In a recent coaching session with a client I shared, “your brain is like luxury real estate, stop decorating it with cheap thoughts.”
If you owned a penthouse on Fifth Avenue or a beachfront estate in the Hamptons, would you let just anyone walk in and redecorate? Nope.
Would you allow squatters to set up camp in your living room? Of course not!
You’d be selective about who gets access, you’d maintain the property impeccably, and you’d protect your investment at all costs.
Yet when it comes to our minds—the most valuable real estate we’ll ever own—we hand out keys like we’re running a youth hostel.
Consider these five strategies to protect your mental investment:
1. Curate Your Inputs Like a Luxury Concierge
Just as luxury hotels carefully select every piece of art, every scent, every experience their guests encounter, choose to be intentional about what enters your mental space. That doom-scrolling session before bed? That’s like letting graffiti artists vandalize your penthouse. Choose your media consumption, podcasts, and even conversations with the same discernment you’d use when selecting a vintage wine for your cellar. This has been something I am pedantic about (and yep I am often uninformed, I am not always aware of what everyone is posting about their lives, and I have learned to be ok with that). My executive strategy work with CEOs requires me to use my brain, so I protect it as much as I am able.
2. Install Premium Security (Boundaries)
Luxury properties have world-class security systems—not to keep people out, but to ensure only the people they want to get in get in at the right time. Your brain needs the same protection. This means saying no to meetings that don’t serve your goals, declining invitations that drain your energy, and being ruthlessly selective about who gets your mental bandwidth and attention. You’ve heard me say many times, “everyone wants your attention, not everyone deserves your attention.” Side note, sometimes your boundaries don’t make sense to other people, and that’s OK. Focus on what you want and need to control. One of my brilliant friends needs silence when facing challenging situations, I prefer to talk things out—knowing each other’s boundaries is essential for the relationship.
3. Practice Daily Gratitude Like You’re Documenting Your Collection
I recently read through a year’s worth of my daily gratitude journal entries, and you know what I discovered? I’d been cycling through the same concerns and struggles every few weeks! It was like watching a mental sitcom rerun. That’s when I realized gratitude isn’t just feel-good fluff—it’s a premium maintenance plan for your brain. I was a little embarrassed for myself, and then I realized it was a data point I can now use and choose to take more significant action. That felt liberating (in a weird way).
When luxury collectors document their acquisitions, they’re not just keeping records; they’re celebrating value and appreciating what they have. Daily gratitude does the same for your mental portfolio. It shifts your focus from what’s missing to what’s magnificent.
4. Evict Rent-Free Tenants Immediately
You know those people (and their opinions) who live rent-free in your head? The difficult client who criticized your presentation three months ago, the colleague who got the promotion you wanted, the family member who still treats you like you’re twelve? Time for an eviction notice!
In luxury real estate, every square foot generates value. If someone’s taking up mental space without contributing to your growth, success, or happiness, they need to go. It’s time to set them free! This doesn’t mean cutting people out of your life (although if that is open to you it can also be valuable)—it means refusing to give them unlimited access to your headspace.
5. Schedule Regular Property Inspections (Self-Reflection)
Luxury property owners conduct regular inspections to ensure everything is functioning optimally. Your brain deserves the same attention. Schedule weekly check-ins with yourself: What thoughts are serving you? What mental habits need updating? What emotional clutter needs clearing?
I love Michael Bungay Stainer’s Daily Journal, Do Something That Matters, because it allows you to focus on a goal for a period of time, answer strategic questions on a daily basis, and also do a weekly review—highly recommend! How do you protect your mental investment? I’d love to know!
