“Do not take anything personal. If you keep this agreement you can travel around the world with your heart completely open and no one can hurt you. You can say, ‘I love you,’ without fear of being ridiculed or rejected. You can ask for what you need. You can say yes, or you can say no – whatever you choose – without guilt or self-judgement. You can choose to follow your heart always.” – Don Miguel Ruiz (The Four Agreements)
I was reading the above book on the flight from Phoenix to Newark today. As I read the chapter on “Not taking anything personally,” I came to realize that when I do not take anything personally, good or bad, I learn to be completely satisfied with who I am as a person created in the image and likeness of God.
When I take things personally, I become trapped in myself, in my own head and I become selfish. I make whatever is said about me, however nothing anyone does is because of me… it is because of themselves. Often when I take things personally, I feel offended and I react, creating conflict and making something big out of something so little. Why do I do this? I do this because of my own false truth, and I admit, I want to be right. When I get upset, I am afraid of being wrong, or being rejected or not being good enough.
The opposite of fear is COURAGE, and when I have the courage to be myself and to not take anything personally none of those things bother me. When what other people feel, think, do, and say affects me negatively or I begin to take it personally, I have to stop and ask myself, what do I know to be true? The truth is that I am a child of God, a daughter of the King. I am formed in the image of Christ and He has a plan for my life. Whatever anyone else says is not the truth, the truth is that I am worthy, I am loved, I am cared for, I am respected, I am healthy, I am loving and so on. It is not always easy for me to remember this, to practice this. There are times that I take what others say very personally and in turn I create something big out of nothing, however, it is something I am vigilant about daily. When I let go of trying to control what others think of me and concentrate on who I am in Christ, I am at peace and I am in turn able to love.
My question to each of you is, how did you react when you took something someone felt, thought, did or said personally? My challenge to you is, how can you counteract your reaction with the question, what do I know to be true? Secondly where is your self-worth… can you accept yourself for you and look at yourself in the mirror and love the person looking back?
“The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man’s own eyes when they look upon his own person.” – Alexander Pope
Rebekah Chavez
e/d Chip Hart
I was reading the above book on the flight from Phoenix to Newark today. As I read the chapter on “Not taking anything personally,” I came to realize that when I do not take anything personally, good or bad, I learn to be completely satisfied with who I am as a person created in the image and likeness of God.
When I take things personally, I become trapped in myself, in my own head and I become selfish. I make whatever is said about me, however nothing anyone does is because of me… it is because of themselves. Often when I take things personally, I feel offended and I react, creating conflict and making something big out of something so little. Why do I do this? I do this because of my own false truth, and I admit, I want to be right. When I get upset, I am afraid of being wrong, or being rejected or not being good enough.
The opposite of fear is COURAGE, and when I have the courage to be myself and to not take anything personally none of those things bother me. When what other people feel, think, do, and say affects me negatively or I begin to take it personally, I have to stop and ask myself, what do I know to be true? The truth is that I am a child of God, a daughter of the King. I am formed in the image of Christ and He has a plan for my life. Whatever anyone else says is not the truth, the truth is that I am worthy, I am loved, I am cared for, I am respected, I am healthy, I am loving and so on. It is not always easy for me to remember this, to practice this. There are times that I take what others say very personally and in turn I create something big out of nothing, however, it is something I am vigilant about daily. When I let go of trying to control what others think of me and concentrate on who I am in Christ, I am at peace and I am in turn able to love.
My question to each of you is, how did you react when you took something someone felt, thought, did or said personally? My challenge to you is, how can you counteract your reaction with the question, what do I know to be true? Secondly where is your self-worth… can you accept yourself for you and look at yourself in the mirror and love the person looking back?
“The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man’s own eyes when they look upon his own person.” – Alexander Pope
Rebekah Chavez
e/d Chip Hart