In todays conversation, we discussed a lighthouse - and choosing your hard. The lighthouse stays where it belongs. It leaves the light on, provides direction, withstands storms. It does not leave the shore every time someone gets in rough water. Am I willing to do hard things? Yes, you already know you are willing and CAN DO hard things. The question then becomes: Is this hard thing mine to do?? Is it hard because I'm growing, because I'm avoiding something else I need to do, or because I'm trying to steer someone else's ship? There are 2 kinds of hard: Showing Up Having the conversation Making the change Keeping the promise you made yourself Doing the scary thing and there is: Fixing everybody Absorbing their problems Staying in situations that drown you Rescuing people who aren't navigating their own ship. When we step in and provide solutions - what happens if our solutions don't work? Then we become someone who can be blamed. Period. It's our job to guide, suggest, and LET THEM. Most of the big learning came from going through it ourselves, and learning the lessons along the way. It's invaluable to find your own way through the hard. This will guide you to growing into the person you're supposed to be. Today's conversation was insightful, and hopefully the lighthouse will remind you to stand strong, be a guidepost for direction, and support if needed. See you all next week. ❤️

This was passed on to me and it suits or latest conversations.

"We don't just survive our worst moments, we liberate ourselves from them, rise above them, and transform them into hope for someone else. We break our silence, we tell our stories. And in doing so, we give others permission to tell theirs. Not perfectly, not because we are fully healed but because we are finally being honest." - Lauren Fey - Blurred Lines. (Lauren Fey is my life coach, I've known her for a few years and she's brought a deep perspective to my life, as I navigate how it's unfolding. In her book Blurred Lines, she discusses her own journey through sobriety and finding herself.)

Today we discussed how staying young doesn't have anything to do with our hair color or wrinkles. Have you met someone in their 70's or 80's who is full of energy and loves being alive? It's not because they are young looking, but more because they are interested. Asking questions, laughing, trying new things...just staying curious about the world and others around them. Answer this question: "I've always wondered what it would be like to....?" And then answer: "What steals our curiosity?" Group members said, be curious by not being attached to the outcome but just doing the thing. Holding an atmosphere of curiosity. (Making space for it) Layers of joy (Childhood vs Adult.....aka Disneyland vs Peaceful cup of morning coffee) Do we need permission? Do we give ourselves permission? We stay young when we still have things to discover. As long as we are still curious, life has something to teach us. Have a good week, my friends.

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." - Viktor Frankl Life is full of stimuli, things we didn't ask for and often can't control. But what separates a reactive life from an intentional life is the space between what happens to us, and how we choose to respond. That space is where our character is built.