Arm yourself with this motto
Here’s a motto that I forgot. But, over recent years, it’s one that has come back to mind - perhaps because when things get tough, it’s exactly what I need to hear. (And maybe it’s because you need to hear it too?)
Words are powerful, friend.
It’s 11th grade, and we’re handed another long essay assignment in english literature. Exam prep, we’re told.
A collective groan ripples across the class. One kid even tries to climb out of the window (literally). We remind him that we’re on the second floor and that writing a long essay, as bad as that is, really isn’t worth breaking a leg or two over.
How many long essays do we have to do?! This is ridiculous.
Our teacher smiles. I can’t quite decide if it’s genuine sympathy for our plight or if she’s enjoying our collective dismay. (I suspect it’s the latter.)
“Stop whining. What do I always say?” She waits expectantly. (Cue another collective groan.) But still, we dutifully chant:
“I love it. I’ll do it. It makes me a better person.”
Ms Black makes us repeat the motto. Over and over. And over. Every time we have a long essay, we chime out in unison: I love it. I’ll do it. It makes me a better person.
I didn’t believe it back then (after all, exactly how useful ARE long essays?), but this motto did teach me an important lesson:
Things may be uncomfortable. They may suck. You may even want to climb out of the window to escape them…
But here’s the thing: you can feel whatever emotion comes up, as long as you move forward and learn to love the process.
I didn’t believe it then, but I’d dutifully recite that motto over and over.
And eventually, with time + countless long essays written, I did learn to love it.
That’s what excites me - the fact that words have the incredible power to create change. Because even if we don’t (at the time) believe what we’re saying, the very act of reciting a simple positive phrase can change the way our brains are wired. It pushes out the negative and replaces it with something better. It opens the doors to possibility. (Isn’t that cool? That you have the ability to change the way your brain is structured simply by what you think?)
Do things that make you uncomfortable.
Do the Things that are hard.
I LOVE seeing how things change, how obsessions shift and how intangible ideas become tangible over time. It can be painful, messy and a whole lot of WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON – but it does become clearer. Promise. The often messy middle is all a part of the process!
So when things get tough, or you find yourself having to work on something that feels kinda yuck, whether you believe it or not, recite this motto to yourself: I love it. I’ll do it. It makes me a better person.
“Because ultimately, the things that challenge us are what make us strong.”
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