I Don't Know How You Do It, I know I Couldn't

People either give themselves too little credit, or me too much credit when they see me out with my monkeys and my circus. You don't know what you can do, until you are faced with it. Some people are faced with a lot, and some people not so much. We all have struggles. There are things that you do or have in your life that I wouldn't think I could handle. But truth be told, if I was in your shoes, I probably could handle it. Why? Because I would have to.

You don't know how strong you are until strong is all you have, or at least that's what I think. I work out, a lot. The gym is my sanctuary. It's where I go to clear my head and stay as physically strong, as well as mentally strong. I need that time, that time I can think about my next move, or handle the next catastrophe, there always is one. I saw an acronym once, F.E.A.R., Face Everything And Run. It turned a word that is supposed to describe a weak emotion into a strong one. I can't live in fear, thinking about how I can't do it. I need to live in F.E.A.R, and run into it face first, with strength and determination. I KNOW I will do it, I KNOW I can do it. I have to do it, or my family and I wouldn't have survived this long, 8 years with kids, and 12 years together. I think about F.E.A.R. as I run on the treadmill. I'm running into it, I'm finding the strength from deep down to keep moving forward, so I can do it. It's really not so hard once you are conditioned and used to it, but it doesn't mean it doesn't suck though, talking about running and dealing with difficult situations.

Bottom line though is, you can do it, give yourself more credit. Sometimes I feel like I can't do it, but I have to do it. So do you, you have to do it, whatever your "it" may be. "It" has to be done. That's life.

So I leave you with this, a gym selfie. I feel like the smile in this picture shows my inner strength and pride in my self because of how far I have come, and I see a strong determined woman facing her F.E.A.R. in the mirror and ready to run some more.