Every now and then there comes along a song that really moves me and burns into my soul.   I am not sure if it where I am at in my life or not, but this one really resonates in me and inspire me to persevere.

Lately I have been encountering a couple different extremes of people in my life.   Or at least I have been more aware of them.    You know the types, we encounter them every day, there are people who use the trials and hardships in their lives as an excuse to complain, to justify why they just can’t make their dreams come alive, why they continue to either talk about their plans with no actions or all of the reason why they just aren’t taking action.   Then there is the type, the type that harnesses all of their experience from the mistakes, from the hardships, from the crap that life has thrown at them, both with the help of their own actions, and by complete chance.   They take that energy and harness it, and become fueled by the desire to persevere.

become fueled by the desire to persevere @ashliepappas

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When it comes down to it, we all have excuses readily available.   Everyone experiences pain, suffering, and things in life that just aren’t fair.   Here’s a newsflash.   Life isn’t fair.   I’ve seen people sit stuck in situations that they have absolutely no control over, refusing to move forward out of principle, because the situation wasn’t fair.   They assume they are the only ones who have it rough, but in reality, we all have our baggage, we all have our scars.   We may not be able to see, but everyone knows pain.

Years ago, there was a time that I was that person.   I would cut off my own hand to spite the one who slapped it. Well, that would leave me even more wounded, more angry, more entitled, but still stuck.   Usually more stuck than I originally was.   A very prime example in my life is when my first daughter passed away in 2001.   She was born without kidneys, no one did this to her or to me.   Between the depression of knowing my baby probably wouldn’t survive and having to be inactive for about 5 months during pregnancy, I put on 100lbs.   I spent years angry at the world, at my body, at the circumstances, that my body had become that way.   I was completely unmotivated to persevere and felt entitled to having a quick fix to lose weight, like the world owed me restitution for my circumstances.   It wasn’t until I was able to let go of those excuses, of those reasons it shouldn’t be like it was in the first place, that I was able to move forward.   I was able to focus on eating cleaner and moving more.   It took 18 months, but I ended up taking off the weight.   The scars still are there, but it is a part of who I am, my story, what I have to offer to someone who is sitting in their mountain of poo saying “well, it’s still warm enough and since it wasn’t fair, it shouldn’t be my problem”.

Don’t “Should” on yourself!

Sitting in a big ol’ pile of should doesn’t do anyone any good.   It doesn’t change anything.   We have the present to take action, and with those actions we can change our future and persevere.   It really is that simple.

We all have our scars

Everyone has encountered situations that just aren’t fair.   We’ve made bad decisions.   We have been bumped, bruised, and guess what?   If you are reading this, you lived through it.   Everyone’s situation is a little different, some more than others, but everyone experiences pain.   It is what we do with the pain that matters.

We all have an inner “Superhero”

Everyday we experience situations, both good and bad, and what we choose to do with that is up to us.   We can stuff it down and use it as a reason to justify lack of action, failure, or staying in a situation that isn’t ideal.   OR we can use it to fuel us to change the situation, to take action.   We can harness the pain, the injustice and turn it into something beautiful.   There may be things in my life that happen, things I have no control over.   You do too.   What we do with it is something we do have control over.    It’s okay to feel how we feel and be where we are, but our reactions and our actions pave the path of our life.

Next time you are in a situation that isn’t fair and is causing pain, ask yourself “What can I do?   Does this pain serve me?   Is there something I can do to make it serve me or others?”    We really do have the power to take all of the negative energy within us and turn it to positive energy. We are resilient and can persevere past damn near anything.  Life is so much more fulfilling when I embrace this mindset as it removes me from being in the role of a victim and puts me in a place where I can objectively look at what I do have to work with and go from there.   Harness your inner superhero and you’ll be amazed by what you are truly capable of!

How do you nurture your inner superhero?