Why You Should Always Trust Love One More Time

“Have enough courage to trust love one more time, and always one more time.” — Maya Angelou

I’m obsessed with this quote from Maya Angelou. Always one more time. It’s become my mantra, a way of showing up in this world and my relationships. A simple phrase that resonates within every single cell.

If I’m honest, I’ll tell you that sometimes in this life I get a little tired. A kind of tired that runs deep within my bones and reminds me that this isn’t the first journey my soul has been on. When everything feels challenging and nothing seems to be going as expected. When I’m overwhelmed by the fact that so much rides on me and my ability to show up fully. When all the things are happening at once, and I’m stretched as thin as I think I can possibly stretch.

But despite all the setbacks, heartbreaks, and losses, I’ve never given up. Not once. There are certainly times I’ve felt like throwing in the towel and just walking away. Days when disappearing to a cabin in the woods all by myself seems like the only thing that will do. When I don’t think I can take any more, because my soul is just too tired to do it.

And yet here I am, at a place in life where I’m beyond happy and fulfilled. When I’m fully aligned with my passion and purpose, and I’m surrounded by the most amazing people. Where I laugh and cry at the same time, because life is just that good. Because without having the words for it, I’ve lived by the idea of always one more time. Never giving up and never letting anything or anyone derail me from my pursuit of figuring out who I am and what I want… and making it happen.

No matter what you come up against or what life throws at you, choose to never give up. Choose to try, try again, just one more time.

Always one more time.

Even when your heart’s been broken and you feel like you’ll never be who you were before the awfulness of it all. When the pain still lingers and the wounds have yet to heal. Even when you’re not entirely sure how to stand firmly on your own two feet, and no one seems to know how to simply take you by the hand and love you through the thick of it. When the people you think will hold you tight walk right out of the room, and you feel a loneliness at the core of your bones. Even when too many have mishandled your gentle heart over the years. When you’re tired and exhausted and feel like there’s no one who will walk this life with you.

Even then, have the courage to open yourself to the ones that show up in your life, and love them as deeply and fiercely as is humanly possible.

Because that’s when you’re going to find the people meant to share this life with you, the ones who will love you so much and so fully and meet you exactly where you’re at. Only when you’re willing to learn from the ones that didn’t fit and stay open to those that will come. When you’re willing to give it one more go.

Always one more time.

Even when you’ve failed so much you’ve lost count and you can’t remember what a win feels like. When the bills are piling up and you feel so overwhelmed you don’t know whether to scream or cry or just hide under the sheets. Even when you’re standing in it all alone, without anyone there to cheer you on or kiss your wounds when you fall. When no one understands or wants to rally for your cause. Even when you’re fighting with all you have left just to take another half step forward. When you’ve lost count of how many times and how far back you’ve fallen.

Even then, have the courage to stand up one more time and face another day with more passion and purpose than before.

Because that’s when you’re going to find the success you so deeply desire and finally learn the things you need to know to bring your vision to life. Only when you’re willing to see the lessons in the setbacks and brush yourself off just one more time. When you refuse to give up and find a resilience you’ve never known.

Always one more time.

Even when your voice breaks and your knees shake so hard you’re not sure you’ll be able to hold yourself upright. When you struggle to speak through the knot in your stomach and all eyes are on you, burning all the way through. Even when it goes against everything and everyone and there’s no one to back you up. When you’re standing there alone and it’s scary and isolating as hell. Even when it hurts so much you’re not sure you’ll survive it. When it means laying it all on the line and risking everything you’ve built in your life and work.

Even then, have the courage to show up as fully as you possibly can and speak the truth that comes from deep within your soul.

Because that’s when you’re going to learn how to settle fully into yourself and the life you’re here to lead. Only when you’re willing to get vulnerable and expose yourself so that things can begin to really align for you. When you’re willing to lean into the fear and lay it all on the line.

Always one more time.

Promise me, right here and now, that you’ll never give up on what your heart desires, no matter what.

We all experience setbacks, and we all come up against reasons that make it easy to say we’re done. The difference between settling for a mediocre life and having the life, work, and relationships that light your soul on fire is this simple. Don’t give up. Don’t stay down. Don’t let anything stop you.

And always…always one more time.