Always do your best………..and never forget that it is not what happens to us…..it is how we respond that makes the difference. There are some things in this life that are important and a whole lot of things that aren’t. It doesn’t take too much discrimination to figure out which are which. Being here counts. Being kind and considerate counts. Getting through each day without seriously offending anyone or hurting anyone counts. Any time we take positive steps to keep growing as a human being we make a contribution to our human experience. This includes setting personal boundaries. Setting personal boundaries enables us to resist pushy people, rude people, aggressive people, people who would take advantage of us. Setting boundaries is a sign of strong self-esteem and self-respect…..and we cannot respect others until we respect ourselves.
Literally EVERY reaction you have to any given situation is a choice that you make……every day that you allow a bad mood to pervade your world and those you encounter it’s a choice. Every time you rail because you got a different result than the one you thought you would get….you are making a choice. That is why it is said that we do not see the world as it is…..but as we are. It is your rules that you perceive people are breaking….when they don’t do something the way you think they should. You are allowing judgment to be the ruler of the kingdom……and when you think that judgment is ok…..your ego is out of control. Today pause and think about what it is like for others to be in your company………strong convictions, precede great actions.
Goethe said “I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”