Small Ways I’m Feeling Brave Every Day
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Gretchen McIntire headshot on right, image of Autumn trees lining winding road

Gretchen McIntire headshot on right, image of Autumn trees lining winding road

By Gretchen McIntire

In the last couple of days, I have been reflecting on the ways I have worked hard to be brave this year. A lot of my work has been emotional but some of it has involved a lot of unexpected changes.

This year there were times when I worried I might run out of ways to be brave only to be slammed with another challenge that forced me to be brave once again.

But the truth is that I strive for courage and to do my best every single day.

And while I haven’t traveled internationally this year like I did last year and the year before, I did make a big move out of my family’s home. It’s been a big adjustment to find a new routine. And while I haven’t lost nearly fifty pounds like I did a couple of years ago, I am slowly getting back into the swing of a gym routine.

This week as I have been working on my draft for my speech for TEDXNatick for January 2020, I am thinking about how it’s really the little things that add up to the bravest of all:

Driving to a brand-new restaurant for the first time alone, sending my manuscript out just one more time to another literary agent for the novel I wrote this year (still hoping to find one), and sometimes it’s just getting up each day and facing the social anxiety of my part time work. That feels really big all on its own.

So I’m not exactly marching into 2020 with enormous goals.

I’m excited to see what my non-profit BostonCalm will do for others next year, I’m excited to become more-healthy, and I’m hoping to find an agent. I’m sure I’ll be faced with plenty of challenges along the way because of my Aspergers (ASD) diagnosis, but I know more than ever that I am strong enough to keep going.

Isn’t that the greatest victory? To keep going against all odds.

What are small ways you feel you’re brave every day? What’s one goal you can set for 2020 that isn’t enormous but will make you feel successful? I believe in you.

Read about Gretchen

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The post Small Ways I’m Feeling Brave Every Day appeared first on Geek Club Books.

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