The Real Challenge

There's nothing challenging about working harder and longer.

Anyone can do that.

The challenge is on the personal side - the human side. The challenge is:

to hold a hug a little longer;

to listen a little longer (and more attentively) in conversations that matter;

to let words like “I love you,” “I’m proud of you,” “I believe in you,” "I'm here for you," "I forgive you," "I need you," "I'm grateful that you're in my life," and “we’ll get through this together” fall a little more often and flow more freely from our lips - and hang in the air a little longer;

to be fully present a little longer when and where we’re needed most;

to spend a little longer on the floor remembering where it all began, the way our hearts looked, loved, and thrived before the world took hold of them and convinced us we should do it all differently, that something was missing, that we are less than, ill-fitting, "not ​______ enough," undeserving - unworthy.

Trust me: The world doesn’t need us to work harder. It needs us to LOVE HARDER, starting with the heart that greeted us in the morning mirror. It's really not optional. Our mental health and that of those we care about depend on it.