The hump day push through is here. After a rainy start to the week, literally and figuratively, I got myself up and at ’em. It’s been a rainy couple of weeks for my household. We lost a beloved pet to illness. During that heartbreaking time a long standing friendship came to an end. I was on an emotional roller coaster for a time.

Yet I was always told that in order to receive something new you have to let go of the old. Whether that is old habits, old ways of thinking, old draining relationships, whatever that old stuff is, it’s in the way. If your hands are full there is no room to pick up anything else anyways. So in the spirit of moving forward, I started mapping out my next course of action; key word—action.

Stress can paralyze you into inactivity if it takes root. It will drain your energy and stifle your creativity. So I encourage you to get in some self time when you can. Even ten minutes alone in a quiet space can be rejuvenating. Life throws enough punches so learning how to roll with them, aka, cope with your stress, problems and dilemmas (in a POSITIVE WAY) can keep you moving forward towards your goals and dreams.

It’s even more crucial if you suffer from any anxiety disorders or mental illness. I can say that because I am manic depressive (Bi-polar) and still learning how to deal with my own triggers. So rolling with the punches is a daily walk for me! 🙂

Above all, loving yourself, forgiving yourself, taking care of yourself physically, mentally and spiritually will allow you to care for those around you. It doesn’t hurt to have a compassionate heart either. I had someone tell me that they were no longer going to commiserate with me. It would take compassion first and foremost to have the ability to commiserate with anyone, so when a person is lacking in compassion, they probably can’t feel what anyone—outside of themselves—feels or understands anyway. The human condition encompasses a myriad of misery all by itself and who wants to extol the virtues of past hurts, old wounds and sufferings of any sort?

Let me share a word of caution: Living among the weeds of past hurts, wrongs and misdeeds will choke out the bright future you have ahead of yourself. You can uproot yourself and move a million miles away but if the weeds are growing on the inside, you will still find yourself an overrun garden, stunted and not growing! You have to pluck the weeds out of your heart first—just my thoughts for what it’s worth.

I’d like to think that encouraging another out of compassion would help not only the person who is down but also the person doing the encouraging. I say that to say when I find myself in a downward spiral what helps me is to help others. In whatever way I can; a kind word, a card, a prayer, listening to them when they need to vent. It’s not always the big things that make a person’s day. A hug is a miracle we can all share. So is a smile.

So if life is trying to go 12 rounds with you, try to roll with the punches. Heck bob and weave! Problems rarely remain and what was a mountain one day can be a mole hill the next. Life lessons are learned with each blow. Where you once stood still and absorbed the hit,s as you mature, you learn how to duck them, and get in a few good shots of your own! You learn how to develop some fancy footwork and keep moving. And when that bell rings, in the end, the technical merits will add up and life will have to declare you the winner!