Reader,

Don't just try to feel better. Try to be better.

When we enter a new counseling or coaching relationship, we're often trying to fix our feelings.

We say things like:

• "I just want to get rid of this anxiety that I'm carrying."
• "I'm tired of feeling down all the time."
• "I just want stop feeling exhausted by the grind of life."

What we're really saying is: "Just help me feel better inside!"

But the people who make the most progress in how they feel are the people who have the humility and courage to dig deeper. They're the people who realize that it's not just about changing how we feel: it's about becoming who we truly are. It's about becoming who we were created to be.

Thus, if we want to be better, we must be willing to face our blind spots and growth edges. Paul said it like this in Philippians 2: "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." We've got to put in the work. We've got to put practices in place that will create the internal reality we're after.

We know that it's hard for us to do this on our own, which is why we often seek out counselors and coaches in the first place. We want someone to guide us, someone who can help us along in this process so we can grow.

And when we do this with a mindset of being better — and not just feeling better — the impact is real. By putting in the work, we ...

• Gain more certainty about who we are and what our life's about
• Develop an unwillingness to compromise on those two things
• Discover more peace and more rest.

Remember this:

You are loved.

I am for you.

You've got this.

Jake