Stop Playing The Victim: Choose To Be The Hero of Your Own Life

Welcome everyone from TWLOHA, Suitcase Entrepreneur and Bootcamp Ideas! I hope this site helps empower you to create your ideal life!In the midst of all the amazing things going on with the hope movement, I have been hearing from quite a few brave people who have shared their stories with me.I've heard from people struggling to cope with loss. I've heard from those fighting the dark depths of depression, bipolar disorder, self-harm and borderline personality disorder. I've heard from someone who is in an inpatient program right now.They tell me that, though they have trouble believing that they'll overcome this darkness, this movement gives them hope.This message that we're spreading, this warmth and support that we're putting out there for people who are in so much pain; it's working.Reading these stories brings me back to one of the major turning points in my life that I haven't yet discussed with you all yet...It was only a few years ago (4 maybe), and I was still in that rough-and-tumble stage of get-up-and-fall-down-again. I was so tired of failing, getting beat up by my constant negative thoughts.I had just been left by a boyfriend I thought was my everything, and I felt lost and empty.I was having lunch with a friend of mine who was trying to motivate me to pick myself back up again. As we were talking about actions to take, I broke.

"I'm just so tired of being the victim," I sobbed.

My friend tried to comfort me as well as he knew how, but this emptiness wouldn't fill... until I got home that night.I started thinking about being the victim, and I realized:If I wanted to stop being the victim in my life, I had to stop accepting the role.The next day, I made a conscious choice to stop playing the victim in my own life, and to instead start being the heroine.I decided to commit to all these actions to create the heroic life I wanted to lead:

• I would speak and act from a place of love, as all my heroes did.
• I would put my health first (over partying and falling for boys who would emotionally tear me apart).
• I wouldn't spend time with people who drained my energy if I could help it.
• I would commit to pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, including socializing more (I'm an introvert, so I have to push myself to do this), striving for bigger dreams, and having the courage to take action on those dreams.

Over the next few years, I created the life I want to lead because of my refusal to play the victim. Every time my tendency to despair creeps in, I ask myself, "What action can I take to be the heroine of my own life?"I am healthier, happier, and stronger than I have ever been, and it's all due to the conscious choice I made.So what does this have to do with you?

Today, I want you to stop playing the victim.

I say this while also letting you know that your pain is valid. What I want to save you from by encouraging you to adopt this hero mindset is the idea that your circumstances will beat you. That will never be true unless you decide to give away your strength to them.

No matter where you are in life, you always have the choice to be a victim, or to be a hero.Today, you start choosing to be the hero of your own life.Every time you start to sink into despair, thinking:

"Getting healthy is too hard"

"These thoughts won't ever stop"

"I hate my job"

"I can't do this anymore"

"I am not strong enough"

STOP.Take a deep breath.Ask yourself: "How can I be my own hero?"What actions can you take immediately to empower yourself to feel better, be healthier, and live the life you want?This is where I want you to live. This place of self-empowerment and courage.You are enough. You are worthy of love, respect and an epic life.But you must choose to make them yours.I made my choice. Now you make yours.

In the comments below:

If you're choosing to be a hero starting today, write "I'm a hero," here to publicly declare that you're putting an end to self-victimization.

Do you know someone who could use this message of empowerment? Share it with them using the buttons to the left (or if this is an email, using the buttons below).You can do this. You can take the power back in your life and start making it what you envision it to be.Looking forward to reading your stories, heroes.Stay strong, guys,AmyP.S. Are you gonna be in LA on February 2nd? Consider this my official invitation to come join The Strong Inside Out Color Run group at Dodger Stadium at 9 am! The Color Run is a ridiculously fun, not-too-fast 5k in which runners get blitzed with color throughout the race. I'd love to have you on our team! Send me a message, and I'll send you an invite to sign up (required to be part of the team).P.P.S. Tomorrow marks 1 full week on IndieGoGo. If you haven't checked out the 30x30 Project yet, please click here to navigate over there and share or donate if you want to help me convince those who are struggling that hope is real.pic credits: Photo by Harry Quan on Unsplash, pin background