💚 Mindful Mondays

This Week’s Focus: You’re Not Behind

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening—depending on what time you’re reading this. My name is Kennedi Robinson, and you’re reading Mindful Mondays. Did y’all get the Disney reference? If not, I’m a little concerned. But either way, I’m still so glad to have you here.

This Monday, I wanted to share a little reminder that I tell myself daily:

You are not behind.

Life moves very fast-paced sometimes, and quite often we forget to pause and admire everything we have managed to accomplish. I know I often find myself thinking about all the things I should be doing, where I should be in life, or what I should have already accomplished.

A lot of us are guilty of being extremely hard on ourselves and beating ourselves up when we don’t meet a certain expectation. But I want you to pause for a second and do this next part intentionally.

Look at yourself. Whether it’s in a mirror or your phone camera, I want you to look at yourself and say:

I am not behind.
I am exactly where I am right now, and that is okay.
I will overcome any challenge that I face.

Say it again if you need to.

You’re more than what you’ve been through. Your past actions and decisions do not define you. Every day is a new opportunity to be better than you were yesterday.

And please, stop comparing your journey to everyone else’s.

I know it’s cliché, but comparison really is the thief of joy. You never know what someone had to go through to get where they are now. Their timeline isn’t your timeline.

As a generation, we need to stop allowing social media to set these unreasonable benchmarks in our minds. It is okay to be 17, 18, 19, 21, or even 30 and feel lost. It’s okay to not have everything figured out. It’s okay to not know what college you want to go to, what you want to major in, or what you want to do with your life.

It is okay to still be figuring it out.

And guess what?

I’m proud of you.

I’m proud that you still wake up every morning and try. I’m proud that you’re figuring it out, even when you don’t have all the answers.

To whoever is reading this right now, your journey is unique to you. It won’t look the same as your mom’s, your cousin’s, or your best friend’s.

And I know this because I’ve had to remind myself of the exact same thing.

This time last year, I was a freshman in college at Saginaw Valley State University, and I was sad. I felt out of place. I missed my family. There were days when I cried for hours because deep down, I knew Saginaw wasn’t where I desired to be.

So, I started looking into transferring to Texas Southern University.

And boy, it was not easy.

There were times I wanted to give up. There were times I questioned if I was making the right decision. And when I finally got to TSU, I was so intimidated by everyone around me.

All the other sophomores already had their friend groups. They had joined organizations. They knew the campus. They knew how everything worked.

And I had to remind myself:

This doesn’t mean I’m behind them.

I may have to put in a little more work to establish myself, but their journey isn’t mine.

I say this to emphasize that everything isn’t always going to be easy. You will experience setbacks. You will question yourself. You may even feel like everyone else is moving forward while you’re standing still.

But standing still for a moment doesn’t mean you’re going backward.

Sometimes, you have to take a detour to learn a lesson you’ll need for the next chapter.

So if you’re feeling behind right now, take a breath.

You’re still here.
You’re still trying.
You’re still becoming the person you’re meant to be.

You are not behind.

Until next Monday, remember:

You are loved.
You are cared for.

You belong here.
With love,
 Kennedi Robinson
Founder, We’re Still Here MHA

💚 This Week’s Check-In
Question:
 What is one thing you’ve accomplished recently that you haven’t given yourself enough credit for?

Journal Prompt:
 Take a moment to think about where you were a year ago compared to where you are today. What has changed? What have you learned? What are you proud of yourself for, even if it feels small?

Little Reminder:
 Progress doesn’t always look like reaching a huge goal. Sometimes progress is simply continuing to show up, trying again, or choosing yourself when things get hard. Give yourself credit for how far you’ve come.