Let’s start by acknowledging the awful botch-job quality of this photo collage. I know, it’s terrible.
It’s on purpose.
Yesterday Scott sent me a link to the video below and I laughed hysterically, from a deeply painful, yet wise place. I don’t know all the psychology behind why we laugh at video bloopers of other people’s pain, but the one that makes the most sense to me around this one is what Dr. William F. Fry, psychiatrist explains in the the science of laughter that, “play frame” puts a real-life event in a non-serious context that prompts an unusual psychological reaction. In this case, my visceral reaction was so strong that I stopped what I was doing and shared the video in our mastermind group. It was like I needed to know that I wasn’t the only one.
And of course, I wasn’t.
The image on the left is from our last GNO, two lovely ladies being pampered on a seemingly perfect evening, in a gorgeous venue. That’s what my business looks like on the outside. Meanwhile, the image on the right is a screengrab from the meme video below of what starting your first business actually feels like. It’s blurry and you can hardly even recognize what it is because that’s the reality of starting something new.
That’s what building HeartStories feels like behind the scenes.
Especially this month. We’ve experienced so much growth that we’re bursting at the seams. We completely sold out of tickets to our upcoming monthly Girls Night Out nearly three weeks in advance! It’s a wonderful thing. It’s something I’ve wanted and dreamed of. Now that we’re here, it’s an entirely new set of challenges that I’m learning how to navigate. And I feel about like the boy in the video.
It’s the reality of doing anything important with your life.
It’s the reality of motherhood, marriage, friendship, or striving toward any goal that puts you in the arena. You get knocked down. You get right back up, and as soon as you think you know what to expect, you get hit in a new place, in a new way. Down you go again. You shake your head, gather your senses, and get back up again. Only to get hit again in a different way the next time.
It’s funny to watch because you know what it feels like.
We expect it to look like the image on the left, but it rarely does. If you’re standing safely on the sidelines, life might look like that at times. But if you’re venturing to learn something new, do something generous, or make a difference in this lifetime, you can relate to this “courageous” boy. And I have a message for you:
Get back up.
Unlike this boy, you are learning how to navigate your path. You won’t make the same mistake again. You are getting stronger with every blow.
There are people counting on you to get back up today.
It’s worth the fight.
Get back up.
to more love,
Crystal
