Embrace Your Struggles

Have you ever gotten worked up about something, and not really known why, only later to realize that thing reminded you of something bad, or someone negative from the past? We all have events we wish never would have happened, something we said or did, or something that someone else said or did to us. Those memories stick with us just as much as the ones that bring us crazy joy. The difference is that negative events can be traumatic, and when anything happens that feels familiar to that bad moment, we understandably get triggered. We automatically feel emotionally charged and worked up, giving up a little bit of our power. I'm Victoria, and that's what I'm going to help you work through today. So wherever you are, check in with your body. Notice how you're sitting or standing. Maybe you're hunched over, or you're sitting straight up and alert. Shake out any areas that feel a little tense, rolling your neck, loosening your arms. Take a long, lazy breath, letting out any stress. Breathing in... And out. Once more. In, and out. It's human to look back on the tough moments in our life, and just remember the pain, or maybe frustration. But it's often within those pivotal experiences that we grow the most. We emerge stronger, grittier, and more knowledgeable on who we are and what we're made of. Truly embracing the growth from those moments is what helps us neutralize the trigger, removing the charge around a tough memory or a negative person. It's all about flipping the script on our coulda shoulda woulda mindset. Let's try it out. Right now, think of the last time you felt worked up about something triggering. Give yourself time to sit with that memory, reflecting on where you were, and perhaps who you were with. How does thinking of that tough time make you feel now? Notice what emotions are coming to the surface. Perhaps reflecting on that time or that person makes you frustrated or sad or confused. Know that you deserve to feel however you feel. Now I want you to come to the other side of that memory, to the here and now. What about the you who is here in this moment has grown because of that experience? Visualize yourself showing some love to you for what you've been through, and for who it's made you. The idea that we would have somehow been better off if only the tough stuff never happened can keep us living in a shoulda coulda woulda land, giving our past power over our present. You are strong and powerful, and everything you are, not in spite of your tough experiences, but because of them. Remember that when you need to take back a little power. Now go and get your shine on....