I’ve remained committed to trying a lot of new things over the last year. It’s amazing how many things you can discover that you like doing! One thing I hadn’t really committed myself to, however, was trying things that I’d previously failed at. Never one to back away from a challenge, I found myself gardening.

Now, I’ve tried gardening in the past a few times. I’m envious of people who have a natural green thumb. My thumb ends up being more like the cold-hearted thumb of death that decimates foliage within a 20 foot radius. Okay, that might be a little dramatic. But you get the point I’m trying to make – I’m not very good at growing things. Previous attempts have left me with a pile of weeds and the saddest looking black currant plant that I can only assume must possess incredible willpower to survive.

So you can only imagine my surprise when, after going to the store to pick up soil and seeds and planting them, things actually started growing. This year I opted to try vegetables for the first time. The thought was that, hey, if something comes out of this, maybe I’ll get something besides a flower or two. And so with that in mind, I planted cucumbers, green beans, peas, lettuce, and carrots in a small square in my backyard. And when that first little lettuce leaf poked it’s head out the ground to say hello, I was elated! I thought, “holy cow – I might actually be able to do this!”

The days went by, and slowly each of the little plants started to grow. Every evening I would set aside some time to make sure that everything was well watered and taken care of; picking out weeds and thinning the plants as they grew taller. It was so exciting! But along the way I kept making excuses as to why everything was growing. “Oh, it must have been the soil I bought this year”, or “The weather has been really beautiful so far, I got lucky”. Almost as if the starts had aligned and that’s why I was successful.

Like many other people, I’m sure, I have trouble giving myself credit where it’s due. I often find myself downplaying an accomplishment or contribution I’ve made to something. It was only recently that I finally started to correct myself and say “No, it was you. You worked hard for this, and look what you’ve achieved! You were the reason why you were successful.” And once you start telling yourself that, you’ll be amazed how much it’ll boost your confidence.

This whole experience has really been a turning point for me. Making the effort to try something that I haven’t been able to do in the past, and actually doing it successfully. And not only that, but allowing myself to feel the pride that comes with it. It’s been incredible. It just makes me wonder about the other things I’ve been telling myself that I can’t do all this time.

I’m happy to report that my peas have been flourishing, and there are flowers everywhere! Last night I found the first little pea pod growing off one of the plants. I’m hoping that in a couple days it’ll be ready to pick! It just goes to show you that you never know what you’re capable of unless you try.

Happy little pea pod