10 Things to Inspire You This Month

Life with chronic pain or a chronic condition is never predictable. You never know if you’ll wake up feeling good or bad. This has been my life for the last 20 years. I count myself lucky that I have been able to cope as well as I have, still work full-time, and find some time for activities I enjoy. So when you suffer a setback like two-weeks and counting of a lower back/disc pain, you just have to prioritize what gets done and what doesn’t. Setbacks aren’t failures. They are opportunities to overcome.

“The beautiful thing about setbacks is, they introduce us to our strengths.”

~ Robin Sharma

For me, writing blog posts is what gets put on hold. Especially with back pain, sitting at the computer writing and editing for several hours just isn’t in the cards. Despite my pain and the very slow healing process and a new set of physical therapy exercises, I still find joy in bringing a little bit of inspiration to others. So please enjoy these stories I found to inspire you in this month’s very late edition of “10 Things to Inspire You.”

1. It’s good to know that people care. Read about Mr. Peoples, a very special crossing-guard who takes the safety of his kids very seriously, and how his community rallied around this unsung hero.
2. No one dines alone. While most companies live or die by their Christmas season sales, this restaurant owner put out a small sign to show the Christmas spirit, rather than trying to make a profit. Read more here.
3. Birthday wishes. This daughter just wanted her father to feel special on his birthday. Her plea went viral.
4. A lost check and a found purpose.  You don’t always expect the best outcomes when you lose a $10,000 check, but sometimes you are pleasantly surprised. Read the story of homelessness and character here.
5. McKenna’s Beauty Bar. Read about McKenna Schummer who developed a passion for makeup to distract herself from her cancer treatments. McKenna showed remarkable strength and inspiration despite the setbacks she was facing.
6. Sharing the wealth. Read Bean’s story, an autistic teen who loves peanut butter. He discovered that sometimes it’s better to give when you receive.
7. Bonding with your kids over music. Read about one couple’s experiment to engage more with their kids by making a simple change to how the family listens to music.
8. Self-care is self-preservation. We all need to remember to take time out for ourselves. Here are some great ideas for doing just that.
9. Done is better than perfect. And in the true spirit of my crazy, pain-filled life these days, I am ending my list here. Nine is not ten. But sometimes I just have to decide that done is better than perfect. It’s been hard to come to grips at times with the fact that I cannot do it all. Despite what I’d like to believe, I am not Superwoman. I am, however, quite the badass. 

I hope you enjoyed this month’s edition and some of these articles inspire you to look for the good in others, the good in the world, and the good inside of you. I hope you will take a few minutes to be grateful for what you have and a few more minutes to treat yourself. Remember that all of us encounter setbacks, challenges, and opportunities to make a difference. It’s how you deal with those opportunities that can be the difference between failure and success.