Endurance 101:

Sometimes you feel like you are one let down away from a breakdown.

It can feel much like control is slipping out of your hands.

And there is this desperate need to grip something.

The feeling of needing to hold on tight to something.

Control was never in your hands.
Total control over an outcome is an illusion.
The only real control we have is in the way we react to situations.
The way to train your reaction is to work on your perception of what goes on around you.

Grab onto gratitude.

Somewhere someone wishes your biggest problem was their smallest problem.

This reminds you that you are blessed.

But then some time passes and...

Sometimes you feel like if someone asks you to help them talk through another "silly" problem you may lose your mind.

Grab onto gratitude.

Somewhere someone wishes they could be even a fraction as social and comfortable telling someone they desperately need help.

This reminds you that you are blessed.

But then some time passes and...

Sometimes you think boredom with managing the details another person overlooks will force you to be less detailed and "wing it"...because it isn't fair.

Grab onto gratitude.

Somewhere someone has tried and failed at a skill necessary to keep their job... The same things you brush off as "easy".

This reminds you that you are blessed.

But then some time passes and...

And...

You are back feeling like you are on the verge.

Then the cycle of guilt starts over right?

"Somewhere someone has it far worse right"

Probably...but...

You shouldn't feel ashamed for thinking of yourself.

After all, it is your life you have to find happiness in.

That is what makes life a gift that we were given.

When you think of others struggling more than you in an attempt to gain perspective…

Try to disconnect that visualization with feelings of guilt.

Instead, put your good energy into the positive, uplifting, and motivating feelings of gratitude.

Gratitude means you have to stop for a moment.

Stop worrying about “what will happen if” in the future.

Gratitude will bring you back to NOW.

We can only be grateful for what we have right now.

In this moment.

Gratitude for your children’s health, or the memory of someone you loved who is no longer here.

Both of those are present in the now.

Breakdowns are always things we worry about happening in the moments after right now.

Come back to now.

The things you are grateful for right now are secure.

You do not have to wonder if you have them right now.

When you feel like you have reached your maximum capacity for what you can handle remember this:

It was never a possibility to control everything. The only thing you can control is how you look at what has happened. The option to see the glass half full is always there. Find it.

Keep moving forward.