Reclaim your missteps as uncomfortable steps in the right direction.

You know that voice in your head, the mean one that is super quick to remind you that you probably don’t have what it takes to get there?  There being wherever it is your heart wants to take you.  I know that voice very very well. It’s often louder and more persistent then my braver more confident one.  When it gets really loud I quiet everything down and it seems to settle. If I’m not championing myself and climbing the wall then nothing is grabbing at my feet. 

I’m starting to realize though that every time I avoid the vulnerability hangover or the uncomfortable feelings that happen when I step out of my comfort zone, I am also avoiding my life.  Sometimes that feels good to stop everything, to hold my breath and stand in place, to disappear for just a moment. And sometimes, it really really doesn’t.  I feel like that disapproving character, that voice, has a motion detector and when I start moving it wakes up. It wakes up and goes to work.  

To help me overcome this however, I've committed to growth and forward motion over getting it right every time. This allows me to see every misstep I’ve ever taken as merely an uncomfortable step in the right direction.  

The discomfort or the outcome doesn't mean I've miss stepped, it simply means that I'm moving forward. I've learned that you could be moving forward in the worst possible way and still be going in a good direction. I know this to be true for me because I've gotten it wrong so many times. And yet, step by step I have learned more and more, adjusted and learned even still. Even though I was moving forward arguably in not the best of ways, it was still forward motion. I increased my understanding of myself, of the world, of what I wanted and didn't want.

In spite of myself and my limits, I grew.

Even though it feels better to hide, to hold back, to let fear keep us stuck, staying in place doesn't serve us in the long run. The truth is we all have potential worth fighting for, we all have something of value to bring to the table.  Sometimes what we bring is a shared experience from either joy or pain or both.  Sometimes it’s a new perspective, compassion, knowledge, expertise, kindness, vulnerability, a listening ear, food, humility or encouragement. 

Maybe our bravery through hardship will make someone else feel less alone or remind them of what is possible for them. That even through failure, growth is possible. 

My prayer for us all is that we can forgive ourselves for the times we got it wrong and be quick to forgive others for reaching their limits too.

That we are able to release what no longer serves us and grab hold of what builds us up.

Cheering you on as you take whatever kind of step it is you need to take today, as ever fast or slight as you can muster. Your bravery is limitless and forward is always better. 

Your future is so bright and you are worth every effort,

Keep going!

And if you need some support,

I'll be here, forever in your corner,

Jenny Xx