Strength in Continuing to Show Up ~ February 2024

Good morning and happy first Monday in February!

Most months feel like they fly by- anyone else feel like January just crawled?! It was like January 26th or something and I was like, "It's still January?!" Christmas feels like 4 months ago, ha! In no way am I complaining; I honestly really love when time slows down. I spent some time journaling about this and talking about it with friends, and we dove deeper into how getting older typically means learning less. And how time seems to slip through our fingers when we're not learning new things and taking on new hobbies and tasks, or failing at things. There is such a growth opportunity when we fail- yes in the failure itself, but even more so in the rising from it. There is strength in showing up. Over and over and over again.

Self-confidence is both an attitude and a skill. And while the whole “nature vs. nurture” topic will always be greatly debated, I think it's important to remember that as human beings we are also incredibly pliable and flexible in terms of how we can alter pathways in our brain. We have this amazing ability to acquire new skills, ways of thinking and routines! And the key is consistency. Just showing up- over and over again.

When considering self-confidence, and when I look at my own experiences and struggles over the years, I have learned (& continue to learn every day!) that so much of trusting in our own abilities comes from showing up for ourselves even when we don't feel like it. Even when it would be so much easier to slip back into that pattern of self-doubt instead of self-belief. Even when it's challenging and especially when it's a little bit scary. Most of the time, the goals and experiences that both excite us and terrify us are usually the ones worth going for. 

At the same time, we of course have to weigh the risks versus the rewards in certain situations.  After all, the words "calculated risk" do come out of my mouth weekly lol. My point is that we are far more capable than we think we are and while fear exists for a reason, a healthy emotion that serves to help keep us safe,  playing it too safe can often lead to feelings of fragility, stagnancy, and like we're damn near trapped. Like the world is out to get us kind of thing...We are inherently strong, durable, resilient, and adaptable beings. We sure as hell aren't made of glass. And sometimes falling, flailing, failing, and then picking ourselves back up again, is the best way to learn as well as to build trust in one's self (self-confidence). It doesn't really matter how we show up, it just matters that we do. Because each & every time we show up we learn something new. Time slows down. We gain experience, insight, perspective and while there will often be many obstacles in our path of showing up, each time we show up we choose to overcome those obstacles (excuses, fear, self-doubt, limiting beliefs, etc). Additionally, we strengthen this ability to trust ourselves a little bit more. That's huge!

I love to think of it this way- we have already made it through 100% of our bad days up until this very moment. 100%! It may not have been pretty but we're here and that percentage is pretty damn good. Not only that, but all the wisdom we have gained along the journey so far! So why would we ever even doubt our ability to make it through any other challenges, set backs, or uncomfortable moments that are sent our way? No time for that. We are oftentimes our own biggest barrier. How can we turn that into strength? We are capable. We are worthy.