Today's Pain Is Tomorrow's Power

Hello Bright Community! Welcome to today's episode of BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD Podcast. I am Kelly Ward - your host. 

I hope your week has been really beautiful and I am so excited to be spending time with you. 

So today I want to discuss how self-defeating self-pity is and how we need to rise up from the struggles we may face today and turn those difficult times into strength to propel us forward. The pain and struggle that you may face right now is going to serve as strength for you tomorrow. The one thing in life that is certain is CHANGE. Therefore you need to always enjoy the good moments and work through the worst moments you endure, because on the other side of that struggle is power. You need to really focus on being someone who doesn't shy away from a challenge, but embraces it, because whether you win or lose, you always win, because you either WIN or you LEARN something valuable. Know that even though a situation may be difficult for you today, those difficult times are going to help you achieve a greater level tomorrow. Every single lesson you learn each day should drive you towards bettering yourself and improving your life. Starting your day in a good mental state is so important, and you will be able to utilize the lessons you learned today to create a brighter future for yourself. I know that at times it can be hard to be in a good frame of mind when you are going through something difficult in your life, we are human, however if you want your life to improve in a positive way, you need to focus on taking the steps to get there. I took the liberty of creating a YouTube video all about how to start your day with a positive mindset and I have added the link to that video in the bio, so feel free to check it out. If you are going to succeed in life, then you are going to need to learn life's greatest lessons. 

How you approach life says a lot about you. Let's discuss the simple ways for you to turn your pain into power. 

1. Fully experience your emotions. The biggest mistake that people make is when they are hurt or experiencing a difficult moment in their life, they try and hide their emotions. This is totally counterproductive and only prolongs the entire healing process. The 3 steps of healing are - discomfort, acceptance and growth and in that order. You need to feel what you do, embrace it, understand it and accept the situation for what it is so that you can move forward. To feel, is to be human, so embrace your emotions, however don't allow them to control you. 

2. Choose to challenge your perspective. Life is not always going to be a downward spiral, when it is, what you need to do, is focus on the positive instead of the negative. Our perspective plays a major role in acceptance, which is the second step in the healing process. Even when you feel like you want to quit, focus on the positive. 

3. Surround yourself with the right people. When you go through difficult times in your life, you will quickly find out, who the people are that you can count on and who you simply can't count on, and that is totally fine, because everyone is going through their own struggles, however take this opportunity to weed out those in your life who may be holding you back and choose to nurture the relationships with people who want the best for you. I am someone who loves to see the good in others, sometimes to my own fault, and I had to come to the realization that some people won't do for you, what you would do for them. Are you going to focus on those negative feelings about someone, or are you going to focus on your own happiness and move forward? Your choice. 

4. Do something for yourself. It is such a waste of energy and time focusing on events that you no longer have any control over. So instead of fixating on the negative, use that time to focus on making yourself feel good again, and one of the healthiest and best ways to accomplish that, is through physical activity. Why don't you see how a week of jogging for 10-15 minutes a day will make you feel about yourself, or going to a Pilates class. Become interested in an activity that gives you a spark inside and motivates you to feel good again. 

5. Acceptance and Forgiveness is key. When you hold onto resentful and negative emotions, it only affects you. It also keeps you trapped in the past forever. You are only focusing on a situation that you are allowing to define the person you are today. So my advice, learn to let it go. It won't happen overnight, therefore allow time to heal, however you need to focus on taking the steps to release what is holding you back. By accepting that life will eventually knock you down, is a powerful stepping stone towards embracing growth in your life and encouraging mental toughness. When you constantly try and avoid hardship and pain in your life, it will only affect you in a negative way and you won't truly be living. I challenge you to make the most out of any situation. When you go through a hard time, focus on the solution and not the problem, you may want to quit 1000 times, however what defines you - is how many times you keep getting back up again. Stop playing the victim and stop making excuses. 

In every situation you go through, no matter how bad it is or how painful it feels - ask yourself - is this experience making me better or is this experience making me worse? How am I going to improve myself using the lesson that has been provided to me. Look for the lesson in every hardship. You have what it takes to make it through anything. 

Thank you so much for listening. Have an amazing week!

Bye :)