Sway, Stretch, Adapt!

The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived. ~ Robert Jordan

The funny thing about life is that it doesn’t care if you’re ready. It’ll huff, it’ll puff, and it’ll blow you down whether you've reinforced yourself with bricks of endurance or just slapped on some faith so that you don’t fall through the cracks and end up in Mordor. You can either stand like a stubborn old oak and snap under the pressure of every bad thing that happens, or you can bend like a palm tree and ride out the horribleness of it all.

I can’t talk for everyone, but I can look at my own reactions to hardship. I tend to make it harder on myself. I bulldoze over my own limits, ignore the flashing neon signs my body throws up, and then act surprised when I feel awful—physically. I know not every gut feeling is a wise old sage whispering secrets. Sometimes it’s just trauma or bad habits that die hard. But there’s still wisdom in listening to my body.

I’ve learnt that the whole “push through at all costs” mindset is a fast track to burnout. Yes, I break. Yes, I bend. But I’ve also learnt to extend. I’ve learnt to extend myself a little grace. I’ve learnt to extend my awareness past the need to just get through an upsetting experience and actually "experience" it head-on.

Life can’t be good all the time. If it were, we’d never grow. Instead of treating life like a battlefield where we’re either victorious or roadkill, maybe we should learn to move with it—sway, stretch, adapt. Because real strength is not just about standing tall. It’s knowing when to lean, when to flex, and when to throw your hands up, eat a chocolate, and try again tomorrow. Afterall… tomorrow is another day!  

Set the Bar Higher

When you set the bar too low—when you tell yourself that dreaming bigger is pointless—you’re basically rolling out the welcome mat for mediocrity. Maybe you think you’re being practical, avoiding disappointment, but let’s be honest: you’re selling yourself short. Worse, you might be relying only on your strength, measuring your potential by what you can do instead of what you can do with God. Going solo in life is like trying to assemble furniture without instructions. Frustrating.

Your mind is your only prison, and the only enemy is the part of you that refuses to be tamed—the doubt, the fear, the voice that tells you to play it safe. With faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. When you team up with God, doors open that you didn’t even know existed.

A good way to seize the day is to avoid settling. Instead of shrinking your goals to fit your fears, stretch beyond your comfort zone—way beyond—because that’s where real growth happens. That’s where faith is tested, courage is built, and transformation takes root. Set the bar higher than comfort and higher than reason. When faith gets involved, the impossible starts looking an awful lot like your next big challenge. And it’s not always about winning. It’s about learning how to live fully, in gratitude, while rising and staying above the muck and mire of the world.

The Good, the Bad, and the Grey In Between

I want to send a little apology to anyone who sees the world in black and white—because, let’s be honest, life is one giant grey area with a whole lot of messy in between. We all like to think we’re the good guys, the ones making the right choices, doing the best we can. But the truth is, without a little darkness, we wouldn’t appreciate the light. And without the light, we’d never see our own shadows creeping along behind us.

The biggest achievement in life is not perfection—it’s self-awareness. It’s about knowing who you are, quirks, flaws, bad hair days, and all. It’s about owning your mistakes, laughing at the ones that don’t sting too much, and learning from the ones that do. Sometimes, we’re the hero of the story, and other times, we’re the villain in someone else’s story. And that’s okay.

Life is like a game of darts. We aim for the target, the perfect bullseye, and half the time, we miss. Sometimes, we hit the wall instead. Because we’re imperfect, we’ll always fall short. In the end, what matters isn’t the miss, or the fall, or the failure; it’s the fact that we keep trying, adjusting, figuring things out as we go. Taking responsibility when we knock over the metaphorical beer on the counter, and celebrating the moments when we actually land a solid hit.

It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about being open, being real, and maybe, just maybe, having a little fun along the way.