Begin Again

I am sure you have heard nothing will change if nothing changes. It is funny how we know this, but still do this same thing every single day. Tomorrow I will, Monday I will. Man, the courage to start is hard. Why? Because we don't want to fail like we have so many times before. The question is why are we so conditioned to think failing is bad? Failing is never bad, it is our reaction to failing. For those of you who have kids you will understand when I describe the following scenario - Henry didn't win his first ever tennis tournament, and he was upset. Just like that I am a motivational speaker - Henry you have to practice, this is your first try, we have to learn, I am so proud of you for being brave. Reverse. I fail at something. The chatter in my head is get yourself together. You are not weak. Why would I even tell myself failing is weak? Well, somewhere along the way I practiced time and time again negative self-talk. You are what you practice. If you constantly tell yourself you are unhappy, you are going to fail, etc...You probably will.

I have a much more loving conversation with myself than I once did, but I have to practice that. When I tell people being positive isn't always easy for me they seem surprised. Every single day you choose. For me, I know there is always going to be stress, there is always going to be food that tempts me, there is always going to be unexpected challenges. As much as I want to plan the week, the month, the year, I can only control the now. One day at a time. What am I going to do with this moment? For today, I choose peace and gratitude regardless of what comes my way. 

I want to close with this - if you are struggling you are not alone. When you come to social media and only see someone else's highlight reel that is not always the full picture. You are enough as you are today, and the world needs your light. You are such a gift.