Advocate

What do you believe in?

 

I started this blog because I believe in myself. I believe that there is a chance that I can become a published author. I believe that someday – after being rejected many, many times I am sure – I will be published. I said that I would post on Monday’s and I didn’t. Is that because I’ve given up already? No. In this instance it was because I was ashamed of how little writing I did over the weekend. By that I mean none. Not one sentence. I said I would write a few chapters and instead I did not. I was embarrassed. Since then however, I have written probably the best two chapters yet. I am genuinely proud of them and I actually am excited to continue.

 

That brings me back to the blog and twitter and other forms of getting my name out there. Moreso it brings me back to what do you believe in.

 

I have a wife who is very supportive of me. She believes in me as a writer and truly thinks I will be published someday. She is encouraging and would support any decision I wanted to make that would affect my overall happiness for the good.

 

I believe I am a supportive husband. My wife quit her job after a long time of encouragement to do so by me. I have supported her in her journey to be a professional personal trainer. I have encouraged her on the bad days and told her how proud I am of her on the good ones.

 

I feel like I have been a bit neglectful however. I have been so invested in myself, my writing, my future that I have put her goals and dreams on the back burner. I saw other people that were helping her and I believed (and still do) that she was capable of helping herself. As the people that are supposed to be mentors to her have been less and less helpful she has become more and more discouraged in her dream but I have stayed steadily invested in myself.

 

I believe in my wife. I believe in her message about self-love and body positivity. I believe in her more than she believes in herself a lot of days. I see her and the good she can do and the good I know she will do and I am filled with pride. I see her helping people not only reach physical goals but also helping people to grow into a healthier perspective towards their body. I see her helping young girls understand that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. I see her encouraging a mom who has recently given birth that is uncomfortable with the way her body looks now. I see her helping that woman to reach her goals while also helping her to love herself and realize that she is still beautiful.

 

I can see my wife genuinely impacting lives of people in more ways than a traditional personal trainer and I couldn’t be more proud of the woman that she is and what she is coming to represent.

 

I see her discouraged and I see her business not growing because of a lack of support by people that should be mentoring her and helping her business grow and it hurts me. It hurts me to think that someone with such a beautiful hurt and mind could see so little value from what they are doing.

 

Then I realize that my support has been in words only. I’ve told her I am proud, I’ve told her to hold on, I’ve encouraged her but I haven’t done anything. I haven’t offered my assistance past printing her invoices for her.

 

Well every now and then we need an advocate; somebody to stand up for us and to talk about the value we represent even when we don’t see it in ourselves. I plan on being that advocate for my wife. I plan to be more of a partner than just an encouraging husband. I plan on helping her business to grow and to sell her brand and put in the leg work that is needed to see her dreams come true. I believe in her and I know that anybody who could sit down and talk to her about her philosophy would believe in her too.

 

All of this means that I will be putting my own interests on the back burner. I will still be writing – writer’s gotta write – but this blog and any work on my own branding will be given minimal priority while I help her business to grow. I’m not discouraged in myself and I’m not giving up, I just see so much potential in what she is doing that I want to be a part of her success and help her to realize all of the things that I see happening for her.

 

Sometimes following your heart isn’t pursuing your own dreams, sometimes it’s helping someone you love to achieve theirs and that is a wonderful thing.