We recently connected with Anthony Bennetts and have shared our conversation below.
Anthony, we are so deeply grateful to you for opening up about your journey with mental health in the hops that it can help someone who might be going through something similar. Can you talk to us about your mental health journey and how you overcame or persisted despite any issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
Great question, how I have overcame/persisted the many challenges related to my mental health is by realizing life is meaningless and nothing matters. And I don’t mean to just give up, but there is so much beauty in that. You realize you can create the life you truly want and is aligned to your higher-self. I have gotten close to ended my life a few times, but I knew I couldn’t do it because I knew I was put on earth for a reason.
What also helps me personally, is going to therapy and diving deep into spirituality. Eating healthier and exercising are great tools to help also.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a groundskeeper, one of 2, with Avalon Housing. Avalon Housing is a non-profit organization that provides housing for the homeless and the low-income residents in the area. Avalon has 29 properties throughout Washtenaw County, Michigan. Most of the properties are in Ann Arbor. We house 800 people from families, to single adults and young adults, to vets. We work with countless of other organizations in the county. What I love about working for Avalon Housing is being able to give our residents a sense of “paradise” by keeping up the properties from trash and hauling furniture away, planting and maintaining garden beds, even connecting them to the proper people within the organization. I love talking to my residents and getting to know them. I love when the kids help me out during the summer. Quite a few of my pics have been taking at some of Avalon Housing properties.
I am working on a few photo projects, but I don’t want to talk about those until I get them completed. No hints from me lol.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The top three qualities/skills/knowledge for me would have to be:
1)Being observant of my surroundings.
2)Pushing myself outside my comfort zone
3)Being curious
The advice I would give is to be in the present moment, be curious, push yourself outside your comfort zone, be observant to everything, be inspired be everything and everyone. Always take photos, that will always be your way of practicing to get better.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
You should always focus on your strengths, but also focus on your other downfalls. You should be as well rounded as possible. Don’t focus too much on your weaknesses, because there is potential of one losing their strengths. Your weaknesses will grow from within your strengths. And if you are focused on too many things, then you really can’t show up fully for your strengths. It is much easier to focus on a few things and give all your best, then to spread yourself thin.
I have a habit of spreading myself thin or just focusing on my weaknesses. I have realized and understood that when I focus on my strengths, I am able to focus on my weaknesses. Everything always falls into place.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://anthonybennetts.smugmug.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyjames_734?igsh=dGRqenZtd3docjVw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085626709800&mibextid=ZbWKwL
