Tag: Courage

Spread Your Wings

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”

― C. JoyBell C.

         Life isn’t about having all the right answers or having a roadmap to follow with turn-by-turn instructions. It’s meant to be a journey of discovery. One where you are meant to blindly choose a door and open it not knowing what lies on the other side. You can analyze a decision backwards and forwards but at some point you must take a leap of faith. Trust in yourself, spread your wings and let the winds take you where they may.

Never Give Up the Fight

“No one can make you ‘better’ emotionally, mentally, spiritually or physically. You have to find this for yourself. You have to taste that brutal moment when you’re crying in a corner of the room, curled up on the floor and you think this is your end. You have to fight to stand up, literally. And you have to walk over to your reflection and scream, scream it all out. Then you have pick up your sword and fight and never quit. This is your life. Don’t let those bastards win.”

― Crystal Woods, Write like no one is reading

       No one else can fight your battles. No one else can bring you peace or happiness. All of these things you have to learn to do for yourself because it comes from within. For when you’re standing alone on the edge of a precipice, surrounded by darkness, broken and defeated…only you can decide that although the battle was lost and the winds threaten to overtake you, you will not give in – you will never give up the fight.

Your Future has Yet to be Written

“A bad beginning does not keep you from a good ending.”

― Matshona Dhliwayo

          You know the old adage that when it rains it pours. It often feels like things are doomed before they really start. But it is at these times you have to remind yourself that although you cannot change what has already been written, you can change what has yet to come….at any moment in time you have the power to decide this IS NOT how your story will end.

Life

Some Thoughts on Life by

Louise Erdrich, The Painted Drum

“Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.”

       Life isn’t meant to be a cake walk. It’s supposed to be messy, painful and downright heartbreaking. You are here to experience the joys AND heartaches of living. When you take chances, you will inevitably fall and stumble, but that’s part of your journey-your story. So, embrace the fact that life will remain a roller coaster that has its ups and downs, along with its twists and turns before you reach the end.

Don’t Give in to Disappointment

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

-Eliza Tabor

         We are all faced with disappointment in our lives.  You cannot have hope without disappointment – as they are opposite sides of the same coin.  So, even though it hurts when you allow yourself to hope for something, for it not to happen, your spirit will not be destroyed.  Your spirit is more resilient than any disappointment or letdown you may face.  And each time you manage to stand up in spite of a setback, you become a little stronger and a little wiser.

Try, Try, and Try Again

Explore. Dream. Discover!

― H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

        I’m so tired of hearing people say – “Oh, that’s too hard.” “Why bother, the likelihood of success is so small.” “You know it’s not going to work out, so why are you doing this again?”  So often in life, we give up without even trying because we automatically assume that we won’t succeed.  But, as I was telling someone the other day when they mentioned that it’s difficult to get a book published. . .I’m like, “I know, but I’m going to try anyway and at least I can say I gave it my best effort and then I can move forward to the next thing.”  For every experience you go through in life, you learn, you grow and evolve.  I firmly believe that years from now when my expiration date gets closer, I will not regret any of the chances I took, but only regret the chances I was too afraid to take – the times where I gave up the fight before even entering the ring.  So, the moral of the story is to try, try, and try again – especially when you think you won’t succeed.  For one day, you may regret never being brave enough to lose sight of the shore.

To Be Courageous

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.”

– Mary Anne Radmacher

       When we hear the word courage, many of us automatically envision some hugely dramatic or over the top action like David taking on Goliath.  But, true courage is something far greater and more complex than this one-dimensional definition.  Courage takes on many forms and means something very different for each and every person.  And often in this cruel and unforgiving world, the most courageous act is to fail, repeatedly, and still say “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

True Strength is Never Surrendering

“Strength does not come from winning.  Your struggles develop your strengths.  When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

         Often in life, you get knocked down on your ass, repeatedly.  Sometimes it feels like the harder you try, the more things go wrong.  And the old adage of when it rains, it pours has new meaning.  When you find yourself stuck in these ruts, it’s so easy to throw in the towel and say I’m done – I’m tired.  I’m tired of fighting an uphill battle. I’m tired of always finishing last or second best.  I’m tired of feeling like I’m not good enough.  I’m simply tired of being tired.  But, it is during these moments of utter desolation that you have to find that fire within you to not give up, to not surrender and to stand back up and say, “This is not how my story is going to end.”  And, it is in these moments that true strength is forged.

A Beautiful Life

It’s a Beautiful Life

by Sandra Futter

Oh, it’s a beautiful morning.
Today’s gonna be a great day.

I’ve got that wonderful feeling,
That everything’s going my way.

No matter if the skies be stormy
And the wind’s blowing things in my way.

That doesn’t worry me any,
I know everything’s gonna be ok.

The obstacles don’t even slow me,
I pass by each one in my way.

The messes prove just to grow me.
I get stronger each and every day.

         Life is truly all about how you approach it.  If you start your day off in the mindset that no matter what it’s going to be a good day, you will be amazed by how the small things don’t faze you.  And even when things don’t quite go your way or when things go sideways, you are able to handle it much better and your mood isn’t ruined.  Attitude means everything.  Never underestimate the power of your mind.  So, when you wake up tomorrow, before you get out of bed, say out loud “Today will be a good day and if obstacles come my way, I’ll deal with it and move on, for nothing will dampen my spirit today.”

I Can

Equipment

by Edgar Albert Guest

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You’ve all that the greatest of men have had,
Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,
And a brain to use if you would be wise.
With this equipment they all began,
So start for the top and say ‘I can.’

Look them over, the wise and great,
They take their food from a common plate
And similar knives and forks they use,
With similar laces they tie their shoes,
The world considers them brave and smart.
But you’ve all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,
You can be great if only you will,
You’re well equipped for what fight you choose,
You have legs and arms and a brain to use,
And the man who has risen, great deeds to do
Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,
You are the one who must choose your place,
You must say where you want to go.
How much you will study the truth to know,
God has equipped you for life, But He
Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within,
The man must furnish the will to win,
So figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You were born with all that the great have had,
With your equipment they all began.
Get hold of yourself, and say: ‘I can.’

           In this life, anything is possible. The only person who can limit you is you.  If you dream it, you can achieve it.  So, you should always approach life with an “I can” attitude.  And never hold back – go after your goals with hard work and determination . . .for you will only regret the chances you were too scared to take.