It’s not what you did that got you here. It’s the thought you believed that made you do what you did that got you here.~Byron Katie
Post Traumatic Strength. A friend and client mentioned this phrase to me earlier this week and I kind of fell in love with it. We all know the phrase post traumatic stress. It’s normal to have a wide range of feelings and emotions after a traumatic event. You might experience fear and anxiety, a lack of focus, sadness, changes in how well you sleep or how much you eat, or crying spells that catch you off guard. You may have nightmares or be unable to stop thinking about the event.
But what does Post Traumatic Strength look and feel like?You experience happiness, joy, pride, elation from growing stronger and healthier. You are more aligned with your desires and feel at peace with your journey. From my perspective that is what happens when you accept your new position after quitting your old job with no clear plan or you moved to the other side of the world to volunteer for a year with an orphanage in Afghanistan.
It is what happens after you do the work. The hard, deep transformative work. It is when we do what scares us the most– we let go but have no idea what’s next. It is when we experience trauma but we do not let that experience define our existense. It is when our life is shattered but we get up the next day and create anyway.
Post Traumatic Strength
You have made it through the valley and are now on the other side- stronger, healthier, more confident and more optimistic than ever before. You see and feel progress, knowing that the days ahead are far from perfect but you KNOW you can make it through. Your thoughts- the way you treated yourself, the way you thought about yourself, the words you spoke, the people you surrounded yourself with, the books you read, the knowledge you consumed all help get you to this place.
You have failed before and you will again. And you are OK with that. You continue to do the work.
This is a key feature in your transition story- the evolution of you and your life.
The ability to find this place of strength, joy and celebration is within all of us… we just have to do the work and trust that the journey we are on will unfold for us with the best possible outcome.
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