Stand. Back. Up.

You're exhausted. You feel like you've given everything you have. You're drained. Your heart aches. You don't feel able to go in again. Your soul just wants to cry. So you do. You cry, and you cry. You let it all out. And then. You stand back up. Even though your legs are shaking and you're scared, you stand back up. You wipe your tears, you take a deep breath and- You. Get. Back. Up.

/ / /

Everyone's story has struggle. Some sort of pain, setback, rejection, trauma is intertwined into all of our stories. Without it, none of us would be who we are. We wouldn't be as strong, as resilient, as wise as we are today. Something I'm working on is viewing struggle from a different angle. Rather than running from, and fearing the setback, I'm working on facing it. Saying: "I know you're uncomfortable for me right now. I know that although you don't sit well, and I don't necessarily like you, I need to acknowledge and give space for your presence for you to leave." I am a firm believer that all feelings hold purpose. I also firmly believe that even in the darkest of experiences, and the hardest of days, that we can choose to search for purpose, even if it's hidden so, so deep. Something Rachel Hollis has taught me through her powerful book, "Girl, Wash Your Face", is that when hard things occur, we have the power to choose: do we let it overcome us? Do we allow the struggle, and the pain, to take us over, pin us down, and live the rest of our lives stuck in the same position? Or do we choose to use this pain as fuel? Fuel to our fire. We ultimately get to choose to stand back up and try again. You, and only you gets to choose how to use your power. "...don't you dare squander the strength you have earned just because the acquisition of it was painful" (Rachel Hollis). Whoa whoa WHOA. One more time. "...don't you dare squander the strength you have earned just because the acquisition of it was painful". Let that sink into your soul real quick.

/ / /

Let me remind you that nothing worth having is easy. A successful, empowering business, for example, is going to be hard as heck to create and expand. Having goals larger than most people will require you to step up, and show up more than most people would. And you're going to experience struggle within this process. You're going to experience periods of time where you're unsure of yourself. You're going to have off days. You're not always going to "have the answer". This is all a part of the process. And you get to choose to either run from this un-comfort, or recognize and resurrect from it.

I'm not saying it will be easy. It won't, to put it bluntly. I can tell you right now it will be hard. But it's worth it. Nothing. Worth. Having. Is. Easy. But it's worth it. It is so incredibly worth it. Because you emerge from these struggles, this pain, the countless hard days, a stronger, better you. You emerge with a deeper knowledge of what you want. You emerge with more passion, more fuel to your fire. You emerge with a strength so deep, you are now living proof that it's possible to resurrect from something difficult.

/ / /

You are powerful. You are resilient. You are more than the struggle. You are more than the hard days, and the tears that you've shed. These things have so deeply helped shape the powerful being you are today, but you are not defined by this pain. The part of struggle that truly matters in the long run, is how you choose to react to it. And I'm here to push you to stand. Back. Up. I'm here to encourage you to try again. Remind yourself why you started. Remind yourself how far you've come, and try again.

I'm rooting for you so deeply. You. Hold. The. Power. You are in charge. Own it.

/ / /

- j