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Category: Inspiration

Your pain will contribute to a better tomorrow

When you’re thick in the middle of heartbreak or despair, it seems ludicrous to even remotely consider the possibility of a better tomorrow, or to think of happiness, or to acknowledge some divine plan. In dark, heavy hours, it can feel momentous to simply get through the day.

Yet these trying hours are the ones that will lead you to happiness. When you have nothing and when you question everything — these are precious gifts that can bring you closer to your authentic self and how you are meant to function in this world. Desperation and dejection can become your greatest teachers.

Sit tight. One day, you’ll be able to look back and be grateful. Things will get better. Until then, be gentle with yourself.

Ask yourself tough questions daily

The questions you ask yourself dictate your experiences. Often the most uncomfortable questions are the ones you most need to answer, and the issues that cause some emotional reaction are the ones you need to consider. Shying away from tough subjects creates boundaries between you and life’s rich complexities.

Am I where I want to be? Am I who I want to be?
Are my closest relationships fulfilling and supportive?
When I wake up in the mornings, am I excited to start the day?
Do I pause to appreciate what is good in my life?
How have I changed over the past year? Am I heading in a direction I am proud of?
Are my decisions fully representative of me, my values, and my goals?
What do I worry most about?
What am I most proud of?
Who has helped me get where I am today?

Find time to answer; your answers could change your tomorrow.

When you’ve been hurt

Your heart is broken. Maybe for the first time, maybe for the fifth. You have two choices now.

You can allow pain and anger to seep through your being and go about shielding yourself from any scenario that might cause these feelings again. This will undoubtedly result in limited encounters with the world, stifled relationships, and a blunted emotional experience.

OR

You can look for the lessons. You can dive into the pain and see if you can find greater understanding, more peace, more authenticity, and more focus than ever before. Instead of running, you can sit with the experience and breathe into it, knowing that eventually, slowly, it will pass. That in time small ripples of joy will wash healing currents through your life.

Past failures and disappointments only dictate your future if you let them. Seek out daily moments of magic and wonder. Flashes of lightening in a night sky. The impish smirk of a young child. The rustle of leaves at dusk. Kindness between strangers.

This is how you go on.

Your time directs your focus

The way in which you spend your time narrows your focus. What you think about, the choices you make, the schedule you follow — all of these daily decisions add up to who you are today.
Have you asked yourself who you’d like to be?
It is worth finding quiet space and taking time to answer this question honestly and searchingly. The answer might require some hard moves, perhaps major adjustments, but you owe it to yourself to ask: Is the path I am on the right one for me?
Your life depends on it, and the world benefits when you are your truest self.

“Good enough.”

Every hour you are faced with choices that force you to evaluate and re-evaluate your priorities. Often you have to say no to others, disappointing them and maybe even yourself.
How do you judge yourself when you take on different roles? Is your inner voice harsh or condescending?
Your perspective is more than likely more critical than of those around you. What would you say to a friend taking on your same sets of responsibilities and challenges?
You don’t always have to knock it out of the park or take on every fire. Do the best you can.
You are enough.