I’ve heard it so many times. “Oh you’re just in your head too much.” Well, where else am I supposed to be? So much of what we do and so much of where is are is right is right there, in our heads. The most dialogue taking place in every persons world is internally with themselves. So it makes sense to be mindful of that conversation. Over the years I have convinced myself so many times that I’m not good enough, that will be stupid, no one will like that, insert any self sabotaging statement right here. Skool is going to be the place where that stops and the conversation shifts to you are good enough, that is brilliant and valuable, and someone is going to benefit from your thoughts and authenticity. It’s important to be in your head but it’s equally important to craft how that conversation goes. We didn’t get just wake up being good at self sabotage. We practiced it. The same is true for being your own cheerleader. It must be practiced and honed as a skill. Then, we can be a truly effective cheerleader for others. My goal is that this community can be a space for us to all be better in our practice of self love, self care amd self talk.

Expanding on failure… I heard a gentleman speak on failure this week and what resonated most was his idea that there is no such thing as failure, only the journey exits. I liken it to taking the wrong exit when driving. Even when you find yourself lost and GPS is glitching, as long as you DON’T QUIT, and you are focused on the destination, you’ll find your way back to the intended route. My father died 16 years ago. He was a football coach and teacher for 50 years and the last thing I got from him was a small, brass football key chain with “Don’t Quit” etched into the back of it. I don’t know what it was for him but I’m becoming more aware and more clear of what it is for me. I hope you all find your key chain!

I fail a lot. Grief sneaks in behind my gratitude and steals my thanks. Anger sucker punches my empathy and wrecks what I’m building. Jealousy pushes on the bruises of my past and delays healing. I race to the nearest point of comfort which is usually junk food and suddenly I feel as though I’ve slid back to the bottom of the ladder, just when the last rung was a step away. It’s ok. You don’t have to feel good about, but you do have to feel it. Allow yourself to recognize the failure instead of masking it with any assortment of cover-up. Then, you learn and each subsequent failure doesn’t bottom you out. Through our recognition and through our accountability to learning, we are always redeemed. Let it be!

Be aware of yourself. Sometimes the anxiety you feel is that of others energy. This doesn’t make you flawed, this makes you incredibly empathetic. Something our world lacks greatly. We often confuse our own excitement for anxiety, so find that same empathy for yourself and know that it’s ok to feel these things. Being uncomfortable isn’t a bad thing, it’s where learning and self realization take place. It’s called Being Alive! Feel it!

Trying and failing should be celebrated! So often we look back on our lives and our choices and are hit with the thought, “I regret doing that.” But even more often we slide into the head space of, “I wish I would have done that.” Trying something new or even refining something old that doesn’t quite serve you can be some of life’s greatest adventures. The only true failure that exists is failing to try or quitting before you’ve allowed your self to learn. Accepting or resisting are baseline of growing or not growing. Even a beautiful flower starts as a seed in the dirt. Allow yourself enough grace to try, try again, fail and fail again. Eventually, you will bloom!