Stop the Coulds and the Shoulds

Trust your timing.

As I sit on my couch and write this post, I can’t believe April has arrived. I had all these intentions set for March and I barely accomplished the goals I wanted. 

I love writing for my blog and recording my  podcast. The thing is I am also juggling my day job, being a wife, mother to two teenage girls, cooking, cleaning, laundry, my kids sports’ schedules, my personal growth, and everything in between. I am exhausted as I type all of this and that’s exactly how I have been feeling!

I began to think about all of the coulds and shoulds that I missed out on this month. My mind began rolling through these thoughts of how I was slow to progress, should be further along in my writing, and needed to get it together to make it happen. Thoughts that easily could lead me down the rabbit hole of not being enough, digging into lack and completely disregarding any progress I had made.

Choose Courage

It was time for me to practice what I preach and tap into courage.

I am usually a positive person, but I am human after all, and sometimes fall prey to Doubting Debbie showing up in my life. I was falling short on courage and finding myself wondering if this writing thing is even worth it. 

Courage and I were not gelling. I kept thinking of how other creatives were so far ahead of me and found myself falling into the comparison trap.  I actually wrote a post about it on my Instagram and can read it here.

Staying in the comparison trap would not serve me well. I had to begin to think about my own gifts and talents while focusing on gratitude. I began to think about how my writing is about inspiring women to embrace fear and choose courage. Getting messages from readers of my blog who tell me how they are starting to understand fear as a friend and not a scary shadow and learning to step out of their comfort zone, reminds me to keep going. 

I took the time to really take stock of what I had accomplished so far and I started to show myself some love and grace. While I was not where I wanted to be, I had been steadily making progress.  Progress is not always leaps and bounds. It is often slow and consistent, but that’s what will often get you further. 

Gratutude Wins

I also had to tap into gratitude. Gratitude is the act of being grateful and showing appreciation. Oprah is the Queen of Gratitude and often reminds us that practicing gratitude allows more abundance to come into your life. 

It can be hard to be grateful, especially when you feel lacking in progress. Taking the time to think about and offer gratitude for your life can be one of the biggest gifts you can give yourself. 

I took the time to journal what I was grateful for and as I wrote my words, all the comparison and ”not enoughness” feelings began to melt away. I was able to appreciate where I had been and where I was at that moment. And where I am is right where I needed to be. My timing is my timing.

 I didn’t have to compare myself. Comparison is really the  thief of joy as I wrote in my last blog post and I wanted my joy back. I wanted to embrace my timing, my gifts, and gratitude.

I had to choose the courage to trust my timing. It’s called timing for a reason and I had to trust where my timing had landed me.

Choose the Courage to Trust Your Timing

And how do you choose the courage to trust your timing? Well, here are three areas to focus on:

1. Cultivate your gifts and talents: you have your gifts for a reason. Take simple action to figure out what you need to do; even if it’s five minutes a day. Share your work, art or creativity because someone needs what you have to offer.

2. Practice Gratitude: when you are grateful you can really take time to appreciate where you are and what you have.  Make a list of all the big and small things you’re grateful for in your life and work. It will allow you to reflect on all the good that you have at the moment and in return make room for more abundance.

3.  Just Be: take time to just be. Sometimes you can get so caught up in doing that you forget to just be. You are a human being not a human doing. Take the time to go within. Going within allows you to gain clarity and figure out your next steps.

Choose the courage to trust your timing. You are right where you are meant to be. Not a minute early and not a minute late. Your timing will always lead you towards your path. 

Are you looking for a journal to help you tap into courage and gratitude? The choose courage daily will help you on your journey to tapping into courage and writing words of gratitude. You can purchase it on Amazon.

In Love and Courage, 

MO