Strength vs Resilience

The only reason we experience fear the present is our memory of the past.

“Our focus becomes clear when our feelings are cleared out.”

Anxiety is unfocused fear.

When we talk to someone we trust or write in a journal… we move unfocused fear to focused fear. Once we are clear about what’s in our way, we can create a plan to progress from doubt to drive.

At 18 years old, while healing from a back injury and watching my mom fight Stage III cancer, I found questions exploding in my mind like fireworks: “Why me? What if I never make it back to full health? Is my best in the past? Who am I if I’m not playing sports, winning games, or having a tangible impact?”

Pain pushes. It’s life’s biggest bully and greatest teacher. It forces change.

“When we are healthy, we have a million dreams. When we are unhealthy, we only have one dream, to become healthy again.”

I remember creating a new Word Document and writing poetry. I remember lifting up a loose piece of paper and journaling constricting thoughts down. I remember closing my eyes and visualizing who I could become.

Optimism is at the origin of resilience.

There’s a difference between strength and resilience. Someone who is strong has the capacity to move, lift, and carry weight. Someone who is resilient has the wherewithal to let go of what is weighing them down.

"Forgiveness is giving up hope for a better past.”

Forgiveness is reclaiming control of one’s life.

It’s synonymous with radical acceptance.

In order to advance, one first must accept.

Our lives are a collection of our choices, not a fabric of our feelings.

It’s important to shift from subconscious emotions and unconscious feelings to conscious thought and intentional action. By doing so, we become emotionally fit.

Our emotional fitness is made up of three entities:

1. What we choose to focus on,
2. how we express our thoughts,
3. and how we write about our emotions.

“Feel feelings until they no longer need to be felt.”

Only then, we progress forward…

rather than mindlessly looking back.

Stay strong, and resilient!

MG