Did you ever play that game? The one where someone starts talking, and you repeat everything they say? Its funny. They get annoyed… and you do it more, because they are annoyed. Then they catch you and start repeating everything you say, and then you get annoyed.. its a vicious .. funny circle.
Or, when your teacher told you to be creative, and you suck at creativity and so you copy your friends idea? .. no? Just me? .. Okay cool.
I lived the majority of my life this way. I think we’ve discussed this. I felt like everyone was better at life, had better ideas than I , so I jumped on the ban wagon. Copied them, tried to be like them. I had become content in discontentment. I had become okay with mediocrity, because just okay gets you by. You fly under the radar, and you don’t get judged, ridiculed or hurt. At least that is what my mind told me. An ancient Greek Philosopher describes it wonderfully.
“Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” – Aristotle
So, that is what I did. I began learning to “be like everyone else.” Yeah, I had it down. Pleasing people , and doing what they wanted , because happy people are calm people and no body gets hurt.
The thing is, I wasn’t fooling anybody. The only person I was fooling was myself.
See, we weren’t meant to be like each other. We were created differently, and that is okay. It has taken me a while to understand that, if we all agreed on everything, life would be boring. If we all had the same opinions on everything, growth and change would not be possible. We would live in a stagnant world. And, while stagnation seems easy and safe, it is dangerous.
I am not like you, you are not like me, and that is a positive thing. We can both learn from each other and grow because of our differences, and that is exciting. You are awesome. You , the way you are, are so valuable and worth relationships. People can learn from you if you allow them, and you can learn from people. But to do this, it takes vulnerability.
So, my challenge is this : Are you “playing it safe”? Who would you be if you could avoid criticism?
Are you a safe person to be vulnerable with? What needs to change if the answer is no? How can you grow in this area?
Also, this song is in my head too so enjoy 🙂
Be encouraged friends
-Rachael
Accepting The Peace 