Did you know this simple reality: there is context that can make everything you do make you look like a freak, and context that can make you look like a hero. Given the right context you could be a genius, a work horse, a leader, a follower, a bum, lazy, a slave driver, a serial killer in the making. You can be anything at all with the “right” spotlight shining on you and your decisions.
This is one reason why we all end up being the villain in someone else’s story, even when we know that we’re doing the right thing.
Also…
If you have to constantly remind people of your credentials in order to garner their respect, are you sure you are embodying the value of those qualifications that you earned?
It’s likely that you’re not.
So today, I want us to continue with this visualization process of working with the decorated hero who wears his or her achievements within themselves rather than on their chest or sleeve.
If you are going to embody the value of the work you’ve accomplished in your lifetime, you have to get comfortable being treated like a nobody.
That doesn’t mean allowing yourself to be spit on, or talked down to, or anything like that. It means you have to stop yourself from compulsively reminding people of your titles, your degrees, and/or what you’ve done that they should respect you for.
Just…relax. Settle into the reality that you deserve respect because you are God. You deserve to be treated well because you are a human being. You deserve to be listened to because…well, why do you deserve to be listened to?
And does your reasoning apply universally, or only in small pockets where you have earned the right to a little bit of influence?
If your context is that you earned your Masters in Education, that might grant you authority in a classroom where you are the Teacher. But does it grant you the right to teach everybody who crosses your path universally?
If you think it does, you’re likely having a bit of trouble with your relationships.
This is how authority can quickly turn into arrogance. How walls can be built in order to protect ones fragile ego from those who say “I didn’t ask for a Geography lesson today, I thought we were meeting for margaritas as friends”. Isn’t a sentence like that fraught with tension? Who’s the wrong one here, the person saying it or the person it is being said to?
How else can you solve a situation where one person is leaning too heavily on their credentials and not enou
That is what the hero learns rather quickly. That very few people actually care about what you have done in the past, even if it led to you earning a degree.
Usually, it is better not to brag. Humility is typically the safer option. Humility doesn’t invite unnecesssary conflict or challenges to the forefront of people’s awareness when they see you. The strongest men and women don’t brag about what they’ve accomplished. They actually prefer to pretend like they’ve done nothing worth bragging about, so people don’t actually know how strong or intelligent they actually are. Or, they genuinely believe that their accomplishments are nothing compared to what should be done.
Humility is different than appearing weak. If you have reviewed the Bonus Content from Day 127, I mentioned this distinction very clearly when working with the elder archetype. Today, we are continuing to work with that visual of the person who is proud but humble. They wear their strength on their sleeve, not their accomplishments. They don’t need to provide proof of what they’re capable of. The wisest of us can just tell.
As you tune into this image today, ask yourself these questions:
- Where does my sense of strength come from?
- Where do I feel it in my body? In my bones?
- How can I stand tall without turning everything into a battle?
- What does this kind of power, strength, and humility allow me to do in life that I cannot do without it?
Focus on relaxing again today, and every day for these next 30 days. You deserve to let go and rest. That is why the visualization of the iron rod within yourself is so powerful. It gives you the support you need so you don’t fall apart. It gives you something to rely on so you don’t feel like you have to hold onto everything.
Hopefully I am not starting to lose you with this section. I know it’s a lot of imagining, meditating, and feeling a connection with something or someone who isn’t really there in person. I do hope you’ll push through and let yourself overcome whatever resistance you have to this month’s exercises.
Relaxing, healing, and fun are the most common places where people say “it’s not for me” or “maybe another day”. We have the most trouble embracing these gifts of life as adults. Why do you think that might be?
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