I stay when it gets difficult, even though there are moments when leaving would be so much easier than admitting that I still need to learn,
I stay when it gets difficult, feeling the irritation of having to practice the same thing all over to arrive faster than my actual ability,
I stay when it gets difficult, I am beginning to notice that some of the parts of me want to strengthen and continue after the excitement has disappeared,
I stay when it gets difficult, when I am tired of struggling with the same thing do I still have enough patience to remain with the frustration against myself,
I stay when it gets difficult, slowly the person who began the work is not quite the person standing inside it anymore…
I let myself be challenged, even when another person’s ability makes me painfully aware of what I cannot yet do but seeing to learn from it,
I let myself be challenged, comparison can sting when it touches something I secretly wish I were already good but still allowing to grow,
I let myself be challenged, resisting the urge to choose only situations where I can feel competent while leaving my ability exactly where it was,
I let myself be challenged, when someone is better than me at something can I stay curious instead of making their strength feel like my failure,
I let myself be challenged, the discomfort becomes less humiliating when I stop treating it as a verdict…
I return to the difficult part, bringing more attention to the place where I keep stumbling on the parts of the work that already make me feel capable,
I return to the difficult part, I know how tempting it is to spend my energy polishing what I already understand but still open to what exposes my limits,
I return to the difficult part, feeling both resistance and gratitude to the very place I want to avoid identifying what needs to be built,
I return to the difficult part, what am I avoiding practicing makes me uncomfortable with how much I still do not know,
I return to the difficult part, the weakness I wanted to hide becomes something I can finally work on…
I measure myself differently, not by whether I can make every challenge look easy but by whether I can remain present long enough,
I measure myself differently, there will always be someone faster, more experienced, more practiced, or further along, and I do not want to become this reason to stop moving,
I measure myself differently, allowing progress to be quieter than achievement and accepting that some of the most important changes may only become visible after I have already lived through them,
I measure myself differently, when I look at myself after a difficult season can I recognize the small ways I became more capable,
I measure myself differently, in doing the work and in staying begins to feel like its own kind of strength…
Watchwords:
The person who began the work changes
Comparison can sting
I return to the difficult part
The weakness I wanted to hide
Staying begins to feel like strength
Here is Tikatarot, who dares you to answer the question, “Who am I?”..
As and will always be reminding you to dream: