Today’s post isn’t specifically about ballroom dancing.  I’ll be honest; I had a cold/stress-induced mental block.  Didn’t I just write about self care and not letting the stress get to me as much on Day 10?  I have a list of ideas to write about for the entire month, but I just couldn’t get moving on any of them.

But then the thought that I needed to go back and reread Day 10’s post led me to a topic for today.

I’m sure you’ve seen some version of this image make its way around your social media accounts:

I love these images because the symbolism is so spot on.  The only thing I might add to this particular reality depiction is a catapult that would trap the little stick figure and fling it back to the beginning.  The point is the path you take to follow your passion or achieve a dream is not straight or easy.  There are steep hills to climb and ravines to fall into.  You will encounter completely unexpected obstacles. There are going to be days when you’re not sure you can keep going.  If the dream is worth it, you will push forward anyway.  And your dream is worth it.  But even if you know what you need to do, and you know the importance of self care, managing stress, and perseverance, some days you just can’t.

That’s when you have to give yourself permission to stop for today and try again tomorrow.

My good friend Kelly of Lady Boss Lifestyle just wrote about making time to just pause while pursuing your business dreams.  It’s applicable to any dream or pursuit.  Yes, it’s important to not give up and keep pushing forward.  But sometimes you find yourself pushing hard and getting nowhere.  Sometimes life demands you turn your attention to something else.  But what about keeping your eyes on the prize and not letting anything stop you?  You’re not stopping, you’re just pausing.  It’s not failure.  It’s not giving up.

You will try again tomorrow.

I beg your pardon as I take a pause on Day 14.  Tune back in on Day 15 to see if giving myself a break helped clear the mental block.  Until then, check out other articles from the 31 Day Writing Challenge.