Bend But Don't Break

Recently, I found myself faced with an uncomfortable decision. It was a decision that, no matter what I chose to do, was going to force me to reevaluate my approach to daily living. It was a situation so perplexing in its suddenness that it caused me to question both my strength and my character as a woman.

As I tussled with the prospect of losing this small, yet seminal, amount of control that I had become accustomed to having in my life, I discovered something very important about myself—I'm still growing as both a physical and emotional being.

I had begun to pride myself on being able to be both honest and real where matters of life were concerned and I no longer thought I was capable of such immature regressions because I understood, theoretically, the ramifications of each decision I made and each conflict I was presented with resolving. I had convinced myself that having knowledge about the outcome made me immune to reacting to anything in a rash manner.

I was wrong.

Here's a clue for all of you who, like me, have bought into the notion that your mental state is at-ease and completely mature: it isn't and you're not.

There are challenges awaiting each of us in this world and those challenges are meant to act as  reminders of not only how far you have to go, but of how much you've truly learned about your strength and integrity.

You cannot prepare for everything. Life is not predictable and your emotional self is not always prepared to handle everything that comes its way. You are meant to respond and act spontaneously, sometimes without warning or rationality, and that's okay.

Go with it.

The crime there is never in being true to your feeling, but rather in not recognizing the experience as an opportunity for growth and recognition of both where you are and where you someday want to be.

Related articles

• Job One is Learning to Live (eliseonlife.wordpress.com)
• strength: a personal account (thereaction.wordpress.com)
• Equip yourself for the battles of life. (howtotrulylive.com)

What's Your Dream?

Your dreams are your dreams. No one should judge them and tell you that they're too big, too small, too outrageous, or too silly. Your dreams are your dreams and you should do whatever you can to make them happen.

See, the problem with us—I include myself in that equation—is we spend far too much time trying to figure out if our dreams are worth having or even possible. In fact, we spend so much time doing it that we, eventually, feel it's better to let them go rather than pursue them and that's when the excuses set in.

You know the excuses, right? Here's a couple of good ones for you: "they were never going to happen anyway" and "I don't have time to do the things I want anymore because of x, y, or z". Life gets in the way of what we want and time shortens the possibilities for ever seeing them come to fruition.

Well, here's the question: who's in charge of your life and your time?

That's a question you need to answer and, once you do—if you do—then you should come back and revisit why it is your dreams aren't able to find a place in your life.

We all have responsibilities, and we all have things that will, temporarily, knock us off our path, but those things should not become the things that keep us from remembering that we have dreams and that those dreams are worth keeping alive—if for no other reason than to keep us living, loving, and moving forward.

Day 25: Find Your Fight...

Most people are content to admit that they are defeated. Believe it or not, it's easier to give up than it is to say, "you know what, no matter what happens here, I'm all-in ". No we, as human beings, feel the easier way is to disappear and accept that we are not strong enough to win.

In truth, there is fight in all of us.

While some of us may not know our strengths yet, we do understand our weaknesses well enough to not leave them exposed. We know where our deepest fears lay, and it is that understanding that keeps us from putting ourselves out there to rise up against the challenges and conflicts that life sets in our path.

That said, it's important to realize that inaction is as dangerous as action.

If you allow yourself to fall prey to circumstance, you will never break free from the negativity or the misery that surrounds you. It's important that you always remember that you have the option of fighting—always.

Never allow the fears fed to you by self-doubt keep you from making progress. Find that lion inside your heart and make it roar. Make it roar loud enough that everyone can hear you—show this world just how strong you truly are.