Today I am grateful for learning.  I’ve always loved traditional learning.  There was always something satisfying about taking in information and connecting it to how things are, learning about people and what they did—I always loved the stories of people’s lives.  I also truly believe that we never stop learning.  We are meant to live in a constant state of growth and expansion and learning comes from so much more than traditional settings.  Learning to live in confidence and accept happiness and joy, learning the things I need to unlearn to move forward in my life, learning to love again—both myself and others, learning to stand assuredly in who I am, learning to embrace the idea that I can live in a different way—and going for it.  All of these things have been a learning experience.  I’m grateful to learn to develop myself more and to figure out how to continue the expansion of my life.

Today I am grateful for steps.  Specifically I am grateful for every single step I take each day toward something new.  This goes along with the learning—sometimes we have to leap and others we have to learn to find our footing before we can make the jump.  I’m happy to find the footing and to embrace the process.  Trusting myself, trusting that all would work out in the end has been a long journey for me, one that I still work through every day.  I learn a bit more every day about my capacity, my capability, my adaptability, where I need to pivot, where I need to focus more, where I need to let go more, and where I need to lead more.  The most fulfilling part of this has been seeing it through.  It has been knowing that I am shedding layer upon layer, discovering what was mind to process and what was mine to break.  Learning about my family and seeing the bold steps taken before me and understanding the steps I can take next.  It’s all an amazing journey.

Today I am grateful for honesty.  Oh, I’ve spoken about this a bunch of times but it still remains one of my favorite things.  I’ve had a large dose of reality lately and it has shifted my perspective.  There has been a long series of events that came to a head in several arenas, personal and professional that literally made me flip the switch toward a purpose.  This is the first time this amount of loss has hit me as logically as this has.  I still feel all the fear and sadness, but it does not consume me.  This is where honesty has kept me objective and allowed for better understanding.  Being honest has led me to making different decisions with my career, with my business, with my family, with my health, with the people I surround myself with, how I move in the world, with making decisions for both the day to day and the long term.  It has been empowering.  If we need to make any type of decision, we need to practice being honest, especially honest with ourselves. 

Today I am grateful for support.  I spent so much of my time doing things on my own, being responsible for everything, carrying weight that I didn’t need to that letting go and reaching out was always difficult.  Like I never did it.  I was that stubborn.  As I’ve embraced the changes in my life and stepped toward what I want to do, I see this new network evolving in my life.  People are there.  People surround and embrace me as well and it really feels good.  I mean, it was completely awkward at first and I still have moments where I feel like I put my foot in my mouth or I’m socially awkward, but knowing there are people I can lean on and they actually show up is a gift.  I understand now the idea behind things “taking a village” to complete.  I mean, I still need my alone time, but it is nice to have people around me who complement my energy and who I can return that support to as well. 

Today I am grateful for confidence.  The ability to believe in self and trust that self can do anything is a remarkable thing.  I heard something at one point about needing to have a delusional belief that anything can happen, that we can create anything in our lives. I think it was from Jim Carrey.  Regardless, there is truth behind that statement because our thoughts, feelings, and energy determine so much of our outcomes.  If we think we can do it, we likely will.  Even if we don’t get as far as we want, we will certainly be further than the person who doesn’t believe in themselves enough to even begin.  Aim high and we will certainly gain momentum.  Learning confidence is a skill I wish I had a long time ago.  It isn’t ego, it’s assurance and trust and faith.  It’s powerful enough to move mountains—and if it can’t move the mountains, it shows us how to blaze a train around or over them. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!