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Getting Gritty

Doing something new can be terrifying. So many of us are unhappy with how things are going in our lives, but lack the grit to change.

I love that word grit. From the dictionary – Grit: firmness of mind or spirit : unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger.

I want to be gritty. Sometimes it’s not that easy though. I WANT to be skinny but I want to eat ice cream. I WANT to write a novel, but I also want to spend my spare time looking at Facebook and watching Netflix. I WANT to be the perfect mom but I also want to have a life.

So I think when it comes to making changes – the question is – How bad do you want it? I’m a schemer. I get lots of ideas. Books I’m going to write. After school programs for kids. Trips to Haiti to save starving children. A coffee shop and bookstore that connects to a therapy practice – so the patients wait in the coffee shop. (How cool would that be?) There are a lot of things that I want to do, but I want other things more.

Every now and then I get down and gritty. I want something bad enough to do the work. If you asked me what my long term goals were, I would say – I want to run my own business and help people. I’ve wanted that for as long as I can remember. The problem was, I got really good at working for someone else. I was successful. I made enough money. I had a cool title. I didn’t like what I was doing though. I was unfulfilled. I wasn’t helping people directly. I was an extrovert stuck in an office working on policy and procedure.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Anais Nin

I’ve always loved that quote. My career finally got so uncomfortable for me that I decided it was time to change. I was terrified, but I did it anyway. I made mistakes, but I didn’t let them define me. I kept moving forward. I let the encouragement from people I care about propel me, and I let the criticism from friends and foes motivate me as well. I even put a sticker in my planner that said – PROVE THEM WRONG.

I don’t have it all figured out, and I’m still making mistakes, but I did it! I started a business and we are helping people. I’m tired, but I’m happy. Sometimes I feel like a mess, but gritty people are often messy. It’s all a part of having unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. Resolve has been a dream long in the making, and I’m so excited about where it’s heading. I have so many schemes in the works:

– Yoga Classes

– Groups

– Self Care Events

– An edgy blog that’s not a normal “therapy practice blog”

– Coffee Shop Therapy Office Bookstore

– Therapy Goats

– Summer Camps

– Self-Care Retreats

– World Domination

Who knows how many of those I’ll find the grit for, but for now, I can say I changed my life. I’m proud of that, and I have a feeling it will give me the grit to do more.

What kind of change are you ready to make in your life?