biggest mistake telling our kids that they're unique, because unique implies that you're you're different to others. Oh, I love that. I love that you say that. And it's actually not that you're unique, it's that your purpose is unique.

Speaker 3: 24:27

Yes, yes, I always say to my friends we're more alike than we are different. What you see on the outside may look different, but I can guarantee you that the feelings and the emotion and the pain that's on the inside of that shell is probably the exact same as yours. The pain that's on the inside of that shell. It's probably the exact same as yours, and that's the place that I think the world needs to get to to solve a lot of the problems that we're facing also.

Speaker 1: 24:52

Yeah, we're the same essence at the end of the day, the shell is just different. Yeah, exactly so if someone had to come to you right now and say, afshin, I resonate with your story. That's me. I am working myself to death. My body can't anymore. I feel like I'm going crazy. Where do they start? What would your advice be for someone like that?

Speaker 3: 25:16

So the easiest thing to do is you don't want to change somebody's life drastically because it's not going to last. You don't want to change somebody's life drastically because it's not going to last. So the best thing I like to start with is add one small thing that they can do on a daily basis for at least a week. And usually I ask them you know people don't like well, not all people don't like the concept of meditation or stillness, because it forces them to sit with their thoughts. So I may not necessarily use the word meditate. I'll ask them how they feel about, you know, just sitting quietly or taking some time, five, 10 minutes for themselves every day and doing nothing, and start there. And when you pose it that way, they're less afraid of their own mind. And so I'll start them there. And then, after the first week, then we'll go to the next step. I'll ask them did you have any thoughts? What did you feel when you were doing that? And usually I get responses to the effect of I didn't realize how much I had on my mind. I didn't know I was so stressed about my job. I didn't know I was so stressed about my kids. I didn't know that my marriage was on my mind constantly. Then you know where there's a potential source of imbalance and you talk through okay, well, let's, let's go deeper into that. What did you think about? What were your thoughts? How did that make you feel? And now do you think you're feeling that because that's actually what you believe, or is that because what's been projected towards you and what you've been raised to believe? And it's funny, when you start peeling off those little layers, everything just kind of starts to come together for people and you'll see their eyes just change from confusion to clarity and I'm sure you've seen this all the time also where all of a sudden their face just completely seems to get lighter. And I start with the stillness because I really think you have to stop the Chaos before you can do any type of actual healing or work.

Speaker 3: 27:17

Then I ask them I like to give them a thought question Every week and just journal on it, and it'll depend on what is weighing heavily on their mind, because for me writing has always been a source of consolation and just getting stuff out, and I've learned a lot from my own writing and I realized that stuff that I wasn't even aware of was coming out and it helped me heal tremendously. So I try to always get people, if they're open to it, to write about their thoughts and figure out and it helped me heal tremendously. So I try to always get people, if they're open to it, to write about their thoughts and figure out where it takes them. And then the next step would be to imagine okay, these are your thoughts.

Speaker 3: 27:52

Now, what do you want those thoughts to look like? Ideally, if you could have anything, what would you rather see in your life? And once they can figure out where they are, where they want to be, then it's just the process of getting them to where they want to be. And usually, once people define what they want, it's much easier to get them there than you would think it would be.

Speaker 1: 28:15

That's beautiful and I think that's easy enough to implement as well for someone especially that's not used to doing things like this.

Speaker 3: 28:24

Yeah, and most of the people I deal with are not, because they are like me. They're high achievers. They're always going, going, going, and 10 years ago, if somebody would have said to me I think you should journal on this, I would have looked at them like they had two heads. I don't journal. What are you talking about? That's what I'm paying you for, exactly, and so I think the baby steps are key and just letting them know that they're heard. I really think, at the end of the day, everybody just wants to be heard, and so even if I just let them talk with minimal guidance and just kind of keep them on track, but don't impose too many of my questions, sometimes that releases more than anything else that they're doing on their own, and I think that's so important. Just let them feel secure, safe and heard. Those are my big things, that's beautiful.

Speaker 1: 29:18

So you spoke a little bit about some of your daily practices. Can I ask you to give our listeners sort of your favorite practical daily practice that you feel is one of the most powerful things that you can do to achieve a balanced body, mind and soul in any given day?

Speaker 3: 29:37

Yes, absolutely. So the first thing I do is I start with the stillness while I'm still in bed. You know, I sit up in my bed and everything is quiet. I get up very early I do get up at five, so there's really not much noise anywhere at that point and so I just listen to the stillness and I really let my body absorb it. And then I try to figure out. You know, right now, for example, my adrenals and my stomach have been still acting up a little bit. So I'll hold my hands on my stomach and I'll tell my stomach I love you.

Speaker 3: 30:12

I know I haven't always been kind to you, but I'm here for you. And even when I don't properly honor you, please know it's not because I don't love you, it's because I haven't been as focused as I should have been, but I will always do my best to be there for you. So, whatever body part it is, you know whether it's your mind, whether it's your heart. There was your heart. You put your hands over your heart and I just take five minutes and I do that and just give gratitude and love for my own body, everything that it's done for me to this day, because I don't think we do that enough. You know, we put our bodies through so much, but we forget to thank them. So I thank my body on a daily basis for everything it's done for me to date, everything that it's still going to do.

Speaker 3: 30:53

And then the next thing I do is I just kind of sit and I visualize my day for the next five minutes and I let myself smile. I see good things happening and sometimes I honestly just laugh because I'll imagine really funny things happening. And by that time it's been a good 20 minutes that I'm just sitting there and letting myself be, still imagine happy thoughts and thanking myself for everything that I've been through and will continue to do. And that all before I get up. And then, once I get up, the one crazy thing I do is take a cold shower. And that's more of a mental thing for me, because anything that happens at that point later in the day I look back and if I start to feel stressed, I say are you crazy? You've got this, you've got an ice cold shower today.

Speaker 1: 31:42

Everything just kind of dissipates and I'm fine be honest, do you do that even in winter? Because I have been in New York in winter time.

Speaker 3: 31:49

It is so cold there yes, the only I didn't do today because I ran outside and it was like 20 degrees. I I was like I'm going to replace my ice cold shower with a 20 degree run today and I came back and my hands are like thawed and I'm like all right, I probably shouldn't push you with ice cold shower. That might be overdoing it a little bit. I do have to remember self-care. That's what I'm about.

Speaker 1: 32:13

So what is your main reason? I've heard a lot of things about the ice cold shower in the morning, sort of why people do that. What is your reason for doing it?

Speaker 3: 32:20

mine is one to remind me that I have this amazing body that can withstand anything it has with so much. And you know, no matter. You know there's people facing so much more than I am as far as health, and I know I'm dealing with a lot on the health end, but it reminds me that, look, there's people who have it so much worse. So, no matter what, be grateful that this body that's being hit with these ice, cold water pellets right now has done so much for you and it's still standing here. And the other part of it is the mental resilience.

Speaker 3: 32:55

I hate the cold. I hate anything related to ice. I hate the cold. I hate anything related to ice. So I do it to remind myself that if you really want to get somewhere that you want to be, which right now my goal is to get to the point where I'm fully healthy and I'm helping others get to that same place I'm going to have to be uncomfortable. I can't always just sit back and wait for things to happen without facing my fears, without taking that step outside of my comfort zone, to happen without facing my fears, without taking that step outside of my comfort zone and that ice, cold shower reminds me that I can do that because I'm doing it every morning.

Speaker 1: 33:28

Okay, that's fantastic. I must be honest, I'm not sure if I would do the cold shower. I will try it at least once you know what?

Speaker 3: 33:37

Start small, just like everything else. Start with 10 seconds. Okay, that with 10 seconds. Okay that I can do that I can do.

Speaker 1: 33:45

That's how I started, and then I worked myself up to two minutes okay, all right, I'll begin that now that it's still summer, here we go. So, afshin, thank you so much. It's been lovely having you on the Breakthrough Podcast. I learned a lot, and I'm sure that the listeners learned just as much from you, and if they wanted to know a little bit more and get in touch with you, how and where can they do that?

Speaker 3: 34:13

They can find me on Instagram. I'm at Afshin Shah, and I also have my own website, afshinshahcom, and I'm also on Facebook. I tend to use Instagram and my website a little bit more, so those are probably the best ways to reach me, but I'm always open and willing to help anybody that has questions or just needs to even reflect a little bit and get some input on something.

Speaker 1: 34:37

Okay, fantastic guys, and I will leave that information for you in the show notes as well. Afshin, again, thank you so much. Thank you for the work you do as well for being a change agent and a light worker in this world. I appreciate souls like you and we'll definitely have you back, hopefully again soon.

Speaker 3: 34:56

Absolutely, and thank you as well. It's always a pleasure to talk to a fellow sister of the light.

Speaker 2: 35:15

Use this warmth that could make brighter lives. In all of us, in our hearts, there's love and light that we must realize. We need to feel. We need to use this warmth that could make brighter lives. I believe in our hearts that our lives will be to your liking. I believe I'm a mess good. I have live a life a mess to live. I'm a mess good. I have feel good. Feel good I'm a mess. I'm a mess good. I have live a life a mess to live. Need some fuel. Need some of you. I'm making some of you. This is my fight. Give me back my life.