What are you struggling with?

This is a valley.

What are you feeling ecstatic and joyful about?

This is a peak.

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The reality of life is...you don't grow at the peak.

You grow during the valley.

And this growth is what will get you to a new peak in your life.

Be real with me though, do you get excited about the valley? Do you grit your teeth and thank the universe for giving you an opportunity to grow?

Hell no you don't.

You are human.

You have been conditioned to scorn at the valley. To do whatever it takes to remain comfortable in your life and stay away from the valley.

Yet, by shying away from the valley, you will also never find your peak.

Say this again ^^^.

For a lot of my life I cut corners.

I did the bare minimum in school to get whatever grade would make my teachers and parents happy, as well as make me look "smart."

I practiced just enough at sports to be really good, but never enough to be the absolute best I could be.

I loved myself just enough to maintain a decent level of standard, but never enough to stand up for what I truly thought or felt.

Can you relate?

I did all of that because I feared the valley.

Deep down I knew what it would take to reach my peak.

I knew the sacrifices I would have to make. The pain I would have to endure. And the maniacal discipline I would have to train myself to step into, a discipline in which I would fall in love with the valley itself.

I am no rocket scientist though.

You knew/know this too.

Deep down you know what it will take to step into who you are meant to become.

And that person is someone who went through the valley to get to their peak.

Just like the sharpest sword must be placed in the hottest fire.

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In short, the message today is asking you to step into whatever discomfort is surrounding you right now.

Instead of shying away from it, address it.

Hell, enjoy it.

At the other end, you know it is you who is getting sharper.

And that should make you smile, not frown.

#thriveon

CJ

p.s. today I am grateful that I have been able to build a mindset that can appreciate the valleys I have had over the course of my life. Without them, a lot of my peaks would cease to exist.