The Struggle is Part of the Story

I have had this conversation several times recently with friends. They tell me they think I, or someone else, has it all together, seems to do so much and that they make it look easy. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Obviously, looks can be deceiving. Yes, I try to be positive, encouraging and do all the things I want to do every day, and I try to do my best every day, but let’s all be real…we all struggle in some way. I struggle in a lot of ways. My days are not all easy. My days are not always happy go-lucky. Most of us don’t always have a place to let down, to be real and let our struggles be known. It is not easy to let others in on our story. Not everyone deserves to hear our story, but I do hope you have someone to share your struggles with. I am here to tell you that it is ok to be real, to share your struggles and hopefully someone will say “me too”. You can always reach out to me. I struggle every day, and I appreciate an understanding “me too” or “I can relate”, but yes I do try my best to keep going and find the good.

We all have our own challenges, struggles, and things we are working on every day. Every day struggle is real for all of us. For me, this has become a place where I work on my struggles and hope that what I write can help someone else as well. Yes, I write to help myself as much as I hope it encourages others.

I write about choosing joy, because there are days that I struggle to choose joy.

I write about patience, because most days I struggle with my patience.

I write about chilling out, because many days I need to lighten up.

I write about motivation, because many days I need it too.

I write about slowing down, because I need to be reminded.

I write about following our dreams, because I don’t want to give up on mine.

I write about never giving up, because I want to remind myself to dig deep as well.

I write about everyday courage, because I want to be brave every single day.

I write about being true to yourself, because I don’t want to live one more day working to please someone else.

I write about health, fitness and nutrition, because even though it is my passion, I need a swift kick in the butt sometimes too.

I write to share what I need, knowing that someone else out there needs it too.

Yes, many days I feel like I am a mess, and I have learned to embrace and love that I feel like a mess. I have learned what is most important to me, what my priorities and values are, and I work on it daily. Thank goodness for grace and forgiveness. Thank goodness for our God.

I work on progress, not perfection. I work on encouragement, not judgement. I work on love, not envy. I work on myself and my family, and not comparing us to anyone. I work on my heart and my soul, and not trying to please others. Yes this is what I “work” on every day, and I expect I will always be “working” on every one of these.

Yes, the struggle is real. We are all in it. Let us support, encourage and cheer each other on every step of the way. How we handle the struggle is what we should work on. I loved what I read recently…to treat our challenges like a cha-cha, a step forward sometimes is followed by a step back. A step back can also be followed by a step forward. Let’s teach ourselves and our kids to cha-cha. Let’s teach them to dance in the rain…and to see the rainbow after the rain.

Always remember, we have no idea what someone else is going through. Our place is not to judge, but to be supportive, understanding and hopefully help each other on this journey.

Enjoy today,