 Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins by Jenny Leigh Hodgins Change Requires Taking A Leap Of Faith A chat with a close friend this week was so enlightening and helpful I want to share it. This friend has been by my side through thick and thin for the past 18 months. She was there as I resigned my music ed position, sold my Florida home, and moved back to my home state (Kentucky) to be in place as Mom’s caregiver. (My two sisters helped Mom through our father’s battle with cancer. He passed away 5 years ago. I determined to help with Mom as needed.) I took a major leap of faith to make this huge transition into launching a second career as a 50+ single woman. I’m pursuing my lifelong dream to be a professional writer, composer, and online product and course creator. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve had numerous unexpected obstacles. People have disappointed me. I’ve made mistakes. Some things failed entirely. When Your Closest Friends Are Fear And Doubt During my journey for the past year and a half, my closest companions were my overwhelming self-doubt and fear. My tendency toward insomnia escalated dramatically from my nightly battle against anxiety. The switch from a steady teaching job to being a caregiver and entrepreneur raised my deepest doubts. This constantly interfered with my sleep patterns and stunted my wisdom to make decisive, appropriate business decisions. I often felt paralyzed with fear of failure. I’ve discussed my fears repeatedly with the friend mentioned above. As I’ve wrestled my negative feelings head-on, I’ve pulled out all the stops for the solution to win over them. I’m gratefully making tremendous progress with overcoming insomnia, and with winning over my angst. Fear Reveals Your Courage I’d like to share some of the things that are working for me, as they may be useful to you. First I want to point out how my friend illuminated things for me; She said that the fact I’ve battled so strongly with fear is an indication of my courage. I wouldn’t even have my courage, without my fear. That pierced my heart with hope as it made me realize how much I’ve been challenging myself to grow beyond my comfort zone! If I had stayed in my secure job, in my comfy home, and didn’t choose to tackle the responsibility of being my parent’s caregiver or go after my dream as an online entrepreneur and creator, that fear would not appear in my life. Your Fear Proves Your Growth If I’d remained where I was 2 years ago, I’d be “safe.” But I wouldn’t be developing my potential or expanding my happiness. It’s important to remember that when we tackle new adventures, learn new things, or face unexpected difficulties, we are in the fantastic position to transform our lives. While constant devouring entrepreneurial, self-improvement, and Buddhist literature, I came across the idea that fear is completely natural when launching something new or facing unexpected challenge. Fear is an indicator of growth. It means we’re going in the right direction, we’re demanding more of our limitless potential. Find Your Best Self Through The Mirror of Fresh Perspective Another thing that encouraged the hell out of me, was my friend’s tone of confidence when she mentioned that whatever I do from now will be successful because I’m so capable. We don’t often have the fortune to hear anyone, including ourselves, showering praise for our innate capability. People don’t tend to mention how inevitable our success will be because of our unique abilities. If anyone does mention it, we often don’t hear it. Instead, we typically ingrain oodles of negativity from the voices of others. Those old tapes get stuck in our minds, replaying over and over, while the positive encouragement so often gets lost amid that noise. Hearing my friend’s voice of confidence in me stopped me in my tracks. It made me look at the mirror of my mind with fresh perspective. The idea of recognizing and trusting in my capacity (talent, wisdom, experience, skill, compassionate energy) nearly shocked me with the reality that I tend to constantly negate my potential. This led me to immediately ask myself, “What if I believed in myself as much as my friend believes in me?” Pretend You Are Amazing This leads me to concentrate fully on envisioning my life through the lens of self-belief. Even if I have to pretend I’m someone else who believes in me. I’m not condoning selfishness or ego. Rather, I’m referring to envisioning myself through the perspective of my best qualities. Defining your qualities may bring up a self-depreciating attitude. But, sometimes what we think are our worst qualities are seen as admirable from someone else’s perspective! Every tendency of your life has both a negative and positive aspect. Keep pretending that you are amazing, imagining that each trait you possess is functioning in the most positive way. I’ve learned that if I look for the good in myself and others, I will find it. Even if I feel I must dig deeper to see something positive, it is through that burst of concentrated effort that I uncover value. The act of searching for that positive value is the process that delivers actual proof and enables progress. In other words, the effort made to win over negativity is the very thing that leads to victory and developing inner strength. The more I use that muscle, the easier it gets, too. Use Your Gratitude As Fuel For Action My friend served as a catalyst for my awareness of my courage and capability. This inspires me to do my best to repay my gratitude to people like my dear friend, who encourages my faith, personal development, and success in life and business. Writing a list in my daily journal of what I appreciate in my life helps remind me why I’m doing what I’m doing. Appreciation is a strong weapon against fear and doubt, too. When I think of my friend and others who have believed in me, encouraged and supported me in my life, it fuels my determined action. This helps me create momentum to power through fear and doubt. Focus On The Positive Boosts Drive Imagining my greatest potential, acknowledging my innate courage, and taking action to repay my debt of gratitude to others are things I now use as focal points going forward. Focusing on the positive, and taking action from that place redirects me away from my negativity. What we think about becomes our reality. Buddhism teaches the law of cause and effect; What I think or do creates the kind of life I have. My mentor, Buddhist leader and peace activist, Daisaku Ikeda explains, “The reality of your future self is forged by your current action, in your behavior now.” Defeat Fear With Constant Action In the past, I’ve allowed my anxiety and self-slander to stunt my progress, or stop me from achieving my goals. Now, I’m actively experiencing how my inner voice determines my external progress. Training myself to think proactively and positively is working. I take more energetic action, get more accomplished, appreciate myself more, have better moods, and sleep better as a result. I’ve learned to replace fear with action that is based on positive mindset. I aim to focus on the positive and envision the best outcome as I take action. But, sometimes I still have to battle my inner demons. Even if I feel doubtful or have anxiety, I find that setting clear daily goals and taking decisive action helps me win over my negative self-talk. I find that the less time I allow myself to think about my insecurities, and the more I do toward my daily goals, the stronger my inner voice of confidence becomes. Use Prayer To Transform Your Anxiety Here’s what’s working for me in my battle against mental angst: As an SGI Buddhist, I start and end my day with prayer. My mornings start with an hour of Buddhist chanting, during which I set a determination for the day’s success and productivity. I also use that time to send waves of prayer to others in my life, from family to friends, and you, my online audience. I resolve to be effective and to fulfill my potential through my daily actions. In the evenings, I do a short 4-minute prayer to reflect and appreciate the day’s progress and life lessons. The health and positive mental effects of my daily Buddhist practice are profound. Chanting gives me hope, boosts my compassion, and restores my energy. It’s an amazing tool I’ve used for 32 years. If you’d like to learn more about SGI Buddhism, please click here. Build Your Positivity Fortress Besides my incredibly supportive friends, and my participation in SGI-USA activities, I immerse myself in positivity. From listening to upbeat podcasts, blogs, and my favorite music, to reading books on positive mindset, to my SGI-USA Buddhist publications, I devour all things about positive-thinking. The more I delve into this kind of content, the easier it is for me to shift my focus to it. This dramatically diminishes or replaces my negative self-talk. Developing a daily routine while vigilantly training my brain to see my best self has been helping me achieve more as I continue forging my new adventurous path. I plan to keep moving forward toward my dreams as I challenge myself to fulfill my potential. I hope giving you an inside peak into my journey is helpful to you, too. Please let me know in the comments below if it is, or if you have any questions or other topics you’d like me to explore more deeply! I sincerely pray this content inspires YourCreativeChord! Click here to read My Top Tips For Beating Your Insomnia, SIGN UP HERE for more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness! Check out my Self Care Resources page. Looking for garden or outdoor ideas? Find them here! Recommended articles: How To Use Self-Care To Feel Happy 5 Ways To Use Music & Nature For Self-Care Defeat Fear & Doubt with Your Courage & Capability How To Deflect Negativity To Become Happier Believing In The Positive To Climb Again My Kilimanjaro  Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
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 Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins by Jenny Leigh Hodgins [Listen to this as a podcast here.] This week, I’ve had some unpleasant experiences with people. It prompted me to reflect on how I responded. Despite realizing intellectually that people are negative because they are unhappy or suffering, I discovered I tend to take things personally, absorb outer ugliness internally, and dwell on that negativity. AWAKENING TO HABITS Wow, what an eye-opener for my personal growth. Even when it is obvious that the issue is coming from the other party’s corner, my tendency is to allow their negativity to overwhelm me. This has shed light on some of my deeper, connected habits. I found that, amid multiple positive things or situations or people, I gravitate toward finding that one negative thing. I find it, spotlight it, analyze it, speculate on it and generally mope about it. UGH. ADDRESSING OLD PATTERNS This is directly tied to those old, well-ingrained thought patterns to doubt or slander myself. As I’m currently on a major personal campaign to change my Debby Downer self-talk patterns, having these uncomfortable experiences with others recently has pushed a button. It’s the button I thought I was getting under control. Working on my thought processes is a major endeavor of itself. I have been consciously working to replace habitual self-slander with the most opposite, positive, affirmative statements possible. MOVING TOWARD POSITIVITY When I experience fear or doubt, I practice replacing those feelings with immediate, positive action based on my goals. This is hard, internal work for me, in the darkest, most vulnerable places of my heart. It requires a strategic, bold effort, sometimes from moment to moment, to overcome my critical self-talk and move myself in a positive direction. I’ve made incremental progress with having a better outlook, and with appreciating versus belittling myself. I became acutely aware that treasuring myself does not come naturally to me, and I have to actively work on self-care. I’m doing this emotional and psychological challenge while juggling with major financial and business aspects. My plate is full all the time as a single woman entrepreneur launching a second career in her mid-fifties. I’m learning to both swim as a new business owner and balance my life with being a caregiver for my mother. I’m transitioning from having lived my entire adult life independently, to having downsized to a roommate in a smaller space at my mother’s condo. It’s a work in progress. But I’m adjusting myself to keep growing professionally, as a creator (composer/writer), and as a caregiver, with all its adjoining issues. DOING THE WORK I sometimes feel I’m climbing a steep mountain alone, while the air gets thinner, and the terrain grows more difficult. But that’s life, I tell myself. Armed with my daily Buddhist chanting, a kind of active meditation that boosts my spiritual optimism, I forge ahead, step by step. I re-determine my determinations daily. I take action and knock things off my to-do list. I’ve learned the importance of working through issues with my mother to be a better daughter. I’ve started being more productive with my work-life by prioritizing to allow some downtime for myself. FALLING DOWN Ah. Just when I felt I was getting into the groove of riding the waves, a few people with their baggage of problems, knocked me down. I know better than to take on other people’s baggage, and yet, somehow, my old habits resurface lickety-split. I wasn’t quite as stable on that wave as I thought, eh? TRANSFORMING NEGATIVE INTO POSITIVE This has boosted my soul-search to find that I have to do three things to generate a positive outcome from this: The first thing is that I must regularly prepare my life-condition. When I have taken care of myself, I’m in a much better place when sh*$ hits the fan. I can dodge it better. When I’m strong internally, the external things and people don’t have the power to sway me as easily. That’s a real key to handling difficult situations for me. Empowering myself so that I’m in such a positive, strong state that I influence my environment. Not the other way around.  Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins LET GO OF NEGATIVITY The second thing I must practice is letting go. I must let go of that magnetic pull that darkness has with my heart, and instead turn toward the light. If there is one negative thing, I must learn to ignore that and use all my focus to appreciate the good things and people. FIND THE GOOD THERE Finding the good is a scavenger hunt in the dark, but it leads to brilliant, beautiful treasures of the heart. When I keep my mind clear of the unpleasant, and look instead at what is useful or valuable there, I have the power to transform myself and the situation. It’s probably one of the hardest struggles for me to simply look away from the negative. But as I’ve begun working on my personal affirmations and using my fears as fuel for action, I’ve already experienced positive results. So now I must expand my attention beyond my internal work, to my environment… PRAY FOR THE SUFFERING The third thing I have to do is pray for the happiness of the people spewing negativity in my environment. Happy people don’t dish out crap to others. Suffering people are the ones who stain the pot with corruption. When I take enough care of myself, I’m better equipped to open my heart toward relieving others’ misery. I don’t necessarily need to do anything or say anything to those suffering. Everyone has their own journey and creates awareness on their own timetable. PRAYER = POSITIVE CHANGE But I know that prayer for others’ happiness is effective at developing my empathy. Prayer also has the strength to diffuse a tense situation. People can feel what comes from my heart, even if I don’t express it. TAKE CHARGE OF WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL This brings me full circle back to myself. I can only control myself. I can only change myself, not others. If I take care of myself, pray for myself and others, and practice appreciation, eventually, I make the situation better. I either improve myself, or find the good or value in the person or situation. CELEBRATE YOUR GREATEST WIN Being able to create value--especially in the darkest situation or most difficult relationships, is a huge accomplishment. Being positive in easy circumstances is no biggie. Forging my inner life to be strong, wise, joyful and compassionate, regardless of my environment, is the real victory. Feel free to SHARE this with others who may benefit from this info! Thank you! SIGN-UP HERE to get more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com Check out my Self Care Resources page. Recommended Articles: Your Troubles Are Your Progress Barometer & Catalyst For Your Full Potential 5 Ways To Use Music & Nature For Self-Care Defeat Fear & Doubt with Your Courage & Capability How To Deflect Negativity To Become Happier Believing In The Positive My Top Tips For Winning Over Insomnia You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook!  Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins  Photo by Jenny L Hodgins by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
Being betrayed is grueling. Learning someone you trusted is not honorable can be shocking. It may be the catalyst for emotional upheaval. But, you can use this delicate predicament as a springboard toward a more fulfilling, positive direction. What matters more in this situation is not what or who has happened to you, but how you respond. It is not an easy process. You’re human, of course. Regardless of your disposition, an emotional process is natural. The question is how to navigate your feelings to steer things in a more positive direction? 1. Don’t retaliate. Instead, clarify. If possible, aim for an objective dialogue to rule out any miscommunication. Whether the other party refuses to talk it through, or you manage to have a conversation, you will learn something. You'll discover a miscommunication and clear it up. Or, you’ll discover someone is not who you thought they were. 2. Take a beat. Being betrayed pushes your buttons. Give yourself some space and time to absorb before responding. This gives you time to reflect without making the situation worse. 3. Find a safe place where you may feel what you feel. If you’re angry, punch a pillow. Take a long bike ride, using your anger to pedal yourself further (literally and figuratively). Exercise helps lower stress. Vent. Talk to someone close to you who is completely trustworthy and supportive of you. Or write in your journal. If you’re creative, fire up a new creative project. Whatever you choose, it’s important to safely vent your feelings. 4. Break free. If possible, cut all ties completely so you are free to move forward in a different direction. Do so with the utmost professionalism and courtesy. How others behaved speaks volumes about them, not you. Always take the high road. 5. Reflect on the gain. Appreciate you are not stuck in a situation with people who create negative causes or drama, or who cannot be trusted. Appreciate that you are free of toxic people. Difficult experiences can teach you lessons about yourself. Learn what you can from the situation. It may be a catalyst for you to rely more on and believe in yourself. It may train you to become a better judge of character. Or, it may serve as a guide for you to create a stronger, more harmonious team based on a shared vision. The outcome may free you to do more of something you’d rather do but hadn’t had the time for it. Life is full of unexpected challenges and difficult people. Handling the situation with optimism, while squarely facing the challenging reality creates value. Remember that other people‘s actions say more about them than you. Use everything as a learning curve to become a stronger, more compassionate, wiser you. Turn the ordeal into fuel for momentum toward a more positive direction. “It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play the hand.” ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture Feel free to leave a comment answering these questions: Have you turned a betrayal into something positive? What did you learn from the experience? SIGN-UP HERE to get more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com Recommended Articles: Your Troubles Are Your Progress Barometer & Catalyst For Your Full Potential 5 Ways To Use Music & Nature For Self-Care Defeat Fear & Doubt with Your Courage & Capability How To Deflect Negativity To Become Happier Believing In The Positive My Top Tips For Winning Over Insomnia You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook!  Problems bring out your strengths like the sunflower rises despite absorbing toxins. Photo Jenny L Hodgins by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
This past year tested my ability to overcome difficulties while remaining undefeated. I experienced one obstacle followed by another. My breakthrough target date increasingly shifted further beyond my grasp. I went through an emotional ride that continues teaching me about myself. I’m tougher than I thought. I set out on my journey with a strong, passionate determination, and perhaps some naivety that my goals would quickly be achieved. But when an onslaught of unexpected challenges swirled about me, I stood my ground. Like Superwoman. Hands on hips. Chin up. Granted, I then had to grab on to things to stabilize me so I wouldn’t fly off the ground. But I dug in my heels and stayed the course. I hung on with great tenacity. But, internally, the difficulties brought out my deepest fears and most piercing self-doubt. Going through tremendous problems tapped my innermost psychological tendencies. Mine surfaced blatantly as disbelief in my ability to win. More specifically, I questioned my worthiness to accept success and victory. Oooh, that’s deep, too. Why on earth would I think I don’t deserve to win? Facing enormous new vistas led me into the darkest regions of my heart, and it was not pretty. My deeply ingrained, false belief is the culprit for stalling my momentum and blocking my actions. My self-doubt barred me from making progress. It stopped me dead in my tracks. But if I hadn’t had to face such difficult circumstances, my karmic pattern to limit myself would have remained masked. Fortunately, one of my greatest personal traits is my seeking spirit to improve myself. Which leads me to my relentless quest to create value from any situation, a concept I’ve gained from practicing as an SGI-USA Buddhist for 32 years. Going through rough times has taught me to have an appreciation for who I am, and to see the positive aspect of every supposed negative trait I’ve got. My doubt in myself reveals my great sensitivity, which is a large catalyst for my creativity, and generates natural empathy toward others. Because I struggle so vehemently with myself, I’m in a position to better understand and even encourage someone else. My experiences of enduring life’s inevitable sufferings, which may hit me in ways I never anticipated, still bring me back to learning what I’m made of. Endurance, tenacity, determination, sincere striving for personal growth. These are things about myself that help balance against my tendency to doubt. When I look objectively at how I’ve handled a really tough year of transition and challenge, I have to admit I am a person worthy of respect and victory. As I embrace myself with more acceptance and compassion, I become a person who can advance for both self and others. When I can balance care and humility for myself, I become better equipped to be there as a positive support for others, too. Struggles provide the opportunity for transforming failure into a turning point for victory, poison into medicine and creating value from suffering. When going through tough times, my inner battle against my lower tendencies becomes the springboard for me to rise more strongly, and to find the better part of myself. The better part of myself is the same as my best self and greatest potential. Using difficulties or the struggles to reach my goals is the path to forge my essential best self. So, obstacles? Bring it! What do you learn about yourself when going through struggles? How can you use difficulties to forge your best self? Feel free to SHARE this with others who may benefit from this info! Thank you! SIGN-UP HERE to get more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook!  Moon in Night Sky Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins  Facing the sun no matter what. Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins. By Jenny Leigh Hodgins
YOU ARE YOUR WORST ENEMY Have you ever realized that despite wanting to blame your personal failures or inability to accomplish your goals on external things like circumstances or people in your environment, the real reason you are unable to reach your goals is that you are your biggest obstacle? It is your own doubt of your ability that keeps you from crossing that victorious finish line. We all have our obstacles; we’re mystically either born poor, or rich, beautiful or plain, athletic or clumsy, creatively-inclined or blocked, healthy or unwell, connected or isolated, and so on. But the truth is that even those with the most challenging circumstances often succeed well beyond what others, with seemingly much more positive odds stacked in their favor, only dream about. In the game of life, having more fortunate circumstances does not fundamentally determine success or happiness. BELIEVE IN YOUR POWER If we would move forward through our respective difficulties with the inner determination that comes from solid self-confidence, we would feel the empowerment that core belief brings. This self-empowerment fuels the discovery of our own resources to persevere toward one accomplishment after another. Believing in human potential, in our inherent capabilities is itself the powerful drive that enables successful people to win over incredible odds. There are myriad examples of these kinds of success stories throughout history. Helen Keller, Franklin Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Edison are great examples of people who overcame health issues, poverty and multiple failures to emerge as strong, powerful, balanced, happy and successful role models whom others aspire to emulate. Attaining this kind of inner faith is not about self-centeredness. It is about believing in the positive potential within life itself. But it is nearly impossible to see the highest potential in others if you cannot find it in yourself. And vice versa. The possibilities are astounding if you consider the impact of believing in the positive capacity within yourself and of those in your daily environment. USE IMAGINATION Imagine how that would transform your view of daily life. How would finding the infinite potential within yourself and others change our world? Imagine how your day, your week, your life would play out if you started thinking: “I am doing enough. I am on the right track to my happiness. I’m making the right causes toward success because I’m sincerely focused on developing compassion, wisdom, taking responsibility, being the best I can be, and contributing to others. I trust in my own potential. I know that I will reach my goals, so time is inconsequent.” Imagine how your work-life, family, and community would be different if you thought, “I trust this person will do the right thing, get the job done, step up, has the best of intentions.” Fighting against your negative tendencies to see the better side of people goes a long way toward building both inner happiness and a more harmonious world. Let’s face it, we’re all working against problems within ourselves, our histories, our daily situations. But we all basically want to be at peace and happy. Let’s focus on that commonality, building trust that we each have what it takes to make the world a better place. Feel free to SHARE this with others who may benefit from this info! Thank you! SIGN-UP HERE to get more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook!  Never Give Up. Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
People think I have a large life. My energy commands a room, but it’s not intentional. In fact, sometimes I think I have two personalities. And, no, I'm not schizophrenic. I developed my exterior confidence through my job as a music educator, and my role as a Buddhist facilitator. Directing, leading and teaching large groups of people performing music, and facilitating faith-based activities with diverse groups provided abundant training. When I’ve had the opportunity to lead, there was no room for ego or attention to myself. There was a task to do. I’ve honed a skill to focus on the task at hand without regard to my personal feelings. I appreciate this skill. It enabled me to achieve more as a teacher, chorus conductor, faith leader and performing musician. It allowed me to see beyond myself and do more than I would have otherwise envisioned had I stopped to ponder my capability. ATTACK OF DOUBT On the flip side, my alter-ego is debilitatingly shy and constantly fighting doubt. Through sheer life experience and in particular debt to my SGI-USA Buddhist philosophy, I’ve managed to function well—beyond my insecurity. But it relentlessly attacked me when least expected with insomnia. Even when I thought I’d confronted my inner demons, fear and doubt insidiously assaulted my thoughts until the wee hours of morning. I’d combat it with my intellect, of course. I spoke to myself with a voice of calmness about reality and fool-proof strategies to turn away my inner demons. I distracted myself with reading, deep breathing and imagery of relaxed, happy visions. I chanted my Buddhist mantra while attempting to empty the barrage of negativity swirling in my brain. I got out of bed and stretched. I wrote my thoughts in my journal. I fought the battle until 3am, despite exhaustion. Finally, I’d drift off for about three hours of rest. In the morning it would all seem perfectly stupid. In the light of day, my evening struggle seemed like a mirage. Except that I was depleted for two days afterwards. MAKING HEADWAY This darkness has beat at my inner doors my entire life. I’ve dramatically lessened the effects of it. It used to cause such stomach-upset agony I couldn’t function beyond bed-rest. It caused me to develop respiratory issues. I had no stamina against this demon. I continued consistently battling it from the inside out with my determined prayer. I forged directly through it until I incrementally gained strength over it. I no longer have those anxiety attacks that shook my whole body with nausea or stomach pain. I no longer get respiratory illness or stage fright. I have no qualms about public speaking, performing, or facilitating. I don’t worry about what people think of me anymore. All those battles forged my strength and grew my confidence. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' When I’m striving to reach a personal goal, or break through to a new level of success in any aspect of my life, my doubts rear their ugliness to challenge me. But that’s how I know I’m on the right track. VICTORY OVER A STRONG OPPONENT My Buddhist practice confirms this is a sign of my inner growth; I’m pushing myself beyond comfort and growing my capacity larger than before. There should be some fear or doubt because I’m human. I’m tackling new and bold territory. I’m on to these twin evils (fear and doubt). They appear so I may open the path to my future with my true essence—my inner power fueled by belief in the human heart. My heart. There’s resistance so I may develop spiritual muscle. These most powerful opponents enable me to forge my full potential. Anything easy would not warrant a victory celebration. I wage on—with a resolute vow to never give up until I win absolute victory over every new challenge. I know it is a always a test of my faith. A chance for me to see how my determined prayer—starting from the inner realm—manifests in tangible, conspicuous external proof, based on the interconnectedness of life. I just have to do the inner work first. Take that, doubt and fear. Take THAT. Share your thoughts in the comments below. Pass this on to someone who may benefit from the information. SIGN-UP HERE to get more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com Check out my Self Care Resources page. Recommended Articles: Your Troubles Are Your Progress Barometer & Catalyst For Your Full Potential 5 Ways To Use Music & Nature For Self-Care Defeat Fear & Doubt with Your Courage & Capability How To Deflect Negativity To Become Happier Believing In The Positive My Top Tips For Winning Over Insomnia You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook! SIGN-UP HERE to get more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com |
SPIRITUAL WELLNESSIn my Spiritual Wellness blogs, you’ll find ways to overcome obstacles, reach goals, and experience more joy in the moment with spiritual awareness and inner transformation. Archives
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