Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers who are reading this post this day. As I was contemplating the topic for this post, it came to my mind the reminder that all mothers have experienced some growing pains and some growing joys. At least at one moment in their lives—during labor—they experience the pain and the joy within a short amount of time – even within few hours; the pain that comes with the preparation of the body for delivery and the joy of being delivered and welcoming that precious child.

When you are growing you may experience some pains before you experience some joys. When I first attended my core fitness class, I experienced a lot of pains. It’s has been many decades since I worked on my core. I did not even know that I could do these exercises to strengthen my core. Every move was painful and hard. They still continue to be hard for me. The instructor seemed to be having a lot of fun.

With passing of time and after taking several moments to reflect and evaluate my life I have learned 3 attributes that one must constantly be focusing one when taking a growth journey. These attributes are resiliency, humility, and gratitude.

Resiliency: You must be resilient during the growing process because at time you will experience setbacks and failures. You have to be ready to bounce back. A lady who had participated in multiple Paralympics and who had won silver in one of them said “that the difference between the lady who won gold and her and the rest was not the fact that lady did not fall during her runs. The difference was that in how fast she got up after a fall.”  Being resilient will help you stay the course despite the difficulties you may face.

Humility: Be humble during moments of bountiful so you can be resilient during times of trials. Humility will keep you grounded. It will also give you the strength you need to move toward the next phase of the journey. Too many people start celebrating their victory before they cross the finish line. Remember in growing, there is no finish line. There are only milestones. You can rejoice and celebrate each milestone. But do it with a grateful heart. And after that, get moving.

Gratitude: A grateful heart is a heart that is always growing. Our heart enjoys every single breath it takes. For that breath gives it life. Be grateful that you can grow. Be grateful during the growing pain and the growing joy.

Cultivating these attributes daily will help keep your heart and mind focus on the journey and the goal. I am so grateful and humble that I can walk with you on this growth journey. Having you by my side helps me to be more resilient.