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Today's
Meditation:
These are words that resonate very strongly within me
because it took me such an incredibly long time to learn
the truth behind them, and because it's a truth that I
have such a hard time convincing others of, especially my
students. But if we could convince each person of
the truth of this statement, can you imagine what kind of
a world we would have? Can you imagine how few
people would commit silly acts and say silly things due to
their insecurities or fears?
Because this is Dr. Spock speaking, there's a good chance
that this quotation originally applied to parenting.
And that's okay, but it can also be applied to many, many
other fields in which we function. How many doctors
have ended up prescribing the wrong treatment because they
didn't trust themselves? How many teachers have done
things they normally wouldn't do because they didn't trust
themselves? I remember once allowing something to
happen in a classroom even though my gut was telling me
"stop this right now," and I did end up
regretting it. I should have trusted myself and my
life experience and what it was telling me, but I simply
didn't do so.
You've been here on this planet a while. You've
learned things that other people never have learned, in
ways that no one else has learned them. You are
truly unique, and you are intelligent and
insightful. You have overcome obstacles and you've
weathered horrible storms. . . you have a vast wealth of
knowledge and experience at your disposal, so why should
you doubt yourself when it comes to making
decisions? The decisions that you make are
ultimately and uniquely yours, and even if the immediate
result isn't what you might like, hold on and be patient--
the long-term results more than likely will show
a different tale, as long as you've been true to yourself
when making the decision.
Trust yourself. Words to live by. They don't
exempt us from seeking advice, but they do empower us to
live our lives on our terms, in our own unique ways, and
they allow us to make decisions based on who we are and
what we know, instead of constantly deferring to the
"wisdom" of others.
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