FIVE THINGS LIFE HAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT MYSELF ❤️

Taking Time to Reflect

I’ve been doing a little reflecting lately, thinking about my life, the things I’ve been through and the person I am today.

Sometimes we get so caught up in living that we don’t stop to acknowledge just how far we’ve come. We move from one thing to the next, dealing with whatever life throws at us, often without giving ourselves a moment to breathe and recognise what we’ve learnt along the way.

Over the years, I’ve been through some pretty challenging times. Grief, changes I never expected, menopause, moments when I’ve questioned myself and times when I’ve felt completely lost.

When my dad passed away, it felt as though my world had fallen apart. I was navigating grief alongside so many other changes in my life, and there were times when I hardly recognised myself.

But life has a way of teaching us things about ourselves that we might never have discovered otherwise.

So, I thought I’d share five things I’ve learnt about myself along the way.

1. I am far more determined than I ever gave myself credit for.

When I look back, I realise that I have always found a way forward, even when I haven’t known what that way looks like.

There have been times when I’ve felt defeated, when I’ve questioned what I was doing and wondered how I was going to navigate whatever was happening around me.

But somehow, I keep going. I am absolutely sure that the guides and angels have been holding me whilst I navigate these spaces, even so.

It doesn’t mean that I never feel overwhelmed or that I always know what I’m doing. Far from it! Sometimes I have to sit with things, work through them and find my feet again.

But there is something within me that doesn’t give up.

I’ve learnt that determination isn’t always about pushing harder or fighting your way through life. Sometimes it’s about taking a breath, allowing yourself to feel what you need to feel, and then finding the courage to take that next step.

And I’m rather proud of that part of me.

2. I am stronger and more resilient than I ever imagined.

For a long time, I don’t think I truly understood my own strength.

It’s easy to look at other people and see their strength, whilst overlooking our own. We can be so busy getting on with life, looking after everyone else and doing what needs to be done that we don’t recognise just how much we are carrying.

I’ve learnt that resilience isn’t about never falling apart. It isn’t about pretending everything is okay when it isn’t.

It’s about finding your way back to yourself.

It’s about navigating grief, change, uncertainty and those moments when life doesn’t look anything like you imagined it would.

And it’s about allowing those experiences to change you without letting them take away everything that makes you who you are.

I have learnt that I can face things I once thought would break me. I can find my feet again, rebuild, learn and grow.

That doesn’t mean every journey has been easy, but I know now that I have a strength within me that I can draw upon when I need it.

And I think sometimes we need to stop and acknowledge that in ourselves.

3. I can remain calm when emotions are running high.

This is something I’ve really come to recognise about myself.

Even when emotions are running high around me, I can generally remain calm. I very rarely lose my temper, and I tend to take a step back and look at what’s happening rather than react in the heat of the moment.

I think there was a time when I didn’t fully understand the value of this part of me.

But I’ve learnt that we don’t always need to react immediately. We can give ourselves a moment, breathe, observe and choose how we want to respond.

That little space between what happens and how we respond can make such a difference.

It doesn’t mean that I don’t feel things deeply, because I absolutely do. It doesn’t mean that I don’t get upset or frustrated.

It simply means that I have learnt that I don’t have to act on every emotion as it arises.

And that feels like a real strength.

4. I’ve learnt that anger is an emotion, not something to be afraid of.

This one feels particularly important to me.

I can acknowledge that there was a time in my life when anger and temper frightened me. I didn’t want to be around it, and I certainly didn’t want to become someone who reacted in anger.

But as I’ve grown and learnt more about myself, my understanding has changed.

Anger is an emotion. Like sadness, frustration, fear or hurt, it is something we can experience as human beings.

It doesn’t automatically make us a bad person, and it doesn’t mean we have to act destructively because we feel it.

Sometimes anger is telling us that something isn’t right. Perhaps a boundary has been crossed, something has hurt us, or we have been holding onto feelings that need to be acknowledged.

The important thing is what we do with that emotion.

We can learn to express it safely, to release it without hurting ourselves or someone else, and to understand what might be sitting underneath it.

We don’t have to suppress it, and we don’t have to allow it to control us.

For me, this has been about understanding that I can feel anger without being frightened of it. I can acknowledge it, explore it and choose how I respond.

And I think there is something incredibly freeing about that.

5. I’ve learnt to trust myself and the journey I’m on.

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons of all is learning to trust myself.

There have been times when I’ve questioned my decisions, wondered whether I was doing the right thing or looked outside myself for answers.

But the more I’ve worked on myself, the more I’ve realised that I need to listen to my own inner wisdom.

Life doesn’t always make sense when we’re in the middle of it. Sometimes we can’t see why things are happening, what we’re learning or where a particular experience will lead us.

I’ve learnt that I don’t need to have everything figured out.

I can trust myself to navigate the changes, make decisions, learn from my experiences and find my way forward.

My spiritual journey and my work with the Akashic Records have helped me explore those deeper patterns and beliefs that can shape how we see ourselves and the world around us.

I’ve come to understand that so much of our growth begins when we become willing to look within, question what we’ve always believed and give ourselves permission to do things differently.

And perhaps most importantly, I’ve learnt that I don’t have to be the same person I was five, ten or twenty years ago.

I’m allowed to grow. I’m allowed to change. I’m allowed to discover new things about myself.

And I’m allowed to be proud of the woman I am becoming.

So, what have I learnt from all of this?

I think I’ve learnt that strength and softness can exist together.

That resilience doesn’t mean you never struggle.

That being calm doesn’t mean you don’t feel deeply.

That anger doesn’t have to be destructive.

And that trusting yourself doesn’t mean knowing all the answers. It means believing that you can find your way, even when you don’t yet know where the path will lead.

I’m still learning. I don’t have everything worked out, and I certainly don’t get everything right.

But when I look back at some of the things I’ve navigated, I can see just how much I’ve grown.

And rather than focusing on what I haven’t achieved or what I still need to work on, perhaps it’s time to acknowledge the things I have learnt and the woman I’ve become.

Because sometimes we need to stop looking at how far we still have to go and recognise just how far we’ve already travelled.

What about you?

If you were to sit quietly for a moment and reflect on your own life, what are the five things you have learnt about yourself?

Perhaps you’ve discovered a strength you never knew you had. Perhaps you’ve learnt to set boundaries, to trust your intuition, to speak up for yourself or to let go of things that no longer serve you.

Whatever it is, I’d love you to take a moment to acknowledge it.

We spend so much time focusing on what needs fixing that we can forget to celebrate how far we’ve come.

And sometimes, that little moment of recognition is exactly what we need.

Sending you all love and blessings.

Lorraine x