Reflections on my BirthEve: A Year From Today Will Be My Past

The last few years have been filled with pain, letting go, and healing. But nothing has been more freeing than the last tumultuous year. On my birthEve, I wanted to reflect on my growth and share some of the important lessons I’ve learned.  In no particular order:

  1. Trust your gut; sometimes first impressions are dead on. Listen to your heart. It knows.
  2. Give people a chance. Learn how to come from nothing, yet don’t ignore and brush off those little inconsistencies. (See #1)
  3. Be committed and not attached. Attachments are all about you and what you want. Commitment has the other person’s needs in mind despite what you want.
  4. Don’t sacrifice yourself just to hold onto someone who doesn’t care if you stay or go.
  5. You are powerful. You are okay alone.
  6. People will break their promises and let you down. But love anyway. If not for them- because they need it- than for you!
  7. Healing is a process and takes time. Sometimes you have to make stupid mistakes and stupid decisions all while “knowing” they’re not in your best interest in order to get to the place of healing you need to be.
  8. Change is inevitable. Don’t hold onto anyone or anything too tightly.
  9. Love fiercely. Forgive often. Cry when you must. Then dry your eyes and count your blessings.
  10. Doing your best is always enough.
  11. It’s okay to grieve and feel sorry for yourself every once and a while. Your pain matters.
  12. It’s never okay to hurt others when you are hurting, but it’s inevitable. So apologize and restore the relationship no matter if the person you hurt hurt you first and has never acknowledged your pain.
  13. Learn from everything. Regret nothing. Do better next time.
  14. A year from now will be my past. Only I can choose whether it will be better or worse.
  15. I can only be responsible for what I do. Even if I’m so “obviously” wronged, I’m still responsible for how I react and treat people.
  16. God will provide. It may not be when or how I want, but it will be enough.
  17. Stepping into the unknown is scary. But it’s also exciting.
  18. There’s always someone hurting worse than you. Go find them, love them and your pain will disappear.
  19. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Really look at what you’ve done. What you are doing. You are amazing!
  20. The best is yet to come. How do I know? Because I choose for it to be the best!
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Gina Conroy

Gina Conroy

From the day I received my first diary in the second grade, I've had a passion expressing myself through writing. Later as a journalist and novelist, I realized words, if used powerfully, have the ability to touch, stir, and reach from the depths of one soul to another. Today as a writing and health coach, I inspire others to live their extraordinary life and encourage them to share their unique stories. For daily inspiration follow me on https://www.facebook.com/gina.conroy and check out my books here https://amzn.to/3lUx9Pi