A few years back now, I trained as a professional dancer. The entertainment industry can sometimes be a negative and ugly space that offers huge highs and equally deep lows. There are often more performers than jobs available which can breed comparison and bitterness if left unchecked. What I noticed after graduation is that it wasn’t necessarily the ablest and talented that found and kept work. Rather it was those that continued to work hard and persevere. It was those tenacious in their self-belief and/or pursuit of work that enabled them to find success. It made me realise that our beliefs are so crucial to our victory. We hear it all the time from self-help-quotes, podcasts and books and yet I wonder how many of us actually take note and do anything to actively guard our hearts and train our minds. When we get to the edge of ourselves do we give up or keep going? I once saw a greeting card with a picture of an elderly couple on it that read something along the lines of, “People often ask us how we’ve managed to stay married all of these years, we answer, we come from an era where if something was broken we’d fix it”
For some reason, we’ve grown up in a western culture that can feel entitled, that feels like just because we want something we should have it, just because we’re passionate about something we should be able to do it. Previous generations who fought wars for our freedom were just grateful to be alive. No doubt they fought for the freedom of opportunity that we have today, and in many ways, it’s a blessing. However, our ease of opportunity if we’re not careful can lead us to lose the fight to make things work. We must remember and learn from our elders that victory doesn’t just happen.
So today’s slightly late #wednesdaywisdom which is now technically a #thursdaythought is a bit of a throwback to an insta post I did a while back entitled: DO IT ANYWAY! Whatever your ‘it’ is – keep going and do it anyway.
Do it anyway
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When it’s hard, when it’s going well and when it’s not, if no-one notices, if it’s slow going, if it feels like you’re not making the progress you thought you would, if it’s scary, when people don’t understand, if you’re standing out there on your own..
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Do it anyway
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Keep going, persevere, keep your head down and plough on. If it’s a labour of love it will require some pushing. Speaking as a Mum I can tell you that actual labour isn’t fun! In fact, it’s a lot of hard work! Sienna wasn’t birthed in the ‘natural’ way, I had a c-section after a looooooooooooooooonnngggg labour without my preferred result. So even when things take an unexpected detour, and the road doesn’t look like what you envisioned – keep going and DO IT ANYWAY
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Three ‘W’s to help keep you going
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Know Your Worth – Your validation doesn’t come from others, culture or any outside influence. It’s an intrinsic value you’re born with as a human and discover when you know Him who created you for purpose and died for you motivated by love. He believes you are worth His sacrifice. Before any success or accolade, triumph or failure you’ve made or will make, before any kind or ugly words were spoken over you – your worth was already established
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Know Your Why – Why are you doing what you’re doing? You started because you thought it was worthwhile so remind yourself of that often – like all the time! “Your vision could be someone’s only hope”
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Know Your Where – What’s the vision? “Without vision, the people perish” or in some translations “they cast off restraint” Proverbs 29 v 18. In other words, without vision, we lose sight of things, forget the goal, let it slip, don’t care. Set the vision ahead and look at it often as you take each step
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Hope that encourages someone today. I’m encouraging myself to. Tag someone who needs to hear it. Love y’all 😊❤️
Faith Diaries 