Somewhere along the way, I internalized the idea that if I was on the “right” path I wouldn’t struggle so much.⁠

Doors would open, people/places/opportunities would align, and I wouldn’t have so much self-doubt or be consumed with second-guessing my decisions.⁠

But what if the opposite were true?⁠

What if facing obstacles, having fear and self-doubt are actually part of being on the right path?⁠

As a mentor said to me last week, when I was confronting my own fears about the path I’m on, we often face trials as soon as we walk through a door that’s been opened for us. ⁠

It resonated deeply with me. ⁠

I started thinking about all the big “yes” moments in my life that were accompanied by trials, including:⁠

✔️ Getting a new work opportunity and grappling with imposter syndrome almost immediately⁠

✔️ Dating someone new and feeling my ‘old’ insecurities creep back in⁠

✔️ Having a big breakthrough and then questioning my worthiness of that experience a short while later⁠

I do believe these internal struggles have ultimately helped me grow each time into a truer version of myself.⁠

And.⁠

In real-time, they all felt like crap. ⁠

Absolute, punch-in-the-gut, why-is-this-happening, crap.⁠

It’s really hard to be objective about our struggles when we’re in them. ⁠

And if you are feeling this way right now – you are certainly not alone.

I do think the more we normalize the struggle, the less jarring it will be when it comes up next time.⁠

So here’s to normalizing the parts of the journey that don’t feel so good. ⁠

We got this.