acceptance

Living With Unsolved Problems

We all have them—those lingering problems we just can’t figure out. Maybe it’s a situation where someone won’t discuss or engage with us to find a solution. Maybe it’s something completely out of our control. Whatever it is, these unresolved issues can eat away at us.

For years, I let those problems take control of me. I thought I had to solve everything, to my own satisfaction. I couldn’t let things go. It literally drove me crazy, trying to force solutions where sometimes, there weren’t any. I didn’t know how to accept what was or give myself permission to move on. Back then, moving on and acceptance were not even part of my vocabulary.

But I’ve learned something.

Prefer to listen? The Audio Blog version is available here.

Acceptance Is the Key

Acceptance truly is the key to so many of our problems. Things often don’t look or feel the way we think they should—or the way we want them to—and sometimes, there’s just no way to change that.

For those of you who just recoiled at that idea, this blog is especially for you.

Nothing—absolutely nothing—is worth surrendering your peace of mind for, especially if it’s just to prove a point or make sure you’re right. That imaginary scorecard we sometimes carry around? It’s a heavy burden that robs us of our serenity.

For me, it became a matter of life and death. The things I fought so hard to control couldn’t be solved by me alone. When I finally let go and accepted that, my world expanded. I was able to look outside myself for new possibilities—and I found them.

Some Problems Just Can’t Be Solved—At Least Not Now

Sometimes, there’s no solution to be found. Maybe the situation has reached a standstill, or someone has passed, or circumstances just don’t allow for resolution in this moment.

But here’s the thing: letting something go now doesn’t mean a solution won’t present itself later.

I always say, “Never say never.” I’ve seen miracles in my own life where solutions appeared to problems I thought were impossible to solve.

Find peace with what you can’t solve today. Stay open to the possibility of resolution down the road—but don’t wait for it. Trust that if a solution is meant to appear, it will, when the time is right. Time has its own schedule, and we can’t rush it. Let it do its thing while you continue to live yours.

Protect Your Peace

There will always be things in life we can’t control or solve. If we want to live a happy life, it’s up to us to find peace and acceptance around those things. Do what you can to figure things out—but know when to walk away. Your peace of mind is worth far more than a forced solution.

Sometimes, no solution is the solution. At least for now.

SLAY OF THE DAY: Reflect & Rise

Do you have a hard time letting things go?
Do you feel like you need to solve everything?
How do those unsolved problems affect your peace of mind?
What would happen if you accepted that some things can’t be solved—right now?
How could that acceptance set you free?

Call to Action: Join the Conversation

I’d love to hear from you.
What’s one problem you’re ready to stop forcing—and let time or acceptance handle?
Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.

And if you know someone struggling with unresolved problems, send this to them.
Sometimes, just hearing “It’s okay to let go” makes all the difference.

Do Your Best And Forget The Rest

We tend to be a very results oriented culture. We often equate whether we did a good job with if we won, or how we placed, or, if anyone noticed. But really we win every time if we’ve just done our best, regardless of the result or if anyone noticed. And, our best changes every day, sometimes within a day, what our best was yesterday might not be our best today, because we might not be the same as we were yesterday. It’s about doing what we can in each moment, and allowing ourselves to be less than our best yesterday because it is our best today. Allow ourselves to be human. Allowing ourselves to honor who we are at any given moment, and taking the pressure off ourselves to be perfect, or always at a heightened level of execution or achievement, allowing ourselves to just be, and know that just because our best today didn’t match our best yesterday, it might tomorrow, or tomorrow might be our best!

I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to be ‘the best,’ and when I didn’t win or get the recognition I was looking for I considered myself a loser. I was a loser, I had lost the point. Trying to be number one all the time is exhausting, it’s good to have goals, to set standards for yourself, but to make that the only reason to do something is empty, and, ultimately, unattainable all the time, and for some, never attainable. Each of us have our own best, our personal best, and really that’s the only marker we should be looking at, but we should also acknowledge and honor where we are at each day, and love ourselves even when we are not able to perform at a level that we would like, our best changes as we do, and some days, just getting out of bed may be our best, and, that’s OK. So, how do we have a healthier relationship with our best?

1) Live One Day At A Time – Take stock each day of where you’re at, mentally and physically, and let that guide you as to how hard you should push yourself, or how hard you should be on yourself, really, you should never be hard on yourself, but we do tend to be at times. Be kind and let yourself move at a pace that is comfortable for you, that includes self-care, and that allows you to progress at a speed that helps you to keep moving forward. Each day starts with a different you, so check in and see where you’re at before throwing out your list of demands.

2) Acceptance – Acknowledging yourself and where you are on any given day is one thing, the next step is accepting it. If you’re feeling tired, or emotional, or your head feels scattered, take note of that, and adjust your day to work within the parameters of who you are. Beating yourself up for being something you’re not, or for not being able to do what you want to do isn’t going to help you reach your goal, it’s only going to set you back. When you accept your situation it allows you to formulate a new plan and maybe a different approach, which in the end, maybe be the better way in the first place. Accept and move on.

3) Practice – Like with everything else it’s about practice. No one gets it right every single time, allow yourself to make mistakes and be gentle with yourself when you do. Anything new takes time to get right so if you fall back into old behaviors, acknowledge it, ask yourself what you can do differently the next time, and then move on. Life is all about learning, so let yourself learn.

4) Good Results Come From Good Work – Like everything else in life, to get the results we want, we have to do the work. Just wishing something to be, or wanting it to be, isn’t going to make it happen. How can you take action in your life to get the results you would like to have, while taking into consideration of who you are on that day? You’ve got to put in the work to get the results.

All any of us can do ever day is to do our best, if we’ve done that, and we’ve done it for the right reasons, meaning because we’ve wanted to, or it’s what’s best for us, then we should be happy with that. Our best is our best. It changes every day, it changes moment to moment, and that is OK, accept who you are and what you have to offer, leave everything else behind, thinking about what we could have done, or would have liked to have done only adds to self-loathing, anxiety and depression, life is about taking action, if you took the best action you could, you did your best, and the next time something comes around, maybe you top your best, maybe you don’t, but by continuing to strive to do your best you are planting the seeds for the future, and your best will get you to a place that you want to go. SLAY on.

SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself to do your best? Is your best ever good enough? If not, why? What do you think makes it not good enough? How can you change your attitude around it? What if you stopped judging yourself and just did your best? What can you do to have a healthier attitude around what your best is? I challenge you SLAYER, to keep an open dialogue with yourself, to check in and see how you are before jumping into a new task or project, if you feel like you need to slow down, do it, and if you think you have the energy to speed things up then give it a boost, it’s all about doing what’s best for you, and knowing that whatever you do, you did your best.

S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Never Cursed

Before walking this path when bad things would happen to me, or when things didn’t go the way I wanted them to, I would say I was cursed. Others would say it me too, so I believed that I was, or I would say that maybe I had been someone really awful in another life and was now paying the price. I believed I was cursed for most of my life. It wasn’t until I changed my life and made a commitment to live in the light that I realized I had never been cursed at all, well, maybe by my own thinking, but that it was my need to control everything that caused my frustration, and my expectation that everything and anything would go wrong that made my cursed theory a self-fulfilling prophecy. I expected the bad, so the bad came. I also played a part with some self-sabotage as well to really get the negative narrative spinning that I wanted to tell, and could use that for sympathy to manipulate others and to see if I would get a break because I could get someone to feel sorry for me. Yeah, that’s an attractive way to live. It felt as ugly as it sounds, because it was. So here’s the thing, I was never cursed, I was choosing to only see the bad, the negative, and sometimes created it myself, to stay in the muck and dirt because I believed I belonged there. And if that sounds like you, it’s time to clean yourself off and come clean about the story you’re telling yourself, and those around you.

The truth is, life happens. Good, bad. It ebbs and flows. And sure, it sucks when we get disappointed, or hurt, or slapped with an unexpected surprise that may be hard to deal with, but that’s life, it’s how we deal with it that makes us who we are. I’ve talked quite a bit about expecting the good, because when we expect good, many times the good comes, and even when something perceivably bad happens, trying to find the good in it, or at least the lesson learned. For me it was about practicing some contrary action, which I’ve blogged about in the past as well, when my brain would go to the negative, focusing on something positive, searching for it, even if it was small, to turn my negative thinking to positive thinking. It took time, and sometimes still I’ll slip back to negative thinking, but for the most part I stay in the light and expect the good. We tell ourselves stories, either to back up the story we want to tell, or because it was a story that was told to us as children or by others even in adulthood, but what really matters is not the story, but the truth, what are the facts, those won’t steer you wrong. But it’s always looking at the facts for what they are, not skewing them to lean the way you want. Live life and life’s terms. Now I know that statement may scare some of you, especially you control freaks, I know you’re out there, I used to be one of you, but there’s so much power in letting things go, and truly accepting things as they come, it’s far too much work, and exhausting, to try to spin everything to fit the story you’re trying to tell, to manipulate the facts, to manipulate the people around you. You are not cursed anymore than you are a genie, but you do have the power to make some magic happen in your life, focus on the good things, and focus on getting more good in your life, that’s when the real magic happens.

At the end of the day, you have the power to reverse that curse, and change the outlook you have on your life, let the light in, accept what you cannot change, and make changes where you can, and focus on the good, after all, the energy we put out is the energy that comes back to us, so step in the light and make a plan to stay there. SLAY on.

SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you think of yourself as being cursed? Why? Do you tell people you are cursed? Why? What do you think will happen if you stop saying that? What if you stopped thinking it? What if you just took the “bad” things in stride and walked through it, never labeling it or giving it more weight than it deserves? Do you have trouble finding the light in your life? Why? How have you tried? Make a list of 5 things that you are grateful for, that you cannot buy. When you have trouble finding the light, look at that list, visual light around those things, and yourself, and see if you can add 5 more by the end of the week.

S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Setting Them Free Frees You

There was a time in my life when I thought holding onto anger meant strength.
That if I stayed upset long enough, if I replayed what happened often enough, somehow justice would balance itself out.

But the truth I eventually had to face was much simpler and much harder:

Resentment does not bind the other person. It binds you.

And when I finally understood that, everything about forgiveness started to shift.

Because letting someone go was never about them.
It was always about me.

About my peace.
My energy.
My ability to move forward without dragging the past behind me like a heavy suitcase I never unpacked.

And maybe you have felt that too.

When Anger Becomes an Attachment

Holding resentment creates a strange connection.
Even if someone is no longer physically in your life, emotionally they still occupy space.

You think about them.
You replay conversations.
You imagine what you would say if given another chance.
You rehearse arguments in your head that may never happen.

I have done all of that.

And honestly, it was exhausting.

There is a saying that resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
I resisted that idea at first because it felt too dramatic.

But over time I saw how accurate it was.

My sleep suffered.
My mood shifted.
My joy dimmed.
And none of it affected the other person at all.

That realization was sobering.

Because suddenly it was clear: I was not punishing them.
I was punishing myself.

Forgiveness Is Not About Letting Them Off the Hook

This part is important, and I wish someone had said it to me sooner.

Forgiveness does not mean:

  • What happened was acceptable

  • You have to reconnect with the person

  • You forget the experience

  • You stop having feelings about it

Forgiveness simply means you decide not to keep carrying the emotional weight anymore.

That is it.

You are not excusing behavior.
You are reclaiming your peace.

And honestly, that is one of the most self loving choices you can make.

My Turning Point

For me, the shift happened gradually, not all at once.

I realized that staying angry kept me anchored in moments I did not want to relive.
It kept my attention focused backward instead of forward.

And I had worked too hard on healing, growth, and self awareness to keep sacrificing my peace for someone else’s actions.

So I started asking myself a different question:

Does holding onto this help me become who I want to be?

The answer was always no.

Every single time.

That is when I began to understand that setting someone free emotionally was actually setting myself free.

What Letting Go Actually Looks Like

Forgiveness is rarely a dramatic moment.
It is often a quiet internal decision.

Sometimes it looks like:

Choosing not to revisit the story again
Deciding not to engage in conversations that reopen the wound
Redirecting your energy toward your own life
Allowing space for new experiences

And sometimes it is as simple as saying, internally:

“I release this. I deserve peace.”

You do not even have to tell the other person.

Often, forgiveness is an entirely private act.

Steps That Helped Me Move Forward

There was no single formula, but there were a few things that consistently helped.

Acceptance

I had to accept that the event happened exactly as it did.
Not how I wished it had happened.
Not how I thought it should have happened.

Just reality.

Acceptance removes the constant mental argument with the past.

And that alone can bring enormous relief.

Finding Growth

Even painful situations carry information.

Sometimes they teach us boundaries.
Sometimes they sharpen our intuition.
Sometimes they show us what we will never tolerate again.

Growth does not justify the hurt.
But it can transform it.

And transformation is powerful.

Perspective

Looking at situations from another angle does not excuse behavior.
It simply broadens understanding.

People act from their own wounds, fears, and limitations.

Recognizing that helped me detach emotionally without minimizing my experience.

Checking What Serves You

This was the biggest one for me.

Does holding onto anger improve your life?
Your health?
Your relationships?
Your happiness?

Usually, it does not.

Letting go often serves you far more than staying angry ever could.

Creating Closure Yourself

Sometimes, closure never comes externally.

No apology.
No explanation.
No final conversation.

Learning to create closure internally is a life skill.

Writing a letter you never send.
Talking it through with a trusted friend.
Praying, meditating, journaling.

Whatever works for you.

Closure is not always given.
Sometimes it is chosen.

Freedom Is the Real Goal

When I released resentments, I noticed something surprising:

I had more energy.
More creativity.
More patience.
More emotional bandwidth for the people who actually deserved it.

Forgiveness cleared space.

And that space allowed joy back in.

Not immediately.
But steadily.

Protecting Peace Going Forward

Forgiveness does not mean repeating patterns.

In fact, it often makes boundaries clearer.

You can forgive and still:

Limit contact
Change how you engage
Choose distance
Protect your emotional well-being

Forgiveness and boundaries are not opposites.
They often work together beautifully.

A Note From My Heart to Yours

If you are holding onto anger right now, I get it.

Truly.

There were times I thought I would never let certain things go.
Times I believed my anger was justified and permanent.

But I promise you this:

Peace feels better than being right.
Freedom feels better than holding a grudge.
Healing feels better than staying stuck.

You deserve that.

Not someday.
Now.

SLAY Reflection

Surrender
What resentment are you currently carrying?

Listen
How does holding onto it affect your emotional well-being?

Accept
Can you accept the reality of what happened without rewriting it?

Yield
What would letting go create space for in your life?

Call to Action: Join the Conversation

I would love to hear from you.
Have you ever experienced freedom after letting go of resentment or forgiving someone?

Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.

And if you know someone who might need this reminder, send this to them.
Sometimes, all we need is a nudge.

Optical Delusion

We’ve all heard the saying “looking at the world through rose-colored glasses,” and I was certainly guilty of that, and I say guilty because I believe that although sometimes it is nice to see the world with a positive, or pretty perspective, when we purposely ignore the truth, ignore our responsibilities, and ignore ourselves and choose to see only what we want to see, that’s where we can fall into bad behaviors. Each one of us has our own perspective, no two people see everything exactly the same, and take our experiences, beliefs, and projected expectations into each situation, and those things can twist reality into something very different.

Our own Optical Delusions aren’t always rose-colored. They can also hold us back. I was reading a story recently about some trainers in India working with baby elephants. When they began they would firmly chain them to a tree so they can’t break free. Over time, after many attempts to break free, the elephants stop trying, and slowly the trainers reduces the size of the chain until they no longer use one at all, but the elephant, still believing it’s there, because it had been many times in the past, no longer tries to see if it can get away. We as people do the same thing. Our field of vision can get so small based on our past experiences that we stop trying, we just sit there, and our Optical Delusion tells us that there is no hope, no use in trying, because we are doomed to the existence we currently find ourselves in, not true. Try. Just try something different, take contrary action and just try. Circumstances can change, we change, but we’ll never know unless we try. Sometimes the only thing that is currently holding us back is us, there is no chain, only the one we imagine in our mind.

On the flip side, there are those who live life like they’re in their own fairy tale. Floating through life doing what they want, not a care in the world, or if they do, quickly brushing it off, or stuffing it down with outside things, thinking if they can keep floating above the mayhem, or the reality of their actual lives, they will always be OK. Well, at some point the balloon bursts and they come crashing down to earth, sometimes with a lot of mess and financial damage to clean up. As you know, I’m always an advocate of looking for the good, the positive in the world and our lives, but not so much that we are ignoring what is really going on around us.

So, how do we know if we are seeing the truth around us, or our own Optical Delusion? We stop, really look around. We ask ourselves if what is happening, truly happening, lines up with our core beliefs of who we are and how we want to live our lives. We ask ourselves if we are shirking our responsibilities to go off and play, ignoring our own needs and those around us. We ask ourselves if the story we’re seeing in front of us is true. What are the facts? Or have we slipped into a place of repression, or irresponsibility, which is holding us back? Listen, it’s always nice to treat ourselves and do something we love, enjoy, or feel a part of, but not if we’re using those things to run away from ourselves and our lives, or, holding ourselves back and telling ourselves we can’t do the things we love, or try for something better because of our own negative self-talk. It’s about getting honest with ourselves. We can do anything SLAYERS, we have the power, but sometimes we get in our own way, or let the voices of others stop us from trying. Ask yourself if what you’re seeing in your life is true, the facts, or are you looking at it through an Optical Delusion?

SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you think you look at your life with a clear perspective? Or do you think you give it a darker view, or to much of a rosey one? Why do you think you do that? What do you think you can do to change that? What do you think will happen if you do? Write down how you feel about yourself and your life. Now, ask yourself which of those things are facts, and which ones are fears or feelings that no longer pertain to your life or situation. What can you do to change the facts that you don’t like? And, how can you accept the ones that you cannot change? It’s about finding a balance SLAYER, living our lives for us, finding joy for ourselves, but not putting joy above the basic things we need to do to be active in our own lives and taking responsibility for our own actions. SLAY on.

S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Take Up More Space

I think many of us at times have cut off pieces of ourselves to make other people more comfortable. We’ve made ourselves small. We’ve downplayed who we are and what we want to fit in nicely to what others are expecting of us, or willing to accept from us and cheating ourselves of being who we are authentically or going after what we want. Our job isn’t to make others comfortable with who we are, it’s to be the best us we can be and celebrate who we are and what we love, to go after the things that make us happy, that challenge us, and show off our talents. If that makes someone in your life uncomfortable then perhaps that person shouldn’t be in your life. A true friend or partner would want you to be you, and loves you for being you, and would never want you to dull your shine for them or those around you. Nor should we want nothing less for ourselves. As SLAYERS we should make ourselves priority, always shine bright and believe in our own strength, power, and beauty.

I didn’t always believe. I thought, for most of my life, that I was less than. That you all were the bright shiny stars, and even though I could pretend, put on the act like I too was bright, the truth was I didn’t believe I deserved it, and, I many times, made myself smaller so I wouldn’t stand out, or cause anyone to look at me. I had so many hopes and dreams and there were many I quashed in the darkness, I didn’t dare let out, or tell anyone, for fear you would tell me I didn’t deserve them, or they were stupid, or that you might get jealous. I lived like that most of my life, and it felt like I was constantly cutting away at who I was and I worried what would be left. In the end, not much was left, just an empty girl, with a dark heart, and an empty soul. Thankfully that girl had a tiny bit of light and fight left in her and started to put the pieces back to together.

Sometimes it takes a lot of walking through fear. If you’ve lived in an environment where you’ve been told you don’t deserve what you want, or aren’t good enough to get it, walking through the fear that they might be right can be difficult, difficult, but not impossible. Use your desire to push past your fear, to show yourself that you can, and you will accomplish and get what you want, what you’re working for, don’t let someone else’s insecurities or jealousies stop you from fulfilling your dreams. Surround yourself with people who do believe in you and support you, use that support to further fuel you as you step forward, growing, expanding, and taking up more space. The fear that you might fail is not your story, it’s someone else placing a narrative on you to make them feel better, and if it is you and your narrative, you have the power to change it, as I’ve written in the past, You Are The Author Of Your Own Story, so start writing a new chapter. Make your mark!

Don’t get caught up in someone else’s expectations of who you are and who you can be. Express yourself in it’s truest form and be your best self, regardless of limits others may put on you. You are the only one who can break free of the chains that hold you back, you hold the key to reaching your potential and realizing your dreams, let go of those people who don’t support that and you and let yourself shine, you may just light the path for those naysayers who said you couldn’t.

SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you make yourself smaller to make others feel more comfortable? Why do you think you do that? What can you do to stop doing that? What do you think will happen if you do? If you have fears in doing so, what are those fears based on? Fears aren’t facts. What are the facts of your situation, why are you stopping yourself from living as your authentic self and going after you dreams? You are not a victim, you are not your past, what you are is a beautiful human being with so much to offer to world, go out there and get it and show us all what you’ve got. SLAY on!

                                                 S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Slayer Say

Good morning SLAYER!  We should fight for what we want, but not at the expense of our own serenity, happiness, and health, sometimes we have to ‘drop the rope’ and accept that things may not be what we want them to be, but trust that they are the way they way they are supposed to be.

New blog goes up Sunday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Accepted

Slayer Say

Good morning SLAYER! When you can’t find a solution to the problem, it’s probably not a problem to be solved, but a truth to be accepted. Accept the truth,  move on, and let go of what no longer serves you, that is where happiness lives.

New blog goes up Friday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Letting Go

Slayer Say

Good morning SLAYER!  Learning to celebrate our flaws, loving them, and turning them into strengths makes us flawsome! We have the power to do that. Loving ourselves and embracing our uniqueness gets us on the road to flawsomeness, as we continue to accept and love ourselves we work towards finding a place where we stop judging ourselves and start to shine, and that, is true perfection!

New blog goes up Tuesday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Flawsome