In May 2018 I had the privilege to attend Tony Robbins’ Date with Destiny event in Cairns, Australia. In its 30th year, this is Tony’s favorite event — six 12+hour days diving deep into personal growth and transformation. This event only occurs twice a year, once in Australia and once in Florida. The Florida event was filmed a couple of years ago and became the basis for the Netflix documentary I Am Not Your Guru.
I had attended another event, Unleash the Power Within (UPW) in Sydney in 2016 so had some idea of what these events entail but I wasn’t sure what to expect from Date with Destiny specifically. I knew there would be a serious look at my behaviors and patterns. I knew I would be examining my fears and negative beliefs. I expected I would discover some uncomfortable truths and probably shed some tears. Overall, I thought it would be confrontational and hard work.
What I had not anticipated was to have an absolute blast! It was the most positive, encouraging and upbeat experience of my entire life, hands down. Sure, there were some serious parts but overall it was incredibly heartening.
Here are three uplifting takeaways from Tony Robbins’ Date with Destiny…
1) You CAN Train Your Mind
I knew that Tony jumped in a freezing cold plunge pool or had a cold bath or shower for a few minutes each day. It sounds like torture to me, but apparently the practice has many health benefits.
What I didn’t know is that every single day he has to tell his body to do something his mind doesn’t want it to do. Every. Single. Day. I assumed it was something he found easy to do, a healthy habit that he didn’t have to think about. But no. Every day, he performs an extreme ritual to remind himself to be in charge of his mind.
Think about how uplifting that is for a moment.
If the world’s top personal development master still has to tell his mind to do something it doesn’t want to do on a daily basis, then every one of us mere mortals has the ongoing opportunity to train our minds too. We all can override our fears and doubts and ‘jump’ to do the sometimes uncomfortable things to improve, attain goals, and reach our potential.
2) You CAN Decide to Live Joyfully
Tony said he used to hate golf but now he loves it because he made up his own rules and now goes out just to smash the ball around and have fun with his close friends. He made up his own rules to bring about joy.
Think about how uplifting that is for a moment.
Tony talks a lot, both online and in his events, about living in a ‘beautiful state’ — trying to live in a state that expresses at least one of: love, joy, gratitude, awe, playfulness, ease, creativity, drive, caring, growth, curiosity or appreciation. Of course, we can’t all be in a beautiful state at all times, but all of us spend far too much time in what he describes as a ‘suffering state’ — stressed out, worried, frustrated, angry, depressed, irritable, overwhelmed, resentful or fearful. We think feeling busy and stressed, instead of joyful, is normal.
Date with Destiny allowed me to realize that it is not only okay, but actually a reflection of my best self to have fun and express joy. Being joyful, I will give more, have more energy and feel fully alive. The next time I am not enjoying something I am going to ask — how can I do this thing so I am having fun or gaining joy?
3) You CAN Still Have Hope for Humanity
Even though the days at Date were Destiny were very long — sometimes we didn’t finish until past 2am — I felt energized. Even though I was surrounded by thousands of strangers, I felt there was a powerful connection among the participants.
Think about how uplifting that is for a moment.
There were 2,000 people from 40 different countries in one room and the love and energy was phenomenal, like nothing I have ever experienced before. It gave me hope for humanity. And if that is not uplifting, nothing is.
Not For Everyone
Date with Destiny was uplifting as it showed me I have the ability to train my mind, I can decide to live in a joyful state and it gave me renewed hope for humanity.
However, it is not for everyone. If you want to play full out, rediscover the core essence of your own greatness and experience love and energy on a massive scale it’s for you. If you aren’t open to getting in touch with how you are meant to show up in the world and working out what is holding you back, it is not. It is a huge week of laughter and tears so if you are ready to really FEEL — maybe for the first time ever — then book your spot today.
Originally published at julieschooler.com on August 29, 2018.
