"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn't." ~ Rikki Rogers
A friend recently asked me: Andi, where does your strength come from?
It took me a while to get a good answer for you. I sat and thought about the many roads I have traveled through my own transformation journey and the inspiring journeys of all of my clients, which for me show incredible strength.
I moved to another country alone when I was eighteen and changed my career, fought a complex pain diagnosis with my child and lost my loved ones. Like all of us, I am now living in a global pandemic and have recently recovered from a traumatic, unexpected operation. Indeed, life has many surprises for us.
So where does strength really come from?
I wish I knew the exact answer to this question so that I could share the secret sauce with you now and give you full access to all the powers you will ever need to achieve what you really want. (Even the deeply challenging stuff and the incredibly scary stuff. Everything.)
I know that:
Strength is a personal measure of a truly unique, subjective experience. It is entirely up to you to decide what being strong means to you.
And I know that too …
Strength comes from hard things. It comes from showing up in spite of the pain or fear and building the struggle, perseverance and then on to keep going forward and up.
Strength lies in taking the time to notice and acknowledge what you have accomplished and achieved so far. So many times we go through things without realizing how much effort it took and we minimize the overall experience because we only focus on the end result, not the process.
Strength lies in paying close attention to the small but significant steps and gains and incremental gains along the way. Strength lies in following progress and celebrating it a little bit at a time.
Strength comes from within – from moments of activation of your highest belief and belief. Know why you are doing what you are doing, even when it is not easy.
Strength comes from focusing on your core values and living with integrity even when nobody is watching and you are not in the mood. When we connect with what is really important to us, we are stronger. When we believe there is a bigger plan and we hope for an outcome, we feel stronger. Even if we don't know why.
Strength comes from outside – by surrounding ourselves with people who uplift us and see our worth, even if we sometimes forget. It comes from choosing to wrap yourself in kindness, inspiration, motivation, and gratitude. It comes from choosing role models and learning from them, it comes from seeing ourselves through the eyes of others – especially those who see our greatness and our light, when only we see our flaws, weaknesses and shortcomings.
Strength comes from grasping lessons and blessings that are often disguised as truly terrible mistakes and painful mistakes.
Strength comes from collecting moments that you are really proud of and taking the time to really recognize these events for what they are and what they made possible for you. Don't overlook them. There are countless ways and in other areas of your life that you can use these strengths as often as you want.
Strength comes from knowing yourself. As you begin to discover and expose more of you, you can make decisions that are more honorable of you and you can live your purpose and be more of who you really are. If we know better, we will do better.
The strongest people I know had insurmountable trials. They know what to say with yes and how to say no. They know how to be proud of themselves with humility and honesty. They know how to choose their circles wisely and accept help, compliments, and advice.
The strongest people I know cry a lot and feel everything.
The strongest people I know are the nicest.
The strongest people I know have wells with internal resources that are invisible to the naked eye.
The strongest people I know can apologize and forgive others.
The strongest people I know can forgive themselves.
The strongest people I know fall hard and slowly with every ounce of courage, bravery and power and find a way to get up again – battered, hurt and painful.
The strongest people I know have incredible hearts that expand with every hurdle.
The strongest people I know have endured so much and still find their smiles to illuminate the world for others.
The strongest people I know teach me every day how to try to be a little stronger myself.
About Andi Saitowitz
Andi is a professional life coach, global personal development strategist and Lumina practitioner, published author, motivational speaker, blessed mother of three great kids and lover of books, coffee, kindness and sport. In her free time, she is involved in charity and the community. Andi's coaching practice includes techniques and tools from the fields of behavioral research, organizational communication, psychology, mindfulness and NLP. Visit them at andisaitowitz.com.
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