I know this first hand because I was raised in a pretty tough situation. I could have easily taken the wrong path simply because as a child I lived on the wrong path surrounded by alcoholism, abuse and poverty.
So what struck me about what Maya said in her quote I shared on Sunday’s post stands true: we must confront ourselves.
“We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay-and RISE!”
Here’s what I’m thinking:
- Confronting ourselves through the lens of blaming others for the past is easy and lacks courage. Yes, you may have been hurt or downright pummeled. And yes, it was unfair. But that is now history. Remember the old saying that there is a reason the windshield is big and the rear-view mirror is smaller? We need to look ahead, and not behind!
- Truly focusing on ourselves is how we ultimately “confront” what may not be so much fun and truly begin to deal with it. (Remember that pre-decision concept…apply it here.)
- Once we own up to the good, the bad and the ugly, via a big dose of courage, we will actually make great progress and as a result rise.
By the way, we all read things and immediately reflect on a specific personal situation. I encourage you to read this a couple of different times, each time with a different area of your life that needs confronted…
- How am I doing serving my work place, school or community?
- How am I doing as a parent, friend or in my key relationships?
- How am I doing with my health, and what’s important to me?
My hunch, is we all have an area where we need to rise! The result of rising is happiness and personal growth. In my opinion, both are worth the effort.