Monday Mantra: Grow Through What You Go Through

Well, hello there! While my sporadic posting schedule may lead you to believe otherwise, I’m still alive over here—just buried under a sea of boxes. Now that I have secured a new place to live (hooray for small victories), I am feeling slightly less stressed—although seeing all of the boxes and large pieces of furniture that will need to be disassembled and moved has given me nightmares on a few occasions.

Change is always tough. I have lived in the same place since I graduated college eight years ago. I’ve taken walks on the same street, stopped at my local Starbucks, gone grocery shopping at the same store, and have enjoyed a very short commute to work as of late. But all of that is about to change in the coming weeks. And, yes, it is exciting, but it is also daunting and scary. Even though I am moving somewhere familiar, I will have to deal with a significantly longer commute and adapt to a whole new routine.

This all brings me to the topic of today’s post—which is growing through what you’re going through. I have had more sleepless nights, anxiety attacks, and days where all I can do is cry, than I care to recount to you. As I said earlier, change is tough—and adapting to change is even tougher.

But change has taught me a few things:

• It has taught me not to be so hard on myself: It’s okay to have those days that are tougher than others. Just know that you are tougher than all of them and will get through it.
• Your support system will be there for you: They will be happy to talk you through those moments when you are filled with doubt, anxiety, and fear of the unknown.
• There is a light at the end of the tunnel: It may seem overwhelming when you are looking at all of your boxed possessions and thinking, “How on Earth is this going to happen?” But somehow it will. And with any luck, you will start looking at what is really important to you and making decisions like, “Do I want to take this with me or can I donate it?” I’ve already done a lot of purging—and it felt really good.

So, while I haven’t been able to fully embrace the summer like I normally would—with weekends spent at the beach and a regular blogging schedule during the week—I can say that it has been a productive summer and one filled with personal growth.

Image via @stephhanie_o