Usually I have several strategies for you, but when it comes to effectively dealing with negativity, I have just one. At least for today.
That’s because this one strategy is an important foundation for empowered living.
Watch the Video or Read On
Here it is. Be sure to pay attention:
Stop taking things personally!
That’s your homework if you really want to navigate negative situations and people.
Let’s think about the river, or the ocean for a moment.
The river has a flow and is made up of rocks, waves, holes and eddies etc… The ocean is made up of currents, waves, wind causing waves etc… Both the river and the ocean are. They aren’t out to get anyone.
As a kayaker I navigating a river I make choices. Sometimes my choices result in a great line with perfectly timed strokes. Yay!
Other times, my choices result in me hitting a rock, getting flipped and swimming. Boo.
In both cases the river isn’t out to get me. If I get a bit of a thrashing on the river I don’t take it personally and blame the river. I could try that, but it wouldn’t be very helpful in getting my myself and my gear down the rest of the river effectively.
And, next time I paddle, if I want to change the outcome, I made different choices.
Life is like a river.
Life isn’t out to get you and beat you down. You make choices, I make choices as we navigate through life. Each choice and action we take has an outcome.
If you take life personally and believe that it’s always out to get you, then you make yourself powerless in the face of negativity. That only leads to more negativity.
Navigating life is like navigating the river or ocean currents. We do is to the best of our ability, awareness and experience.
When you see yourself as a navigator and not a victim, you empower yourself to make different choices if you don’t like the outcome of your last choice.
There are things that we can’t control and that catch us off-guard.
A side creek may flash flood and we didn’t see it coming. A rock or boulder may have shifted since the last time we paddled, creating an obstacle that we weren’t aware of.
That still doesn’t mean that the river or the rain are out to get you, or me.
We can’t always control what happens, but we can control how we respond. Responding as if the river or as if life was out to get us is disempowering and ineffective.
Responding to negativity with a vision of less suffering for the next moment is empowering.
How much time have you wasted stewing over a comment someone made that you were sure was a slight against you?
Later you find out it wasn’t about your at all! What could you have spent your time doing, creating and supporting instead?
Let’s stop taking things personally and start navigating the river of life with empowering and positive action, especially in the face of negativity.
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