It’s Monday everyone. And not just any Monday. Today,is the first day my kids are home from school until April 1. DC just shut down bars and restaurants and CDC issued new guidance to not gather together with over 50 people.

I know many people who are anxious, scared, and worried about what will happen next. It seems like over the past week, every time you check your email there is another message of bad news.

{Yes, this is a motivation post so I’ll get to the point soon. }

For the past 5 months, I have worked with a team of women for our school’s annual fundraiser. It’s a lot of work. Planning. Organizing. Getting donations. Putting together class baskets and creating artwork. So you can imagine hearing the news that it was to be cancelled for health and safety concerns. It was such a bummer.

But the way everyone on the team reacted was so inspiring. We all were ready to step up and make lemonade from the lemons we had in front of us. Yes, we were extremely disappointed. Yes, we were nervous, and scared, and all the things. But we didn’t let that overtake us from doing what was right. It meant we needed to be brave to get it done.

If you don’t think that’s brave or that bravery can only exist by running into a burning building, I challenge you to change your mindset.  Little acts of courage are sometimes the things that propel our lives forward.

I recently read, Brave, Not Perfect, and I highly recommend it. I purchased it as a girl mom who wanted to set a good example for her daughter. I quickly realized that I could be braver in my own life. After reading it, here are a few things I did that made me feel brave:

1. At a book club gathering, when many of the attendees were saying how they disliked one of the main characters and she had no redeeming qualities, I added that she reminded me of myself
2. I’m taking the next steps to become a barre instructor!! I had my audition last Tuesday and moving forward with training.
3. I was feeling super run down and tired. But when asked to attend a meeting, I said no, I needed to rest up.

You can’t always be in control and have things perfect, but no matter what, you can choose to be brave.

I’m sure these crazy times may mean cancelled trips, saying good bye to plans made months ago, or even not know what to do with yourself in the house for weeks. While you aren’t being called off to war, you are being asked to change your life and make sacrifices to protect others. And that my friend, is a very brave thing to do.

I hope this week brings you lots of health and bravery.

Stay well!