Motivation

“You don’t need a catastrophic event to appreciate the good things in your life—but my gut says that if you picked up this book there’s a solid chance you’ve gone through (or are going through) one. What I want you to hear me say right here up front is, I get it. I’d like to look you in the eyes and tell you that you’re strong enough to survive this—even on the days that feels impossible. You are strong enough and it is possible to come out the other side as a better version of yourself.

Yes, I said better.

You must decide right now that while your hardship will beat you up and it may rob you of whole pieces, you will not lose yourself in the grief. It is possible to glean lasting, positive change from even the most terrible situations. You can come through your pain as someone better than you went into it.

When humans go through something hard, they react in one of two ways. They come out the other side either better or worse. It’s impossible to walk through hell and leave it the same way you went in. Nobody walks through fire unscathed. You either burn up into ashes or you get forged in the flames and emerge as something new.

So, what will you choose?

Will you allow this season that you’re in to wear you down and diminish you? Will you become bitter or angry? Will you live the rest of your life drowning in anxiety and fear of being hurt again? Will you allow loss to define you for the rest of your life? Or will you fight back?

Because make no mistake, this will be a fight. Finding your center again, reaching for joy, honing your strength, claiming your faith, having the courage to move forward when you’ve been battered and bruised? Those things will take every ounce of your ability and none of them is achieved quickly. It won’t be easy, but it is possible.”