OfPonderingWandering

Show Up For Yourself. 

We only get to be ourselves once. We only have the ability to unlock our potential once. Only we hold the power to change our lives. That power comes from within, shouldn’t we be there for ourselves?

What is showing up for yourself?

Nestling the ground between acceptance and improvement is the ability to show up for yourself. It is like the strong silent whisper of, ‘I believe in you’ or the cheering of the crowd. Showing up is presence throughout the journey, regardless of the outcomes. 

Hitting the gym? – Show up.

Looking for a job? – Show up. 

Studying? – Show up.

Do you need discipline? – Show up.

Are you doing something that is uncomfortable, hard, yet  beneficial? (Such as starting a new hobby.) Then simply show up for yourself, be present and prepare yourself for the battle of improvement. Simple presence is half of the battle. 

When our friends are struggling, and sad, we show up for them… Shouldn’t we extend the same grace to ourselves? For whom do we go to sleep with each night?

Showing up for ourselves is a form of love and trust within ourselves. Stemming from consistency, the self, commitment and investment.

Commitment and Investment. 

We can commit ourselves to a cause, a person, a job, or an idea. And we can very well invest ourselves in a career, stocks, or education. Now, what if we were to commit and invest in ourselves, what kind of reward would this elicit? It is from answering this question, that the path of consistency emerges from.

So then, we must ask ourselves, how do we form consistency?

Consistency 

Self actualization and self improvement can take a long time to achieve. Along the way, set backs, challenges, and doubt are common and normal parts of the journey. But what can we do to overcome them?

Consistently show up. 

Every day, any day, choose to show up for yourself, regardless of the outcome (Of course, resting is still important). Discipline is incredibly hard to achieve, on top of the mental fortitude required to reach it, a small bit is left up to fortune. I remember trying to start up biking to and from school every week. By the second week, I ended up with a 4” drill bit in my rear tire, temporarily setting back my routine. However, on the other hand of fortune, I was able to build up my running stamina through consistently showing up for myself, and running each day.

Since fortune is required for discipline, then consistency is required. For when we do get lucky, we will be prepared and ready to catch it. Additionally, we must start somewhere, do you remember the butterfly effect? Even carving out the time of the day to simply pretend to do your to-be-disciplined act helps. Through consistency and effort, we reach our goals. But are goals really that important? 

The self 

With goals come results and expectations. Which are valid in their own rights (progress, reward, motivation), but can be disheartening when we don’t reach them. Therefore, to avoid being disheartened, we must put the self over results, consistency over results. The disciplined self, who can consistently perform an action will surely meet any goal they set their mind to, within time. This is much more valuable than hitting x goal, as this is the stuff of life. 

Furthermore, putting the self over results allows us to extend grace and compassion to ourselves, through the act of committing ourselves to ourselves. Thus, allowing us to weather any outcome of our discipline (we did not complete our full intended workout), as the act of showing up and committing to ourselves in the first place is more than enough. 

Now, this brings a story to my mind. There was once a man who was overweight. Yet one day he decided to start hitting the gym. As we all do, he experienced resistance, setbacks, and challenges. So to overcome this, he consistently showed up for himself. He would show up daily, yet respecting his limits, would only exercise for fifteen minutes. It is through this consistent act of showing up for himself over results, that he could eventually build up to twenty minutes, then thirty minutes, then one hour. 

For this man knew that results are hard to achieve, at times, even requiring fortune. Yet despite this, we can tip the odds in our favour by consistently showing up. While still rewarding ourselves with commitment to self. As we consistently show up, day in, day out, when the time is right, the apple will silently fall from the tree, and we will be there to catch it. 

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