MKE Week 3 – Taking the Pen Back

For so many years, I’ve allowed others to take my pen and freely write the chapters of my life.

I never looked at it quite that way until Mark recently made a post that really got me thinking.

And then I had an opportunity to put that thought into practice.

I had an opportunity to be brave. To be bold. To intentionally think about what I truly wanted out of a particular situation.

It was a situation I could have simply walked away from, but instead, I chose to stay in the process and work toward a solution. Not only keeping the other parties’ interests in mind, but including my own as well.

And you know what happened?

We found a compromise where everyone got what they wanted and needed.

I am so proud of myself!

Not because the situation was perfect, but because **I showed up differently than I would have in the past.**

I didn’t allow my emotions, deep-rooted triggers, or old blueprint to take over. Instead, I allowed the growth I’ve experienced through MKE to guide me. I turned to prayer, became intentional about seeking answers, and leaned into what I’ve been learning about how the brain, the conscious mind, and the subconscious mind work.

Rather than automatically reacting from old patterns, I gave myself the opportunity to respond from a place of growth.

And that is HUGE for me!

This situation could easily have become another chapter in a familiar story—another experience added to the pile of situations where I had allowed fear, old beliefs, or someone else’s expectations to dictate my choices.

It reminds me of a passage from Og Mandino’s *The Greatest Salesman in the World*:

“I have chosen the career I have chosen because it is laden with opportunity, yet it is fraught with heartbreak and despair, and the bodies of those who have failed, were they piled one atop another, would cast a shadow down upon all the pyramids of the earth.”

Those words have always carried weight, but as I reflect on this situation, I see another side of them.

How many experiences have I allowed to pile up over the years because I didn’t know how to respond differently? How many times have I let an old blueprint determine the outcome before I even gave myself a chance to choose another way?

This time was different.

And I believe the growth I’ve experienced during my first year of MKE, and now into my second, made a difference.

I am learning that I don’t have to let my past write my future. I don’t have to let old triggers make my decisions for me. And I don’t have to sacrifice my own wants and needs just to keep everyone else happy.

I can be considerate of others while still honoring myself.

I can be bold without being unkind.

I can face an uncomfortable situation without automatically allowing anxiety to take over.

And I can trust myself to work through a problem instead of running from it.

There is a boldness stirring within me.

In the past, that stirring might have brought anxiety. I might have questioned myself, second-guessed my decisions, or wondered what would happen if I spoke up.

But now?

It brings curiosity.

It brings excitement.

It brings a desire to take that pen back into my own hands and continue writing.

Not out of anger. Not out of a need to control every outcome. But from a place of growing confidence, intentionality, prayer, and trust.

I am so grateful for the growth that has come through MKE. I know I still have so much to learn, but I am beginning to recognize the difference between the person I used to be and the person I am becoming.

And perhaps one of the greatest gifts of this journey is realizing that I have a choice.

I can keep repeating the same old chapters, or I can begin writing new ones.

**I’m taking my pen back.**

And I am excited to continue writing the beautiful chapters that were always waiting for me to be brave enough to write them.