Keep Going

There is a phrase that continues to creep through my mind: "Keep going." I hear it much louder when I find myself distracted from whatever it is I set myself to do. That voice is like the angel on my shoulder, reminding me why I have to keep going.

If you're anything like me, you've set yourself up with some sort of goals throughout your life. Typically, there's a driving force behind our goals, a reason for change in our life. Usually, that reason feels so strong that it leaves you with no other option than to change.

The driving force for me comes from how I grew up and what I've seen in my life and the life of my family. I've witnessed throughout my 28 years of life the mental, emotional, and physical struggle of the people I love the most. I've seen it in the communities I've been around, and even more now I see it in the collective. I've seen it in me.

My own suffering and that of the people around me manifested in ways and patterns that, in the moment, I could not see. Addicted to a quick fix, doing whatever to numb what was going on in and around each of us. Escaping through drugs, alcohol, food, sex, spending the little money we had, fighting, drama, blaming, and hardly ever taking accountability for the loop we've created and find ourselves lost and stuck in. Many times it was a mix of it all. As a result of this way of life, I've seen people I love lose it all.

So again, there is something in each of us; a story, personal experience, a reason strong enough to ignite some sort of change in us. But change is a journey. A journey that once you set yourself to take, it will come with its challenges. You are challenged to do things completely different than how you've known to do them.

You know to feel strong and healthy you have to eat well and get exercise. But maybe you grew up eating boxed dinners, frozen food, chips, and no one ever encouraged you to exercise. You literally have to change the only way you knew how to eat and be. This is where the challenge comes in; you're teaching yourself something you've never been taught before. And what you knew tasted so good and felt so good; but now you know it's actually not so good for you. You will fall back into old habits, and as challenging as it may be, you remember that the people you love the most are struggling with their health. You pick yourself back up and you keep going, as challenging as it may be.

Whether you are challenging yourself to eat better, exercise regularly, save money, drink less, make better decisions, learn something new, pick up new hobbies, make new friends, be more honest and kind. I challenge you to keep going, and constantly come back to your reason why when things get shaky. When you choose to do things differently you aren't only doing it for yourself, but for everyone else around you too.

With love,

Jay