Lesson learned: It's possible to be happy now

I do not like raw carrots. I never really have. It hasn't been an issue ever since I got to be in charge of my own grocery shopping, but then I married Trevor and he likes carrots and so now carrots are an issue again. At first, my plan was to leave all of the carrot consuming to Trevor. But then one day I had the random idea to try dipping an icky carrot into yummy hummus. And an amazing thing happened... I love eating carrots now.

Well, love might be too strong of a word, but I strongly like the carrots and hummus combo. If you give me a bag of baby carrots and a thing of hummus, I will go to town on it. I now always make sure that carrots are on our grocery list and I'm bummed when the carrots are gone.

My point: There may be ways to enjoy the icky things in life.

- - -

As Trevor and I got married, moved to Arizona, and began medical school and a new job, we heard a lot of things along the lines of...

"If you can just make it through July and August, then you'll love Arizona."

"The first two years are rough, but then medical school gets a lot better."

"Just stick it out the first month at your new job, then you'll like it."

"There will be a lot of adjustments the first year of marriage, but then things will be good."

Basically, it felt like they were telling us, "Life will probably be a little poopy right now and there's not much you can do about that. Bummer."

I know that people were trying to be helpful and encouraging, but it kind of wasn't. It felt like I was getting sucked into the mentality that I couldn't really be happy right now in this stage and I've got to wait for the future to be completely loving life again.

And I don't think that I'm the only one to have fallen into the "I'll be happy when..." trap. You know. The trap where people say things like I'll be happy when I'm married. I'll be happy when I've graduated and start making money. I'll be happy when I'm thinner. I'll be happy when I have a baby. I'll be happy once my baby is older. I'll be happy once I get a new job. I'll be happy once I'm healthy again. I'll be happy when I overcome this weakness. I'll be happy when the carrots are gone.

Yes, sometimes we get dished up a whole lot of carrots at once, but I think it's possible to find some hummus for those carrots. The carrots won't magically disappear and we will still taste the carrots from time to time but it'll be a lot more bearable if we surround ourselves with good things, things we love, and things that make us better. This strategy is how I'm staying happy even though it's still ridiculously hot outside at the end of September, my husband has to study a lot, and I am the new girl at work.

Right now my life hummus consists of:

• Doing fun things I love, such as blogging, baking, listening to my favorite song over and over again, eating fruit snacks with reckless abandon, and watching episodes of Boy Meets World
• Praying for tender mercies and the ability to notice those tender mercies
• Striving to remember all of my blessings and all of the things that are going right, instead of focusing on the hard things
• Zooming out and looking at the big picture; remembering why this will all be worth it
• Going to the temple
• Doing something nice for my husband and noticing the nice things he does for me
• Texting someone each day to try to brighten their day
• Exercising
• Listening to general conference talks on the way to work
• Picking up chipotle on the way home from work to get their yummy chips and guacamole

Some of these ideas are silly, some are imperative. Some may work for you, some probably won't. But it's what I'm trying to do. I want to stay positive. I want to take to heart Sister Hinckley's wise advice: "Don't wish away your days waiting for better ones ahead." I want to be okay with my carrots. I want to be happy now.

What do you guys do when you have a lot of carrots on your plate? What's your hummus? (Post a comment below to share your ideas.)

Lesson learned: The small things actually do matter

Yesterday was one of those days where I started out feeling like...

By lunch time, I was feeling more like...

And by 3:00, I felt like...

The bell couldn't ring soon enough for me. I wanted the day to end and the kids to leave. Nobody was listening, the classroom was a mess, I hadn't taught half the things I wanted to, and I felt like if one more kid did one more thing, I was going to completely lose it. Thankfully, the bell did ring and the kids did leave and it was quiet for the first time since the kids had arrived that morning. I sat down at my desk, put my head down in my arms, and just soaked in the silence.

As I sat there, I thought back over the day and tried to figure out what had gone wrong. At first, I was blaming it all on the kids—"She was just on one today." "I don't think he took his meds this morning." "She just couldn't stop talking!" "I don't know what his deal was." But then it hit me that pretty much from morning recess on, I hadn't really been using any of the good teacher skills I know I should use. I was giving way more negative feedback than positive feedback, I wasn't using wait time, I wasn't setting my expectations, I wasn't being consistent and following through with consequences, and I was giving too many warnings to some and then coming down too hard on others without much warning at all.

Why had I disregarded all of those simple techniques that I know can be so effective? Was it out of forgetfulness? laziness? stubbornness? I think it boiled down to the fact that I was tired and I just wanted my students to be good and listen on their own with no effort on my part because I'm their teacher and that's what students should do. (Yeah. That doesn't work with first graders.)

Do we do this when life gets hard? Do we blame others, blame the situation, and/or blame God before looking introspectively to see if we may actually be making things worse, or at least not making things any better? Are there some small things we are forgetting, or perhaps, purposefully choosing not to do out of laziness or pride?

Just as there are always going to be tricky students in my class, life is always going to have some difficult things in it. But, as I was reminded of yesterday, choosing not to do the small things can make a hard situation so much worse. Continuing to do the small things will make a big difference, especially when we don't want to and especially when things are hard. 

During a particularly rough day or time in life, instead of going the blaming route, maybe we can ask ourselves—Did I read my scriptures this morning? Did I take the time to pray and humbly ask for help while also remembering my blessings? Have I been to the temple recently? Have I thought about anyone else besides myself in the past 24 hours? Did I get enough sleep last night? Am I taking care of myself physically and emotionally? No? Hmmm.... Maybe this doesn't need to be as bad as it is?

Remember... "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6).

P.S. Today was much more along the lines of Mary Poppins, in case you were wondering. :)

Lesson learned: Remembering = Success

My students' ability to remember things really determines how successful they'll be. If my students can remember the rules, they won't get into trouble. If my students can remember that there needs to be a sneaky "e" at the end of a long vowel word, they'll do well on their spelling test. If my students can remember the doubles song we memorized, they'll be able to go faster on their timed-math tests.

I don't expect my first graders to be pro-rememberers, so I do some things to help them out. For example, with our class rules, I have the rules hanging up on the wall and we recite them every morning. And then, throughout the day, if students forget a rule, I'll ask the class, "Oh, wait. What's our rule #6 again?" And they all say, "Everyone does everything!" And then I say, "Oh good! I thought you had forgotten! Show me that you remember." And then we try again and everyone does everything.

First grade isn't just about learning; it's really about remembering. It doesn't really matter if they knew it in the morning if they forget it by the afternoon.

It turns out, remembering is still the key to success as an adult. Unfortunately, I feel like, lately, I've been having a hard time remembering. I'm not talking about remembering where I parked my car. I'm talking about remembering and applying the truths that I've learned from others and from past experiences. For instance, I've known that God loves me since I was a three-year-old sunbeam, but then when the going gets rough and my prayers seem to go unanswered, I sometimes forget that His love is still there. Or I know that repentance and forgiveness are very real principals, but then I forget and feel guilty again for past mistakes that I've already repented of. I know that reading the scriptures and praying daily are little things that make a huge difference, but then I forget and choose to just go to bed. And I know that everything ultimately always works out how it's supposed to, but then I forget and panic and think that this time will be the exception and there's no way things will come together.

But lucky for us, Heavenly Father has given us lots of tools to help us remember. He can remind us through the gift of the Holy Ghost, scriptures, modern-day prophets, patriarchal blessings, close friends and family, challenging experiences, and, if all else fails, post-it notes on bathroom mirrors...

So my new thing is to work on remembering. Not just in the mornings when I say my prayers. Not just when I'm sitting in a sunday school lesson. Not just when everything is going swimmingly. I want to remember when things are hard. I want to remember when I mess up and make a mistake. I want to remember even when I pray for something night after night and don't get an answer.

I want to remember because I'm finally figuring out this truth: Satan wants us to forget so that we will fail and God wants us to remember so that we will succeed.

Lesson learned: Hard isn't bad

I have a kid in my class who pretty much always knows all of the answers. He reads at a third grade level, gets 100% on all of the spelling tests, knows all of the double addition facts, and has, what we like to call, "teacher" handwriting.

But then last week something happened that hadn't ever happened to him before. Things got hard.

We were learning a tricky concept in math that was very much a visual thing and he just couldn't wrap his mind around it for some reason. I could see the panic begin to set in as he realized his classmates were all starting to get it and he was still confused. As we started a worksheet to practice this new concept, he tried the first one but couldn't do it. So then he started looking at his neighbor's paper and copying her answers. After calling him out on that, his chin began to do that quivering thing and he told me, "Miss Brown, this is too hard. I can't do this."

After working with him one-on-one for a little bit, it finally clicked and he was able to finish the worksheet. But he learned more that day than just how to add. He also learned how to persevere through hard things. He learned that if he asks for help, his teacher will be there to clarify and reteach. He learned patience. He learned humility. And he learned what his fellow classmates often feel like on a daily basis.

There are times where we are like this student of mine. Things just seem to be going smoothly, we feel in control, life is good, and then suddenly we hit an obstacle; something slows us down and we're not sure what to do.

I really dislike these moments. I don't like being confused. I don't like not knowing the answers. And I don't like making mistakes. However, I know that we learn the most when things are hard. And I also know that there are certain blessings that only can come to us when things are hard.

When things are hard, we often pray more earnestly, which strengthens our relationship with Heavenly Father. When things are hard, we remember our need for the Atonement, which strengthens our relationship with the Savior. When things are hard, we build stronger relationships with those we trust as we share our struggles with them and ask for help. When things are hard, we are later able to empathize with others who go through similar things. When things are hard, we may ask for priesthood blessings, which is humbling and can strengthen our testimony of the priesthood. When things are hard, we are more willing to slow down, be still, and listen to the Spirit. When things are hard, we learn how to turn to the scriptures and our patriarchal blessings to find direction and understanding. When things are hard and we pull through it, we gain confidence in ourselves and what we are able to do with the help of the Lord (see Phillippians 4:13).

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, "If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness."

Bottom line: Hard isn't bad. It's through the hard that we learn, grow, are blessed, and bless others.

Lesson learned: Take a break

School life has a nice structure to it—you go to kindergarten for nine months, then you have three months off, you go to first grade for nine months, then three months off, second grade for nine months, three months off. And there are built-in breaks throughout the school day—there's morning recess, lunch recess, and as many hokey-pokeys, chicken dances, simon says, wiggle getter outters, and dance parties as I deem necessary. It's a nice system. You work hard and then you get a break.

The tricky part is when school ends. For most of the non-students and non-teachers out there, there are not built-in breaks. We move from job to job, from child to child, from task to task, from trial to trial, without a chance to come up for air. We just charge ahead at full speed, hoping that there will be a moment to breathe somewhere in the future. We put things on the back burner, saying we'll do them when such-and-such is over or when the deadline passes or when the kids are older or when we have more free time, but very seldom are we ever able to bring those things back onto a front burner.

I love teaching, but I must say that I am very grateful for the break I have had—the chance to take some things off of the back burner. I've been able to rest and recharge and reset. There is something so good about taking a break from the normal pace of things. We all need it.

I know most people don't have the luxury of a couple months off every summer, but I'm learning that there are ways to take small breaks along the way, even when you're busy. The break might be a whole day, an afternoon, a lunch break, a bathroom break, or even just a breather. As President Uchtdorf said, "We would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."

Take a break. You will be so much happier, patient, healthier, calmer, and then productive when you do get back to work. Take a moment to take care of yourself, read a book, have a little conversation with God when you're stuck in traffic, call a friend and laugh so hard that your stomach and cheeks ache, close your eyes and take some deep breaths, listen to a favorite conference talk during your lunch break, take a quick nap (or a long one), make a list of things you want to improve, make a list of all the things you're doing right, stay in the shower for five extra minutes, sit on a bench and people-watch, do something different than your normal routine. Take a break. It will do your soul so much good.

Today is my last official day of summer break and I feel like it's perfect timing. I'm starting to get that itch again. You know... the desire to label everything, organize, color coordinate, cutesify things, laminate, and have 25 six-year olds under my care and direction seven hours a day for the next nine months. But even as the summer ends and school begins, I'm going to try really hard to remember to "slow down a little" and occasionally take a break. (Please remind me of that last sentence a couple weeks from now when I am in the thick of things, stressed out, and exhausted...)

Lesson learned: Weaknesses aren't bad

Pretty much all of my students start out first grade with a big weakness... they can't read. And that's okay. I expect that. A big purpose of first grade is to learn how to read.

So yes. They have a weakness. But that doesn't mean that something is wrong with them. They (and I) are working to overcome this weakness. And they are going to grow so much as they try to overcome it.

Here are some of the things they learn while they have this weakness:

1. The rest of the class is actually in the same boat they are.
2. There are often clues on the page to help them figure out what it says, such as pictures.
3. It isn't good to focus on the hard words. They can skip them and read the words they do know.
4. They can apply the phonics rules they learned on easier words to the harder words.

5. It isn't good to compare to the other kids; they may have been reading at home since they were 2.

6. Friends who are better readers can be very helpful.
7. Miss Brown knows they can't read perfectly yet. They can ask her for help. (I may tell them the words that I know they can't figure out but I will usually make them go through steps 1-6 first.)

I don't think they would learn all of these skills if they just magically came to first grade already as perfect little readers.

And guess what! You probably saw this coming, but the same thing applies to us...

Pretty much all of us start out this life with a big weakness... [insert your weakness here]. And that's okay. God expects that. A big purpose of life is to learn how to overcome this weakness.

So yes. You have a weakness. But that doesn't mean that something is wrong with you. You (and He) are working to overcome this weakness. And you are going to grow so much as you try to overcome it.

Here are some of the things you can learn while you have this weakness:

1. Everyone is actually in the same boat you are.
2. There are ways to get around your weakness so it doesn't limit you.
3. Don't focus on the weakness; try to remember all of your strengths.
4. The experiences you've had in the past with this weakness can help you with your current struggles.
5. Don't compare yourself to others; they may have been working on this longer than you have.
6. Friends who have your weakness as a strength can be very helpful.
7. Heavenly Father understands you have this weakness. You can ask Him for help. (He may tell you the answer if He knows you can't figure it out, but He will usually make you go through steps 1-6 first.)

I don't think we would learn all of these skills if we just magically came to earth already as perfect little people.

And now for the kicker and where the analogy stops... my first graders have all pretty much overcome their "weakness" of not being able to read, but we will never overcome all of our weakness in this life. This may seem discouraging, but actually I'm beginning to realize that it's a good thing...

Sister Anne C. Pingree taught, "We can find positive meaning in weaknesses that are not taken away. Surely nothing is quite as humbling as having a weakness that we cannot overcome but must continue to struggle with throughout our life. Such a weakness teaches us, in a very personal way, that after all we can do we must rely on the grace of Christ to make up the difference.

"As we humbly submit our will to the Lord's, we will find that our weaknesses can indeed become sources of strength if we put our trust in Him" (here's the rest of Sister Pingree's talk).

So, yes. We all have weaknesses. We came that way. We were supposed to come that way. The trick is realizing it's not a bad thing and noticing the good things that come from your weakness. And, just like you would never be hard on a first grader for starting out school without being able to read, don't be hard on yourself for having weaknesses.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Lesson learned: We are loved more than we know

As the end of the school year approaches, I am getting excited for summer vacation, but I'm also kind of sad that my students will be moving on to second grade. I've had some really great students this year and have really come to love all of them.

 I love the ones who try really hard to be good and pay attention. I love the ones who will dance with me when we do the fish dance. I love the kids who slow down out at recess so that the kid with autism can tag them. I love the kids who still have to use their fingers to do subtraction. I love the kids who are willing to be partners with the difficult-to-be-partners-with kids. I love the students who leave notes on my desk telling me I have sparkling eyes and good clothes. I love the ones who don't understand how knock knock jokes work. I love the girl who comes back in from the bathroom and tells me that I really should talk quieter because she could hear me all the way in the bathroom. I love the kids who cry when they feel like everyone else in the class can read except them. I love the kids who are so stinkin' social that they can't stop talking to everyone at their table, no matter which table I put them at. I love the kids who I send to another teacher's classroom for a bit so we can both have a little break from each other. I love
the boy who gets in trouble on a daily basis for chewing on paper. I love the boy who talks like Eeyore and thinks everything is boring unless Transformers are involved. I love the kid who forgets to put spaces in between words and then I make him do it again and then he says he hates me. I love the kids who still mix up b and d even though we have talked about it a bazillion times. I love the kid who sits quietly and waits for all of the other kids to work on the math problem that he solved in 10 seconds.

My reason for telling you all of this is not to boast and show how amazingly loving I am. (I definitely have my moments when I don't feel like the most loving of teachers.) I do it to prove a point: If I, being an imperfect, second year teacher, with a limited amount of patience, can love these kids so much,
doesn't it make sense that God, who is the father of our spirits, as well as all-knowing, all-understanding, and perfectly forgiving, would be able to love us more than we could possibly imagine?

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount--that is the measure of God's love for you." (read the rest of his talk here.)

Do we understand that? Do we really believe that God loves us that much? I think that sometimes we feel as if there is some giant scoreboard in heaven that keeps track of the good and bad things we do, and the better our score is, the more God will think we're pretty great and the more He will love us. While I sometimes fall into this way of thinking, deep down, I know that God loves us all equally no matter who we are, what we do, where we live, how we act, or what we think. That's not to say
that He doesn't care if we sin, but Heavenly Father knows that we are human and we are always going to fall short of perfection, and yet He loves us anyway.

He loves those who try really hard to be the best that they can be. He loves those that remember to thank Him and those who never remember to thank Him. God loves those who repeatedly make the same mistakes over and over and over again. He still loves us even when we stop believing in Him for a time. God loves those who pretend to have it all together on the outside but really don't feel that way on the inside. God loves those who graduate top of their class, as well as those who never get into grad school. He loves the moms who sometimes lose patience with their kids. God loves those who don't think very highly of themselves. God loves those who beg for His help and then when they receive it, chalk it up to good luck and say they didn't need Him. He loves those who often doubt their faith even though they wish they could just believe. He loves us when we pray to Him and admit that we messed up that day. He loves the good people just as much as He loves the not so good people. He loves us all.

Bottom line: Even though there may be times when we have to "stay in from recess" or "go to think time" or "re-do an assignment," our Teacher still loves us more than we will ever know. We don't lose "Love Points" when we mess up. God's love is always there and always complete. Really really.

Lesson learned: Make an effort to notice

There are so many things that I do behind the scenes as a teacher so that things run smoothly ... most of which my students are completely unaware of. I set things up beforehand so that it's ready. I pre cut the circles. I divide up the math shapes so that everyone has the same amount. I think of the good examples to share because I know they will be on the test. I pair them up with a partner who can read or who they can help. I color code the baggies so they know which bag goes with which paper. I arrange their desks so that they are not next to someone who will distract them from listening or learning. Pretty much everything I do is intentional and is going to benefit my students in some way, now or in the future.

Heavenly Father is doing similar things for us in our lives so that we can do what we need to do and learn what we need to learn. We are born into a certain family on purpose. We are given specific strengths and weaknesses. Certain people come into our lives through work, relationships, friendships, roommates, church, etc. Some of them are there to help us and some are there for us to help them. He knows what tests will come to us in the future so He gives us trials now so that we can succeed later. 

My first graders benefit from my efforts and preparation but rarely, if ever, do they acknowledge it or thank me. They just don't notice it. It hasn't occurred to them that life doesn't just magically go swimmingly all of the time. 

Are we like my first graders in our ability to notice what Heavenly Father is doing for us? Do we appreciate His help and His efforts to make our lives go the way they are supposed to go? Do we notice His hand in our lives? Do we thank Him for preparing us for the future? Do we thank Him for the tender mercies that so easily go unnoticed? Do we keep in mind that He may be helping us, just as we asked Him to, but He is helping us in a different way than expected? Do we trust that everything has a reason and a purpose? Do we give Him credit for the good things that "just happen" to come our way?

What I'm trying to say is that I know God is an intentional God and He has a plan. I just need to work on remembering that and thanking Him.

Lesson Learned: Silence doesn't mean absence

On Friday, I gave my students a math test. I was fairly confident that the majority of my class would do great on the test but I wasn't quite sure how Emily would do. She's smart but she has labeled herself as a bad test taker (thank you, parents). The morning of the test as we were reviewing, I kept asking her questions, trying to boost her confidence. Every time she got the answer right, I would give her a fist bump or a high five and tell her things like, "Way to go!" "Man! I can't trick you!" "You are rocking it today!" etc.

The time came for the test and as I passed out the papers, I gave her one last bit of encouragement and then we started. As I walked around the room, I was happy to see that Emily was right with us and doing great. But as I circled around to her desk again, I saw that she was struggling and getting behind. She looked up at me and asked, "Is this right?" I told her that she just needed to try her best and move on to the next one. The next time I passed by, she said, "Miss Brown, is this plus or minus?" I told her, "You know how to do this one. Just look carefully." At the end of the test, she was stuck on the last problem and again asked me for help. This time, I just winked at her and smiled.

She only missed one question out of 15.

This is totally how I am when it comes to going through life tests. I want Heavenly Father to give me the answers. I don't want to risk getting an answer wrong. I forget that I have been studying for this test for weeks, months, or even years. I forget that I have seen this kind of problem before. I forget that it's not the end of the world if I get answers wrong on this test; there are many more years of "school" and many more tests ahead of me. I start to think that Heavenly Father has left me to figure this out on my own and doesn't care if I succeed or not.

The fact that God is at times quiet does not mean that He is gone or has stopped caring. Just as a teacher occasionally withholds answers to see what her students know, Heavenly Father may stay silent to test our faith and spiritual knowledge. I am coming to find that there is great wisdom in this. We learn a lot when we are forced to struggle a bit for the answer. We gain so much confidence when we have to really focus and search our brains for any knowledge we have that can help us solve this problem.

I also think that Heavenly Father will not necessarily stay completely 100% quiet. I didn't give Emily the answers but I did give her encouragement during the test so she could regain her confidence. I feel like it's the same with Heavenly Father. I have had times when, through little tender mercies, Heavenly Father has sent me little reminders that He is still there even though I can't hear Him. It may be through a hymn someone else chose that perfectly matches my situation. It could be in the form of a sunny day. Or maybe it's when a friend just "happens" to stop by or a family member just "happens" to call. It could be just a feeling of calm even though there's still no solution.

Whatever it looks like, Heavenly Father is the perfect teacher and will be quiet enough to test us but present enough to strengthen us.

Just something to maybe put up on the shelf for later.

Lesson Learned: Remember the ups during the downs

So this is actually a lesson I learned over the weekend as I was watching my little cousins for a few days. But it's about children, so I feel like it applies. First of all, my hat goes off to every mother out there. Holy moly. It is so much work. Especially one year olds. And three year olds.

Anyways, so I went into this weekend feeling like it wouldn't be that bad. I mean, I'm a first grade teacher. A cool first grade teacher. I turn on music from Frozen while we work at our desks. I let them have dance parties after a test. I call them bud. I'm fun.

But babysitting kids all day is a completely different story. 

There were moments when I felt like I was rocking it. The baby was napping, the older kids were reading, I was drawing with the younger kids, the dishes were done, the three year old told me she wanted me to stay forever, and everyone was happy. At other moments, I was tanking. Like when I didn't have a firm grip on his legs when changing his diaper and his foot (and my hand trying to stop his foot) went in the poop. Or when I slightly dropped him in the crib because my arms aren't long enough to reach over the side of the crib completely. Or when I made promises that I didn't follow through on, didn't monitor how much cookie dough was being consumed rather than made into cookies, or kept feeding the youngest Life cereal because that's all he would eat. 

This kind of up and down roller coaster seems to happen in all areas of my life. It happens in my teaching, it happens with my efforts to make and follow through with new goals, it happens with my testimony, it happens with my exercising, it happens with my self-esteem, it happened on my mission, it happens in my dating life...

Why is that? Why can't we always be up?

I don't think I really know the answer to this, but something I have learned is that, since ups and downs seem to inevitably happen, it is so crucial that we pay attention and notice when the ups are happening. Whether that means writing it down, putting it as a note in your phone, saying a quick prayer thanking Heavenly Father, telling someone about it, or something else, I feel like if we can take note of the fact that we are up, it will make all the difference when we are down. It will help us to remember that we were once up and that we can be up yet again. And be kind to yourself when you're down. Give yourself some credit, look to the past for when you were up, and push through.

Just something to digest.