Thursday, October 1, 2020

Learn to Appreciate and Trust Yourself

Lean into your perfect imperfections and allow it to lead you to places you never dreamt possible!  When you begin to appreciate and trust your true self, you begin to love that true self and from there the doors open because you are ready to receive what the universe has in store for you!  

10 years after I began my journey2bloom and two years after creating my LLC, I finally launched my website journey2bloom. As I took time to reflect on this journey, celebrate the gratitude I have for every single person in my village - the tribe that helped me along the way - thought about why it took me so long to make it "official". The honest truth - I was afraid I wouldn't live up to the person everyone in this village thinks of me to be through their eyes. I was yet to see myself half the way that others saw me.

In short - I wasn't ready to trust myself enough to share my experiences with the world and allow my journey to truly become another person’s survival guide. Going live with the website, solidified that I had finally learned to appreciate and trust myself enough to allow others to trust me with their most intimate of fears, insecurities, and circumstances as it relates to something so personal, their children!

Looking back, I recognize that by not sharing the ups and downs and lessons learned on this road less traveled I was denying others the opportunity to know they are NOT ALONE. I came to my senses by realizing my vulnerabilities could give others the strength and resilience to continue advocating for their child. I mean helping one person may not change the world, yet it could very well change the world for one person. So, from here forward I vow to worry less and take inspired action more because I would rather go forward helping one person than stand still and help no one. I suppose you could say that learning to appreciate and trust myself is leading to inspired action.

I spent the better part of my life helping others help themselves and forgetting to help myself in the process. I doubled down on this after becoming a mom and made it my mission to ensure my kids were provided with all of the opportunity afforded to them as innocent children in a world filled with unconscious bias, judgement and unnecessary pressure to "be normal" and fit in. I know all too well what it's like to be told your child won't ever go to a normal school or that your child is a kid with so many issues that the teacher doesn't want them in their classroom because they don't know how to work with him. I know what it feels like to be lost and like you are the only one in the world dealing with these issues and there are no answers to be given because there is nothing that can "fix" or help the situation you are living. I know what it feels like to have others conclude something about your child's behavior without any facts or data to back up the accusations. I know how it feels to not get answers and feel lost in verbiage and acronyms that make no sense, feeling like there is no way to help your child and yet no way out of maze you are trying to navigate.

I also know how it feels to have someone step up to the plate and go to bat for your child, telling you how special they are and that they see how hard you are working to give them the best life possible. I know how it feels to actually witness the difference in your child's behavior and progress based on who is working with him and the attitude in which they choose to take toward your child no matter how he behaves. I have seen first-hand the different actions and reactions that drove to meltdowns or led to breakthroughs. Ultimately, I have lived a nightmare and didn't let it break me - instead I used it to fuel my desire to inspire resilience and in turn it propelled me into this journey2bloom.

Ultimately, I know how it feels to be supported by SME's who are unconditionally invested in helping you help your child no matter the cost. When I recognized it was time to advocate for my second son, the first people I called were those who had been there for me the first time around - my village - my tribe. They once again lifted me up and inspired resilience in me when I thought I had no fuel left in the tank.  Through their unwavering support I found energy, I found hope and I found my voice to forge on in the quest - this time to give my second son the same opportunity as my first. There is so much to cover, and yet today, I will share the things I wish I knew sooner:

  • It doesn't make me weak to ask for help
  • I don't have to change myself for other people
  • It is utterly impossible to please everyone
  • It is ok to cut off friends that haven't earned a spot in my life
  • I am harder on myself than I need to be
  • My worth isn't found in the opinion of others

I wish I had known all of the above so many years ago and yet I didn't. What I do know is that it is never too late to recognize that all of these statements are true. Allowing myself to let go of the guilt I felt for the years wasted not knowing these to be true and shifting my focus to celebrate what I know as fact now were key influencers in my decision to finally launch my website. This is significant for many reasons, most importantly because starting today I get to do what I love and help others in return. Every decision we make begins with a choice. I choose to focus on what I can control allowing me to step into a role that fully aligns with my purpose and passion - creating an environment for parents to find their voice and opportunities for the type relationships I had the privilege of creating to bloom.

For those that read this, thank you! For those who know someone who may benefit from reading this, please share! Paying it forward is so important because going through this journey is More Than Any One Person Can Handle Alone!


#journey2bloom

#inspireresilience

#ittakesavillage

#movingmountains


Find out more about how I can help here -> https://journey2bloom.wixsite.com/mysite










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