“You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery.” —Cheryl Strayed

You can learn a lot about yourself when you stretch beyond your comfort zone—stretching yourself into directions you haven't expected in order to be who you want to become.

In the process of becoming a better version of yourself, you often step into directions of:

• Being the better or bigger person in a difficult situation.
• Extending kindness to others even when it isn’t requested or “earned”.
• Forgiving others — and yourself — for any wrongdoings, blame, shame, or guilt.
• Bravely embracing your emotions, even if it feels like the hardest thing to do, especially when it means facing yourself.

These actions require you to exhibit more courage, patience, and empathy.

They can seem easier said than done and you have to put aside your ego and pride. You don't always know if it's the right or best thing to do while it's happening either.

But those are the moment you find out who you truly are.

You also learn in the process what you really value. Because your values ultimately dictate your behavior and choices in life, whether you're aware of it or not. When you understand what you value and why you value them, you have the choice to continue operating as is or rearrange or replace your values to shift how you make decisions going forward.

In those stretching moments, can you extend kindness to yourself when you need it?

Does it matter enough for you to overcome inaction and go for it?

Only you have the answers to that.

[ TAKE ACTION ]
Can you think of a time when you needed to stretch yourself “in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery”? How did it feel? What was the result of that? How did that encourage you to continue stretching yourself?

What's one small tep you can take today that'll stretch you towards who you want to become? Now, drop everything you’re doing at this moment, and go… get… that… DONE!

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You got this!

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Revised on April 22 2022 / Repost from Medium
Cover photo by Ave Calvar Martinez from Pexels