Have you ever thought to yourself, “I am so lucky”? With St. Patrick’s Day in the air, this very thought hit me one day while at work.
The week had just begun, and I had a long to-do list ahead of me. I felt overwhelmed by the tasks before me and tried to organize both my time and my mind. And then I thought, “I am so lucky.” No leprechaun required!
In that moment, I realized I was lucky enough to have a job at a place I had set my focus on. I was lucky to have a team that trusted me enough to work alongside them and help carry the workload.
And then I took it one step further: “I am lucky for all the mistakes and all the struggles I’ve experienced.”
Did you know the pain you’ve experienced can actually help shape you into the person you aspire to be? Did you know that even the most hurtful experiences can become instructors for purpose?
Please know I am not saying we should seek out pain or encourage others to harm us. What I am saying is that struggles, pain, and failure happen to all of us. And without discounting your experience, they can be turned into a mission of purpose. They can be used for good.
“You may have used it to hurt me, but I choose to rise above. I choose not to let you win.”
What a powerful thought. What a meaningful life that is.
I love hearing people’s stories. I love learning about their experiences and the things that make them who they are. Why? Because I know that to share is to be vulnerable. I know it requires courage.
Recently, I listened to someone share stories from their past. As I listened, I tried to remove my own personal feelings and simply hear them without judgment. If you’ve practiced this before, you know it’s not easy. But once I focused my mind and truly listened, my heart hurt for the stories I heard.
My emotions followed where the speaker went, and I found understanding—understanding why this person is who they are today, and why their behavior toward me and others had shifted.
And then I thought to myself: But you are who you are today—beautiful, smart, and loved.
Yes, what happened in the past was difficult and painful. But those things are not still happening to you today. You don’t have to replay the past over and over, because that’s not what is happening now.
You can move beyond it. You can take a step forward without the weight of yesterday pulling you down. In fact, you can use the past as a guide for change.
You are not what others did to you.
You are not the pain.
You are a warrior.
You are more than yesterday, and you can pull yourself out of hurt. When you do this, you break the chains of pain and open yourself to freedom—freedom from the past and freedom moving forward.
For me, I remind myself that the more comfortable I become with the uncomfortable, the more capable I feel. In the same way, the more hard things I face and take on, the more hard things I can overcome.
My mindset opens up, and suddenly there is nothing I cannot face.
How do you explain this? It’s training your mind to push beyond previous limitations and teaching it that when we enter the unknown—when we feel like we’ve gone too far—we won’t die.
I learned this very lesson when I trained for and ran a full marathon. Every week I increased my miles, and every week I silenced the warning voice of self-doubt. I trained my mind to move beyond past experience and allowed myself to go somewhere I had never been before.
When I did this, I entered the most amazing space in my mind. And when I crossed that finish line, I felt invincible.
So repeat after me: I am so lucky.
You—yes, you—are so lucky.
Not because you’re reading my blog right now… although if you asked me, I might say that helps!
But when you said to yourself, “I am so lucky,” and truly believed it, what happened inside you? Did you feel a small boost of positivity? Did it make you smile?
If you’re anything like me, saying this helps put things into perspective.
I am not lucky because I haven’t faced adversity. I am lucky to be standing here despite adversity.
I am more than the experiences of my past. I am strong, smart, and determined. And I will choose to see my experiences as stepping stones toward my success.
Now that we’re feeling lucky, my kids and I want to share with you a magically delicious recipe: Leprechaun Bait. It’s sweet, salty, and exactly the thing that will attract the leprechauns in your life.
Disclaimer: we did not measure our ingredients. Some of the best recipes allow for your children to simply dump everything into a large bowl.
Leprechaun Bait
Ingredients:
- 1 box Chex Cereal – Plain corn chex or rice Chex.
- 1 box Lucky Charms – reserve a cup of marshmallows as a finishing topping.
- 1/2 bag of Snyder’s mini pretzels – pretzel sticks work well too.
- 1 bag Green M&Ms – Amazon saves the day!
- 1 bag White Chocolate – I used Ghirardelli melting chips.
Directions:
1. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside a few Lucky Charms marshmallows for topping.
2. Melt white chocolate chips with coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl, increments of 30 seconds to avoid chocolate melting. Stir until completely smooth.
3. Pour white chocolate on top of dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl and stir until everything is coated. Work quickly, the white chocolate will harden in a short period of time.
4. Spread the mixture onto the parchment lined baking sheet, sprinkle remaining marshmallows on top, and let it harden. You can toss the sheet pan in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to expedite the process. Enjoy!
Pro Tip
- Work quickly after pouring the white chocolate on the mixture. It will harden quickly!
- Do not skip the parchment (or you can use wax paper)! It’s to ensure the chocolate doesn’t harden to the pan. You may also be able to get away with greasing a cookie sheet with oil if you don’t have any.
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