As many people know, we use the metaphor of a balloon: the mount of air in your balloon represents your mental wellbeing. As a charity we aim to help young people to know how to inflate their balloons but to ensure that there is the right balance of having a big heart of compassion rather than a big head of – ‘I am better than everyone else’. People often ask me if a young person’s balloon might ever be over-inflated. I believe that our balloons are oscillating at all times between being inflated and deflated. At times they can be highly inflated but I don’t believe that this is ever a problem as long as the inflated balloon also represents an inflated ‘heart.’ With an inflated balloon we can reach out and make the world a better place by investing in other people a sense of I ‘Can & I Am’.
Put simply, we are in the business of helping people to develop a big heart and are certainly not in the game of developing big heads! A big head often leads to an over inflated ego which doesn’t help the world become a richer and better place. For those blessed with a full balloon, use it to help those that need a bit of balloon inflation.