DON'T GIVE UP

Sometime earlier last week, my grandma sent me a chain message which is hella cute because she uses Whatsapp and then forwards the messages; it said:

"Be thankful for the struggles you go through. They make you stronger and wiser. Don't let them break you. Let them make you."

I was sitting at my breakfast nook thinking on it and heard the words "Don't Give Up". I briefly reflected on the topic and thought of all the times I felt like a failure or thought that I wouldn't make it. Looking at my life now, I'm much farther than I'd initially imagined.

Have you ever heard the saying "if at first, you don't succeed, try and try again"? When I was a child I'd always hear it and it made sense, but the older I got, the bigger the challenges, and the harder it was to just put one foot in front of the other and try again. The thing about success is that it doesn't come easy. If you continuously give up after you've failed, you'll never build a solid enough foundation. Then when you start again, you'll forever be at square one. Sometimes, you have to change the approach, change the vision, or develop a new mindset so you can tackle from a different perspective.

This past weekend, we celebrated my dad's birthday. On Sunday morning, while the 'grownups' did their thing according to my sister, I'm a child until I'm married 😂, we went to the pool. I was completely in awe and very proud of her. Let me explain. When she was a little younger, she used to take swimming lessons and chile she was NOT AT ALL fond of it! 😂 She REFUSED to get anything above her neck wet. Not even a splash of water could touch her face. I completely understand it though because at her age I quit swimming because throwing me into the deep end telling me to float was not the vibe. I digress. As I was watching her, I couldn't help but smile to myself. She was doing backstrokes, breaststrokes, butterfly, tadpole, glide, y'know being Michaela Phelps.

Then it made perfect sense. Over time, she progressed. It wasn't all fun at first, she was very fearful. First, it was getting the water to touch her face, then she was comfortable enough with the floaties, and eventually she was bold enough to ditch them and flop around until she became a full-blown swimmer. Meanwhile, I can only float and glide to save my life 🤷🏾‍♀️. Maybe if I'd trusted the very gruesome process, I'd be Michaelina Phelps. You may struggle throughout the journey, but as cliché, as it sounds, you'll really only get stronger.

Don't throw in the towel early. Slow progress is still progress and it leads to a solid foundation. Whatever you do, don't give up!