It’s scary to pursue your Soul Prospering Life because it’s probably following dreams that you left behind in childhood or young adulthood. Your loved ones might laugh; your friends might look at you like you’ve lost it. You might think you’re being frivolous and childish.
For a moment, think about the people who can’t pursue their Soul Prospering Life. They can’t pursue theirs because they sacrificed it so you could live your Soul Prospering Life.
So, if you’re having trouble taking that next step, worried about what others might say, fearful that you’ll look foolish, stop for a moment.
Just stop.
Don’t let the people we’re remembering this Memorial Day have died in vain.
Go for it. Live your Soul Prospering Life. You can do it!
I’m a week late in honoring Mr. Roger’s birthday—he would have been 91 on the 20th of March. He is best known for his gentle ways and his homespun wisdom. Sometimes now, and especially when he was alive, he is/was ridiculed for this. My thought is that some people make fun of his loving goodwill not because they think it’s stupid but rather because they’re desperate for that gracious acceptance and are terrified that it’s a sham, like so much else in this world.
I assure you that loving kindness is alive and well in this world. There are many people who are welcoming, friendly, and reaching out a hand to others. They are right in your community. In fact, you may be sitting next to them in school or at work. Like Mr. Rogers, they, too, like you just the way you are. You can be yourself, and that’s enough!
Just for today, what if there is nothing wrong with you?
I challenge you this week, as I’m challenging myself, to live each day into the possibility that there is nothing wrong with you.
You are just right, exactly as you are.
What will you do that you haven’t allowed yourself to do because you thought there was something wrong with you? Now that you are just right exactly as you are, you can pursue that thing!
As we head into the new week, some of us may be worried about how to prepare ourselves for the bully in our workplaces. No matter how much we arrange our schedules to limit our contact with them, sometimes they seem like guided missiles locked onto us intent upon maximum damage and destruction. That statement may seem overly dramatic but when in day-to-day proximity of a bully, their tactics can feel like they’re aiming for total annihilation.
Naturally we should stand up for ourselves as best as we can, but don’t bother trying to change their mind about us and we shouldn’t think that we can show/prove that we’re capable, competent, and worthy of their respect. Their minds are closed and locked against us, so let’s not waste our time.
Instead, let’s concentrate on filling ourselves with endorphins. Our positive thoughts about ourselves and about our happiness, contentedness, and fulfillment from other aspects of our lives are our most potent weapons to counteract a bully’s attack.
Here are some ways to flood ourselves with endorphins in the midst of the workplace:
~in our mind, repeating positive statements about ourselves: I am capable; I am competent; I am doing good work, I am helpful to others; I am cheerful,; I am creative…
~pictures of our loved ones: recreate the happy feelings we had when the picture was taken…
~quietly listening to uplifting music…
~quietly listening to inspiring messages…
~connecting with nature: taking a short walk during the lunch hour, closely observing a small bouquet of flowers we give ourselves to have on our desk, gazing out the window for a few moments and watching the weather, the clouds, the trees swaying in the breeze, birds and wildlife moving around…
~reading poems or essays that create feelings of hope within us…
~reading a short passage from sacred writings…
These techniques are a few ways to remind ourselves that we are much more that our work. We have way more potential and opportunity that just what’s available through work. This can keep us hopeful and looking forward to the Goodness that’s awaiting us in the future!
The more we do these and other techniques to strengthen ourselves within, the less affected we’ll be by the bully’s attacks.
These seven quotes are short and to the point. That means they’re easy to remember and easy to repeat to yourself often, especially when things aren’t going as planned.
Dear Stress, let’s break up. ~Anonymous
Take action. Any action taken—even the “wrong” action—is better than not taking even the tiniest of actions. ~Anonymous
Actually, I can. ~Anonymous
Do not compare yourself to others. ~Anonymous
Smile and be glad because this too shall pass! ~Anonymous
Loving kindness is the most powerful force in the Universe. ~Anonymous
When you believe in yourself you believe in possibility. When you believe in possibility you believe in yourself. ~Dr. Joe Dispenza
Today we’re halfway through the week. Oftentimes we start the week out with a strong positive outlook but by midweek we might begin to lose our resolve. Here are a few statements to use to remind ourselves that we have what it takes to live a soul-prospering life, Use any or all of them frequently throughout today and the following days. Also, feel free to tweak them to better suit you and your circumstances.
I am capable
I am competent
I know what I’m doing
I am intelligent
I am dedicated
I am hard working
I am honest
I am honorable
I am a person of high integrity
I am kind
I am generous
I respect others
I am dependable
I am reliable
I am trustworthy
I am helpful
I am upbeat
I am ethical and have strong values and high morals
I am rock solid
I have a can-do attitude
I am persistent
I persevere
I find a way
I am crafting a wonderful soul-prospering life for myself
Choose the statements that resonate with you and repeat them often throughout your day.
One way to take care of ourselves if we’re a victim of workplace bullying is to remember and know deep within ourselves that we are much, much more than the small piece of ourselves that the bully is targeting. This poem reminds us about the Hidden Gems within each of us.
HIDDEN GEMS
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox
We know not what lies in us, till we seek; Men dive for pearls—they are not found on shore, The hillsides most unpromising and bleak Do sometimes hide the ore.
Go, dive in the vast ocean of thy mind, O man! far down below the noisy waves, Down in the depths and silence thou mayst find Rare pearls and coral caves.
Sink thou a shaft into the mine of thought; Be patient, like the seekers after gold; Under the rocks and rubbish lieth what May bring thee wealth untold.
Reflected from the vastly Infinite, However dulled by earth, each human mind Holds somewhere gems of beauty and of light Which, seeking, thou shalt find.
I hope this helps you. Next week we’ll talk more about how to take care of ourselves while we are in a bullying situation and as we are searching for a new position.
We will get through this together. As beloved family members frequently counsel me, “This, too, shall pass.”
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