Do you remember learning how to ride a bike?

At first, you were probably nervous and unsure of yourself. Every time you tried, you wobbled from left to right and then fell off.

That said, not many people are able to ride a bike on their first try, so despite your best efforts and one failure after another, your parents didn’t give up on you.

Do you ever feel like your days are blending together and that nothing is changing?

You might even feel that your life is boring, uninteresting, and dull.

Luckily, it’s not you.

This monotony is common amongst people, and can stem from a lack of excitement in what you're doing rather than who you are.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Do you remember being asked this question in your early youth?

I’m sure you do. 

It’s a commonly asked question by authoritative figures in our life and something that may have even had an impact on your future-determining choices. 

Once upon a time, there were two friends, Alice and Bob.

Both Alice and Bob had a goal to run and complete their first marathon.

Though they had the same goal (to finish a marathon) their reason as to why they wanted to race differed.

We live in a world where instant gratification is highly valued.

We want quick and easy results with minimal effort.

But results without effort are like summing a mountain in a helicopter.

From the outside, the outcome might look the same.

In Minnesota people really know how to take advantage of good weather.

Why?

Because of the contrast.

Minnesota has some terrible weather - it’s a fact.

Rain, clouds, bitter cold, and darkness… for months on end… the perfect recipe for chronic depression.

fe is full of ups and downs. There are moments when we feel on top of the world, and others when we feel like we are at our lowest point.

It is easy to get caught up in the moment, but it is important to take a step back and assess our life as a whole. One way to do this is by using the 1-10 scale to evaluate the quality of our experiences.

Think about all of your life’s experiences on a numerical scale ranging between 1-10.

10 being the best day of your life and 1 being the worst day of your life.

Newsflash: You are never going to be as young as you are right now.

Tomorrow you are going to be older.

The next day, even older…

As we grow older, we expect ourselves to become wiser.

Stress is an unavoidable but prevalent part of our lives, affecting our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

From work deadlines to personal problems, stressors are everywhere.

If not managed properly, stress can be a chronic problem causing a whole slew of issues and repercussions.

But why does stress seem to affect everyone differently?

Do you ever tell yourself “I suck” because of an awful performance?

I know I do.

Think about all the times you felt like you were on top of the world, progressing at a rapid rate, surpassing your peers, and crushing all of your goals.

But then, just when you feel like you are really hitting your stride, something happens - the world flips upside down - you fail; you lose; you eat sh**.