You only struggle because you’re ready to grow but aren’t willing to let go. ~Drew Gerald Whenever I am at a crossroads, big or small, I  am compelled to change up my living space. It could be something simple: clean out drawers, do a deep clean, and, one of my favorites, rearrange furniture or artwork. That’s what I did this week. One of the framed pieces that I chose to…

What happened, happened and could not have happened any other way, because it didn’t. ~Peter Crone When I first read this quote, it wasn’t new to me. I recognized it. I was raised in a Buddhist home, so some version of it has been with me long before I had a language for it. The past is just that, past. Resisting what already is is futile, only adding another layer…

Set higher standards for you own performance than anyone around you, and it won’t matter whether you have a tough boss or an easy one. It won’t matter whether the competition is pushing you hard, because you’ll be competing with yourself.   ~ Rick Pitino Pinino’s words echo a universal truth: the fiercest competition is often internal, not external. There is a Japanese word, Ganbaru (眼張る), which means to persevere, continue,…

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ~Viktor Frankl Stoicism, originating from ancient Greek and Roman philosophies, aims to guide individuals towards a resilient, purposeful, and peaceful existence. Central to its teachings are the principles of mastering one’s reactions, acknowledging the limits of control, and embracing the…

Abracadabra ~ I create as I speak  Originally, abracadabra was first recorded for healing in the early 3rd century AD around 200–211 AD, then in the 1880s it was transitioned to a parlor trick for magicians.   Communication is a skill, not a gift some people are simply born with. And like any skill, it can be learned, practiced, and refined. Most of us think of good communication as a…

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. ~Viktor Frankl Everything that has happened to us leaves a mark, but it doesn’t have to leave a hold. Those events created emotional triggers that are a part of us- old wounds we have learned to mistake for present-day facts. When we understand that, we can begin to let go of their…

To understand the horse, you’ll find that you’re going to have to work on yourself. ~ Ray Hunt The phrase The Let Go is one I coined when I first began working with people learning to ride their horses. In training, a cue is given, and only when the pressure is released – The Let Go – does the horse process what is asked. The Let go is the reward for making…

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. ~ Christopher Reeve The way we perceive the world is not a direct reflection of reality but rather of the stories we tell ourselves about it. Our perspectives shape how we view the world, not our eyes. This distinction is crucial in how we navigate our lives.…

Why not me? ~Rachel Entrekin    The trail didn’t care that I’d been retired for ten years. It didn’t care about age, expectations, or the quiet doubts I carried into that first 50-mile ride back. What it did care about was truth; what my body could do, what my horse could do, and what happens when you choose possibility over limitation. How we move through life has everything to do…