Day 129 – Shit Creek Survivor

I mean, really, aren’t we all?

No matter what sort of privilege or positive circumstance we’re born into, life has a way of being a great equalizer. It trips us up, humbles us, jumps up and punches us right in the teeth. We make mistakes. We make bad choices. We experience dark moments that we’re certain will kill us.

But we endure and we push through and we keep on going.

And you know what? We’re better for it, stronger. And we reach out when we see others struggling, because we know how hard it is to feel like we’re trying to face life’s challenges on our own.

So to all my fellow Shit Creek Survivors–I see you. Hang in there and know that the hard stuff won’t last forever, and you never have to go it alone.

Day 107 – The F word

You know, I’d like to have a nice, long (probably expletive-filled) conversation with the first person who ever decided that failure is a bad thing–something to be embarrassed about, something to try and avoid at all costs and never, ever admit to.

I mean seriously, what the hell?

How have we deluded ourselves into thinking only perfection is acceptable, that perfection exists at all? When did we decided to start ignoring the process, to discount all the valuable things we learn when we make mistakes and miss the mark?

I’ve got a newsflash for you folks–nobody ever does it exactly right the first time.

Nobody.

And the only way to ever get it right is to figure out how NOT to do it wrong.

It’s hard though, to admit that we’re not 100% in control of our lives, especially now, living in our social media bubble where we’re constantly bombarded with everyone’s best moments.

It’s hard to own our mistakes and share our struggles when all we see are highlight reels.

But it’s the struggles that give life flavor, that make us strong. It’s the challenges we face that create us and define us and shape us into the people we will eventually become.

We have the potential to do incredible things, to make the world an amazing place, if we can muster up enough courage to try knowing that we’re going to miss the mark a few (maybe a few hundred) times.

We’ve got to experiment and fail and learn and repeat. Every. Single. Day.

So get out there and own your life. Try new things. Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you up and cheer you on and help you find the way.

You got this.

Day 104 – Moving mountains

I was having a conversation last week about the challenges we face in life, how sometimes things just sort of pile up and bury you, and how hard it is to claw your way out from beneath the weight of it to keep going.

Yeah…been there, done that.

But that’s just sort of the point, isn’t it…to keep going, to survive (and thrive) in spite of all the things we face that threaten to break us.

And the beauty in all of it is what we can do with the lessons we’ve learned. We get a chance to pay it forward, to be an inspiration to someone else who is struggling, to give others a chance to reach even higher.

And somehow, that makes it all worth it.

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