“Don’t Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.” ~Don Miguel Ruiz

If you have a fear about what people will think of what you have to offer — your particular brand of creative expression — then this could be a serious obstacle.

So try and read this with that in mind and then answer this question:

Can I reveal the gifts of my soul to the world even if some may not approve, be ready for, or understand me?

If you can, you are standing in your integrity and are resolute about who you are.  If not, try to get to the root of why you hand your power over to other people for approval.

This article may also help:  Making a Commitment to Creativity…Do You Lack Self-Worth?

Do You Take Things Personally?

When you take something personally or are offended, you are inadvertently agreeing with what has been said about you.

Does this ring true or are you still having a hard time grappling with this concept?

If you are still wrestling with this statement, it could stem from not being able to take responsibility for your own thought streams and self-identification.  I know this sounds a bit harsh but if we are going to effectively tackle self-worth issues; we need to get our hands initially dirty so that we can give them a good scrubbing.

Complete Honesty is Required

A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation. ~Moliere

When someone insults you it is only the tip of the iceberg to what’s lying underneath.  When you feel slighted you are actually supporting the view of your counterpart because it has touched a nerve.  If your nerves are being twisted, you know there is something more to the perceived insult that meets the eye.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. ~Carl Jung

The person doing the insulting is only reminding you of something that needs to be taken out within yourself to have a good, long and hard look at.  Although you probably won’t want to give them a gold medal for their efforts, I assure you that some people are in this life to push your buttons.  Although this may seem unloving, they actually give you the opportunity to reconsider your belief structures – a chance to turn your trash into treasure.

Taking a Look at the Opposite Pole — Confidence

If someone tried to hurt you, or perhaps even unintentionally, says something to you that you don’t agree with – no problem – you usually brush off this kind of ‘offense’ because it really doesn’t bother you.  It could be an area in your life that you are 100% sure you have waxed.

We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies. ~Roderick Thorp

So for instance, you are a rocket scientist and someone calls you stupid, the chances of you having a wobbly melt-down in the public lavatory are going to be slim. But let’s take another example, perhaps one that we all have had to deal with in one way or another.

Vanity Fair or Foul?

Let’s say you are happy with your appearance and feel you are a fine specimen, someone passes by in a vehicle and shouts out, ‘hey, freak!’

It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to. ~W.C. Fields

Do you agree with that or not? If you are 100% confident that you are a perfectly dashing human being, just as the Universe intended, then you would most likely shrug the comment off and have a good chuckle about it. Why? This is because you whole-heartedly disagree with the statement.

However, if you are someone whose confidence peaks and troughs daily, you will probably instantly go into depression.  The nerve that has been struck is your internal agreement about yourself, not what the other person has said.  All they have done is ignited the spark on the BBQ that you are going to make sure you roast on.  It is a form of self-torture.   To agree with anyone over anything stemming from feelings of lack is disempowering.

Re-examine all that you have been told…dismiss that which insults your soul. ~Walt Whitman

We live and we learn, we travel within and we discover who we are.

When you feel confident about who you are, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks and you are free to express the many wonders that your unique soul has to offer.

Original article written by Cherie Roe Dirksen for Purpose Fairy. 

Next installment:  9 Truths About Letting Go of Opinions that Taint Us

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