Gratitude is a powerful tool for living our best lives.

This is quite easy when things are going well.

When our relationships are going smoothly.

When we’re crushing our career.

When we’re in good health.

Yet, when things turn south, we turn a blind eye to gratitude.

We ruminate, sulk, and wallow in our misfortune.

Choosing not to be grateful.

What if this is missing the point of gratitude?

Gratitude isn't for the good times.

When it comes easily.

It's for when you have to dig deep.

To remind yourself there's still reason to be grateful.

To do what you can with what you have.

When that's all you can do.

The hard times.

Gratitude is for when things get tough.

When we need to find and keep perspective.

It might be more satisfying to feel like a victim.

Like we have it worse than others.

Yet, somebody - probably billions - has it worse.

And we could, too.

What can you be grateful for today?

Even if only one thing, no matter how small?

Focus on that.

Gratitude is not always easy.

It will take practice and effort.

But it will be worth it.

You’ve got this.

Have you ever reached a health or fitness goal, only to find yourself unsatisfied?

Still discontented with the mirror, scale, or training log?

Still unhappy with your body?

Chances are you feel this way for reasons completely unrelated to your physical attributes.

You’re probably looking to address an inner problem with an outer solution.

You might lose the weight.

Build the strength.

Fit into the jeans.

Achieve whatever goal you've set.

It won't make you love your body.

If you don't love it already, physical transformation won't change that.

You'll never "fix" a body you hate.

Start with gratitude.

For all the things your body can do.

The ways it serves you every single day.

Allows you to experience everything life has to offer.

To interact with the people that you love.

To do the things that fill your cup.

To fulfill your life’s purpose.

Your body is a precious gift.

Treat it with love and kindness.

If that means improving your physical health, do it.

If that means looking, feeling, or performing better, make it happen.

But do it because you love your body.

Right now, as it is.

It is worthy of that love.

It always has been.

It always will be.

You’ve got this.

Why do we let failure ruin our confidence?

Make us feel inadequate?

Keep us from trying?

Failure can actually be one of our most powerful tools for building confidence.

How do we build confidence if we aren’t improving?

How do we improve if we don’t find areas for improvement?

How do we find those areas without failure?

What holds us back most often is our pride.

Our resistance to acknowledge our imperfection.

Our inability to live with humility.

Want to build confidence?

Don't avoid failure.

Fail, learn, then try again.

Each day, doing a little bit better.

Being a little bit better.

Take risks.

Make mistakes.

Allow yourself to fail.

Push yourself to learn and grow.

Humility today brings confidence tomorrow.

We sometimes think of humility and confidence as mutually exclusive.

In reality, the two are complementary.

Confidence is most firmly rooted in an understanding of one’s own limitations.

Those limitations are found through failure.

Failure sought through humility.

Through self-compassion.

Through accepting our flaws and consistently working on them.

You’ve got this.

We often misunderstand fear.

When we have a dream or a goal.

But we’re not sure how to make it happen.

We’re not sure what others will think or say.

We’re not sure if we can pull it off.

So, we stay right where we are.

Never becoming who we’re called to be.

You might feel fear of uncertainty.

Of embarrassment.

Of failure.

What will you do with that fear?

See it as a deterrent from living your best life?

Or an invitation to pursue your potential?

To see what you're made of?

To chase excellence?

Fear is often a call to action.

You might not know what lies ahead.

You might attract criticism.

You might fail.

That’s okay.

The only standard that matters is your own.

Set that standard for growth.

For challenging yourself.

Acting in the face of fear.

Seeing it as a signal that you’re on the right path.

What do you fear?

What are you going to do about it?

You’ve got this.

You might feel out of control.

Out of control of your career.

Your finances.

Your health.

Your relationships.

All of these have one thing in common - you.

Your best bet at controlling your life is controlling yourself.

After all, can you ever really control anything else?

You might have to start small.

Pick one thing about yourself you can change.

A meditation practice, even two minutes a day, is a great place to start.

Whatever step you choose to take, work at it consistently.

Day in and day out.

Once you get a handle on that step, pick something else.

Work at that, consistently, until you’ve got it dialed in.

Repeat the process.

You might try and fail, over and over again.

Have some self-compassion.

Self-improvement is not easy.

This also takes time.

Have some patience.

Change won’t happen overnight.

Over the days, weeks, months, and years, though, you can see tremendous progress.

Creating your best life.

You’ll still encounter factors out of your control.

That’s life.

Do what you can.

That’s all you can do.

You’ve got this.

Physical training can be a great tool for improving your physical health.

Yet, so many of us look to it for more than that.

Crushing ourselves in the gym, on the field, or in the streets.

Thinking that we need to reach a certain size, shape, strength, or speed to be happy.

Yet, when we reach our goal, we're called to chase another.

Never satisfied.

Never content.

Never enough.

Those feelings don’t come from physical pursuits.

You'll never be big enough.

You'll never be strong enough.

You'll never be fast, mobile, or explosive enough.

You won't find "enough" in the gym.

You won't find that feeling of self-acceptance.

That feeling of seeing and loving yourself.

"Enough" only comes from within.

From recognizing that you are worthy as you are.

That you have your unique gifts.

A light that only you can shine.

Dependent on no outcome other than you being you.

Even with all of your flaws and imperfections.

Even with all of your room for improvement.

By all means, hit the gym.

But do it because you love yourself.

Because you recognize your body is a gift.

Because you’re enough.

Right now.

As you are.

You’ve got this.

Taking unclear action can be difficult.

Knowing what we want, but not how to make it happen.

This can be a major source of hesitation.

Perhaps even procrastination.

Stuck in a cycle of research, planning, preparing.

Never doing.

Eventually, we look back.

We see that our life has been passing us by.

Not being or becoming who we could have been.

When we could have spent that time figuring it out.

It would have been difficult.

But we'd still have been making progress.

Instead of waiting with nothing to show for it.

Your path might not be clear.

You might not know how to do what you want to do.

You might want to wait until you have it all figured out.

Often, the only way to figure it out is to start.

You don't need to know the second or third steps to take the first.

All you need to get started is direction.

That may be toward something.

It may be away from something.

Start moving.

Assess your progress.

Adjust as you go.

You’ll make mistakes.

You’ll need to correct course.

That’s okay.

You’ll be moving.

You’ve got this.

We get so caught up in others' lives.

What they believe, think, or say.

How they behave, how they act, and the mistakes they make.

Their finances, careers, and relationships.

Sometimes, we want to help.

Other times, we wish we were them.

Often, we feel compelled.

Like it’s our obligation or duty.

In doing so, we let our own lives pass us by.

Our time and energy so focused on others that none is left for ourselves.

Not living our best life because we’re not living our own life at all.

Which is, after all, the only thing we can control.

You aren’t responsible for anybody else’s life.

Not their beliefs, opinions, or words.

Not their behaviors, actions, or mistakes.

Not their finances, careers, or relationships.

The only life you’re responsible for living is your own.

Of course, you can play a role in others' lives.

Work to make their lives better.

Be the best friend, family member, or even stranger you can be.

Not out of obligation or duty.

But love, empathy, and compassion.

Contributing to a shared human experience.

But first, take care of you.

Make sure you’re living your best life.

You’ll only be better equipped to serve others.

Pouring from a full cup.

You’ve got this.

We all need inspiration from time to time.

When we’re feeling lost.

When we’re unmotivated.

When we’re burnt out.

Inspiration can help us figure out what we need to do.

Remind us of what we want to do.

Encourage us to keep going.

Yet, it can also provide a false sense of accomplishment.

Keeping us in a cycle of feeling, rather than doing.

Daydreaming about what’s possible.

Imagining what might be, rather than making it happen.

Often, it’s not more inspiration that we need.

It’s putting that inspiration into action.

You might feel like you need more inspiration.

Like you need to watch another video.

Listen to another podcast.

Read another book.

Maybe you do.

At some point, work must be done.

Action must be taken.

What good is inspiration without action?

There’s nothing wrong with seeking inspiration.

It helps us find direction.

Fosters creativity.

Encourages growth.

By all means, seek it out.

But follow it up with action.

You might even inspire somebody else.

You’ve got this.

We’re conditioned to think of our weight as the primary measure of health.

Bombarded with messages of its importance.

Magazine covers.

Social media ads.

Countless books and programs.

All suggesting that we “should” see some number on the scale.

That once we reach it, we’ll be happy, confident, or successful.

We pursue that number to the detriment of our quality of life.

Letting it dictate what kind of day we’re going to have.

Weight is not deserving of such power.

Your weight tells you one thing.

Your gravitational relationship to Earth.

It doesn't report how much you're loved.

It doesn't quantify your value as a human being.

It doesn't measure how much you've given to the world.

Your weight does not define you.

Of course, it isn’t a useless metric.

It can provide insight toward your health, in some contexts.

However, it’s not worthy of the emphasis we so often place on it.

There are other metrics to consider.

Smiles, laughter, hugs, and the warmth of your heart.

By all means, seek to be healthy, strong, and capable.

But do so driven from a place of love for yourself and for others.

So that you can pursue your best life.

Fulfill your purpose.

Shine your unique light.

You are worthy.

You’ve got this.