Sometimes things happen in life that we weren’t expecting …serious illness, incredibly difficult circumstances, pain and heartbreak which slams into our chest at full speed buckling our knees. Without warning, we’re navigating situations which are way beyond anything we could imagine, trying figure out what to do, worrying about what will happen next and wondering what we did to deserve this in the first place.
These experiences change everything … how you see yourself, how you see the world and the people around you. They also have an uncanny way of absolutely ripping your self esteem to shreds … along with your beliefs about what’s possible and not possible too. Nothing looks the same anymore. Not one thing remains familiar, least of all the ground beneath your feet.
I know this to be true because I’ve experienced it firsthand. And I’m guessing, because you’re reading this, perhaps so have you.
And because I know how it feels and I know what it’s like, I feel a tremendous responsibility to share my story in full view of you and all the other people facing similar battles or feeling sometimes overwhelmed by their own game-changing life-altering, knee-buckling experiences. I feel a responsibility to say.
“I see you.”
“I get it.”
“You may be hurting, really struggling. You may feel that no one understands what you’re going through … but I do and I know you’re there.”
I know right now you’re really trying. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind you’re giving it everything you have.
I see you wanting to break free from your circumstances, so badly. Somewhere in your heart you know you were made for more than this. That there is something greater out there for you than just struggle. Something that feels good and hopeful. Something resembling a better life, maybe even your best life, maybe even your own incredible destiny … but you’re just not sure if you’ll ever get there.
And in some of my own darkest times I said to myself.
“One day, I’m going to make it through this and I’m going to write books and stand on stages and I’m going be an example to others”
“An example that you CAN make it. You CAN survive whatever you’re going through … no matter how hopeless it appears. After all the pain and the loss and the challenges, you can once again thrive.”
I wanted to be lighthouse for those who were lost and unsure which direction the head in. Because so many times over the years that’s exactly what I needed. Someone to call out to me and say … ” You’re almost there. If I can do it, so can you.”
But mountain tops aren’t always conquered on the timelines we envisage. Definitions of success and survival are always in flux. I cannot say to you that I have overcome or that I’ve triumphed over all the challenges in my life. I don’t have a ‘how to guide’ for making it or a Ted talk declaring that I am now thriving. And because of that … so many times, I have felt that I have failed. Failed myself and failed you. Like I have let everyone down.
But in spite of all that, I’ll continue to share my story… just in case there’s someone out there who needs to hear it.
Someone … who needs to draw strength from my strength, be moved by my bravery and propelled forward by my efforts.
Someone, who needs to know that there is another person out there who gets it. Who knows what it’s like.
So wherever you are on your journey … deep in the trenches, high on the mountain top or filled with uncertainty at the start line … remember, I’m in the stands cheering for you every step of the way.
You can’t miss me.
I’m the one waving a massive, homemade sign above my head. It’s got brightly coloured stickers on it and glitter all around the edges … and in the centre it reads.
Keep going. You’ve got what it takes.
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