If you can’t be brave…

This (rebranded) (semi)repost is very timely for my family. Monster is done with the daycare he’s attended for the last three years and he’s starting camp this summer and school in the fall.

Sunday night, it finally hit him. And the fears and tears came right before bed. He wasn’t going back daycare. He didn’t want to go back. But he’s terrified of starting camp on Monday.

I told him, “When anxiety strikes, breathe and move forward. I know you can be brave, I’ve seen you.”

“If you can’t be brave, be determined. And you’ll end up in the same place.” It’s an amazing quote that I love from Lisa Scottoline’s book, Killer Smile. It was the advice given to Mary, the main character, by an older lady she was interviewing.

“If you can’t be brave, be determined. And you’ll end up in the same place.”

You will not always be brave. You will not always forge into the future with a bright outlook and no jitters. You will not always want to take the leap. But that’s not what you need to be successful, and being brave doesn’t necessarily mean you are fearless.

Just be determined.

Be determined to try. Be determined to take a few chances. Do not give up. Be tenacious. Jitters and all.