Seven months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 229. Yesterday, I talked about the key to success when in love. Today is a new day.
"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.Regardless of her past and its many criticisms, there are a lot of truths in today's passage. We end up letting our emotions get in the way of making rational decisions all of the time. In this modern world it can be hard to find success and satisfaction when we're competing with so many other people on a daily basis. It makes sense that we end up comparing ourselves to others because we want to know how well off we're doing. Unfortunately, when we're not doing so well and we see others happy and successful it feels bad.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." - Mother Teresa
When we let these emotions flood in our minds we tend to become irrational and that can cause us to become bitter and scornful. In such cases people might end up being the toxic friend, the negative Ned's and Nancy's, or the vampire that sucks everything from everyone they come across to fuel their insecurities. While it may not be intentional for some (though it is with others), the negativity from these people is contagious and that energy can influence our lives in ways that end up hindering our progress.
We have all had "friends" who always show up when things are going great for us but as soon as we hit a pitfall and need a shoulder to lean on they're nowhere to be seen. I know people who only talk to me when they want something from me and once they've gotten what they wanted they're suddenly "too busy" to hang out or they become cold and distant. Maybe they'll take your ideas, ride off of your success, or try to shut you down. In a competitive world it's almost unavoidable.
Some people will use you for their own personal gain, only take from you but never give anything back, betray you once you're of no use to them, and even try bringing you down because they're jealous of what you have that they don't. Whatever the case may be, there are two ways I can see myself dealing with these people: you can choose to avoid these people as best as possible and actively seek to surround yourself with positive influences or you can just do your thing without worrying about these people and adapt to your situation as things play out.
Regardless of what you choose, it's important to keep doing what you've set out to do. When people try to bring me down, holding my ground and sticking to my values and principles is something I value. I consider negative influences as hurdles to overcome, so in a way I embrace the challenge and learn from the experience. I believe that if I can rise to the challenge then that shows that I've grown closer to becoming unbreakable, so in a way I benefit from the struggle.
No matter what though, it's important to not let negative influences keep you from doing what you want to do. Do it for yourself and nobody else. It doesn't matter what other people think; haters gonna hate. If what you're doing really means a lot, then it's worth it and it matters. Don't let anyone let you think otherwise. Go get it.
Peace
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| Be your own hero. Don't let them bring you down. |
How can you keep people from bringing you down?
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