Good Morning & Happy Monday!! I am super blessed to have Miss Angela Olson on the blog today!! Angela is someone I have watched do hard things over & over again… She is a great example of someone on the journey of Living Brave!

Hello from the Philippines! I’m a lover of Jesus, auntie to three little boys, teacher of missionary kids, and more. I currently live in the Manila area after growing up in the Northwest US, doing Chi Alpha and graduating from ASU, and teaching near Seattle. People tell me I’m brave for living in a country different than my passport, but the truth is that I rarely feel brave. Most days, it’s a choice to live brave and do hard things.

Living brave for me is all about a growth mindset. This doesn’t come naturally; a fixed, perfectionistic mindset does. But I don’t want to live the rest of my life avoiding hard things. In my flesh, I’d like to maintain a facade of perfection and only do what I’m already good at. Besides being boring, though, this is far less than the abundant life Jesus gives and a waste of the grace He gives us to learn and grow with Him.

Part of living brave is being honest with myself and others with my growth areas. When I have conflict with a roommate, she knows in advance that I am terrible at conflict. But she also knows that I am actively taking steps to build my skills and get better at it. When I try a new strategy for teaching in my classroom, I share that with my coach and other teachers and get feedback from them. I make my mistakes with my third-graders, but I don’t hide them. They need to see problem solving and humility as much as I need to practice it.

Living brave starts with resting in God’s love for me and knowing that no matter how much I fail, His love is steady. His love gives me the security to try and try again. Do I forget this? Yes! Does He faithfully remind me? Yes! The first few times I said, “I don’t know how to ___.” were a bit scary, if I’m completely honest. But the freedom I found in being known as I really am- the good, the bad, and the ugly- was invigorating.

Anyone who knows you well knows that you’re not perfect. But stepping out and owning your growth areas is the first step to getting better in them. Another Live Brave poster, Katie Cannon, is a great example of this! She’s posting her goals and progress, and challenging me to grow in the process.

Why not try it out? Find a good friend and share a goal. Maybe you can accomplish it together! Or think of something you’ve decided to quit, then reevaluate. Did you quit because you were afraid to fail? Take the chance, and even if you fail, look for the learning in the process.

I hope you’ll take a step forward into a growth area. It means living brave, and you might just find that you like it.

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Make it practical!

Remember it’s the small steps that turn into miles!!! Determine what your small step will be today — and maybe pick a handful of small steps for this week!

1. Define your Goal & Write it down!

(keep it simple! this does not have to be changing the world today .. it could be something like sending that email that you have been putting off, calling that friend and asking her to meet up for coffee, going to the gym, organizing your closet, taking some time to sit down & read a book…  You get the point ) Make sure you write it down!!

2. Be Specific

3. Make it Measurable – ie: -1.Today I will spend 30 minutes unpacking boxes.  -2. By the end of this week I will have the beginning of our playroom set up.  ( these are two of my real life goals for the week

4. Make it Manageable   (what I am not going to say – ” Today I will have my entire house set up, organized, cleaned & decorated.” I have been guilty of setting overly zealous goals & the end result is that I end up feeling like I failed or I become too overwhelmed  before I even begin.  )

5. Tell Someone – this can be as simple as texting your friend and telling her what some of your goals are for this week & asking her to check in with you or to support you in this endeavor.

6. Celebrate! – do something to celebrate progress –  again, these are simple things – I am not suggesting a trip to Maui (although that would be AMAZING … but perhaps rewarding yourself with a Latte, an evening relaxing with a favorite movie, a bubble bath, a hike .. whatever is life giving for You!!

Have a Fabulous week!  You are stronger & braver than you think!! Let God fill in the gaps.. His strength is made perfect in our weakness!!