What if life’s toughest challenges were actually building your strength? Every setback, heartbreak, and failure isn’t just something to endure—it’s shaping you into someone more resilient, more capable, and more prepared for the future.
This is such a tough subject. My mother always admired my resiliency. Truth of the matter is that I felt like an imposter. I was always quaking in my boots. I managed to get through "stuff" but never felt stronger on the other side of it.
My mother was my champion. Thankfully I kept notes of encouragement she wrote me. So today when "stuff" comes up I read the notes and remember her words, she had faith in me when I didn't have it in myself. Now I stand on my own two feet, resilience has been present long enough so that now I no longer feel like an imposter. Good article, thank you.
It sounds like your mother knew her daughter better than you knew yourself. She recognized your resiliency even when you didn’t. I don’t think we always feel good after getting through tough “stuff” but we get through and learn from it, which makes us stronger and better able to make it through the next time. And there always seems to be a next time. I love that you wrote down what your mother said to you and draw strength from those words now. That’s a beautiful tribute!
Toward the end of my mother’s life, I started journaling everything and asked her to write down notes of wisdom in her own handwriting. Those notes became the catalyst for my writing online. I even tried to write a memoir and took a class taught by editors, professors, and publishing company owners. The critiquing was brutal and I lost all hope of writing at all. Luckily, my mother had encouraged me from a young age to write, so her words and notes came back when I needed them most. I think it was a miracle that came from the grave.
Much needed, well-researched and beautifully expressed words of encouragement and wisdom to help get us through adversity, past, present and future. Thank you Daria.
This is such a tough subject. My mother always admired my resiliency. Truth of the matter is that I felt like an imposter. I was always quaking in my boots. I managed to get through "stuff" but never felt stronger on the other side of it.
My mother was my champion. Thankfully I kept notes of encouragement she wrote me. So today when "stuff" comes up I read the notes and remember her words, she had faith in me when I didn't have it in myself. Now I stand on my own two feet, resilience has been present long enough so that now I no longer feel like an imposter. Good article, thank you.
It sounds like your mother knew her daughter better than you knew yourself. She recognized your resiliency even when you didn’t. I don’t think we always feel good after getting through tough “stuff” but we get through and learn from it, which makes us stronger and better able to make it through the next time. And there always seems to be a next time. I love that you wrote down what your mother said to you and draw strength from those words now. That’s a beautiful tribute!
Toward the end of my mother’s life, I started journaling everything and asked her to write down notes of wisdom in her own handwriting. Those notes became the catalyst for my writing online. I even tried to write a memoir and took a class taught by editors, professors, and publishing company owners. The critiquing was brutal and I lost all hope of writing at all. Luckily, my mother had encouraged me from a young age to write, so her words and notes came back when I needed them most. I think it was a miracle that came from the grave.
Much needed, well-researched and beautifully expressed words of encouragement and wisdom to help get us through adversity, past, present and future. Thank you Daria.
Thank you Carolyn! I’m so gratified to hear you liked it.