“The things you learn are so important. You can lose your house to a hurricane or lose your job during a corporate restructuring, but what you learn can never be taken from you.”

When someone said this recently, I was surprised by how sad I felt.

I understand what this person was trying to say. She values education and learning experiences. I do too.

But it’s not true that what you learn can never be taken from you.

Many times, I’ve heard Brooke Castillo say similar things on her podcast. She talks about how her mind is her most precious asset – which is why she has invested so much in courses, therapy, and coaching.

She often says that if somehow she lost her successful business, penthouses, and wealth, she would be just fine because she has learned how to create these things (with her mind) and she could build it all again – with the one thing she’ll always have (her mind).

Anyone who has ever seen a loved one struggle with dementia knows all too well that your mind can be lost.

It actually IS possible to lose everything you’ve learned…

which is why I think that having so much faith in ourselves is problematic.

No one has a guarantee that they will always have a fully functioning mind or body.  In fact, the only guarantee we actually have is that, if we live long enough, eventually our bodies and minds will deteriorate until we die.

To me, it’s not at all reassuring to place my faith in myself and my own mind.

I would much rather place my faith in God, the one being who never changes.

What if your mind isn’t your most precious asset after all?

Your soul – the one part of you that will live on when your mind and body are gone – is the most important part of you.

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

-2 Corinthians 5:1