Which wolf will you feed?

Read Al's blog post HERE!

I just read this blog post over on Al Fox Caraway's blog and oh boy! It's one I want every single person to read. Find it HERE

In this blog post she talks about "the secret to have your best life" and I couldn't have needed this more at any other time.

 She starts off her blog post with a quote by Wayne Dyer that says:

“I have two wolves barking inside of me. The first wolf is filled with anger, hatred, bitterness, and mostly revenge. The second wolf inside of me is filled with love, kindness, compassion, and mostly forgiveness.‘Which wolf do you think will win?’ the young boy inquired. The grandfather responded, ‘Whichever one I feed.’”  

                                                    (—Wayne Dyer)

I love so much that she shared this quote. And I feel like that even though we possess both wolves inside of us and we have the option to feed both animals, the first wolf is more aggressive. It demands to be fed in a way that is unavoidable. It fights hard for our attention and doesn't leave us alone until we feed it. And while the first wolf is demanding to be fed, the second wolf sits quietly watching. The second wolf doesn't fight as hard and doesn't threaten to hurt us. The second wolf is more like a guide dog (or maybe like a mini guide horse like Sugarfoot on Heartland! haha) It is patient and wants to help us. The second wolf is the wolf that deserves to be fed, but by the time the first wolf is satisfied, there is nothing left for the second.

As is our war with our self worth. Satan wants us to feel bad about ourselves and he spends so much energy trying to convince us that we are worth nothing. He has nothing good to offer us, but still we let him convince us we don't measure up. And after you've spent so much energy looking in the mirror telling yourself you aren't good enough, there is no energy left inside you to remind you of your magnificent self worth.

Al goes on in her blog post to talk about comparison. Right before I read her post I was sitting there thinking about how much farther some of my tumbling teammates had progressed over the last couple of years, and how much I have been stuck in a stationary point. Four years ago I competed level 8 against one of my best friends, and this coming year I am pushing for 9. But even level 9 is a maybe. While this teammate is working towards becoming a senior elite (the highest level in tumbling). 

This green envy monster likes to pick on me when it comes to tumbling. I love all my teammates so much and they are truly some of my best friends, but I sometimes wonder why they have been able to go so far and why I have been stuck in the same place for so long. I put in just as much effort and sometimes more. I attend the exact same practices, I have the same coaches, and I follow the same work progression. But still, I fall behind.

So I was sitting here reading Al's blog post and pondering all the ways I have fallen behind when one line she wrote stuck out to me:

"God does not define you by your faults or shortcomings, but by your heart and potential."

 

It was then that I realized I had been approaching my self worth all wrong. It isn't about how cute your clothes are, because clothes are just things you wear to be modest; it isn't about good you are at tumbling, because tumbling is just a form of exercise; It is about what you have inside you. It's about how you treat others. It's about how you combat adversity and about your relationship with God. It is about your potential.

When God looks at two people he doesn't think "oh... Sara is so much better than Emily because she drew a better line on her eyelid today." In fact, God doesn't compare us at all. So why should we? Why is it that to the world, the outgoing girl in the cheer uniform with the perfect makeup is worth more than the quiet girl with the book that has only put on makeup twice in her life? Because it isn't true.

We are all worth the world in God's eyes.

I love this statement by Al that says;

"the secret to having your best life is seeing you the way God sees you and knowing it. When you look in the mirror next, look longer and deeper.
Learn to not be so self critical because you are so beautiful in the eyes of God. His thoughts toward you are more numerous then you could even begin to imagine."

I love this so much because I have found it to be true in my own life. When I forget about comparing myself and I am focused on the more important things like serving others, I begin to feed the wolf that deserves to be fed. I begin to realize how God sees me, and how God sees those around me.

You are a child of great worth.

feel my sunlight

p.s. It's the second week of school already? Yay for senior year!!! 

 

I'll keep writing

Hi I'm Whitney.

I didn't pass my AP test.

I know that this seems like something I wouldn't want to tell the world about. And something I defiantly wouldn't want to post on the internet.

So why am I doing it?

Because I know there is somebody else out there who also didn't pass their AP test. Somebody who isn't very good at the instrument they play. Somebody out there who didn't qualify for State Championships in their sport. Somebody who has disappointed their parents. Somebody who wants to be a cheerleader, but can't do the necessary back handsprings. Somebody who doesn't feel they are good enough. Somebody out there who doesn't have as many friends as they would like. Somebody who has been fired from their job. Somebody who loves music, but is tone deaf. Somebody who dreams of a college degree, but didn't get a scholarship. Somebody who has worked years to compete at national championships, and when they finally get there they find themselves in last place. Somebody who wants to open a restaurant, but can't get the financing. Somebody who dreams of playing at the symphony, but has to wait tables. Somebody who dreams of dancing with the school dance team, but doesn't see their name on the list of those who made it. Somebody who doesn't get the job the want. Somebody who feels they failed.

So sometimes in life we fail.

It's life.

Now, I'd like to share with you a list of people who failed.

Al {Fox} Carraway, My all time favorite speaker/blogger said in one of her talks that the only class she ever failed in college was public speaking. Did I mention she is my favorite speaker?

Henry Ford failed several times at his automobile inventions and his failures left him broke several times. Henry Ford later introduced the assembly line to automobile production and founded the very successful Ford Motor Company.

Walt Disney was fired from his newspaper job because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Today when I coach we often pretend to swim to stretch our arms when we are stretching. When I ask them where they want to swim to they all respond with an enthusiastic "DISNEYLAND!"

Fred Astaire received the response from an executive in one of his first screen tests saying: "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little." According to Wikipedia, "
"His stage and subsequent film and television careers spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films, several award winning television specials, and issued numerous recordings. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. Gene Kelly, another major innovator in filmed dance, said that "the history of dance on film begins with Astaire".

U2 received this rejection letter.

  

J.K. Rowling was a single mom living off welfare when she began writing the first "Harry Potter" novel, and then Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was rejected 12 times and she was told "not to quit her day job." She later went on to become the richest woman in the world because of her persistence.


If I were to remove the captions that go with each name you might think this was a section from the list of most successful people.

I'd like to add my name to the list.

Whitney Reid didn't pass her AP English test. Although she isn't seen as a good writer by those who grade the AP test, she is seen by a good writer by many others. She has been told countless times by people who read her blog that "they needed that at that very moment" and that "they love her blog." She was recently asked to guest post on a blog called This Little Light of Mine and was introduced by the author as "Whitney from the amazing blog, Feel my Sunlight! She is such an amazing blogger and her blog is so inspiring! She has an awesome style of writing and design. Just see for yourself! Go check out her blog- you won't be disappointed!!"

I don't add my name to the list because I want to show you that I am successful, but because I want to show you that you can be successful. Your name is waiting to be added to this list. We all accept failure and defeat, but those who get up and keep moving after are those who find success.

So here's to the people who fail at first attempt. There is no learning without failure. Success doesn't come overnight and it defiantly doesn't come easily. "It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

I failed my AP test, but I'm going to keep writing.

And because I am a power tumbler (gymnast) I spend much of my time scrolling through motivational gymnastics videos. This is one of my favorites. And if you're failure doesn't apply to gymnastics I want you to watch the video and simply listen to the words because they apply to you.

"Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion"

                                                    -Michael Jordan

What are you going to do?





feel my sunlight





p.s. Have you checked out Shelby's blog This Little Light of Mine yet? You should! She is amazing and I was a guest post for her a few days ago. Check it out!!!

p.s.s. Have you ever experienced a failure which later led to success? Comment and let me know!!