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Feb 28, 2022

Wired for struggle, wired for strength

Rachel McCrickard, LMFT

CEO and Co-Founder

Those of you who read Mondays with Motivo regularly know that I’m a big podcast fan, plus a big Brené Brown fan.

These two things were combined last week when I listened to this Armchair Expert podcast interview with Brené Brown about her new book, Atlas of the Heart.

I’m familiar with Atlas of the Heart because several members of our Motivo team just started reading it together for a virtual book club — it’s so good!

At one point in the interview, Dax, Monica, and Brené were discussing nature versus nurture and whether or not children are born wired in certain ways, or whether we develop tendencies over time, based on environment. 

Brené states that, based on her research, she believes children are “born wired for struggle and wired for strength.”

They didn’t spend too long discussing this topic, but Brené’s phrase stuck with me. I thought it was such a powerful statement — wired for struggle and wired for strength.

Over the last few years, struggle has felt pretty familiar. Most of us don’t have to look very far to see the pain, grief, trauma, and loss that our world has experienced these last two years. This week in particular, many of our hearts feel heavy for Ukraine, in light of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified attack on the country.

The pandemic, the ongoing fight for social and racial justice, and the conflicts abroad and right here at home bring such an ongoing heaviness that, at times, feels unending.

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that struggles, of varying degrees, present themselves in my own daily life as well. This past week was a particularly tough week for me as I felt the consequences of mistakes I have made and growing pains on the path of becoming a better leader and friend.

I’m coming to terms with an ongoing struggle of my own, the desire to be liked and well thought of, which often makes it difficult for me to show up authentically.

I mentioned to Warren that, I’ve been hit with a strong wave of emotional exhaustion and just…heaviness. Can any of you relate? 

In these moments, it can feel difficult to access resources and tools to counteract the negative self-talk.

For this reason, I was really grateful for Brené’s phrase “wired for struggle and wired for strength.”  Several times, I recited her words to myself by saying something like, “This is a hard week. I’m exhausted and I feel wired for struggle. But, I’m also wired for strength. The same strength that’s gotten me through a lot of hard things, is still here.”

It was helpful. And I wanted to share Brené’s words with you here, in case it resonates in any particular way.

As always, if you have anything you’d like to share, I’d love to hear it.

Warmly,
Rachel
Rachel McCrickard, LMFT
CEO/Co-Founder, Motivo
rachel@motivohealth.com

Each Monday, I’ll share my perspective on topics that mean a lot to me: growth, resilience, relationships, and leadership.

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