~Great Quote~

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"Anyone can give up - it's the easiest thing in the world to do...but to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart - that's true strength." -unknown

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Hugs,
Liz

(thanks for this one Cheryl! <3)

Success Redefined...

I have been rereading my journals...well, the ones that were left over after "The Burn" (Burn Baby Burn -- Cleansing!)...heehee...and it has got me thinking.

What is success?

To me success is being able to say that I did my best and that I gave it my all at that moment. To do the best I know at the time with all I have. Success is being able to lay my head down on my pillow at night knowing and feeling that I did all I was able to that day. Success is adding and creating goodness in the world -- smiling at strangers, holding a door for someone, talking with the person in front of or behind me in line, letting a car in ahead of me while driving, saying "Hi" to a stranger, etc. To me success is more of a feeling of fulfillment and joy and peace than a tangible/material artifact.

Things I have learned thanks to journaling:

(a) I need to do what I think is best because I live with my decisions and their consequences...how they effect myself and others

(b) the world is not so cut and dry...not all or nothing...not either-or...it is a place of contradictions

(c) to build confidence, it is the little things that count the most -- learning to cook a new meal, learning a new exercise at the gym, etc...stretching outside my comfort box

(d) grieving is a lifelong process...the acuteness dissipates though

(e) if I feel like crying, it is OK to cry...and if I am driving and feel tears building up (a few songs trigger crying in me if I am in need of a cry), it is cool to pullover and let them flow

(f) it is OK not to be moving a mile a minute...life is not always so fast paced...it is OK to slow down...in fact, it is best for me

(g) what may appear to be to the outside world is, most often, not how it actually is on the inside...judgments are useless...comparisons are useless

(h) it is OK for me to be scared about planning for my future...as long as it doesn't stop me from planning for it...as I have heard, "Feel the fear and do it anyways."

(i) it is OK if I don't reach my goals -- what matters is that I did my best and gave it my all to achieve them

(j) it is best to measure my success in accordance to what matters the most to me

(k) life is about learning lessons...if you fail to learn the lesson...life will continue to give you the opportunity to learn it before moving on

(l) life...it is all feedback, not failure

(m) look for the best in others

(n) at the end of the day what matters the most is how I feel towards and about myself...that is probably why it is called "self-esteem" and not "others-esteem" (heehee)

Hugs,
Liz

Letting Go...

So maybe this is the answer...

"To let go isn't to forget, not to think about, or ignore. It doesn't leave feelings of anger, jealousy, or regret. Letting go isn't about winning or losing. It's not about pride and it's not about how you appear, and it's not obsessing or dwelling on the past. Letting go isn't blocking memories or thinking sad thoughts, and it doesn't leave emptiness, hurt, or sadness. It's not about giving in or giving up. Letting go isn't about loss and it's not about defeat. To let go is to cherish the memories, but to overcome and move on. It is having an open mind and confidence in the future. Letting go is learning and experiencing and growing. To let go is to be thankful for the experiences that made you laugh, made you cry, and made you grow. It's about all that you have, all that you had, and all that you will soon gain. Letting go is having the courage to accept change, and the strength to keep moving. Letting go is growing up. It is realizing that the heart can sometimes be the most potent remedy. To let go is to open a door, and to clear a path and set yourself free."

-unattributed

Hugs,
Liz