Several years ago, a woman who has since become one of my closest friends told me she thought I was brave for facing my depression and anxiety head on. I thought she was crazy. Turned out, she was right.
You see, I thought facing these kinds of mental health issues was just what I was supposed to do. I figured, if I was a complete failure at suicide, I had better become a success at life. It never occurred to me that there could be any other option.
Later, I came to realize that most who suffer with things like depression and anxiety not only don’t face them head on, they don’t know they should or that they can.
You CAN face it. You CAN learn to manage the struggle.
For some, the issues are temporary and directly related to a specific triggering event, such as the death of a loved one. This doesn’t make it easier to deal with, but it does mean it isn’t something you’re likely to have to manage for the rest of your life. That’s great news.
Others of us will have to learn to manage our mental health as a part of our normal routine. That’s where I’m at. Depression and anxiety are just part of my imperfections. I refuse to let them rule me, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that they’ll always need to be considered when I’m making decisions.
The very first thing I had to do, which I didn’t even know I was doing at the time, was to cultivate bravery.
When all you want to do is die, it takes bravery to get your rear end out of bed and walk across the hall to use the restroom.
It sounds pathetic. It is. It’s pathetic that this is where mankind is. Nevertheless, that’s where I started.
Here’s the thing… I can’t really tell you how to cultivate bravery. That’s something you’ll have to dig deep to find.
For me, I knew I wanted better for the people I loved. The fact that I hadn’t died, despite my intense desire to do so, told me that I had to make another choice.
Boiling things down to the black and white bottom line has always been very easy for me. I saw things this way: either be miserable and make everyone else around you miserable or show these people that you love them and find a way to get better for them.
I didn’t really enjoy being miserable, even though I was very good at it. I didn’t want the people I loved to have to deal with my suffering or to follow that example. So, I chose to figure out how to get better.
That single decision, took a great deal of bravery. I just didn’t see it until someone pointed it out to me almost 20 years after the fact.
No matter what decision you’re facing, you have the same three options: stay with the way things are, give up, or make a change. One of the choices requires bravery and it’s not always “make a change.”
Prepare yourself now to make the tougher decisions. Choose to cultivate bravery in the little choices you make each day. Someday, you’ll be able to thank yourself.
If today’s your day to make the decision to show insane bravery and take a big leap toward becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be, let me be there to help you along the way. Click here to book an appointment now.
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