There is strength in the struggle!

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

~Napoleon Hill

The dictionary describes stress as a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life.  Something that causes strong feelings of anxiety and pressure.

We all experience stress.  If we have breath in us, we will always be working through something, and working towards something. No matter what, we always get to choose how we will respond to situations and problems that come up.  Will it be calm, focused and optimistic? Or will it be worried, anxious and afraid?  One choice is healthy for our body and life.  The other is toxic.

Here is the thing.  Not all stress is bad.  We need just the right amount of tension and pressure to move us forward, to grow, change and strengthen.  We get into trouble when we don’t release our stress and tension on a daily basis with exercise, meditation and creating balance in our life – doing things we love to do that feeds our spirit and nourishes our soul. 

If you are in a period of time when the stresses of life seem over bearing, take a lesson from nature.  I read a story of a butterfly perched on a windowsill…struggling to break free from its cocoon.  A person observing and watching its struggle decided to jump in and help.  He gently cut the butterflies cocoon open.  But when the butterfly emerged it was unable to fly because what was intended as help actually prevented it from strengthening its wings to prepare for flight. THERE IS STRENGTH IN THE STRUGGLE.

So, I want to encourage you today, instead of asking “why is this happening? Why do I have to deal with all of this?”  Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this? “What can I do right now that will move me forward in a positive, healthy direction?

It’s never too late to move forward in a healthy, positive direction. The key is to live on purpose in thought, attitude and action, and get really good at living one day one moment at a time.

So, remember, we have only one day at a time to live, so live this day consciously and deliberately and choose well!