I’d first like to start this post by saying that I send my deepest, most heartfelt THANK YOU to all of the men and women who have fought (and continue to fight) for our freedom. There is no greater example of everyday moments of courage then from the ones who wake up every morning to sacrifice their lives to serve our country (and their families).

“She was powerful, not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly, despite the fear.” – Atticus

I was recommended an audio book, by a good friend a few weeks ago called “The 5 Second Rule” by Mel Robbins. As I went into my phone and pulled up my ibooks, I was a little hesitant to spend the $17.99 on it because every audio book I have tried before has put me to sleep (literally). There is just something about listening to someone read that makes me drift off into la-la-land and zone out. But I purchased it anyways and started listening to it on my drive to work.

Can I say that it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time! Her concept and theory on how to go about life is so incredibly simple; yet life changing! Without going into the whole book and the rule she lays out (because I hope that you go out and listen to it for yourself), I did want to focus on one area that came up in the book; everyday moments of courage.

This concept that our lives are made from just little moments of courage each and every day has been dancing around in my head for weeks; that we alter the path of our future from these little decisions throughout the day.

I don’t know about anyone else, but for so long I felt that in order to achieve great things in my life, I needed to have great courage in order to accomplish it. But that’s never worked, nor is it the case. It was always a lose-lose situation for me because I am not a dreamer, I am not courageous – I am a worrier, I am a lost in the details type of person. So I was constantly disappointed in myself because I didn’t have the great courage to ‘lean in’ and ‘go big.’ It just becomes a vicious cycle of “tomorrow, I’m going to do xyz” and then tomorrow came and I wouldn’t (or couldn’t) do it.

As the words continued to swirl around in my head, I analyzed my life and how I’ve either taken advantage of these everyday moments of courage or how I have pushed these moments under the rug to avoid them.

So what do these moments of courage look like? Well, they differ for everyone but they are the moments when our conscious pokes us and tells us we should do something and we either listen, or we ignore it and keep going about our business. They are the moments to go to the gym even though we are tired. They are the moments to deal with the dishes instead of watching another episode on Netflix. They are the moments when you reach out to someone whom you haven’t spoken to in years. They are the moments when you speak up at work to share your idea or ask for a raise. They are the moments when you stand up for yourself to someone who is a bully. They are the moments when you reach for that drink but put it down. They are the moments when you finally sit down and come up with a plan to pay off your debt.

All of these little decisions, each and every day, help shape and mold us either into the person we were destined to become or then keep us in the shell of the person we are destined to become.

It’s been a challenging couple of months in my house. My son has been a challenge (as teenagers can be) and have really been struggling with having a lack of joy in my days. I’ve noticed it’s been harder and harder getting up in the morning, because honestly – there just wasn’t really anything in my day I was excited about getting up for. I knew I would have to face a challenge around every corner of my day; working through my relationship and where that’s headed, facing a 10 hour workday, dealing with Shane (and the ex), keeping up with the house, etc.  My moments of courage really have been just getting up and going into my day one foot at a time; to keep pushing forward and remembering to be grateful that I get to wake up every morning.

Being an introvert, I tend to retreat a lot into my own head and get lost in thought; analyzing the purpose of my life, decisions I’m making, what’s next for me, etc. So as I’ve been listening to Mel Robbins on my way to work and contemplating this idea of everyday moments of courage, it has really helped me break the continual loop of thoughts I’ve been stuck in. You see, I was losing joy in my days because I felt like all of the elements in my life that have been weighing me down, were too big to change; outside of my control to do anything about. However, when you can break down your day, your decisions, and your future into these bite-sized pieces – knowing that you don’t change the world by one courageous act, rather you change the world through 1000’s of small, everyday acts of courage – is really a liberating feeling.

I’ve been really conscious about my days and really plugged into these ‘crossroad’ moments that we face on a daily basis. At first it was just being aware of them, recognizing them as they came up; what my reaction was to them, what was my default decisions were, how I felt after. Eventually, I could see the pattern – see where I’ve either leaned into the courage or where I’ve avoided altogether.  If I’m totally honest, most of my decisions/reactions lean towards avoiding. I don’t like conflict but even more than that, everything just seemed too big to deal with or change and what I avoid the most are the areas in my life (and in my relationships) that required me to stand up for myself.

It’s no wonder why my word this year was about being INTENTIONAL and wanting to dictate my journey; I wasn’t in control my destiny when I was allowing everyone in my life to decide how they were going to treat me. Every day, I was giving my power away for the sake of harmony, the sake of peace and the sake of ‘just getting along’ – but all that left me at the end of the day was giving 200% of me to everyone else and getting nothing back in return. The concept of knowing that I give more than I receive isn’t new to me – but the concept that I have the power to take back control of it by little decisions throughout my day (and not having to change everyone or have these gigantic moments of courage to do something about it) is honestly the most freeing feeling in the world. It’s not going to change overnight, but it can change a little each and every day, and that I can do.

When we can start freeing ourselves of the burdens holding us back, through small everyday moments of courage – we can start to have the courage to lean into the life that God created us to live. When we have the courage to tackle the dishes at the end of the day instead of escaping into Netflix (guilty), we can then have the courage to tackle the next thing in our life that we’ve been avoiding; writing that chapter of the book you’ve been thinking about, applying for the job you don’t think you’re qualified for, going on that run you’ve been avoiding, signing up for that class you’ve been wanting to do.

The funny thing about life is that 5, 10, 15 years go by in a blink of an eye and we find ourselves pondering our life and wondering how we got to this point in our life. Where we end up in 5 years from now won’t be dictated by one major decision, but rather 1000’s of little decisions throughout each day.  We all have the power to decide what 5 years from now looks like – it’s just a matter of leaning into those everyday moments of courage to decide something different, to take the leap of faith, to follow your instinct when fear is telling you to ignore it.

Where will your decisions take you? What are your everyday moments of courage that will transcend your life? What one small decision can you make right now – that will alter your path to the one God created for you?

I encourage everyone to get the audiobook The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. It was one small moment of courage I took to purchase it, that has forever changed my life.

<3

Kristin