You Don’t Build Strength Overnight—You Build It From the Ground Up
There’s nothing like recovery to teach you how to build something real; slowly, intentionally, from the ground up.
I’ve had multiple injuries and surgeries over the years. Each one forced me to do something I hated: start at the beginning.
Not back to “normal.” Not back to where I left off.
Literally: 30 seconds of movement. 10 toe taps. 3 minutes of exercise. 15 toe taps and a tiny stretch …then rest. Repeat.
Each tiny step felt insignificant, but every single one mattered.
Because those small, focused movements? They built my strength. They gave me confidence. And most importantly, they gave me something I could build on.
I didn’t skip ahead because I physically couldn’t.
And in doing the work slowly, intentionally, step-by-step… I laid a foundation that setbacks couldn’t erase.
Growth doesn’t happen in leaps.
It happens in layers.
Every time I couldn’t walk, I figured out what I could move. My arms. My breath. My mindset.
At the end of my pregnancy, when I couldn’t stand without pain, I still showed up for myself. I curled light weights from the couch. I breathed (as much as anyone can at that stage). I mobilized what I could.
That mindset didn’t just serve my body. It served my boundaries. How I used my voice. How I thought about what mattered and what next steps to take to achieve my goals.
Here’s an example:
The first time I went out to dinner after one of my back surgeries, I had a full-blown panic attack. I was terrified someone might bump into me and I’d be injured again.
Today? I don’t even think about it. I go to dinner and glide through a crowd like a NYC pro. Not because the fear was never real but because I did the work to rebuild my trust in my body, in the world, and in myself.
Why am I telling you this?
Because if you’ve been reading my emails about boundaries, communication, and self-leadership
and thinking to yourself:
“That sounds amazing—but I don’t think I could ever do that.”
“I’m not bold like that.”
“It feels too far away.”
Let me tell you something right now:
You do not have to start at the end.
You can start with 30 seconds of courage. With one hard conversation. With one moment where you say “no” without overexplaining.
That one moment becomes a pattern. That pattern becomes a mindset. And that mindset becomes you.
That’s how change works. It doesn’t arrive like a lightning bolt. It builds slowly—quietly—until one day, you don’t even flinch when someone tries to push past your boundary. You just… hold it.
🔥 Action Step: Start Small, Start Strong
Ask yourself:
👉 What’s the “toe tap” version of my next goal?
👉 What’s the smallest step I can repeat this week to build trust with myself?
👉 Where can I make progress—even if it’s not perfect?
Inside Women Who Rise, we don’t shame slow growth. We build with it.
We don’t wait for the fear to disappear—we learn how to move anyway.
And we celebrate the women who are brave enough to start.
📞 Ready to build strength that actually lasts? Book your clarity call here.
Start where you are. Keep going. And don’t be surprised when your voice becomes the part of you that feels most unshakable.
With you—step by step,
Zoe