Tend to Your Garden

A little something you should know about me is that I honestly HATE the heat. Needless to say, summer is my least favorite time of the year to do any kind of yard work. Just last spring, I pulled up several shrubs and replaced them with some lavender plants and three new azalea bushes. So, I’ve been giving my garden a little extra love every week to make sure everything grows well.

Week after week, I spend my Saturday mornings hunting weeds with more determination than my 15-year-old son during a Call of Duty match after being killed by the same player two times in a row.

Just this past weekend, I had sweat rolling into my eyes and dirt finding every opening it could on my hands as I grabbed and pulled each cluster, knowing that next week, there will be two more for every one I pull.

And as I pulled each stubborn root, I realized: our minds are not all that different from a garden.

We can plant whatever we want, joy, hope, courage, self-belief, but without tending to it, without care, our inner garden becomes vulnerable. And just like weeds, negative thoughts and limiting beliefs have a way of sneaking in, uninvited.

Weeds vs. Seeds

While there are some exceptions (I’m looking at you, mint), most people don’t intentionally plant weeds in their garden. They blow in on the wind, carried from somewhere else. They don’t belong, yet there they are.

Negative thoughts work the same way. They come from old experiences, comparisons, or even voices we’ve picked up from other people.

At first, these thoughts might seem small and harmless:

• “I could never be that good.”

• “I wish I was smart/pretty/strong like them.”

But left unchecked, they root in deep. And the longer they stay, the harder they are to pull out. They start to suffocate the good things we’ve planted, our confidence, our creativity, our dreams.

That’s why we can’t ignore them. We have to notice them early and pull them out before they spread.

The Work of Tending

Here’s the truth: every garden takes work. And so does every mind.

Tending to our thoughts doesn’t mean pretending negativity doesn’t exist. It means being aware enough to recognize when a weed shows up, and being intentional enough to replace it with something better.

When you catch yourself thinking, “I’ll never be capable,” you don’t have to suddenly swing to “I’m unstoppable.” That leap tends to feel fake, and your mind rejects it.

Instead, start with: “I’m becoming capable.” Or even, “I may not feel strong right now, but I can grow stronger.”

That shift creates space for new roots—healthy ones. With time, those roots grow deeper than the weeds ever could.

A Garden Worth Walking Through

Imagine walking through a garden filled with vibrant colors, sweet fragrances, and carefully nurtured growth. That garden didn’t happen by accident. Someone cared for it. Someone pulled weeds, watered it, and gave it light.

Your mind deserves the same care. The beliefs and thoughts you allow to grow will shape the way you live. When you choose to tend to them, removing what doesn’t serve you and planting what does, you create a life that feels intentional, peaceful, and alive.

So, the next time a limiting belief shows up, think of it like a weed. You don’t have to keep it. Pull it out, plant something better, and tend to your inner garden.

Because the life you want grows from the seeds you choose to plant—and the weeds you choose not to let stay.