Finding Your Inner Badass

Last week, I found myself sitting across from an attorney.

I was in his office to provide support to a mom in my area. While he was discussing her courage in leaving the toxic, unhealthy situation that she was describing, he gave a bit of a pep talk. While his words of wisdom were intended for her, I absorbed every word to my core:

My mom is the reason that I am who I am today. She is 4’11” – all piss and vinegar. It’s not that she didn’t face struggles in her life, it’s that she never let us see her crack. I grew up believing that I could do anything in this world because my mom led by example. She is a badass.

He went on to say, “It takes one person to be courageous and the cycle is broken. Just like that, the cycle is broken.”What resonated with me was that I once prided myself on being that type of badass. I am a survivor of abuse and incredible dysfunction during childhood, and I survived a toxic marriage to a sociopath. Since then, I’ve fought my ass off to protect my children and my goal was to break the cycle. Somehow, I've gone from priding myself on being a badass to barely recognizing myself some days.I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you can relate?  Are you struggling to find your inner badass? You know she's in there but maybe it's been a while since you've seen her?  I want to be that badass again but how do I get there? Here are a few of the things I decided to implement immediately:

• I am going to give myself credit. A lot of credit. There is no rule book for “this” journey. No one person has all the answers. I’ve done the best I could with what’s  been handed to me. I've done a damn good job, actually.
• I am going to remain open to direction from God/Universe – and I will keep taking inspired action towards my goals. I know that where there is a will, there is a way. I will continue to lean into my faith.
• I’m going to continue practicing self-care and gratitude – I know the importance of both.

And…some days, I’m going to fake it until I make it. I can pretend in my mind that I am a badass until I feel like one again. Basically, I’m going to rediscover the lost art of imagination and I will imagine myself wearing a sparkly yellow cape and drinking a big ol’ glass of lemonade. That’s what badass warriors do – they take lemons and turn them into lemonade, lemon drops, lemon pie and maybe, I’ll turn those lemons into a chocolate cake and leave people wondering how I did it.How are you going to rediscover your inner badass? Our children are counting on us to find her.