Difficult things aren’t easy, but they are worth it – Mia Love
The Difference Of Presence
A school in Louisiana was experiencing a persistent problem with student fights. As fights continued and tensions in the school reached a fever pitch, a group of dads decided they had seen enough. They took matters into their own hands. Forty dads came to school every day in rotating shifts. Their presence had an immediate effect. The fighting stopped. Students returned to their classrooms. One student reported feeling safe in school because of the presence of the dads.
The team of dads, calling themselves Dads on Duty, paid attention to the tension rising in the school and took action. They chose not to point fingers or wait for law enforcement to intervene but planted their feet firmly in the hot zone, believing their presence could make a difference. During their interview with CBS Evening News, one of the dads, Michael LaFitte, said, “We’re dads, we decided the best people who can take care of our kids are who? Are us.” The Dads on Duty teach us the power of presence and being an example by stepping into the tension and doing what is hard. When the hard thing came, the dads on duty showed up.
Show Up When It Is Hard
What is the hard thing that you keep sidestepping with overthinking and distracted living? Distractions become limitations to growth when we use them as excuses not to do the hard but necessary things in life. The dads on duty did not make excuses or blame the system for the unruly students; they took action. It was an uphill action, but the results proved it was worth it. Fight the path of least resistance that tells you to reject doing anything hard. Step into the difficult and do it. Be a climber and take that mountain. You will build confidence and resilience and discover strength you never thought you had. In addition to showing up, we must guard our inner self-talk so that we don’t hinder our progress.
Fight the path of least resistance that tells you to reject doing anything hard. Step into the difficult and do it. Be a climber and take that mountain.
Talk Yourself Into It
Our self-talk can be the biggest culprit in preventing us from doing what is hard. Like vehicle performance suffers due to a lack of alignment, our lives suffer when negative self-talk misaligns our thoughts and actions. Negative self-talk nails us to the wall of inaction and stagnates us. Self-pity becomes our dungeon. Eventually, we turn on ourselves with phrases that start with, “I can’t______________” and “I am not__________________.” Susan David, author of the #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, Emotional Agility, observes that the more attention we give to the negative internal chatter, the more we sap valuable mental resources that could be put to better use. Be a steward of your inner thoughts and self-talk. Your self-talk adds either light or darkness to your life, depending on the words you choose to use. Positive words are like natural light on a bright, sunny day, while negative ones can be compared to an enclosed, dark tunnel. Light the path to doing the hard things with positive self-talk. The difficult thing you are staring at is not your breaking point; it is your breakthrough point! Change your language to “I am resilient, and I will grow through this. I will discover a better version of myself who will be of greater value than before. It’s hard but not impossible.”
Your self-talk adds either light or darkness to your life, depending on the words you choose to use
Final Thought: Like the dads on duty, there is something greater on the other side of hard. Be the example, do what is hard. You will experience discomfort at the beginning, but you may be surprised by two things: first, hard doesn’t mean impossible, and second, others are waiting to see you do the hard so they can follow suit. When it’s hard, talk yourself into it and show up.
Keep on keeping on
Discover Your Treasure 