Matt's Audio Letter of the Week

Hey, everyone.

Welcome to this week’s Feel Better Letter. This is Matt.

I want to begin by saying I know it’s been a heavy week. My heart’s been hurting, and I’ve felt a lot of emotion with the assassination that took place. I just want to start by normalizing whatever you’re feeling.

It’s important to give yourself the space to really feel through it.

Sometimes when it comes to feeling better in life, it simply means allowing ourselves to better feel what we’re actually feeling. And in weeks like this — days like today — it’s not a time for bypassing, minimizing, or channeling into something external. It’s a time to let yourself feel how you feel.

So I wanted to start there this week. For those of you who are saddened, heartbroken, and grieving — like I am — I’m right there with you. As you continue to feel through it, things will get better with time.

On that note, when it comes to our mental and emotional well-being, I read a quote this week that really resonated with me. It reminded me why we have such an amazing team at Restored Minds and why I’m so grateful for the people I get to work with each week.

It’s because we operate from lived experience, not theory. We come from a place of: we’ve been there.

The quote said something like:
“Experience is the hardest teacher because it gives you the test first and the lesson after.”

Most people go through life the opposite way — you’re taught the lesson first and then you take a test to prove you’ve learned it. But experience doesn’t work like that.

When you’re experiencing something like OCD and anxiety, the test gets put in front of you first. The challenges, the intrusive thoughts, the anxiety, the panic — all of that comes before you know what to do. And going through that experience is what actually teaches you. You learn what works, what doesn’t, and you embody the lesson in a way that you never could if someone just handed you information.

Recovery is about embodiment, not just knowledge.

One thing I see often is when things get hard, people run to more learning. They convince themselves that if they just keep studying, researching, or searching for that one piece of information out there, that will be the key. But it won’t.

There’s nothing outside of you that’s going to change you.

Even if you’re given the best framework, skills, or analogies, they won’t create transformation unless you take them in, implement them, and truly embody them. Otherwise, it’s just information.

Think of it like this: if someone told you to buy Bitcoin back when it was fractions of a penny in 2013, and you didn’t do it, you only had information — not transformation.

It’s the same with OCD and anxiety. There’s a lot on the line. It makes for heavy, difficult days. The real test is when you’re feeling down and overwhelmed — can you get up and actually implement and embody what you need to do in that moment? Because that’s what creates transformation. That’s what solidifies the lesson.

At Restored Minds, every coach and every member of our team has lived experience. That’s what makes our community different. Many people struggle to find help because they work with providers who only operate from theory, degrees, or textbooks. Without lived experience, it’s just ideas.

And that’s why sometimes you feel like someone doesn’t really get you, or why you’re not making the progress you want — because the element of lived experience is missing.

But lived experience is the greatest teacher.

So, with that, I just want to send lots of love to everyone today. Wishing you all a great weekend, and I hope this message served you and encouraged you.

Looking forward to talking with you next week.

-Matt