How can I become a Brave Girl

I often am asked this question by people in my life, and the answer is actually not as straight forward as most would want it to be.

The path to becoming a Brave Girl, like anything else worth doing, is not straight. It’s full of twists and turns and I think that becoming brave means trusting those twists and turns and going with them instead of fighting them. It is understanding that everything that happens in our lives is a learning opportunity and a chance to authentically be ourselves and walk our path. Each of us has our own journey, and we are all becoming and working on ourselves.

Having said all of this, my list of suggestions for starting your journey on the Brave Girl path is:

1.   Go to www.bravegirlsclub.com and sign up! You will receive daily messages that are inspirational and can help you get through your days. Sometimes I save those messages and print them in a tiny format and put them on a corner of my desk as a reminder. Sometimes I print the art as a reminder. I try to do something to jog my memory about being Brave.
2. Take Brave Girl classes. When you go to the website, look for “Brave Girl U Online” at the very top of the screen. Join Brave Girl U and take the classes! Specifically, I’d suggest first taking Soul Restoration. This class is life changing. It’s fun, it’s easy, and most of all, if you take the time, do the work, and really “listen” to your soul, it will change you in ways you never dreamed possible. There are lots and lots of Brave Girl U classes, so be sure to stick around and take more, because it’s all good stuff!
3. On Facebook, “Like” Brave Girls Club. This will get you in touch with the Brave Girls community and help you meet other like minded people who might be sharing your journey. Participate and get to know other Brave Girls. 
4.  Perform random acts of kindness. Ok, this is personal, this is part of my journey and is something that resonates deeply with me. I find that, as I go through my day, I’m really busy and often really focused down. Each day, I try to lift my head and be present. If that means telling a coworker that they look wonderful in a certain color, or if that means giving a coworker a quarter for the vending machine, I never know, but I try to perform some simple random act of kindness each day. It’s become so much of a habit with me that I am sometimes not even aware that I do it anymore! Last week, in Idaho, I actually performed 4 or 5, which was what prompted me to pay attention and start noticing when I do it. I’m not looking for gratitude, I’m not looking for praise, I’m simply letting my heart speak, and following my path.
5. Give yourself permission. This is huge. Let your soul out. Let it speak and tell you what it wants. Sometimes, I think we get carried away with the “daily grind” and we miss out on things. We decide we are “too busy” or “too tired” or “not good enough” to do something and we let an opportunity pass by. Instead, how about giving yourself permission to fall down. Give yourself permission to try something that’s way out of your comfort zone and see what happens. I’m not saying go drive a super fast race car if you don’t have a driver’s license, but I AM saying that if someone invites you to a class on something you haven’t ever done but have been curious about, do it. Make time, have fun, and enjoy yourself. You’ll be amazed at the results in most cases!
6. Don’t expect an overnight shift. Becoming a Brave Girl isn’t really a thing. I think it’s an attitude, a shift inside of yourself, a new way of thinking for some. It’s not something you can look at and say “ok, I’ve done this and this and this and now I’m a Brave Girl. The first step is to choose to be Brave, and then as the journey opens and you start taking steps forward, you will learn to recognize and acknowledge your brave self. Just like anything worthwhile, it takes time. It takes time to shift your thinking and your responses to life, at least it did for me. There are still some things that I have said in the past that, if I could, I would go back and say differently. But, being brave means not looking backward, but instead looking forward and to what can be rather than what was.
7. For me, a part of being Brave comes from someplace entirely unrelated to Brave Girls Club. It comes from a program called DDPYoga. It was DDPYoga and Diamond Dallas Page, 3 time World Champion Wrestler who first told me to Own My Life. Those words were a real call to action for me, and got through to my soul in a way that meshes with all of my Brave Girls training and soul work. Being happy is a choice. Being healthy is a choice. Food is a choice. Everything in life is really a choice. It’s up to you what you make of everything that life hands you. If you are curious about DDPYoga, you can visit www.ddpyoga.com and learn more about it. I’d also strongly suggest watching Dallas’ very inspirational lecture video, “Living Life at 90%”.

This is a really hard blog post to write because, again, I don’t think it’s a straight path, and I think everyone’s journey is unique. You have to make a conscious effort to move forward instead of just sitting and waiting. Life is all around us and happening and some of it is beautiful and some isn’t.

If you've read all of this and don't have a clue what Brave Girls Club is, please take a look here: https://youtu.be/vfQqCWaHYdc

Anyhow, this is my truth. Maybe it will help someone. 

Have a great day!