“You have the innate strengths, temperament and attitude for the test before you. Breathe deeply and know you have everything within you that you need at this moment and all your moments!”

– Susan Spritz Myers

This week Debbie Schimberg, one of my best pals sent me an email asking if I could send an encouraging message to her daughter, Kira. Kira is 30 years old, in medical school and is facing a big test that will determine her upcoming residence program. The request said, “the message should be a favorite text, verse, motivational poem, prayer or meditation that has lifted you during challenging times. Don’t agonize over it – it is one you reach for when you need it or the one that you always turn to.”

I quickly jotted off the lines above; happy to be asked and share my life’s wisdoms with Kira. I savored the lines throughout the day as I thought about the calmness they often create for me. I wondered what my 30s could have been like, had I known then what I realized in my 50s.

Our Innate Strengths Come Through When We Are Tested

We all have an inner wisdom that develops and gets stronger through facing challenges we don’t think we know how to handle.

For me, this happens while working with challenging clients, when I have no clear sense of what will really help them meet their goals. When facing such a situation, I take a deep breath and trust that the client and I have the innate strengths to navigate the challenges and that the solutions will present themselves as we work, which usually happens.

An even deeper sense of wisdom often comes when dealing with our own personal challenges, like when I was losing my parents or standing with my husband when he had a significant health scare. Many days felt like a tough test with no clear answers. The only tools I had were my faith in the divine and the belief, once again, that I had the innate strengths and wisdom to face the demands of the situation. I would often breathe deeply, pray at night and trust myself to know what would be needed each day, each hour and in each moment.

Takeaway: Trusting Our “Leadership From Within”

Whether we lead a whole company, a team, or simply have to lead our loved ones and ourselves through a challenging moment, being confident that we have the innate strengths to do it might be all that we really need to come out successfully.

I hope my friend’s daughter feels it and does well on her medical exams!

Do you trust that you have the innate strengths and ability to lead yourself and others during tough times?