The world we’re living in right now is not the same world we lived in before. I think this new sense of reality is beginning to settle in, and it could be having some effects, consciously or subconsciously, that need to be countered.
Flipping the Script
While it’s easy to fall victim to the effects of all of this change, there is another option. This “new abnormal” comes with endless opportunities for growth but adopting a doom and gloom mindset could be blocking you from seeing this truth or accepting it – or taking advantage of it.
Becoming A Warrior
Alex Katz knows something about overcoming obstacles and being a true warrior in life. Alex is a certified personal trainer and American Ninja Warrior coach and has relied on resilience to bring her through some incredibly challenging obstacles in life.
“Growing up, I was in an abusive home. I never ended up in foster care, but I should have been. I was experiencing homelessness on and off because my parents would randomly kick me out of the house and I would have no idea why. By the time I graduated high school, I had been accepted into the University of Connecticut. I knew that college was going to be my way out. Despite everything happening in high school, I worked hard. I applied to 63 scholarships and I received ten of them. I still give that example to my kids because I want them to know that you’re going to have to fail many times before you see results.” -Alex Katz
Alex’s amazing story of triumph and resilience is part of her warrior story. And you have one too, just like I do. We’ve all taken the hike uphill, in the rain, with an elephant on our back, alone. We’ve all encountered life’s hardships and if you’re reading this, you’ve overcome and woke up this morning stronger and wiser. I love how resilience helps us become the warriors we are capable of becoming – because, as Alex points out – we fail many times before we see results and that resilience is how we get through.
Living in Love
The Beatles serenaded us with the most simple solution. “… all you need is love… love is all you need…” If you were to close your eyes right now and think about someone you love – your partner, best friend, child, pet – you would feel your heart warm and expand. That energy would pulse outward from your chest, to put a smile or a blush on your cheeks and to the tips of your fingers, where you would certainly feel a slight tingle. This is the power of love, of just thinking about love. So what if you employed this power each day, to greet your day with love? Alex and I talked about these rituals during my most recent podcast episode, and both agreed that one of the most important things we can do for ourselves is to find simple ways to add MORE LOVE into each day. What would change in your life if you woke up each day and spent a few minutes just thinking about love?
You’re Not Alone
Life feels the most difficult when we believe we are alone. It’s not easy to feel love when we feel like we are on an island that nobody else has ever stepped foot on. But hindsight usually lets us know that plenty of people were on that island
“I think one of the biggest issues is when people feel like they are the only ones going through something. We talk about this all the time with mental health. You feel like you’re the only one and you’re alone and that makes it worse. Everyone is afraid to talk about it because they think they’re the only one, but when they do talk about it, amazing things happen.”
Create Space
Part of living a life of more love is being open to connecting with those around you. Just the simple act of creating space for love will create waves of change in your life. None of us are in this alone. We are all human, with the same needs and the same capacity to show up for one another. In those uphill moments, if we could just remember this and lean into love over fear, we would be actively and consciously taking steps into the life we want – not the life we accept.
“When you reframe what’s happening to you as what’s happening for you, it implies that there’s something positive in it. There’s something that we can use to grow from. There’s no question that there’s a creative opportunity in everything that’s happening to us always. That’s powerful. There is resilience embedded in all of us. We have the DNA of resilient people, resilient beings. That’s why we’re here. That’s the only reason why we exist at all anyway is that the human species has been adaptable and resilient over time. Yet, resilience is something you can still create. It’s something that you can grow just like a muscle. If you work, it grows. If you don’t work, it atrophies.”
We’re In This Together: How’s your 2021 going? Are you leaning into these growth opportunities or avoiding the change? Are you taking action to make this the best year of your life? Or are you stuck desiring someone else’s? If this is speaking to you, head over to the podcast and listen in for more wisdom and applicable pivots – and don’t forget to let us know how we can support you in your growth.