“I Can Do This!”

Because sometimes the best person to give you a prep-talk is yourself!

"Yes, I’m fearful and lacking great confidence.  I am wavering in my resolve.  Doubts and uncertainties scream their threats, painting pictures of doom.  I feel small. 

There is tension too, because it is something I have decided.  I said I would do this thing.  I will do it afraid!  Certainly, there is a long list of times I have acted, in the face of fear and done the thing I was sure that I could not do.  When have I demanded absolute perfection of myself? 

I am learning, growing, becoming!  It is a process and I am well on my way.  It is not always pretty; never is it flawless.  But on the other side, as I have looked back, I’ve always been pleased that I chose to press on.  I remind myself of the hard things I’ve done, impossible even, and then found myself grateful on the other side. 

No, I do not turn and run away!  My fears can come along; I always have more questions than answers!  But I have also learned to train my eyes to remain set on the things that I am sure of: 

I am stronger than I think

I have overcome the impossible before

I have always survived and most often I find a way to thrive

There are resources, hidden deep in me, that will rise up when I need them

I am not alone, even when I feel that I am

I remember that the storms I face do not define who I am.  I am more than a sum of my mistakes and even of my successes.  I am not the horrible things I have endured.  What I have survived and overcome, has added to my resolve, but even this is not who I am.  I am a collective of all that I hold dear, all that I can do, my stories and experiences, my dreams and secrets hopes, those things that I am proud of and those I’d rather hide.  I am a mixture of how I see myself and how I am seen.  There is much that I contribute to people and causes that burn inside of me.  These passions form who I am as well. 

There will be another side to this challenge and it will look differently from that viewpoint.  I will see how I stood and resolved not to back down.  Looking back, I will look more courageous than I currently feel.  I will rejoice in my own strength and perseverance.  I will get there, because I choose now to take that first step.  Hesitant as it may be, it is a step and what matters most, is that I know who I am as I take it."