Inner Strength :: Animal Print Dress & Metallic Block Heel Sandals

Some days, I have it together. I begin my day the right way, make my bed, listen to self-help books, manage my time effectively to get a lot done on my to-do list and go to bed feeling the exhausted kind of accomplished. Other days, I fight to even get in the right frame of mind, struggle to stay focused at my day job, skip the gym and go home uninspired and unmotivated with not one thing on my to-do list done. Let’s not even talk about the terrible foods I consciously choose to eat when I’m in this state.

And if I’m being honest, it’s been the latter half lately. However, with a lot negative events that have occurred within this year alone, it feels weird to say that I feel stronger than ever before. It’s like my inner tiger just wants to pounce and destroy the issues (even though I’m experiencing some of them second-hand) with my claws that have grown sharper over trials and tribulations I’ve personally survived over time.

That brings me to today’s subject: inner strength. 

I thought about it the other day…

How do people still manage to get stuff done with everything life throws in their way?

What I’m talking about is more than the kitchen sink. I’m talking the whole house and the land the house is sitting on! The whole, dang-they-can’t-catch-a-break-can-they kind of issues. 

So, how do people still manage to make life look easy with so many bad things happening to them? Where does inner strength come from? And how do we get and keep our inner strength? Well, keep reading if you want my personal take.

Understanding.

Problems will always arise. It’s just unrealistic to go through life thinking nothing is ever going to happen to you. I know some of you are going to be mad with what I’m about to say next so here goes nothing. Understanding and being self-aware of one’s emotions (also known as emotional intelligence) is key when someone does you wrong. Yep, I just said to understand and feel your emotions when you’ve been thrown under the bus. Ugh. Trust me. I get it because that was hard to type. However, it’s the truth. Is it natural to want revenge on the person who put you in a world of hurt? Our sinful human nature says yes. However, I’d rather let God (or the universe, karma-whatever you believe in), take care of that person. For me, it’s more important that I have and live in peace than to “get revenge” on my perpetrator.

Emotional intelligence is how you GET your inner strength.

Persistence. 

What they say is true. Persistence pays off. Whenever a problem arises, knowing that you are able to fix your problems is key. Your perseverance and persistence will pay off. When life seems to get tough and you feel there’s no way out, trust me when I say that that’s the time to be annoyingly stubborn in staying strong and pushing harder than ever before. Don’t be like this guy at the bottom of this picture. Focus on your ability, not the size of your problem(s).

Persistence and perseverance is how you GROW your inner strength. 

Personal growth.

Who you evolve into is the real reward. One of the biggest things I do when I’m confronted with a problem that I didn’t bring upon myself is to ask God who He wants me to become. In my daily life, I protect my mind from negative thoughts, messages and people. Now more than ever do I understand and realize the importance of feeding my mind on a daily basis. What I deposit in my mind is what I may need to withdraw from in the future to help me get through other tough situations life will throw my way. 

Focusing on your personal growth and how you evolve is how you KEEP your inner strength.

This is how I manage…

When people hear about the tough life I’ve had or hear what I’ve gone through, I usually get questionable looks. It’s as if I don’t look beat up, bruised or scarred from my experiences. Let me tell you. Just because people look like they got it all sewed up doesn’t mean that they haven’t been through struggles or are struggling on the inside. My response to most people is that I manage to look like I have it all together on an outward appearance because I work extremely hard to keep the inward strong, growing and on fire.

And on a sidenote, strength doesn’t come without a few meltdowns/pity parties here and there either. The key is to go through the negative phase quickly and get back on the positivity wagon! Do NOT let yourself stay in a negative bubble.

Here’s the thing: you can’t get inner strength until you go through the storms of life. It’s like it’s mandatory for you to go through not one or a few, but many struggles to know what it means to understand from various perspectives. Your inner strength can’t grow unless you persist and persevere in the utmost annoying way possible. And lastly, to keep your inner strength, you need to work on yourself daily.

It’s hard work to be consistent in this area, but trust me on this because…

Tell me, what has your inner strength helped you with most?

On a lighter note, inner strength is what I thought of when I first came across this animal print dress I found at Clothehorse Anonymous! Pretty deep for a dress, huh?

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Rebecca Taylor Animal Print Dress c/o Clothehorse Anonymous | Metallic and Nude Block-Heel Sandals (old, love these wedges for summer!) | Stud Earrings | Lip Pencil in Spice | Liquid Matte Lipstick in Sell Out

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Clotheshorse Anonymous for partnering with me on this post! All thoughts and opinions are my own. As always, thank you for supporting my sponsors!