“Life is a game.” ~ Mother Teresa
The Truth and Dare Challenge has been a game to change a single life in one month. It was a challenge for one Mama to face her truths and then dare to change it all. What an incredible journey it has been as we all watched Sheilah, our single mother of four, overcome fears and reach further than she had ever dared to reach before. In the end we discovered Sheilah had been playing a game throughout her life, it was simply the wrong game.
Sheilah had been playing Hide and Seek. She was hiding from her problems, crouching down in a dark corner and squeezing her eyes tight hoping to go unnoticed. Time and time again her problems would seek her out and find her, appearing grander each time with new little cousin problems following closely behind.
All Sheilah needed was a new game for her life . . . she needed Truth and Dare!
The Truth:
I now know when I hide from what I struggle with it will still seek me out in one way or another. As the one who was hiding, I felt powerless and the only way to change that is to look at my struggles head on and begin to deal with it. The fear that caused me to hide manifested itself in EXCUSES. These excuses could range anywhere from kids or work, to I have my period! I have even CREATED excuses by saying yes to one thing so I could say no to something else.
When I look at why I made excuses, I see FEAR. Where does the fear come from? Negativity my mind has collected over the last 34 years of life, like so much dust on a mirror. What I say and think directs where I will go. If I say I can’t, I will never try. If I say I'm not good enough I will never raise my standards. If I fail to give my own time value, no one else will value my time either. If I'm not careful my children will inherit some of my paralyzing thoughts.
I can choose what I think. I can choose what I say. I can choose what I do . . . and I can choose to live an excuse free, fulfilling life. These are the truths I now know.
The Dare:
This game of Truth and Dare has opened my eyes to some important truths but it also dared me to get comfortable with being uncomfortable for the sake of personal growth.
To someone who has never made it a habit to run, it hardly feels graceful or composed to huff and puff along the track. (add to that the fact that I have always struggled with being VERY self conscious!) Sweating, breathing hard, clothes bunched in weird places in public with the occasional spectator . . . way beyond my comfort zone! But I've realized now after thumbs up from drivers, and the smiles and waves of other runners, its time I got over myself because nobody else is all that concerned with how I look while I'm getting’ my jog on!
The dare to push beyond what was physically comfortable showed me I was capable of more than I had been telling myself. I certainly wasn’t telling myself I could run 6 miles a few weeks ago. It has boosted my confidence and now I want to continue to push harder in not only running but other areas of my life.
To be decisive about the career I want to pursue, write out the steps and begin following those steps felt surprisingly daring. Anytime I have begun to choose a career path the fear of making the wrong choice or failing had been crushing. I would give up before I had ever begun, but not this time! This was BIG!!
As my kids have gotten older and life a little harder, something else happened . . . I forgot how to really play with them. It’s so easy to get bogged down with responsibilities and trying to find some time for just me. Creating that playtime loses priority. I was dared to
find the time to get what I need to be my personal best AND give my kids the fun playful Mama they need. It was good for me to learn that I could do both at the same time and see how good it was for everyone.
Every day has been a dare to live life better and with more purpose than I ever have. I was dared to run, play, dream, believe and take action! And that’s a dare I will continue to take with gratitude and joy!
So, no more Hide and Seek for Sheilah . . . she’s an all out Truth and Dare kind of Mama! She has replaced her old game of life with the game that will take her way out of her comfort zones and into a life of possibility and greatness. Ready or not, here she comes!
(Sheilah, congratulations you have completed your Truth and Dare Challenge and you have been an inspiration to thousands by sharing your journey! May you continue to grab life by the horns, smack it's butt and make it call you Mama!)
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