I’ll take a break from blogging every once in a while over the summer and share some popular past blog posts. I hope today’s message is relevant (and helpful!) to you.
Don’t feed the beast
Sometimes we get wisdom from the most unexpected places. My buttons were pushed last week when I stumbled upon a Facebook exchange about my work. Two women were discussing the release of my new audio program, Self-Care for the Wisdom Years, and they made some incorrect assumptions about me. And they weren’t very nice about it.
I usually remove these things. I’ve been at this a long time and I know better than to take things personally. But I am human, and after the birth of a new creative project I naturally felt more vulnerable. It was easy to overreact in such a state.
After reading their posts, I felt compelled to respond and correct their mistakes (compelling word here). Fortunately, because I was nervous, I knew better than to do it. Instead, I walked away from the computer, made myself some lunch, and turned on an episode of Madam Secretary, my favorite TV series.
About halfway through the episode, the actor playing the secretary’s communications director anxiously tried to get the secretary to respond to a reporter who had slandered her job. “No,” said the minister several times. “I’m not going to deal with that.” When he was pushed further, he cried out emphatically:
“I won’t answer. Feeding the beast will only make it hungrier.”
Hearing his words, I felt my muscles relax. Well, there you have itI thought. The perfect intervention. No need to add fuel to the fire.
I smiled, thanked the secretary, turned off the TV, and finished my lunch. Then I went into my journal and wrote the following:
Misunderstandings
Judgments
Reviews
Frustration
Fear
DO NOT BREAK THE RECORD.
Wise advice worth remembering. If you choose self-regulation over drama, you are no longer at the mercy of the outside world. Instead, you have your own back.
This is called self-love in action.
Love,
Cheryl
