The Gift

I was speaking with a friend the other day who was going through a very difficult season in her life. As I was listening to her, she mentioned that she had been given a gift. She continued to explain that even though she is going through one of the most difficult storms of her life, there was a gift to be found somewhere in the rubble.

The storms are going to come....the question is are we prepared? Do we have the right tools to weather the storm? The answer is yes. Within every storm there is a test and within every storm there is a solution.

Next time you are going through tough times, ask yourself "what is the test here?" What is it that I am supposed to learn? Your learning is the true gift. It's a gift that comes from God and a gift that is so special, so unique, and one that is to be treasured.

We become who we are through adversity. Adversity molds us, helps us to better ourselves, and helps us to grow both mentally and spiritually.

Many times, our greatest struggles births our greatest miracles.

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

Do you ever get an idea that is just seems to have come out of nowhere? And, as you start thinking about it, your excitement rises. You really get that warm and fuzzy feeling, your mind is working a mile a minute, and you can almost taste the success on your tongue.

Then, bam! Fear sets in. You start analyzing your choices, you start looking at how much this is going to cost you, you start believing that there is just no way that you are going to be able to do this.

That's what fear is. A paralyzer. It's like a quick, vicious, and deadly sting that slowly begins to creep throughout your body holding you a prisoner of it's fate. Fear is not nice. Fear is not here to be your friend. In fact, fear is here to be your enemy.

With any task that you set out to do that reflects your calling and purpose, there will be someone or something that will try and stop you.

The way to overcome fear is to feel the fear for what it is, and do it anyway. So what if you miss the mark Each effort that y.ou put in just takes you closer to reaching your goal. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times before he reached the light bulb. And he noted that each time was not a failure; rather it was one step closer to reaching his goal.

If we are afraid to lose sight of the shore, how can we expect to experience new and different things in our lives? Let alone, expect different results? If you want a different result tomorrow, you must do something different today.

Tomorrow isn't set in stone. Tomorrow is created with you. If you let fear keep you down, then accept that your life will be the same tomorrow as it is today. Now, there is nothing wrong with that if that is what you want.

But, if you want something different, you will need to look fear in the face. You will need to feel all those nasty feelings that we would rather not feel. You know, those feelings that make you uncomfortable that you like to sweep under the carpet and forget about until another day.

Here's the reality check......no one is going to come and clean out those feelings for you except you. If you don't take control of fear, it will take control of you.

Here's the secret.....once you face fear, you can acknowledge fear. And once you acknowledge fear, you can neutralize fear.

Bottom line......fear sucks! But your will to succeed is stronger. Ask yourself this question right now....who are you going to let win?