Hi there!
Sometimes the things we tell ourselves about what we’re capable of couldn’t be further from the truth.
I was thinking about this the other morning after a conversation with my daughter.
She’d been telling me about their jam-packed October schedule. Between the kids’ activities, family commitments, and everything else they had planned, she was definitely going to need to find her own quiet time to balance it all out.
And then, just as we were wrapping up our conversation, she casually added, “Oh, and great news! I think we’re going to get a new puppy!”
My response? “Have you lost your mind?”
She laughed and acknowledged that October was going to be a little crazy. But she also sounded genuinely happy, excited even, about everything they had coming up.
Later, I found myself thinking about the young woman she used to be.
Before she had children, she told me more than once that she wasn’t sure she wanted to become a mother. She worried that she wouldn’t be very good at it.
And I think she genuinely believed that.
As a young adult, she’d had her own struggles with patience and managing difficult emotions. Perhaps she looked at those challenges and wondered how she could possibly guide children through theirs.
While I reassured her that I thought she’d be a wonderful mother, I’m not sure she entirely believed me.
Fast forward to today, and I couldn’t be more proud of the mother she’s become.
She’s loving, patient, thoughtful, and kind. And what I admire most is the way she handles the difficult moments.
When her children disagree or emotions run high, she has this remarkable ability to calmly talk things through, helping them understand their feelings, resolve their differences, and develop the emotional resilience they’ll carry into adulthood.
Does she occasionally lose her patience? Of course.
But here’s what I find so remarkable.
Some of the very qualities she once worried she lacked have become her greatest strengths as a mother.
And she’s now teaching those same qualities to her children.
It made me wonder how many of us are doing the same thing.
Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that you’re not creative. Or that you’re terrible with money. Or that you’re simply not the kind of person who can make friends easily, learn something new, or follow through on a big dream.
Perhaps those beliefs came from something that happened years ago. Or maybe you’ve repeated them so often that you’ve stopped questioning whether they’re true.
But what if they’re not?
Here’s a question to carry with you this week:
What have I been telling myself I’m not capable of that might deserve a second chance?
You don’t have to prove yourself wrong overnight.
Maybe you could just become a little more curious about what’s possible as a start.
Wishing you a beautiful week,
Julie
I am capable of more than I imagine.
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