How To Show Up And Keep Going

Have you ever wished you could be 12 again?

Not in the aspect of having to go through any teenage challenges, friendship drama, or even now with social media dominating our lives. But in realizing the vast opportunity and potential at your finger-tips if you stay positive?

As adults, our natural tendency is often to go to a negative place. Why is that? Why do we think more critically, judge, condemn, complain? Is there a real reason, or does society allow us to do that, and it’s easier? It doesn’t feel good, so why?

Or maybe you don’t realize the power of positivity now? If that’s the case, no worries. Hopefully, the story I share will enlighten you.

Let me introduce you to my niece, Sydney Bryn. Sydney is a gift. Don’t get me wrong; my 1st niece, Sienna, is also a gift, and I love them equally, but Sydney was born when her dad, Jason, had brain cancer. My sister, Debra, and Jason were not sure if they could have another child. Jason became an angel six short months after Sydney was born. There are never enough words to explain those feelings and loss. To this day, his passing still brings tears to my eyes.

My niece Sydney had a vision. Her vision was to be a dancer at a very intense dance company. She confidently and persistently asked my sister until my sister said. “Yes.” I have to say, my sister is an incredible mom, and I always give her props for how she is raising my two nieces, and this instance is no exception. If you know anything about competitive dance companies, you know they require a considerable time commitment and cost some serious coin. It was going to be a commitment for Sydney, my sister, and their entire family.

Sydney committed from the get-go. Her passion and enthusiasm were as high as it could be. What was fascinating to watch is the dynamics of the dance company owner and primary teacher. Does favoritism still exist? Yes. And we all quickly learned that supposedly Sydney was late to the game regarding starting her dance journey. She was ten. How is ten late to the game? I don’t know how someone can be late to the game because I am 49 ½ I am on my 3rd life. My viewpoint of age is nonexistent, but what did I know?

I would ask Sydney questions about how it was going. She was always positive as far as her passion for dance. But you could tell there was an underlying emotion.

Here’s the thing! She kept going! Sydney Bryn didn’t focus on the fact she wasn’t the favorite of the dance company owner. Sydney didn’t let that energy affect her. She focused on perfecting her craft, learning, practicing, and staying true to her dedication.

I am amazed at the positive love she shares on IG for her fellow dancers. Do they reciprocate back? I would be shocked to say yes, 100% of the time, because it doesn’t happen in the social media world. But she keeps posting. She congratulates every accomplishment her fellow dancers have as well as wishes for every birthday. Don’t they call that Karma?

In Sydney’s second year (age 11), she begged my sister to do a solo routine. Again, more time and more money, but with Sydney’s dedication, my sister said yes. And what happened? She crushed it! She came out with a bang and blew everyone’s socks off. To heck with being too old, Sydney showed them and kept dancing.

Now, this is her 3rd year in the program. The numbers she is dancing in has increased along with her confidence and her skills. She has recently had her 12th birthday and continues to be undaunted by society’s often challenging points of view. Sydney’s passion and enthusiasm are still at an all-time high.

I share this story because I am a proud aunt, and granted, this is my point of view, but also because we give up if we don’t feel the attention is on us. If someone isn’t paying enough attention, we absorb that energy. Lack of attention can make us give up on our dreams or become stuck.

Why do we let what others think of us stop us? Unfortunately, there is an endless amount of toxic people, negative behaviors, jealousy, to name a few. And we all recognize these people, but often still choose to give them our power.

How can we keep our power?

Organizing your thoughts and next steps into three buckets can help:

Bucket 1 is the easiest to address, and Bucket 3 is the most difficult. If you break things down into buckets, it helps take the pressure off and make your decision more manageable.

First step: Take time to think about the following and recognize what bucket is part of getting this process started.

Bucket 1: The other person’s energy doesn’t bother you, and you can continue to move towards your goals. You recognize the behavior and can move on.

Bucket 2: The energy bothers you, but you can set boundaries or learn to set boundaries and move forward from there.

Bucket 3: The energy has you stuck and leads you into negative thought patterns. You can have a discussion or get some further help in dealing with the situation. If you can block this person or not associate with them, this may be the right path for you. Recognize it’s OK to move on from people if you don’t see the situation changing.

Once you get into the habit of mentally putting challenging situations into buckets, it helps you move forward. Anyone can do this exercise. It takes some remembering and practice, but it is simple.

It will be interesting someday to have a more in-depth discussion about my observations with Sydney and watch her evolve. But one thing I do know is she’s a positive spiritual force!

And in her proud aunt’s opinion, one to be followed.