I’ve always been open about my struggles, and today is no different. One of the things I’m struggling with right now is the fact that my first born just turned 18.
That might not seem like a big deal, but true to my nature as a woman, it can only mean one thing - I’m looking back on his childhood thinking of every. single. way. I screwed up. I have literally cried buckets over this.
(Side note: Why do we do that? Why do we tend to overlook the 98 things we did right in any situation, and fixate on the 2 things we got wrong?)
But I digress…
Here’s the thing – Yes, this is yet another life challenge, but it is also a huge moment for growth and self-discovery.
You see, as painful as our struggles can be, they are also the gateway to the most profound growth we will ever experience.
Most of us understand this on a physical level: To build stronger muscles they must first be pushed to the point of near failure in order to build themselves back stronger than before.
In life as in running - It’s that moment when we feel like we can’t go any further, that we have a choice. We can stop and return to the way things have always been… or continue putting one foot in front of the other until we make our way to the other side.
Sometimes we don’t feel ready to push through, and that’s fine.
One thing I've noticed for certain is that we’ll have many opportunities to learn what we need to learn. Yep, that same darn issue will recur over and over in one form or another until we feel strong enough to finally tackle it.
At first glance this seems like a cruel joke – the same problem keeps popping up in our lives.
But considered a different way, we can actually see it as a gift – a lesson we are meant to learn, and we are given many opportunities to try and try again. “Do-overs” allowing us as many chances as we need to get to the gifts on the other side of the struggle.
For me that struggle is a lifelong one - forgiving myself for not being "perfect," and right now that lesson is appearing as mom-guilt.
See, there is no "failure" as long as we keep putting one foot in front of the other. We may bump up against that specific challenge a hundred times and feel defeated by it every time.
But just like during a challenging run when we're really struggling, there will come a day when we’re finally able to FEEL our true strength and push through to the treasure on the other side of the discomfort.
And perhaps the most precious part of that treasure is the discovery that we have always been more powerful than we thought.
One foot in front of the other…
Xx Jen
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