Monday, April 28, 2025

Dream Stealer

We all started with one. Astronaut, firefighter, teacher, executive, police officer, President of the United States (maybe that was just me) and on and on.

“Dream big!” we were told…but did real life match the dream?

Has your life worked out in a way that aligned with those early goals? Probably not..and I don’t say that because you’ve failed somehow; actually, we learn and grow and develop new interests that are even more exciting than our original dreams in many instances.

What you dreamed of for yourself….what you settled for…what you can still do, are all still in play, right?


Except there is noise. Family noise, society noise, work noise…and the worst noise of all…the kind in our own heads. It tells us what we’re supposed to be, or do, or become. Rarely does that voice say “go for it, you can do it!” Sadly, that internal voice is often one of negatives, not inspiration.

So despite our awareness of what we would truly love to do, or be, or let’s face it, even give a try, we are confronted by so many voices that simply tell us we are wrong and should do something else.

What have you done with your life opportunity? Did you settle? Did you go for it? Or, perhaps you’re just waiting for the perfect moment to make your move?

Thanks for being here.

Jay


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Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Nothing Burns Like A Memory

I struggle with memories sometimes. Not the good ones; they good ones often pop into my head as a blessing out of nowhere. The memories that aren’t so good are the trouble. They stick around for a long time. They remind me of when I’ve failed myself, when I’ve failed others, and how those failures have resulted in so many ‘bad’ things for all involved.

Memories can be a heavy burden. 

There is a self-talk spiral that sucks me in every once in a while. It usually hits when I’m not ready to deal with it…I’ve just laid down to sleep…I’m feeling really good about life…or I’ve finally found a few moments of peace to just relax…

…then, bam.

My inner voice reminds me that I’m not everything I think I am. And it does so in a cruel way. We’ve all seen the memes about running through all of our mistakes in life in the middle of the night. That’s not my focus today.

I’m talking about the pain that comes from the really personal memories that most people don’t even know about. In fact, we rarely admit to ourselves that they are part of our story at all.

Those moments are hard.



What happens for you when the waves of emotion and regret sweep over you? It can be a lonely place. And yet, it is also important (for me) to remember that those deeply painful memories are only part of my life…they are not my whole life.

So easy to say in a blog post…so difficult to manage in the moment. Yet, we have to manage them. If we don’t, they will start to define us vs remind us of times when we struggled and carried on.

We actually carried on, even in those dark times.

Carrying on is a new way to define those memories that feels a lot better than burning myself up.

What do you think?

Thanks for being here.

Jay


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