The Story Behind Success

Let's talk about the story behind success. I consider myself a very successful woman. In my relationship with my husband, I am the happiest wife on earth. At work, in my career, I am very, very fulfilled. And in my personal life, I feel profound joy. And I've endured pain. So I think I'm successful there too, as a mom. I can continue to reach for more, but I feel great about how I am as a mom. But what people don't realize is that success is preceded by a story. I once heard someone say, there's a story behind the glory. And I can't agree more. The other day, it was my daughter's. It would have been my daughter's birthday. And I spent a good day. My husband and I took the day off. We prayed together, we went to mass together, we went to cemetery and brought her flowers and had lunch. And we were reminiscing and imagining how she would be nowadays and what she would look like and what she would like. And it was beautiful, it was heartfelt, and there was joy. We were remembering her with smiles. And then at night, I thought that it was going to continue that way. And at some point I lost it. I couldn't hold my tears. I was feeling so much pain. And I'm like, what's going on? Supposed to have overcome and healed pain. Do we ever. And I lock myself in the bathroom to cry and to allow myself to feel that pain. And while I'm there, I'm thinking, man, people that read my social media, that watch my videos, that hear me speak, swear that I have everything figured out and I'm all put together and I'm always feeling joy and. And they have no idea that I am in the toilet right now, bawling and unable to get it together. And a part of me wanted to share to people that have. That are in pain, that have endured loss and that are struggling or have experienced failure, that when you look at social media, when you look at a story, when you look at the glory, you're not really paying attention to what led to that. But it's always pain. And pain doesn't go away entirely. I think as human beings, we're always going to feel and we can heal, but do we ever fully heal? And I think it's okay. It's a matter of accepting that as human beings, we're gonna feel. So I was crying and feeling, and I wanted so badly to do like a live video on Facebook or Instagram and just share vulnerably and tell people, all these people that tell Me. Betsy, you're so strong. I don't know how you do it. Were you always like this? You have unwavering faith. I admire you. You're so inspirational. And I. And I appreciate those comments, but I. I don't think it's entirely true that I'm all those things. Because if you define me as strong because I can be positive and I can experience joy and I can change the perspective with which I look at my loss, then I'm not strong because I do cry and I do miss her, and I do have my moments. The difference is that I get back up. I don't allow myself to stay in the hole. So if you judge me as strong because I'm resilient, because I get back up when I fall, because I allow myself to feel and I accept it and I'm okay with it, and then I keep on experiencing the joy that I've chosen, then I'll take the compliment. But if you think that strength is about never falling down and about not being vulnerable and not crying and about always being happy, go. Lucky, I am not that person. So if you're looking at me and you're thinking, man, I don't have the faith that Betsy has, so I'll never be able to be happy like she is. And I don't have the husband that she has, so I'll never have the fulfilling relationship she has, think again. Because everything that I've accomplished, I have worked really hard for and I have invested on, I have felt pain for. And I continue to make daily decisions to choose those very things. Nothing is for free in life, and nothing comes with pure joy. So when you see that I post all this awesomeness and this positivity, it is real. It comes from my heart. But it does not come without pain. The true story behind each glory is that there's always pain in it. If you enjoy this video, please please remember to like and subscribe and share it with someone that you feel may benefit from this message. For more resources, please visit betterwithbetsy.com.