Pick Yourself Up Rocky!!!!

2012    To much holiday cheer left me feeling unmotivated and defeated. Then I remembered my son in law Ben and his hero Rocky Balboa.
What would he tell me to do? Here is what I learned.

The scene attached below is a great reminder that character is not defined by what happens to you, but rather by how you react to what happens to you. When you get hit, do you stay down? Or do you reach down somewhere deep inside of you and pull up the courage that lifts you back on your feet to keep moving forward? You do have a choice.

Rocky explains how to be a winner: Click the link to follow on You Tube
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-V1tXhJniSEc/rocky_balboa_it_ain_t_about_how_hard_you_hit/

Rocky; "Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! "
Keep moving forward…

I believe we all came to this earth to be tested, to learn and to grow, so how is it then that I act so surprised and feel so sorry for myself when I face challenges and trails? If I believe the first, then having trails and tests are going to be part of what causes me to grow and learn, right?  Of course it is. If I really believe this to be true then I should react as I did with my first and earliest test; learning to walk. As a baby I chose to struggle to my feet and take a step of faith and eventually learn to walk. How is it that at age one I never failed to pick myself up and try again. I had never heard of the internet or Google or Rock Balboa and never searched for advice on how to motivate myself or walk. At age one I already had all the courage I needed to learn something I had no idea how to do. I trusted my instinct that I could and after the trials, falls and spills of picking me up over and over and over, I did it, I WALKED! That same ability to accomplish my goal is here inside me today.

 I know my son in law, Ben will be proud that I chose to use Rocky as my inspiration this week. So I dedicate this to Ben. Ben thank you for your example of inner strength; for all the good things you try to accomplish for my daughter and your children. Thank you for all you do to encourage my little grandchildren to learn and grow. You are a great father and a special man. So glad you are part of my family.

Ben is a great father...This is a photo of Ben and Hope when she was just a few months old and already inlove with her Daddy :-)
 

Leave your mistakes and regret in the past. They don’t define your value, then or now. When you stay in the past you become stuck and unable to move forward. We all have made mistakes with our job choices, friends and relationships. The consequences can hit us pretty hard. However, to begin learning how to put these experiences behind us – by letting them go, we can begin to live in the here and now. Give yourself the gift of forgiveness and keep moving forward.

Peggy's Wishes for 2012 inspire us all. Here is how balloons helped us let go of sadness on New Year's Eve.

Mark and Leighton writing their dreams for 2012

                                                            Emilee and her niece, Autumn

Peggy

Letting them go…

ON New Year’s Eve Peggy and I had a ‘heart to heart’ talk about my sad feelings at this time of the year. I told her I was struggling to stay positive and she came up with a little “letting go” activity to help me. She disappeared into the local Five and Dime Store and came out with a beautiful bouquet of balloons. That alone brought a smile to my face. We then took them home to share with the family. She gave each of us a balloon and a marker and told us to write all the great things we want to do in 2012 on the balloon or if we wanted, write everything we wanted to change in 2012. We then took our 2012 balloons outside and on the count of one, two, three, released our hearts desires to the sky. Watching all our greatest hopes and wishes for the New Year go soaring into the heavens this way was fun and exciting. Not to mention it got rid of all my sadness. Thank you Peggy, what a fun tradition you have now started for your little family. I love you SO much!



Learning from failure and having regret are two separate things. Regret is an emotion; a feeling of disappointment along with a modest amount of shame or guilt. But to look back at a circumstance and figure out what went wrong gives you some very important information. This review allows you to evaluate what worked and what didn’t, and more importantly, why. Often when you are removed from a situation, you can look at it more objectively which will allow you to make better choices to keep moving forward.

The Example of Hope

As a grandmother I have watched my grandchildren learning and growing so much differently than I did as a mother. For one thing you are not only watching your grandchildren learn something new and exciting about life, but are blessed to witness the joy of parenting in your own child. You get to see your children as the teacher, the motivator the cheerleader and the parent. It is definitely one of those moments in life that take your breath away. “Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”.

Anyway, my granddaughter Hope learned to walk over a period of about a month or so. Each day was a struggle as she tested first her strength and balance, and then used what she had learned to stand, and fall and get up and fall again until she finally had learned all she needed to do to actually start taking steps. What a delight to be present and watch this child I loved with all my heart, take her first steps. Add that to seeing the look of awe and pride in the eyes of my own baby daughter, Hope’s mommy, and WA La there you have it…a breath taking moment in time. The quote above brought this memory back to my mind as I realized that not once in this process did Hope have any regrets for yesterday’s struggles or about how many times she fell and had to start all over. Each day she tried over and over again and again with a beautiful and excited smile of delight on her sweet little face, until she did walk…giggling with each step, across the room from her mommy arms to her daddy. And of course we all cheered and she giggled and beamed with pride. What an awesome thing to witness. And what a powerful lesson these little ones do teach us GROWN UPS with their determination to succeed and never give up.

Pictures of Hope who is now 4 years old and her Daddy Ben.

How badly do you want it? How badly do you really want to achieve what you are working so hard to accomplish? When you get hit hard, you have an opportunity to answer this question. It’s one thing to say you want to do something, or to be something. But to walk through the pain; to get up and keep moving forward knowing there may be more pain ahead, is a test of your determination and resolve. When you find yourself getting back on your feet, you have indeed answered this question and there’s no doubt you will keep moving forward.

 

 Hope Elizabeth Maxwell

Hope on her 4th birthday in August 2011.

Faith: A strong belief in something without proof or evidence
At the end of the day when you are weary from all of the effort and energy you have expended and you are sore and tired from being hit hard so many times, but the dream is not realized, the one thing that tells you to keep going; to get up tomorrow and to keep moving forward, is your faith. Honor this and cherish it. Faith is what makes you human. It gives you energy and hope. And if you let it, your faith will deliver you to wherever you want to go in life.

I feel better now butterflys. Ready?? Lets finish this thing!!!!!!!