Komal Minhas

As you're growing your capacity after a setback, you can use cognitive reframing to help coach yourself through the things that might feel harder than they did before. Remind yourself of how big what you just overcame is, and that in light of that, maybe you can face the discomfort of doing the task in front of you for 15-mins, or that you can being uncomfortable for 30-minutes to take that call you've been catastrophizing. This has been a super helpful tool on my recent recovery journey. Hope it helps you too! If you’d like a free worksheet of prompts to try this for yourself, comment COMEBACK and I’ll send it your way! . . . #ResilienceBuilding #MindsetShift #CognitiveReframing #EmotionalResilience #PersonalGrowthJourney

Keynoting and interviewing are two of my superpowers. I first started speaking in front of crowds when I was in elementary school. Ma always encouraged me and pushed me out of my fear and comfort zone to be on stages, and often to speak on behalf of her and Papa at events they would host. A family friend reminded me that one of the first times she met me I was 11 or 12, and Papa asked me to introduce a politician who was visiting our house for a backyard BBQ fundraiser and I took the patio ‘stage,’ and she said it stayed with her because of how confidently and eloquently I was able to speak at that age. I was able to use my voice and this skill at a young age to help amplify the impact of my immigrant parents, and that skill now helps me advance the stories, impact, and causes that require our collective attention in the rooms I’m invited to. I feel so grateful that speaking about systems change, protecting our well-being, amplifying our resilience, and galvanizing collective social transformation is my work now. I am so grateful I get to do what I’m most called to each and everyday using the skills I love most. Fear of public speaking is said to impact upwards of 70% of the population. When overcome and harnessed, your ability to speak to crowds can elevate your impact and confidence in major ways! Let’s hang out, and help you do more of that. Check out my free thought leadership training (you know where), as a first step to getting there! Have any questions about public speaking or interviewing? Drop them below! Also, shout out to my incredible friends who always support me as I rumble with topics and seek to learn more — @prasran and @heatherkpage88 love you so much! Also to @drsarahsaska , @averyfrancis , and @gwadawac for speaking my name in rooms I’m not in! Thanks to Swift and @sibos (and the sponsors @publicisgroupe @visaca @amazonwebservices ) and @elevatetechca for having me! Also, I’d love to speak on your stage — reach out to work together! 📸: Fujifilm x100v

I interviewed Michelle Obama on Friday in front of 8,000 people and it was beyond anything I could have dreamed! Wow! The energy in the room, her willingness to ‘go there’ with me. The comfort we both felt, the joy, truth, vulnerability and power was unbelievable. I am so insanely grateful for that day and all the feels since! I’ve included a clip of the question that was most on my heart. That about grief, and her experience with close, massive loss. The biggest takeaway? “It’s about continuing to uphold a life that would make the people I lost feel proud.” Truth. So clear, so real, so powerful. As we hugged after the interview she said, ‘I could have gone on forever.’ I looked at her and said, ‘This is was I’m meant to do with my life.’ She looked at me and said, ‘Yes’. As we left the stage, she shared how much she enjoyed our conversation, and said, ‘I’m still processing what we talked through. That was wonderful.’ As she hugged my mom backstage she said, ‘Your daughter is on the rise’. Seeing the pride and joy on my parents’ faces is something I will hold dear in my heart for the rest of my life. We did it guys. We did it exceptionally well. Thank you to every single one of you who messaged, liked, sent love and prayers. To every one of my friends who held space for me and supported me this last while as this came to life. To @MichelleObama , her team, the OBT, and Christian who believed in me. I told them this would be the best event of the tour if they selected me, and I know it my heart it was. This is what happens when you listen to your self and go all in on what you know you’re destined to do and put in the work to get there. Love you all!! If you were there, or streaming online, tell me: what was your favourite part? Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone! Love you so much! THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED! Waiting on official photos, but wanted to share this today. More BTS coming and celebrations from after, and if you haven’t had a chance check out last week’s @lessonslearnedpodcast_ episode to hear how this happened, and stay tuned on Thursday for the recap episode. Love you guys!

@astro_christina shares about her iconic braid selfie and what it was like to learn the whole world was watching along with so much hope, possibility, and joy as they made it farther than humanity ever has — beyond the moon! What an incredible conversation, thank you to the @canadianspaceagency !

When (your best friend lives) in Rome! I disappeared for a while to lay on @juliekuras ’ couch, cuddle with G, let the awe of the beauty of Rome restore my brain, and see their life in Italy up close. Anytime we are together it feels like our time is one long conversation. We don’t know where we started, but there’s always something more to say or uncover together — that’s what’s the best part of knowing someone for 20-years. You kind of forget where one of you ends and the other begins. It’s rare to get to spend such uninterrupted time with your friends in your 30s, and I am so appreciative to have been able to, especially after a season of caregiving and hospitals and chronic stress. It’s nice to feel good again. There’s also nothing more humbling than walking around a city thousands of years old with layers of history reminding you of what humanity has endured, caused, and overcome. Perspective is powerful, and so helpful when in the thick of things. Thank you @zoestellashapiro for some absolutely incredible moments like Easter Lunch at the @romecavalieri (and meeting R&M) and the @maisonvalentino exhibit highlighting the incredible feminist, and intricate work of @joanavasconcelosatelier that took my breath away. And @romebyfiatandvespa for letting me scream sing Olivia Dean as we cruised the streets of this beautiful city. Here’s to allowing friendship, awe, and travel to restore your mind when facing difficulties, and letting those difficulties enable you to appreciate it all even more.

17 years. My aunt’s were telling me yesterday how much they love you because of how well you care for our family, and how well you care for me. In the last two weeks we went from resting to recover from a challenging few months on our infertility journey, to caretaking a loved one in the ICU, and now writing this as I look at you in the quiet of their hospital recovery room. There’s no better love than yours. I know I can persevere, rise, and keep going because you are with me every moment of every day. Happy anniversary, my love. I’m a few days late, but we were in the midst of facing life together. And I guess that’s the whole point. Love you in this lifetime and every single one to come.

It’s more men than you realize. If we extrapolate the 15% of Australian men statistic I mention, it would be 2 million men identifying these feelings towards children. We have to wake up and reckon with shining a light on how prevalent this *actually* is! Let the Epstein files be your wake up call, and keep shouting the truth as loud as you can. Our children need to be protected and survivors need to be believed and supported! Monsters will always find each other and protect each other. Study: https://www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/Identifying%20and%20understanding%20child%20sexual%20offending%20behaviour%20and%20attitudes%20among%20Australian%20men.pdf

2016: Made @zendaya laugh during our photoshoot for @oprah ’s Super Soul 100! Shut down a NYC block across from the Plaza to host our documentary premiere at the @paristheaternyc ! Moved to Brooklyn and got engaged to the love of my life! Diagnosed with and in remission from cancer! Premiered our film at the @obamawhitehouse ! Became a bridge while in NYC for friends to move to the city and start their own next chapters, and some of the best people I know walked into my life! Helped lead a movement that inspired women to start and grow their own businesses and begin their entrepreneurial journey (You can still watch our documentary Dream, Girl on YouTube! It’s as inspiring now as it was then!) 2016 is why a lot of you in this community are here, and I’m so grateful you are! Nostalgia stings sometimes, and there was a lot of bad then and a lot of bad now, but once in a while, it’s okay to just take in the good. ☀️

Journaling changed my life this year, and I finally got to host and be in community with other journalers in my living room. It was an incredible night — there was so much laughter, tears, connection, and serendipity. We all left lighter, and ready for more. This is your reminder to host and attend events and gatherings that matter to you! To bring people together to forge deeper connections. It’s how we survive — together, and with intention. If you’re interested in attending my journaling salon tour in early February, I’ll be visiting Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and New York City, comment or DM me the city you’d like to attend and I’ll add you to the list! If you’re in one of those cities and want to volunteer your living room or space to host us, let me know! Can’t wait to see you on the road! #journalingprompts #journalingcommunity #journalingjourney #journalwithme #journalinspo Do you journal?

36 🥰 The best part of hitting rock bottom is getting to rebuild yourself stronger than you’ve ever been. That’s what 35 was for me. I was cut open, sewn up, and compelled by life to cultivate a strength I didn’t know was possible. This year I chose myself. When you are alone on a road to recovery that only you can walk, an inner resolve and self-love can be cultivated that becomes an unshakeable foundation. On this journey I’ve been blessed with a community of friends who have chosen to support us through every single hurdle and obstacle that’s shown up, from infertility, to loss, this year has chiseled into my mind the power of love. Deep, reciprocated, and meaningful love. Thank you to my people for being there for us each and everyday. In the past I would diminish my own strength and resolve. But this year it is the thing I am most proud of. At 36, I understand the power of self-respect and love in helping us become who we are truly destined to be. Forged through turmoil not of my own choosing, what I did choose was to keep going. Every single time I picked myself up, and I am so proud of that. This year started in fear and facing a major unknown in trying to grow our family. A year later, and the unknown remains, but I feel a growing sense of joy and possibility in what can come next, whatever it looks like. This weekend, I brought some of our closest friends together for a lot of fun (assassins party plus a magician!!) and what transpired was one of the funnest nights of my life and the most important reminder: amid pain and suffering we can still call for and create joy!! In fact to survive it all, we must!! Joy is a salve. And I hope for so much more of it this year! It’s been the happiest birthday I’ve had, and I am so grateful to each of you for being here for the ride!

Someone not taking your advice isn't necessarily them not caring, or not listening -- it might just be that they need to see for themselves and learn to pick themselves back up. Even if the outcome is just as you told them it would be, if it's someone you love deeply, try your best to be a safe place they can land as they heal. Remind them it's possible, and be the blueprint you wish you had, and they'll be grateful for having. . . . #healingjourney #selfgrowth #emotionalintelligence #relationships #lifelessons

We can withhold the opportunity for others to love and pour into us as a form of self-sabotage. Doing so can reinforce the belief that we are alone, that we aren't loved, that we are on our own. This is an invitation to reach out. Let the ones you love know you need them, or know that you're around and want to connect. Be brave, and embrace the love that shows up, and hold yourself through when it might not. Continue to support yourself to keep finding the strength to try. We all deserve to feel loved! I hope what I shared at the end helped you feel some of that today <3 #selfsabotage #selflovejourney #emotionalhealing #lettinglovein #mentalhealthawareness