Being Your Own Biggest Cheerleader

By Luz María Campuzano

There are seasons in life when there is no one cheering from the sidelines. No reassurance. No steady hand reaching in. Everything familiar has fallen away, and what remains is you, your responsibility, and the next step in front of you.

I entered one of those seasons in 2012.

I was newly divorced, solely responsible for my children and myself, starting over in a new career in real estate, while watching an entire support system dissolve. I was alone. The responsibility was absolute. There was no safety net.

That time stripped life down to what mattered. There was no one coming to tell me I could do it. No one validating the path I was walking. Whatever strength I leaned on would have to come from within.

I learned how to stand with myself.

Each morning I woke up without certainty, yet I kept moving. I reminded myself that I could take the next step. That I could keep going. That I was already doing what needed to be done. This was not motivational. It was stabilizing. It was how I stayed present under pressure.

I didn't explain myself. I didn't correct narratives. I let time do its work. I trusted that truth, when lived consistently, would speak louder.

Strength Built Through Repetition

Progress came quietly. Through repetition. Through waking up and choosing to continue. Through learning how to encourage myself when encouragement was not available elsewhere.

Over time, something shifted. Decisions became clearer. Movement became steadier. I stopped minimizing myself and began responding to life as it was, not as I wished it to be.

The absence of false support created space. Space to reflect. Space to listen. Space to find myself in a way I could not have without that experience. In that space, I became my own best friend.

Challenge refined me. Responsibility shaped me. Endurance revealed capacities I did not know I carried.

What Emerges After the Storm

Today, my life reflects those years of choice. I live in a community that supports our well being. I have built and mastered careers I once could not imagine for myself. I have supported my children emotionally, financially, and spiritually.

My eldest is studying at the University of Montana, finding his path with intention. My youngest is pursuing his calling as a violinist, preparing his repertoire with a dream teacher for conservatory.

I have created a business that integrates the spiritual with the physical, grounded in presence, service, and integrity. A business born not from ease, but from lived understanding.

None of this required force. It required perseverance. It required learning to stand with myself when there was no alternative. I grew in ways I never knew were possible, and I carry genuine gratitude for what that season taught me.

Along the way, I also found the love of my life, a partner who supports me and cheers for me unconditionally. That kind of support feels different now. It is chosen consciously, rooted in mutual respect, and grounded in truth.

Choosing Yourself

Choosing yourself clarifies what belongs in your life.

If you are standing at the edge of a season that feels uncertain, overwhelming, or lonely, know this. Feeling like you can't do it alone doesn't mean you are failing. It often means you are being invited into a deeper relationship with yourself.

There are seasons that arrive not to break you, but to introduce you to who you are becoming. What feels like loss can be the beginning of a more honest life. What feels like isolation can be the space where clarity forms. What feels impossible can become the ground where self trust is built.

Being your own biggest cheerleader doesn't mean doing everything alone. It means believing you are capable of meeting what is in front of you, even when the path is not yet clear.

Sometimes, the season that asks the most of you is the one that gives you your life back.

And sometimes, that is how a whole new life begins.

With so much love and gratitude, Luz María