Happy Valentine’s Day!  

It is easy to love things that are, well, loveable.

How about the things that are challenging, painful, heart-wrenching?   How about loving those?

Here are some unloveable things that I’ve decided to love.

2011:  Illness – On my sixth wedding anniversary, I suffered an asthma attack which was triggered by viral pneumonia and spent several days in the hospital.  I’d been running hard for the past three years (pregnancy, childbirth, growing my business, chasing a toddler) and my body had no choice but to shut down.  It all just came to a screeching halt.

I choose to love my pneumonia because it taught me to put my family’s self-care – nutrition, sleep and fun – above everything else.

2002:  Job loss – On the heels of September 11^th, I lost my job and the bulk of my identity along with it.  As I’ve written about before, I thought I might be forever lost without my work.   I was wrong.  I never went back to full-time work in my field.  Instead, I started and nurtured MadhuCoach over the next twelve years.  I took on project work and lived on unemployment.

I choose to love my job loss because it taught me to ask, “Who am I without work?” This is a question I continue to ask.

1998:  The big break-up – I followed a boyfriend to New York City.  Three years later, out of the blue, he announced he was leaving.  We’d been talking about getting married and he realized he just wasn’t ready to make that commitment.  So he left that very afternoon, July 4, 1998 , Independence Day.  For the first time, I was on my own in New York City.

I choose to love my break-up for forcing me to create my own life in NYC.

How about you?

Describe what is most challenging in your life now.

What are you learning from this situation?

What questions is it prompting you to ask?

What fears is it asking you to face?

What are three positive outcomes that may come from this situation?

What can you choose to love about this situation?