When Someone Tells You "You Can't"....
‼️truth be told, the naysayers have always been part of what fuels me. they aren’t the whole picture, but they really do play a role in my drive and forward progression.
🤫i’m actually an introvert by nature, this has come up a lot recently - i’m one of those people that every time i take the “personality” test i fall “in between” two different types. i’m also the rarest type on the Myers-Briggs test.
🤔i tell you this because even though i might appear to be outward, and extroverted, i am always observing, listening, and intuitively feeling. recently, i was put in a situation where i was in ear shot and line of sight to hear and see a whisper and an eye-roll towards me.
🔪i’m pretty sure they call it back-stabbing because it feels just like a knife to through the heart right from the back. it hurt. sadly, the participants were people i have known for sometime, and immediately i heard a voice in my head say “lauren, just keep your distance”.
❓cue the constant questioning, and erratic buzzing of the mind... “why didn’t they just talk to me?”, “why are they rolling their eyes?”, “am i not good enough?”, “maybe i should stop putting myself out there - no more teaching, no more blogging, no more writing.”
🛑then i stopped. and i went inward, and i remembered the WHY.
my purpose is greater than any person who tries to stifle me. my time isn’t worth a single persons whispers of negativity behind my back. my heart is big enough to embrace them even though they snicker and reject. and above all, my strength and determination to be a change maker while i’m here on this earth will trump anyone who tries to poke holes or judge my work.
💯i’m not perfect, i make mistakes, all the time - but boy am i proud of myself for continuing to show-up for myself, so that i can improve each time i do try again.
👂🏻listen, we are all different, we are going to have different feelings and emotions towards each person that comes and goes into our lives. i fully anticipate my words or my actions will offend, upset or hurt someone - even when my intention is the opposite. i’m quite sure the same will happen for you. want to know the best thing we can do for each other? ☺️give each other the benefit of the doubt. communicate with each other. seek to understand, rather than to be understood, and recognize that change starts with you. challenge yourself - next time you come across a situation where someone in the room rubs you the wrong way, rather than turning to your closest friend with the eye roll and whisper, turn towards the person that you are feeling a certain way about, and spark a conversation. you may just be surprised at what you learn.
🙏 deep bow in gratitude. xxoo lauren