These 2 words have been a GAME-CHANGER for me. You see I am a long-time expert at criticizing and judging myself. Pointing out what’s wrong, slamming myself when I make a mistake, harshly questioning why I did what I did or not allowing me to feel what I feel, “should”ing all over myself... I was trapped in the shame spiral.
Feeling burnout, exhausted, unmotivated? You’re not alone. It’s normal, here’s why...
So many of us have just kept pushing through, until eventually, we run out of “surge capacity” - a series of adaptive systems we draw on for SHORT TERM SURVIVAL in acutely stressful situations, such as natural disasters.
Comparison will rob you of beauty of the season YOU are in, of the unique journey YOU are on, of the courageous steps YOU take, of the big and small wins YOU make, of the story only YOU can tell. We are all on a journey - different paths, different paces, different places. We are all different. And if we compare our chapters, we'll loose the significance and purpose of the pages WE are walking out. Not only will we miss out, but so will everybody else - because no one else has your journey. No one else can tell your story. No one else can encourage others with exactly where you're at. No one else can do you.
So next time we feel tempted to fast forward our story or skip ahead to someone else's, remember your story has purpose. Your story matters. The chapter you are in is yours. No matter where others seem to be up to, your perfectly timed in your chapter. One step at a time.
Have you ever felt inadequate by comparing your chapter with someone else's?
I know I sure have. But no longer.
💜Ruth
The past is in the past. What? So why do we keep bringing it up again as if it's in our future. Not letting it go, but dragging it around wherever we go. Taking it with us into new relationships, new opportunities, new situations. Wearing it as a lens we see our present and future through. And than get confused why we keep repeating the past or feeling like we're still living in it. Well of course we would if we keep holding onto it and putting it in front of each step we take instead of behind us.
But no longer. We can see the past as what it is - the past. Yes it happened, but we choose how we respond. We can choose what lessons we take from it. We choose how we define it. We choose to leave it in the past and have an unwritten future - one we get to write.
We can choose to look forward with hope, knowing that everything is possible, that our past does not define our future, that we get to create it with the choices we make. And then recreate it again with new choices. And again.
So dear friend, no matter what's happened in the past, you get to create your future. Whatever your currently facing right now won't last forever. Hold onto hope and leave the past where it belongs - in the past.
👉💙👉 What's something you've learnt or gained from something you've faced in the past? How can you take the lesson and leave the rest behind? x
💜Ruth x
Working in schools, I met with Erin, a year 6 girl who told me the popular girls told her she had to change her hair, her clothes AND her personality if she wanted to fit in. This broke my heart, she had no idea how valuable she was and was willing to trade in her REAL identity for what she thought she HAD to be. The saddest part was that she thought this was the only answer. She was about to become a clone to please others, throwing away her own interests, values, talents, goals and dreams.
Unfortunately, this is not a rare story. But this story, fired me up. That is ENOUGH! Our girls have to know their worth and value – not based on how others see them, their past, or what the media says, but because they have always been MORE THAN ENOUGH.
This is how ChooseREAL Campaign was born. I wanted to create a platform to bring freedom around the onslaught of debilitating messages of NOT ENOUGH! Encouraging girls and women to embrace and celebrate their REAL identity and value, and live the life they CHOOSE. Living out the truth that no mater what, we are MORE THAN ENOUGH, just as we are.
I am so privilege to share this journey with you as we create a shift in our culture of true acceptance (of ourselves and each other). We love the empowering community we are all creating. Thank you for what you bring.
💜Ruth
What fires you up? What are you passionate about? x
