Latest / R.E.A.L. Talk for REAL L.Y.F.E. / The Strength to Struggle

Transcript

The Strength to Struggle · R.E.A.L. Talk for REAL L.Y.F.E.

• 0:00
  Welcome to Real Talk for Real Life, where we're realizing everyone is always
• 0:06
  learning and living your full experience.
• 0:11
  I'm your host, Coach C, and this is your Motivational Monday episode,
• 0:16
  The Strength to Struggle.
• 0:19
  Welcome back to Real Talk for Real Life with me, Coach C, where we keep it real
• 0:25
  about life, growth, faith, and what it truly takes to become on purpose.
• 0:32
  It's Motivational Monday, and since today is Labor Day, I want to talk about
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  a kind of labor that doesn't always receive recognition.
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  The internal labor, the emotional labor, the spiritual labor,
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  the labor required to keep believing, keep building, and keep becoming when life gets heavy.
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  Today, we're talking about the strength to struggle.
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  Listen, let me say it again, the strength to struggle.
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  It takes strength to struggle, especially when you are determined to make it to the other side.
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  Sometimes we underestimate the
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  amount of strength required just to remain present in a difficult season.
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  We think strength only looks like winning, accomplishing, producing, or pushing forward.
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  But sometimes strength looks like getting out of bed.
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  Sometimes strength looks like starting over again.
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  Sometimes strength looks like admitting that you are not okay.
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  Sometimes strength looks like asking for help.
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  And sometimes strength looks like refusing to give up even when you don't have
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  enough energy to move quickly.
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  You may not be running right now. You may not even be walking.
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  You may be crawling your way through this season, but crawling is still movement.
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  Don't underestimate the work or the worth in developing the strength to struggle.
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  Struggle is a season that every one of us will face. The situation may look different.
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  The circumstances may be different. The weight may be different.
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  But none of us is exempt from experiencing a season that stretches our faith,
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  tests our endurance, and makes us question whether we have what it takes to continue.
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  But hear me clearly. Struggling does not mean you are weak.
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  Struggling means you are still in the fight.
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  The struggle is evidence that something inside of you has not surrendered.
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  And no, we are not going to romanticize suffering.
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  We are not going to pretend pain is pretty or remain in harmful situations just
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  so we can prove how strong we are.
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  The goal is not to build a permanent home inside the struggle.
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  The goal is to gather what the
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  season came to teach you and keep moving forward toward the other side.
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  Because the strength to struggle stretches us. It stretches our capacity.
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  It stretches our patience. It stretches our faith beyond what we can currently see.
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  The strength to struggle also seasons us. It adds wisdom. It develops discernment.
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  It teaches us what deserves our energy, what requires our boundaries,
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  and what we must finally release.
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  And yes, the strength to struggle can make us stronger, but I also believe it can make us softer.
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  Softer with ourselves because we understand how hard it was to survive what other people never saw.
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  Softer towards our others because we recognize that everybody is carrying something.
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  Stronger does not have to mean hardening. You can come out of the struggle wiser
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  without becoming bitter.
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  You can come out more discerning without becoming disconnected.
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  You can come out stronger while still remaining soft enough to love,
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  trust, hope, and believe again.
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  Maybe you are in a season right now where it feels as if nothing is happening,
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  but becoming is happening.
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  Every time you choose to get up, becoming is happening.
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  Every time you choose peace over reaction, becoming is happening.
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  Every time you create a boundary, ask for help, begin again,
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  or refuse to abandon yourself, becoming is happening.
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  Your struggle is not your identity. It is not your permanent address,
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  and it does not get the final word over your life.
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  So on this Labor Day, honor the work nobody else can see.
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  Honor the prayers you prayed through tears. Honor the boundaries you finally established.
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  Honor the days you kept moving without applause. Honor the version of you who
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  did the best they could with what they had, and honor the version of you who
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  is learning how to do it differently now.
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  You may still be struggling, but you are also still becoming.
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  And if you are still becoming, God is not finished.
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  This is Coach C reminding you, the struggle may stretch you.
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  The struggle may season you. But with faith, intention, and the courage to keep
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  going, the struggle can also strengthen you.
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  Stay in the fight, but don't be afraid to rest.
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  Ask for help, but don't surrender your hope.
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  Take your time, but keep moving toward the other side.
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  You have the strength to struggle. Now use that strength to become on purpose.
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  And as always, live fearless, keep learning, keep living.
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  This is Real Talk where we're realizing everyone is always learning and living your full experience.
• 6:24
  Make sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook at Real Talk for Real Life,
• 6:29
  that's L-Y-F-E, for more inspiration, merchandise, and motivation between episodes.
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  This is Coach C. I'll see you in the next one.