Changing Perspectives
  • Home
  • Welcome
  • Blog
    • Grief
    • Mental Health/Wellness
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Podcast
  • Grief Guide
  • Grief E-Book
  • Inspirational Gifts
  • Newsletter
Mental Health and Wellness Articles

Categories

All
Addiction
Anxiety
Balance
Boundaries
Change
Children
Confidence
COVID 19
Depression
Essential Oils
Family Time
Health
Holidays
Hope
Isagenix
Loneliness
Memories
Motivation
Nutrition
Perspectives
Printables
Relaxation
Resilience
Self Care
Self Esteem
Stress Relief
Trauma
Travel

Together In The Arena

2/24/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
(Photo Credit: truthseeker08 on Pixabay)
There are times in everyone’s lives when the bad stuff hits.
​
Sometimes the bad stuff hits all at once. Sometimes the bad stuff hits gradually over time. Sometimes the hits are so bad that you don’t feel like getting out of bed, leaving your house, or answering your phone. Sometimes the bad stuff makes you turn inward. Sometimes it makes you implode on yourself. Sometimes it makes you explode on others. No matter how you react to the bad stuff, one thing is shared — the bad stuff exists for all of us at some point in our lives.

As I have been reflecting on our shared experiences with the bad stuff lately, I have been considering them within the context of this time of year. Spring is almost here and with it comes a collective shift of our focus to the future. This is a time of reflection and goal setting. At times like these, I always turn towards inspirational quotes to keep me grounded in reality while also striving towards my goals.

This, one of my favorite quotes from Theodore Roosevelt, made it’s way into my social media
feed the other day.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.― Theodore Roosevelt

For me, this quote is about being your best, striving for greatness, and setting up the best future possible for yourself, knowing that it will take fight, courage and, sometimes, even failure. But, really the quote is so much more. It is a quote filled with questions:
  • Are you stumbling these days?
  • Are you reflecting on how you could have done things better?
  • Is someone else pointing out your shortcomings?
  • Are you failing?
  • Are you finding yourself totally spent but spent for a worthy cause?
  • Are you tired of the fight?
At some point in our lives, we all can answer at least one of these questions with a resounding “YES!”

The reality is, though, it truly doesn’t really matter whether you succeed or fail. What matters is that you are out there — you are in the arena. You are trying. You are doing. You are living. And, until we know failure, loss and sacrifice, we cannot truly appreciate the sweetness of success and all the beauty life has to offer us.

So, to the person in the arena, with the face marred by “dust and sweat and blood,” look around. If you take a moment to pause your battle and take stock of where you are right now, you will see that you are not alone. There are lots of us in the same arena and while we all are fighting versions of our own battles, our own bad stuff, some of us are here to help fight each other’s battles as well. This arena can be a scary, dangerous place but it isn’t a vast empty space.

The arena isn’t a space in which we all fight our own battles; instead, the arena is a place where we can gain strength from each other and from knowing that we are not alone. Reach out to those around you in your arena right now and let them help you fight your battles and your bad stuff.

The real living in life, after all, takes place in that space between failure and success. It takes place in the arena.

2 Comments
Andrea Arceneaux link
3/1/2021 02:32:30 pm

I absolutely love this post! It is just what I needed to read today. I particularly love: “The arena is a place where we can gain strength from each other and from knowing we are not alone.”

Reply
Jenni
3/1/2021 04:52:38 pm

Oh I’m so glad you found it helpful. Thank you for reading. You are not alone out there ???

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Mental Health & Wellness

    Now, more than ever, we all need a little support to help get us through the rough spots. With all the pressures of life, it can be a challenge to find time to not only take care of yourself but also to truly understand who you even are anymore.

    Click here for Changing Perspectives Podcast Episodes on Mental Health and Wellness

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    Addiction
    Anxiety
    Balance
    Boundaries
    Change
    Children
    Confidence
    COVID 19
    Depression
    Essential Oils
    Family Time
    Health
    Holidays
    Hope
    Isagenix
    Loneliness
    Memories
    Motivation
    Nutrition
    Perspectives
    Printables
    Relaxation
    Resilience
    Self Care
    Self Esteem
    Stress Relief
    Trauma
    Travel

    RSS Feed

home
WELCOME
*NEW* BOOK
BLOG
PODCAST
SHOP
mini E-book
SIGN-UP

Sign Up For the Changing Perspectives Newsletter

Changing Perspectives Copyright © 2020 ​
Picture
  • Home
  • Welcome
  • Blog
    • Grief
    • Mental Health/Wellness
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Podcast
  • Grief Guide
  • Grief E-Book
  • Inspirational Gifts
  • Newsletter