\u201cShips don\u2019t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don\u2019t let what\u2019s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.\u201d\u00a0 – Unknown<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s fairly normal for us to feel discouraged at times in\nour lives\u2026.times when people disappoint us, times we disappoint ourselves,\ntimes when things don\u2019t go as hoped for, times where circumstances aren\u2019t as we\u2019d\nlike\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While its normal to \u201cfeel discouraged\u201d what we cannot afford\nto do is let ourselves \u201cbecome discouraged\u201d. \nBecause there is a big difference in feeling and becoming \u2013 \u201cfeeling it\u201d\nis temporary, whereas \u201cbecoming it\u201d will stop us from moving forward and we\nwill quickly become stuck where we are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week was a tough week and the further the week went on, and additional hardships came, the more discouraged I found myself feeling.\u00a0 When I finally reached the weekend I sat down on my couch and I cried. I don\u2019t like crying, and it takes a lot before I will, but I\u2019d held it together as long as I could and the tears came pouring out.\u00a0 Sitting there in that moment, I realized that if I wasn\u2019t careful I was going to go from “feeling discouraged” to “becoming discouraged”, and I knew I couldn\u2019t let that happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an attempt to take my mind off things my husband suggested we snuggle up in a blanket and watch a Hallmark Christmas Movie together.\u00a0 One Hallmark movie turned to two, then two to three, and before we knew it an entire day had passed watching Christmas movies together. It was exactly what I needed because it reminded me that the best way to avoid becoming discouraged, as well as the best way to overcome feeling discouraged, is to focus our time and attention on that which brings us joy.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t let yourself feel weighed down with discouragement. There\u2019s nothing you can do to change the past, but there is a lot you can do to change the future, so focus your time and attention on that.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n