I've been working on building my "courage muscle." As a recovering perfectionist, my tendency has typically been to do things that I know I'll be good at.

I've learned through my Mindfulness practice that perfectionism is actually a defense mechanism. I've used perfectionism to mask some deep-rooted fears.

Mindfulness has taught me to be aware of these fears, but instead of resisting them and trying to push them down, I ask myself, "Given the givens, what would feel like kindness?"

Practicing kindness in building my "courage muscle" is NOT sky diving, bungee jumping, or letting dogs lick my face. It's not doing something that terrifies me. It's doing small things that give me confidence to do bigger things.

--Backing Scott's truck into the garage --Fixing our printer --Trying new yoga poses

I continually say to myself, "I can do hard things." And, then, I do them. And, it feels AMAZING!

Let's encourage and celebrate each other doing the hard things, no matter how big or small. It all matters. Namaste.