A Lesson from Winnie the Pooh

                                                                                                   

I don't know about you, but I did not know that Christopher Robin, from Winnie the Pooh, had such nuggets of wisdom.  I mean I knew that Christopher Robin was there to encourage that "silly old bear" we know and love, but I guess I never realized that those same words he said to that bear could be so encouraging to this "silly girl".  

I think there have been a few points during this year where I honestly believed that I was not strong enough to make it through the whole year.  There were moments where I wasn't sure I could fight anymore.  Sometimes I did things that made me feel incredibly stupid and that I'm sure people looked at me and thought "what in the world is this crazy American talking about.  She has no idea what she is doing."  I mean they probably didn't actually say that, but that's what I was saying to myself.  Needless to say, sometimes I felt like this year chewed me up and spit me out.  I'm not trying to make it seem as though this year was terrible, but there have been moments this year where things have been tough.  

Then, I found this quote from Christopher Robin.  "Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."  Many times we forget how brave we can be, how strong we have become and how smart we have become.  Sometimes things just don't seem to go right and we can beat ourselves up about it and forget all the positive qualities we have. I know I am guilty of focusing solely on the stuff I do wrong or that I'm not good at instead of focusing on my strengths.  

Eventhough many of the things I have done this year have been out of my comfort zone and some I even failed at, I can not let that stop me from continuing to go new places and have more adventures. I've made it this far through the journey and I'm not going to stop now.  This year has taught me that I am braver than I believe, and stronger that I seem, and smarter than I think.  Christopher Robin, this is one promise I might be able to keep.