Character Building Days…

I had dinner with a friend and the topic of “have I blogged recently” came up…

So here I am…sitting down to write. More because I’ve had a day that has left me once again wondering why I do what I do, and mostly because writing seems like a much better activity then crying about the difficult situations I’ve had to face.

Experience is what you get right after you need it the most.

H. Quincy Long

These last couple months have led me to see that I am much more than I believe I am and that I am capable of so much more than I ever believed to be. I’ve been underselling and undervaluing myself as I’ve learned how to handle things I didn’t know while juggling an extra unexpected work load. As always these new perspectives about myself leave me wondering why I didn’t see these strengths within myself sooner? And what else could I be capable of?

The character-building days have been some of the most challenging days I’ve faced but they have shown me that I have always and will always be able to step up to any challenge and succeed. The situations I faced only made me stronger, wiser, and more experienced and through it, I saw a side of me I didn’t know I was capable of and found the courage to take the next step on the dreams I’ve been dreaming.

The last two months have brought me an opportunity to struggle hard and learn fast and through it I gained a burning desire to create something that will not only change my life but the lives of those I interact with. But this time I’ll be walking into my future knowing who I am, what I am capable of, and the value that I bring to the table. The more I step out of my comfort zone the closer I get to the person that I want to become.

“Fake it, until I become it”

Amy Cuddy

At work, I launched a new monthly employee mixer for our morning meetings. I opened the morning meeting welcoming everyone to this new event and elaborating on why we were doing these employee monthly mixers and the benefit they would bring. As I stood in the front of the room I felt in myself this version of me that I’ve always wanted to be. I saw this image of me I see when I meditate and I felt the power she feels when she’s in front of the room. The feeling that she can overcome anything and the fears she had were only fuel to make her more empowering and inspiring. It’s as if her words are a song that sing my freedom and I am under her spell when she takes over.

She is me and I am she…and for a brief moment, we aligned.

The few times I have become this version of me have left me with a deep desire for more, a desire to become her all the time. To align with my true self and to feel my true potential. As I am snapped back into reality I am left wondering, how do I close the gap from where I am to where I want to be? How do I become that person, not just for a brief moment but forever (if forever was a thing).

Looking back I see now that the purpose of the character building days that have been thrown my way were to push me past my comfort zone, to push me to what I thought would be my breaking point, but instead of breaking, like so many around me thought I would, I broke through the level that I’ve been trying to break through and I leveled up. Life pushed me out of my comfort zone and showed me I always had it in me to achieve the next level.

My mindset has shifted and I’ll continue to try push past my comfort zone, discover my new level and and embrace my true potential and what I was always capable of. I feel the shift and I am grateful that I am present enough to notice it.

I am proud of myself for leveling up and for remaining present through the good times and the challenging times. I’m proud of myself for succeeding and growing and facing each challenge with an “I will succeed” attitude.

It’s a new level of life for me. I’m learning to “quietly dream” and not speak my big dreams to small minded people who will question my ability to succeed at what I’ve set out to do.

Less talking, more doing.

Until the next adventure….

A.A.