When I think about the tenacity and influence of Eleanor Roosevelt, my determination to choose the courageous path strengthens.
In her book You Learn By Living she advises:
“The encouraging thing is that every time you meet a situation, though you may think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it you find that forever after you are freer than you ever were before.
If you can live through that you can live through anything.
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face.
You are able to say to yourself, `I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’
The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it. If you fail anywhere along the line, it will take away your confidence. You must make yourself succeed every time.
You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
Practice supportive thoughts of your own
When faced with the new and unfamiliar, the threatening, the upsetting, the downright scary and intimidating, I practice new thoughts that I can believe.
Not only will I think the words, I will let my brain marinate in them. I will actually say them out loud. Again and again.
I will write them on post-it notes and set them as reminders in my cell phone.
Some of my favorite thoughts:
- I can do the difficult thing that is challenging me today.
- I grow stronger and more resilient from each challenging experience.
- I have my own back, no matter what.
- I am proud of my ability to persevere.
These thoughts generate feelings of:
- Confidence
- Determination
- Empowerment
- Control
Our thoughts and feelings drive our actions.
Then it’s easier to take a deep breath, square my shoulders and hunker down.
I take action from a place of strength and confidence.
I research, plan, and improve my understanding of the situation.
I find solutions and act on them.
I keep telling myself, “You can do this.” Every. Step. Of. The. Way.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s source of strength
You might think that Eleanor Roosevelt’s strength was born out of her husband’s weaknesses.
After she discovered an extra-marital affair early in their marriage, she resolved to live on her own terms — not merely as an accessory to her powerful husband.
She was a distinguished public figure in her own right.
- She was a humanitarian, diplomat, social reformer, and author.
- She spoke freely about racism, poverty, and sexism in a way that would have been impossible for a sitting president to do at the time.
- Her work on behalf of youth, blacks, the poor, women, and the United Nations established her as one of the most important women of the 20th century.
- As First Lady, she took ‘fact-finding’ trips for her husband after he contracted polio and lost the use of his legs.
Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady in American history. She was the wife of a wartime president.
Roosevelt’s active and influential role in and out of the White House continues to inspire American women into 21st century.
Let’s start a conversation about the “thing you think you can not do” and how you can accomplish your goal.
Whatever you’re dreaming about, it’s totally doable.
Coaching can help you get there.
Contact me here to start down your path toward success!
